''Dr. Franken'' is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

released in 1992 for the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

and in 1993 for the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

Elite Systems Elite Systems is a British video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as Richard Wilcox Software. It is known for producing home computer conversions of popular arcade games. Elite also published compilations of games on the Hit-Pak ...

. It was titled ''The Adventures of Dr. Franken'' for the SNES in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The game features Franky, a

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

on a mission to collect the scattered body parts of his girlfriend, Bitsy. A

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

version was planned but never released. Versions for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

and

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990 in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

reached prototype stage, but were also not released. A Game Boy sequel, ''Dr. Franken II'', was published in 1993.

Gameplay

The game consists of seven floors (20 stages in various places of the world in the SNES version) where various items and parts of Bitsy (Franky's girlfriend) are hidden. Keys and special items are needed to access additional areas to find more body parts and equipment required to resurrect Bitsy. The Game Boy release of the game uses a password-based saving system to save the player's progress.

Music

The Game Boy and unreleased NES versions of the game use two classical music pieces throughout. The title screen music is

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

's Fugue No. 2 In C Minor BWV 847 (The Well Tempered Clavier in C), and the gameplay music is Beethoven's

Moonlight Sonata The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, marked ''Quasi una fantasia'', Op. 27, No. 2, is a piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven, completed in 1801 and dedicated in 1802 to his pupil Countess Julie "Giulietta" Guicciardi. Although known throu ...

. The Game Boy and NES versions' music was arranged by Mark Cooksey. He composed the music in C-Lab Notator for the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

Reception

Legacy

Franky also appeared in the 1993 Game Boy puzzle game ''Franky, Joe & Dirk: On the Tiles'', along with Joe from '' Joe & Mac'' and Dirk the Daring from ''

Dragon's Lair ''Dragon's Lair'' is a video game franchise created by Rick Dyer. The series is notable for its film-quality animation by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, and complex decades-long history of being ported to many platforms. It has also been adapte ...

''. ''Dr. Franken II'' is a sequel to the original and was released for the Game Boy in 1997. It was developed by MotiveTime and published by

Jaleco was a corporate brand name that was used by two previously connected video game developers and publishers based in Japan. The original Jaleco company was founded in 1974 as Japan Leisure Company, founded by Yoshiaki Kanazawa, before being renamed ...

. It is a platform game in which the lead character, Franky, must escape the castle in which he is trapped in order to search for pieces of a gold tablet which will help him to stave off debt.

References

External links

* * 1992 video games Cancelled Game Gear games Cancelled Nintendo Entertainment System games Cancelled Sega Genesis games DTMC games Elite Systems games Game Boy games Kemco games Metroidvania games MotiveTime games Platformers Single-player video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games based on Frankenstein Video games developed in the United Kingdom {{platform-videogame-stub