According to Wikipedia.org: Flatwoods Monster is an entity (e.g. alien) reported to have been sighted in the town of Flatwoods in Braxton County, West Virginia, United States, on September 12, 1952. Over 50 years later, investigators concluded that the creature was a barn owl perched in a tree, with shadows making it appear to be a large humanoid.
Here's the photo of Flatwoods Monster themselves:
It's debatable whether the photo is real or not. Thing for sure is i find them fascinating. They are balanced mixture of creepiness and majestic. Perhaps due to their head shape like ace of spade that gives them aura of sovereign. Because we know that nothing can beat ace of spade in hierarchy of playing card. Not even king, on any suits. Allegedly some Japanese game developers also fascinated by this alien and put their "sighting" into the game. I can only exhibit some of them and give them my personal scoring. Also i give opinion about the game while i'm at it. Apparently someone named hazel has the same fixation toward the Flatwoods Monster. If you want to see more of them, check her video here.
Without forward ado, here's some sighting of Flatwoods Monster from my "research":
1. Space Harrier II (Sega Genesis)
The game called them "Paranoia" but i immediately think "Hey, that's the Flatwoods Monster!". Perhaps the name is tied to their capability to make me panic when i fighting them. Or that's because i'm not get used to play Space Harrier II. I think the first Space Harrier is more beautiful and more enjoyable but that's just my personal opinion, mind you. This alien can be found in Stage 2 (named "Fors Yard") and the boss rush near the final boss.
Once i get rid of their circling orb, the alien is vulnerable to the shoot in the head but they approach me as if they went for melee attack but no. They only mocking me with that evil smirk. After few seconds doing close-up smile like in narrow photo booth, they run away and release some fire ball while at it. So you must not panic and keep hitting his face when they closing in. It's completely safe to do that. If they get hit his color change from red to purple which is strange.
Dark long robe. Check! Head shape like ace of spades. Check! Creepy arm. Check! However, that face feels wrong to me. Flatwoods Monster is supposed to have 2 bright eye balls. On the other hand, this one has orb face with eye, mouth, and nose painted on it.
My rating score: 6.5 / 10
2. Ginga Ninkyouden (Arcade)
For disclosure, this screenshot is taken by VGJunk from his article here. Just so you know, yes. I'm lazy person sometimes.
From what he said, the game is tedious 2D platformer mainly because protagonist's punch very lacks of range and power. Some might say it's kusoge and i don't think i want to play it. But if you're into ye olde anime references. The game is full of them. So you might want to check it out.
Let's see. Bright eye balls. Ok! Creepy arms. Check! The robe is long but not dark. Maybe this ones discover powerful detergent that makes their gloomy dark robe into shine brightly and glamorously like chandeliers in Palace of Versailles. Also those sinister grinning feels wrong to me.
My rating score: 6 / 10
Ok. I have to admit. I'm not just lazy for sometimes, maybe more often than you thought. But at least this one is taken from my own article.
This sighting probably my first actual experience to encounter the legendary Flatwoods Monster. He flies around in eerily fashion and occasionally shoot alien-y orb from their hands. Too bad they can be defeated by a cleaner guy with vacuum cleaner. But it's no ordinary vacuum cleaner. It's powerful enough to suck lesser enemies!
The game itself is Snow Bros-clone but with different mechanism that both brilliant and easy to understand. Go check it out! I mean it.
I say this is the perfect impersonation of Flatwoods Monster if they are able to fly around like creepy sheet ghost.
My rating score: 10 / 10
4. Amagon (Nes)
This one also flying around while occasionally shooting array of mystic balls. The game's protagonist: Amagon (according to Wikipedia) is a feeble man armed rifle which shoot projectile that no more stronger than plastic pellets. So how this pathetic man can wins against the majestic alien?
Fortunately for Amagon, he can transform into burly self called Megagon if he picked certain item. One can say that he probably like Incredible Hulk but without being green and angry all the time. Turning into that muscular large man grants him health points (whereas his normal self can be killed with one hit by almost everything in this game!) but he lose his gun. Instead he do uppercut with rather short horizontal range. But it's enough to punch The Flatwoods Monster through their spherical chin. With 5-6 uppercuts, the alien retreats and Amagon can claim this giant ark so he can set sail home. Oh, i forget to tell you that we fight inside ark that presumably left by Noah/Nuh. If this fight took place inside alien spaceship, it would be make more sense.
