The Cure

Winning entry in the MSXdev'05 coding competition, The Cure is an arcade jump&run heavily influenced by Konami's classic Vampire Killer.

The hero, who does look a bit like The Cure's Robert Smith dressed in Mega Man's clothes, starts out in a demonic landscape on his quest to rid the land of the most evil One and his minions. After traversing the cursed landscape, you enter a castle, which will be directly recognisable to anyone who has played Castlevania.

Equipped only with a whip, the hero must choose his battles. However, strewn across the levels are keys which will open chests containing bonuses which will render (short-term) invincibility, lengthen your whip or grant you a subweapon, such as a throwing dagger or an hourglass to freeze time momentarily. Subweapons consume hearts, which can be found not only in chests, but by destroying monsters or whipping down candles from the castle's walls.

The Cure features a soundtrack with several pieces throughout, swap-screen "scrolling" and both hardware and plotted sprites.