Evil Night Arcade

Overview

• Full Name: Evil Night
• Tech: M2
• Type: Shooting
• Developer: Konami
• Publisher: Konami
• Release Date: 1998
• Region: NA
• Notes:

Overview

Evil Night, also known as Hell Night in certain countries, is a horror-themed rail shooting game developed and published by Konami to arcades in 1998.

The story follows Henry Jones, Alicia Sevigny, and Joe Hamilton, three people who venture into a zombie and ghost-filled mansion to rescue their kidnapped friend Liv.

The game offers three-player cooperative play, with a shotgun and two pistols featuring charge-up bullets. There are also branching paths and multiple endings based on the player's performance.

Evil Night's design, presentation, and poor-quality voice acting have been compared to Sega's The House of the Dead rail shooter series. Like the other four Konami M2 arcade titles, Evil Night was never ported to consoles.

Plot

Three people — Henry Jones, Alicia Sevigny, and Joe Hamilton — search for their kidnapped friend Liv in an old mansion. They battle ghosts, zombies, giant snake, and a chainsaw-wielding butcher.

Depending on the routes taken, more backstory is implied. A journal reveals that a group of researchers or archeologists discovered an ancient ruin beneath the mansion; they sought discovering a certain room's purpose. Henry, Alicia, and Joe also find medieval paintings of Liv.

In a library, Alicia finds a mysterious black book. Discovering an underground passage to the catacombs, the group battles a ball and chain-wielding zombie and a giant lizard-like creature.

Henry, Alicia, and Joe reach an underground ruin, where a demonic creature threatens them. They later find Liv being held captive in the graveyard. The creature — a descendant of Liv — plans to use her in order to achieve immortality. He transforms into a flying horned beast. After her friends defeat him, Liv uses the book Alicia found to destroy him with a spell.

Endings

Depending on the player's performance and how many items they have collected, the ending will differ. There are currently three known endings:

• Normal: Henry, Joe, and Alicia reunite with Liv, who, while leaving, looks over her shoulder as the cemetery gate closes. The camera cuts to the foot of the previously-defeated final boss stepping into the ground, implying that he survived.
• Good: While reuniting with her friends, Liv accidentally drops a spell book, which sets the mansion ablaze. Before the credits roll, Liv narrates: "After that day, we never heard that voice again." This ending is achieved by collecting the third hidden key.
• Bad: As they reunite with Liv, the final boss transforms the protagonists into zombies. Liv, who appears to be in a demonic trance, returns to the slab in the cemetery where she was restrained.

Gameplay

Evil Night's gameplay is similar to The House of the Dead. Players battle approaching enemies with light guns, with the camera traveling a predefined path. If damaged, a player loses one life; when all of their lives are gone, the game is over. Lives can be restored by collecting first aid kits.

The biggest difference is that Evil Night supports up to three players at once. Players 1 and 3 use handguns, which hold six bullets and must be reloaded by shooting outside the screen. Furthermore, pointing the gun's muzzle up charges a strong "penetration bullet" that can kill multiple enemies in one shot. Player 2 wields a pump-action shotgun, which boasts four high-damaging bullets and widespread range.

Evil Night is divided into five levels, called chapters. The first four levels are non-linear, with branching paths taken based on the player's decisions. At the start of Chapter 1, one of three paths may be selected. Other paths are influenced by shooting locked doors or gates are shot, or collecting hidden silver, bronze, and gold keys.

In addition to the keys, there are two collectable books that add to the story. Evil Night has multiple endings which are based on the player's performance and the items they've collected.

Chapters

1. Unforgettable Night

Plot

Three cops enter the Mansion of Death to find their missing friend Liv. They must then travel the house to look for clues of their friend's disappearance and fight the terrors that lurk this accursed place.

Paths

• Course A
• Course B
• Course C

Overview

Enemies

• Male Zombie
• Female Zombie
• Chainsaw Zombie
• Hedge Clipper Zombie
• Limbless Zombie
• Torso Zombie (Course C only)
• Ghost
• Giant Eye (Course A only)

Bosses

• Giant Snake
• Butcher

Media

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  Evil Night Arcade

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  Evil Night Arcade

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  Evil Night Arcade

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  Evil Night Arcade