Demon's Crest Of the many incredible platformers for the SNES, Demon's Crest remains one of the most underrated an overlooked (even if more and more retrospectives have been kind to it, it deserves to be considered alongside the Mega Man X, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World franchises). The third installment in the Gargoyle's Quest series that began on the Game Boy, Demon's Crest is also—unfortunately—the final game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins spin-off trilogy that follows Firebrand, that frustratingly hard-to-hit enemy from the main series. While game mechanics and a balance between challenge and reward typically bolster a platformer like this into ranks of the elite, Demon's Crest is so memorable for its tone and atmosphere. Like Super Castlevania IV and Super Metroid, Demon's Crest is a moody piece with a dark color palette that is as immersive as many of the great RPGs for the console without the benefit of a carefully-constructed story. And although it is less an RPG-hybrid that the original Gargoyle's Quest, its free-roam overworld and Crest scheme, which allows you to gain and use different abilities to complete the platforming challenges, separate the game from more streamlined platformers, such as the aforementioned Donkey Kong Country games. A relatively short game to complete, Demon's Crest remains immensely replayable because of its ability to give the gamer such an engrossing experience, helped by yet another incredible OST (this is very much a common thread of the SNES greats). At a time when it seemed liked Capcom could do no wrong, Demon's Crest is an example of true creativity, crafting a whole world around a throwaway enemy from a completely different series and delivering the third part of one of the most underrated series of all time.
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