Devil’s Crush is an Underrated Gem That Still Shines Bright

devils_crush_coverartOriginally released on the TurboGrafx-16 in 1990, “Devil’s Crush” was quietly regarded as not only one of the best console pinball games during that time, but one of the best games on the system. Now nearly 20 years later, the game has been re-released on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console.

Even though its star has dimmed over the past decade and change, old-school enthusiasts will still find it a charming entry into the Virtual Console catalog. Gamers unfamiliar with both the game and console pinball games in general will also find it an entertaining tribute to a genre long forgotten.

While the gameplay is simple, as the game consists of just one three-tier table, the game’s difficulty makes up for its lack of depth and gives it the versatility needed to be truly enjoyable. However, despite the game’s solid difficulty, it’s the core gameplay that will force gamers to come back for more.

You see, this isn’t your normal pinball game.

The table for instance, consist of living things, ranging from sorcerers, demon birds, soldiers and a beautiful queen that ends up turning into something quite different. Throughout the game, you’ll start to see things on the table change and that’s where most of the fun is had. Seeing the progression of the queen on the second tier is an experience no other pinball game has reproduced since and the game’s mini-bosses also add a luster and depth that sometimes make the game feel like something more than your average pinball experience.

As a matter of fact, after a few hours with it, you’ll be positive it isn’t.

However, it is far from perfect. For example, the game’s graphics and sound aren’t on the same level as some of the other games released on the TurboGrafx-16 at the time. While the game does have its own sense of style and the graphics definitely capture the essence of a demonic pinball table, they are still a bit dark and muddy. The game’s sound is also slightly mediocre as the same track plays during the game, with another track playing during the mini-boss stages. Nevertheless, the game’s sound doesn’t particularly take anything away from the solid overall package that is “Devil’s Crush.”

The game’s physics aren’t exactly perfect either, as the pinball sometimes has a mind of its own, but considering how old the title is, it’s to be expected. During the multi-ball parts of the game, gamers may get frustrated at times at how fast or slow the balls move. Nonetheless, you won’t have any problems big enough to take you away from the game.

With that being said, it’s hard not to appreciate such a solid game that despite its weaknesses is still fairly enjoyable and challenging.

Anyone looking for something different on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console can do a lot worse than “Devil Crush.”

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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