8 Eyes

8 Eye's [sic] can be best described as "a blatant Castlevania ripoff". Put into the role of a brave falconer, you must recover the legendary jewels that are the 8 Eyes from the warring dukes, and restore them to the Altar of Peace.

There's also something about nuclear war in there somewhere.

Sound Test#

The Japanese version contains a sound test which was removed from the American version. Simply pause the game, and you can use Controller 2 to scroll through the tracks with Left / Right and play a track with A.

Interestingly, the reason why this sound test is available so easily is by an accidental "bug": The internal flag enabling this sound test somehow has the same RAM address as some system variable which is not zero at that particular moment of the pause. The cheat was actually meant to be triggered by pausing the game with A + B held on both controllers.

Regional Differences#

Title Screen#

Japan	US

Seta and Thinking Rabbit's logos were removed, along with "PUSH START". Taxan's name was added along with some copyright dates, a TM, and "Licensed by Nintendo of America Inc." The topmost part of the E was cut off by the Taxan header.

Startup#

Japan	US

The background was changed from black to teal, and the text is no longer in all-caps.

Password#

Japan	US

Same changes as above. The Japanese version only has the letters A-P, while the US version has the entire alphabet. This opens up some extra quests, as detailed in the next section.

2nd & 3rd Quests#

US

The US version has two extra quests: "Special stage" and "Final stage". Special stage is automatically begun upon completion of the main game, and can also be accessed via the password TAXANTAXAN. Final stage is a hidden 3rd quest that begins by pressing Reset after completing the Special stage and viewing the credits, and can also be accessed via the password FINALSTAGE. These are mostly the same as the main game, only enemies now move faster and the clue scrolls are removed (the solution to the jewel puzzle remains unchanged).

Having to complete a game multiple times to achieve the best ending is a Taxan tradition which started with their localization of Mystery Quest, though unlike that game you at least have passwords to ease the fatigue.

Stage Order#

8 Eyes has an unusual system wherein each time you defeat a boss, you receive a new sword that replaces your old one. The new sword isn't necessarily stronger against enemies, but deals more damage against the boss who carries the jewel that matches its color. Ergo, collecting the Red Sword deals more damage against the boss that carries the Red Jewel (in this case, Egypt's boss).

For some odd reason, the order in which you receive the swords was changed, with the White Sword being acquired much later. Also note that the Japanese order is the same one in which you re-fight the bosses in the House of Ruth (sans Germany).

Clues & Sword#

Japan	US

The clues were given some extra space to account for the translation. The Japanese version has question marks for scrolls not yet collected, whereas the US version is simply left blank.

A few clues were changed between versions, although the solution is the same.

Status Bar#

Japan	US

The hero is named Bond in Japan and Orin in the US. The health/item extensions are displayed in color where they were simply left blank in the Japanese version, they turn white once the extension is collected. "8 Eye's" was replaced with a scoring system that was not otherwise present. The "oss" in "Boss" was slightly edited and was moved closer to its health bar, and the bar's leftmost unit was redrawn to have an end-cap.

Clue Scrolls#

Japan	US

The Japanese version has a nifty graphic for when you collect a scroll. Sadly, this was removed to allow more room for the English text.

New Sword & Password#

Japan	US

PASSWORD and PUSH START are no longer capitalized, along with typical translation.

Game Over#

Japan	US

The Japanese Game Over screen is black and the text scrolls upwards from the bottom of the screen. The US Game Over screen is teal and includes a SCORE and HI-SCORE counter. "Push start key" is no longer in all-caps.

Ending#

'...But does it make sense?' The translations on this page need to be proofread. If you are fluent enough in this language, please make any corrections necessary!

While the original game has only one ending, the US version has three! Note that the third ending has a few typos, notably "motal" instead of "mortal" and improper capitalization.

かくしとびら　の　おくには、ルースたちが、
あちこちから　うばってきた、ざいほうと　ともに、
にぶい　いろに　ひかる、ぶきみな　にんぎょうが、
かざられていた。ところどころ　に　のこる

かがやきで、もとは、きんいろだったことがわかる。
いくども　かさねられた、ざんぎゃくな　ぎしき　に
よって、にんげんの　ちをそそがれ　つづけた　せい
で、　あかがね　いろとも、なまり　いろ　ともつかぬ

ぶきみな　いろに、そめあげられたのだ。
この、きみょうな　にんぎょうこそ、その　むかし、
テンプルきじたん　に　よって、すうはい　されて
いたと　される、でんせつ　の　バフォメット　ぞう

なのである。イスラムきょう　と　キリストきょうの
りょうほうの　やみ　の　せかい　を　つかさどる、
バフォメットーー　このぞう　を　めざめ　させた
ものは、せかい　を　しはいできると　いわれている

ルースの　どりょくにも　かかわらず、バフォメット
の　まぶた　は　とじたままだ。
そのことを　かくにんした　ボンドは、ぞうを　もち
かえろうと、うでをのばした。

そのとき、　バフォメットの　あたまに　きざまれた、
じゅうじかの　もようが、いっしゅん、かぎじゅうじ
に　へんか　したことに、また、その　しゅんかん、
とじていた　はずの　まぶたが、うすく　ひらき、

よこしまな　ひかりを　やどした　ことに、ボンドは
まったく、きづかなかったーー 

Beyond the hidden door lies a spot
decorated in treasures stolen by Ruth
and his followers, along with a creepy
statue giving off a dull colored shine.

You can tell the statue was originally
golden due to the bits that shine.
The statue had been used in countless
cruel and atrocious ceremonies, and
the culmination of human blood soaking
into it turned it into this creepy color
that isn't quite red (copper) or gray (lead).

This curious figure is none other than the
legendary Baphomet statue said to have been
worshiped by the Knights Templar in the past.

It's said that the one who awakens this statue
of Baphomet - the ruler of the netherworld
for both Islam and Christianity - can rule over the world.

Baphomet's eyes remained closed despite Ruth's 
efforts. After Bond verified that, he extended 
his arm in a bid to take the statue home.

Bond did not notice that just then, the cross
that was etched into Baphomet's forehead 
changed into a swastika for a brief moment, 
at which point the eyelids faintly opened, 
and it harbored a wicked light.

CONGRATULATIONS ORIN!!

In fighting your way
through the eight
Perilous castles, you
have proved that your
swordsmanship and
falconry talents are
great. In solving the
riddle of the eight
jewels, you have proved
your skill as a logician.
These were great tests
of skill, and only the
strongest of warriors
and the wisest of
scholars could have
completed this quest.
I realize that there
is only one thing more
gratifying than coming
to the end of a great
game, that is realizing
the challenge has just
begun. Go now Orin,
another quest awaits.
In this second adventure,
your skills will be
tested as never before.
If you are truly skilled,
you may be able to
finish some of it!
     GOOD LUCK  !
Here is the password to
the most challenging
adventure of your life !
      PASSWORD
     TAXANTAXAN

   push start key

Well, well. You managed
to beat the second
challenge of 8-Eyes.
Unbelievable!
Your video game talents
are among the best the
world has to offer.
You confronted the
challenge I set for you,
and triumphed undisputed.
You have beaten one of
the hardest games
you will ever play,
or have you??

Credits#

Japan	US

Once again, the black background was changed to teal and the text is no longer in all-caps. Hiroto Nakamura's name was corrected.