It’s Spooky Season, SHIRO! community! To celebrate, our October Community Challenge will be a monster mash of an action puzzler! Success in this slippery stacker will require participants to be both fast and cerebral. The SHIRO! community is going to have to use their brains to combo their way to victory… before the zombies get them. Get ready for the Monster Slider challenge!
Video: Production by Double Dime (aka Slow Coin), music by Random
Participants will take possession of Nina as she battles a myriad of monsters on her way to rescue her sister, Claudia, from the devilish Dracula. Two Story Mode events, “Marionette” and “Evil Bat,” will shamble all month long. The former is a competition for the highest score while the later rewards the first brave soul to get a one credit clear (1CC) — video evidence, beginning at the game’s options screen, is mandatory for this event. Both of these creepy challenges will take place on Story Mode “Average” with the CPU set on default difficulty.
For those looking for a real scare, the “Nightmare” event begins Oct. 16 and continues until the end of the month. This petrifying prize will go to any and all who manage to roll credits in Story Mode’s “Master” difficulty with CPU set to the hardest difficulty in the setting. Video evidence is mandatory for this evil event.
This Community Challenge is anything but Single-Minded… or is it? Running in parallel to the Story Mode challenges are two monthlong events played in Monster Slider’s Single-Minded Mode. Don’t flinch, as the “Stone Curse” challenge wants to see your highest score. Those quick on their feet might want to try their luck in the “Skeleton Dance” challenge, where the highest “Max Chain” wins — NOTE that “Max Chain” is not displayed on the results screen and will require a screenshot of a paused match. Single-Minded settings must be set to the highest difficulty with no bonus block selected.
Finally, the most proficient puzzlers will be praised in the coveted “Holy Prayer” category, rewarding the top combined scorers in the Story and Single-Minded events. The top three finishers best rejoice, as each will be eligible for a prize.
An English translation patch for Monster Slider was clawed together specifically for this October’s challenge — more on how the patch was made here. For participants who would prefer to play on the Japanese retail release, there is no need to howl, as that will be fine as well.
Only those in possession of real Saturn consoles are eligible for this Community Challenge. Sorry, no emulation (software or FPGA). Naturally, to make sure that everyone is playing on equally (un)even footing, no bewitched programs — no cheats, and no Action Replay codes — will be permitted.
Note that Monster Slider is as forgetful as a gold-fishman, resetting high scores and difficulty settings after each console shutdown. Make sure to immortalize your scores with the mandatory photo or video evidence before they go to the afterlife. Visual evidence must accompany all entries, in addition to the official submission form. Photos and videos can be posted on the SHIRO! Community Challenge Discord channel, the SHIRO! forum thread or the SHIRO! Facebook group.
We also ask that participants fill out a brief Google Form here, which helps us generate high score tables to keep track of who is winning each category.
SaturnDave has conjured up prize designs (shown above) to curse the winners of the various SHIRO! Monster Slider Community Challenge categories. Sorry, no ectoplasm this year. Prize magnets made by Xiden will be awarded to all winners. Lastly, an extra haunted hat will go to the first-place winner of the “Holy Prayer” event.
RULES:
- No emulation.
- No Action Replay or PseudoSaturn cheats. No cheating.
- English-patched version is optional.
- Photographic evidence is mandatory.
- NOTE: High scores and difficulty settings reset on console shutdown.
- Video submissions MUST begin at the options screen.
- To submit your score, please post photo on the SHIRO! Community Challenge Discord channel, the SHIRO! forum thread or the SHIRO! Facebook group and complete the Submission Form.
- The challenge organizers reserve the right to request video evidence.
CONTEST CATEGORIES:
Story Mode
- Marionette — Highest score on “Average” (CPU on default difficulty).
- Evil Bat — First to 1CC Story Mode on “Average” (CPU on default difficulty, video evidence required)
- Nightmare (starts Oct. 16) — Roll credits in Story Mode “Master” difficulty (CPU on hardest difficulty, video evidence required).
Single-Minded Mode
- Stone Curse — Highest score (highest difficulty, no bonus block).
- Skeleton Dance — Highest “Max Chain” (highest difficulty, no bonus block).
Grand Prize
- Holy Prayer — Top 3 best combined scores in Story and Single-Minded modes.
Check SHIRO!’s coverage of how the Monster Slider English translation patch came to be here!
Also, if you crave more Saturn spookiness, Peter Malek has you covered in this frightful Halloween Round-up!
Discover more from SEGA SATURN, SHIRO!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Be the first to comment