You know what kind of video game i hate? It's unplayable Nintendo's thrash like this! I often see people complain arcade game that keep sucking their quarter or nowadays game's "cheat" with microtransaction means. Well. Open your eyes, people! Unplayable garbage for home console like this, also money-hungry evil! My theory is the developers intentionally make the game half-hearted and lazily to the point have very high unplayable value. In order to play the game in more enjoyable state, you need to unlock cheat. So they (indirectly) force you to buy cheat code book or magazine. Also perhaps buy game genie. However there's also many game that nicely design whether arcade or home console game.
People like to complaint how evil and cruel is Ghosts n Goblins game but they seems not bat an eye on Amagon and the likes of it. It has no continue and Amagon is weakling that die with one hit from everything. Meanwhile the bosses and sub-bosses are huge damage sponge. Most of the time, i unload dozens of bullets into sub-bosses while they slowly walk toward me. Then i get killed because i don't have enough time to kill them and they nonchalantly walk on me. If i try to jump over them, they just simply walk or jump backward to bump into me. The strongman transformation item is really helpful but the drop rate is totally random from defeated enemies and most of the time they don't drop anything when died. If only there's fixed chest that guaranteed to drop power up, the game will be better. Not to mention, the game often pulling your leg with precise positional trap.
Long story short, Amagon is very bad game. I only play this game to encounter The Flatwoods Monster. There's so little what savestate can do. Even in Ghouls n Ghost i can do much with savestate. Think this game like Dangerous Dave but with much lame guy, precise positional trap, and some humor music to ease your pain a bit.
As for The Flatwoods Monster...golden! It was worth the effort.
My rating score: 10 / 10
5. Deae Tonosama Appare Ichiban (SNES)
This game also has concept of transforming into muscular big guy but in top down genre instead of 2D platformer. Think it like Pocky & Rocky. It also has unreliable dash/slide that doesn't give you invincibility, not even a bit. But it's much less aggravating than Amagon, for sure. Because this game seems obscured, i would like to make full review of this game if not for the huge language barrier. It's remains untranslated to this date. It's not simple case like text only in prologue and epilogue. There's so much texts here and there including in boss encounter cutscene, and level select map. I'm afraid i would miss many important if i reviewed this game. Nevertheless, i finished the game. The final boss is run of the mill grey alien. Not the Flaty Monster, they're just sub-boss. For the final level, mind you. The ending is the final boss shrink and the protag takes them to earth and later displayed in the picture on Neue Illustrierte magazine. The one where little alien held by 2 men in trench coat. The photo and the news is hoax, by the way. It's April Fool's trick.
The game consists of 3 worlds and can be finished within an hour and half or so. The first 2 worlds consist of 3-4 levels and a boss world level. Sometime, i can't choose a level for some reason. There's text explaining that but it's in Japanese so i can't read it. You choose between 2 characters: a Japanese lord and a westerner aristocrat. The former seems like comedian because he attacks with harisen (folding paper fan) and it's commonly used in comedy show. If you hold attack button then release, he throws 2 hand fans that fly around him while slowly travel away from him. The latter is ranged fighter because he throws roses. But because he's taller, he has bigger hit spot than the Japanese lord. I discover that they both have special move executed with back-forward-back and pressing attack button. Maybe it should be forward-back-forward. It takes time to get used to that special input. The first character will spins around with harisen while the second character will throws roses in usual 3-way with the side projectiles travel in diagonal. Each protag has favorite dish that when refill health double amount than their non favorite food. The first protag loves tempura. While the second protag loves that appears to be sponge cake.
Both of them also has assist bomb with element fire, water, air (wind), and thunder each with different direction where the enemies will be fly to. The first protag has ninja and kunoichi (with bunny ears) as the assist bomb. While the second protag has butler and maid as the assist bomb. Then there's the aforementioned transform that change the protag into muscular bomb that presumably their guardian spirit or ancestor but i can't say for certain because -again- the explanation is in Japanese. The muscular form has the same function for each protag, it allows you to conserve health bar and unleash powerful punch that emit explosions. You can only do transformation when the power percentage reaches 100%. While in muscular form, the power percentage will go down everytime you get hit or unleash the powerful punch. Naturally when it reaches zero, you will return to your normal weak self. The pickup items that you can get randomly from defeated enemies, are: the aforementioned food item that refill health bar, number with percentage which increase the transformation percentage to related number, and magic scroll which is ammunition for the assist bomb. Sadly, there's no extra life item. So you stuck with 3 lives. But luckily, you have unlimited continues.
