Rusty

Overview

Rusty is a Castlevania clone for the PC-9800, involving a vampire hunter named Rusty Sprinkle as she helps a small European village escape the oppression of a local vampire lord, Count Monte Carlo. The game supports the C-bus soundboard PC-9801-86 aka the "86 sound generator", and has a memorable soundtrack.

CHARACTERS

Rusty Sprinkle: A Vampire Hunter who happens upon an unnamed, distressed European village that is being victimized in an effort to resurrect the vampire count Monte Carlo, who has been dead for 300 years. She is capable of dashing and can whip straight up; Similar to Castlevania 4, she is also capable of grabbing on to grapple points with her whip and swinging.

Bloody Mary: Count Monte Carlo's main henchwoman and a vampiress. She is attempting to revive the count after 300 years.

Monte Carlo: The source of all the evils plaguing the village, he is an extremely powerful and ancient vampire who requires the blood of young women to be revived. He is the master of Bloodsoon Castle.

Brian Gateau: A mysterious masked hunter who has been kidnapping girls by order of Bloody Mary. He considers Rusty a rival in terms of skill, and apparently used to be a hunter himself before turning evil for unexplained reasons. He helps Rusty after she defeats him for the final time.

Santos: The village elder. He is the person who sent for Rusty, and who requests that she save the village.

Ryoko: A girl from the village who is apparently vital for Monte Carlo's revival.

ITEMS

Item Carriers: Statues in the form of angels. Smash them and see what's inside!

Yellow sphere: Increases Rusty's mind power (I.E., MP) by one point.

Green sphere: Increases Rusty's mind power by 10 points.

Red sphere: Dropped by bosses. Collect these to end the stage.

Dollar bag: 1000 point bonus.

Heart: Restores Rusty's life.

Clock: Adds 100 to the timer.

1up: An extra life.

Fish: The fish item resets your timer to 500.

Snail: The snail rewards you 50 mind points.

Duckling: 50,000 points!

Keys: There are four types: Heart, club, spade, and diamond. They unlock the corresponding doors.

SPECIAL WEAPONS

Wing: Rusty summons an owl that attacks in unison with her.

Shield: temporarily renders Rusty invincible while active.

Time Slow: Slows time while active.

Bomber: Several projectiles are expelled from Rusty in a circular pattern.

STAGES

Stage 1: Rusty begins the game in the village at night. The streets are overrun with monsters that serve Monte Carlo, including cat women, werewolf soldiers, and giant fleas. The stage boss is a combination of dragon and woman named Thunderclap. Stage Music: Queen in the Dark Night. The regular boss theme is first used here, titled "I'll Destroy your Mind". It is used for the majority of the game's bosses.

Stage 2: Stage 2 is a forest, graveyard, AND mausoleum all rolled in to one. Ghosts, skeletons and zombies roam this area. The boss is necromancer named Angel Kiss. Rusty encounters Gateau here for the first time, and he challenges her to meet him in the cathedral. Stage Music: Silent Cemetery

Stage 3: Rusty enters a cathedral on her way to the castle, as Brian Gateau has challenged her to a fight here. Skeletal monks, soldiers, gargoyles and zombies abound. The boss is a gargoyle named "Bungee Demon". Stage Music: Mysterious Chapel

Stage 4: The cathedral's campanile. Rusty must scale the tower, avoiding pendulum and spike traps along the way. Of course, the tower is also inhabited by ghosts, man eating plants, and other nasties! Rusty fights Brian Gateau for the first time here. But wait, the floor collapses, and... Stage Music: Dead End

Brian has a special boss theme, titled "Rhythm of Dark".

Stage 5: Rusty finds herself in a cave. Quite naturally it's full of monsters, including bizarre trilobite-like creatures and leeches (and leech women!)

After avoiding numerous falling boulders and flame-spitting statuary, Rusty takes a ride in a minecart through a flaming tunnel, which results in a high-speed battle with the fierce spider-woman "Cablegram Stinger". Stage music: "Earth Hole" for the caves, "Hell's Strike" for the fiery tunnels.

Stage 6: The cave leads to a water-filled ancient temple. New enemies such as skeletal fish, snake-men, and female water spirits are encountered here. The boss is a gigantic, erratically flying snake woman named Screw Driver. Stage Music: Water Gate

Stage 7: Rusty finally arrives at the castle proper. The castle gardens are swarming with monsters, including man-eating plants, strange eyeball creatures, and chonchons, the classic flying heads of Mapuche myth. The boss is a giant plant with a series of blossoms named Morning Glory. Stage Music: Red Sunset

Stage 8: Rusty enters the castle to find herself in a clock tower. The auto-scrolling nature of the stage renders the bottom of the screen a deadly bottomless pit! Of course, no self-respecting vampire wouldn't fill the tower with traps and monsters, as well. The boss of the stage is an un-named, gashadokuro-like skeleton. Stage Music: Tower of Destiny

Stage 9: The castle proper, at last! Naturally, this are is crammed with monsters, tricky jumps, and plenty of spikes. Rusty encounters Gateau for the last time here, and mortally wounds him. He presents her with the keys to the inner chambers upon defeat. Stage Music: Stone Washer

Stage 10: At last, Rusty prepares to face Mary and the Count. First Rusty fights Mary, and upon her defeat goes up against Monte Carlo himself. He has two forms, the second of which is a typical large blue demon, rather like another more well-known Count. Upon defeat, Rusty returns Ryoko and all the other rescued girls to the village and wanders off to further adventure. Stage Music: Castle. Monte Carlo, as the final boss, has a unique boss theme creatively named "Final Battle".