Found 0 item(s) for sale
- No items currently for sale.
In the mid-1990s, the Super Famicom served as a vibrant canvas for ambitious licensed titles, and few were as visually striking as Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin. Released in 1994, this fighting game was designed to capture the raw, heavy metal-inspired energy of Kazushi Hagiwara’s iconic manga series. Also known by its full title Bastard!!: Ankoku no Hakai-shin or colloquially as BASTARD!! 暗黒の破壊神, the game sought to translate the chaotic magic and brutal combat of its source material into a competitive fighting experience. For fans of dark fantasy, it represented a bold attempt to push the 16-bit hardware to its limits, blending high-stakes wizardry with the technical innovation typical of Japanese developers during the era.
The narrative of Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin follows the legendary and ego-driven wizard Dark Schneider, who is reawakened from a magical seal to defend the Kingdom of Metallica. The world is a gritty, dark fantasy landscape that wears its heavy metal influences on its sleeve; names like Anthrax, Megadeth, and Judas Priest are not just musical references but the names of powerful entities, kingdoms, and characters.
Dark Schneider, once a villainous conqueror himself, is tasked with facing off against his former generals, the Four Lords of Havoc. These powerful antagonists seek to break the seals of the ancient God of Destruction, Anthrasax, to reshape the world. This high-octane plot, often referred to in English-speaking circles as Bastard!!: The Dark God of Destruction, provides the perfect backdrop for a series of supernatural duels that escalate in power, reflecting the over-the-top scale of the original anime and manga.
Unlike many standard fighting games of the early 90s that strictly followed the Street Fighter II 2D-plane formula, Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakaishin experimented with perspective and movement. The game utilizes a pseudo-3D perspective, often employing split-screen or scaling effects to simulate depth and distance between the combatants. This approach was quite revolutionary for the Super Famicom hardware, providing a sense of scale that matched the characters' god-like powers.
Players take control of various characters from the series, including Dark Schneider, Gara, and Arshes Nei, each possessing a repertoire of devastating spells and physical strikes. The core mechanics focus on managing health and spirit bars, as powerful spells require significant energy to cast. Combat is as much about positioning as it is about combos; players must time their large-scale incantations—like the "Venom" or "Halloween" spells—while navigating a battlefield that allows for flight and rapid movement. The result is a fighter that feels distinct from its contemporaries, prioritizing the cinematic weight of magical warfare over simple frame data.
This game was released exclusively on the Super Famicom in Japan, taking advantage of the console's specialized hardware to deliver its unique visual style.
While it never saw an official Western release during the 16-bit era, the legacy of Bastard!!: The Dark God of Destruction persists through a dedicated cult following. It remains a fascinating example of how developers attempted to bypass the limitations of the Super Famicom to accommodate the visual flair of high-fantasy anime. Today, the game is remembered as one of the more unique licensed fighters on the system, lauded for its atmospheric music and faithful recreation of Hagiwara’s aesthetic. Its influence can be seen in later anime-to-game adaptations that prioritize grand spectacles and character-specific "super moves" over traditional grounded combat.