On to the Flatwoods monster. As i said before, they're sub-boss on final level. They can unleash flames that travels along the ground with hadou ken gesture and strangely release their own eyeball for projectile against you. Very strange and comical. Other than that, they have best appearance.
My rating score: 9 / 10
6. Strikers 1945 (Arcade)
Speaking of arcade game that wants to suck your quarter with unfair manner. Here's Psikyo's vertical shooter that i reluctant to play. Maybe i'm being too mean here. I discover that the Japan version of this game is significantly fairer than World version with readable enemy's projectiles but later levels don't allow you to continue where you died last time and you have to redo the level from the start.
Here's the thing. Those pod on the center has 3 slots. First for Dogu clay statue. Second for the alien with 2 men wearing trench coat based on April Fool's photo that i mentioned before. And lastly for the Flatwoody themselves. I have to load state twice to get them to come out. Perhaps, i have to restart this level twice in normal way. But apparently load state do the trick.
On to the main analysis: This one looks too either robotic or statue-ish due to the green metallic color on their appearance. They also have facial features carved on their face. They even make frown expression when low on health or dead. So many wrong there! Also they open their skirt to reveal their cannons underneath it. Unacceptable! So i respond it with huge bomb. They deserves it!
My rating score: 2.5 / 10
It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's flying giant Flatwoods Monster. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD!
This one is another Psikyo's vertical shooter. But this one is more enjoyable and lovable by me because it's more simple than the usual unfair bullet spray vertical shooter. Although there's still impossible bullet pattern once in a while. Then there's capture mechanism. You can shoot claw to catch lesser enemies then you can use them either as your cannon fodder or nuke that create huge blast upon impact. I really recommend this game.
The Flatwoods monster is almost perfect. "Almost" because they don't wear usual robe made of (alien-y) fabric. Because it's made of solid metal plate. Nay. The entire body is solid plate because they're robot. A robot that houses armadillo aliens, apparently. Engineer_autodejectedtie02.wav
My rating score: 9.5 / 10
8. Ninja Baseball Batman (Arcade)
The last example come from Ninja Baseball Batman or also known as Yakyū Kakutō League Man in Japan version. It's sidescrolling brawler with baseball theme. Because there's one sport that both American and Japanese like: Baseball! The protagonist is parody of real baseball player. For example my main here: Straw. His name is based on Darryl Eugene Strawberry. I shouldn't talk much about this game because i most likely will make the full review of it. One thing that i can say is: the game is funtastic! (Fun + Fantastic)
I said that the game has baseball theme going on there. But not all enemies are related to Baseball. Like these mini Flatwoods monsters that i find in one of Casino in Las Vegas, for example. One of them cries as i hit them. I feel bad a bit. They're fairly adorable.
Then i encounter them inside an enemy factory in the middle of swamp of Florida. I realize that those enemies are Flatwoods Monster quite recently. Like a year or so. Even though i played this game like dozen times. The reason why my mind can't recognize them as Flaty monster impersonators because: 1) They're small and many 2) They're in funny color: pink or yellow. The yellow Flatwoods Monsters attack me by throwing their head. While the pink ones do practically nothing except float around like 5 y.o. toddler in department store that get separated from their parent. At least that's what i observed.
The last sighting is in credit roll where there's illustration of them become giant that terrorize a town under the moonlight. They're still adorable though. I say this last one is less good impersonation. Even the cute trait feels wrong. But y'know, what? They're still better than in Strikers 1945.
My rating score: 3 / 10
I should mention that there's lightgun shooter named "Gaia Attack 4" that i finished in real cabinet several years ago on my hometown. It's about shooting alien and in one of mission you have to save kitties from those invaders from outer space. Maybe there's Flatwoods Monster there, i don't remember.
I think that's all i can say about my research. Bye for now! o/
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