This is The Rumor Mill, where all of the known Splatterhouse rumors are listed, and if possible, proven/disproven. I will back these up with sources, providing such sources exist.
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Rumor: Splatterhouse was supposed to be a Friday the 13th game, but Namco couldn't acquire the rights.
Status: Unproven.
Rumor: Ken Lobb created Splatterhouse.
Status: False. Lobb worked at Namco of America during the release of Splatterhouse 2 and 3, and did some work on both games during localization, but had nothing to do with the creation of the series.
Rumor: The last boss of Splatterhouse is named Captain Mozzarella.
Status: False. Its real last name is Hell Chaos. The name "Captain Mozzarella" originates from an old fan-rip of the OST, in which the the ripper was unaware of the actual track names or creature names.
Rumor: The arcade Splatterhouse was never released outside Japan.
Status: False. Atari distributed Splatterhouse in the USA, but in very low numbers (only 100 PCBs were manufactured, as shown here).
Rumor: Splatterhouse was banned from arcades in the USA.
Status: Unproven, but there has never been any concrete evidence to back that up.
Rumor: The arcade Splatterhouse is a standalone cabinet.
Status: False. It was a conversion kit.
Rumor: The PC Engine Splatterhouse is completely uncensored.
Status: False. The PC Engine port had many things from the arcade game removed, including the cleaver in stage one. There were a couple of things changed when the PC Engine port was localized for the Turbografx-16 release (Evil Cross was changed into a blue monster head and the wooden cross marking Hell Chaos' resting place was changed to a generic tombstone), but nothing else was changed. The blood is mainly green in both versions.
Rumor: There was a Splatterhouse 2 arcade game.
Status: False. Splatterhouse 2 was a console-only sequel.
Rumor: Rick was going to wear a red Mask, similar to the Mask in the Turbografx-16 localization, in Splatterhouse 2.
Status: True. Early prototype pictures have confirmed this, as shown here.
Rumor: There was going to be a Splatterhouse game released for the Sega CD.
Status: Unproven. There was a mention of a Mega CD Splatterhouse game in development in at least one of the magazines in circulation in 1992 (this one may have been in Die Hard GameFAN), shown here, but no one knows if this is just a rumor they picked up on, or if Namco was actually having serious discussions about a Mega CD Splatterhouse 3 before switching gears and developing Splatterhouse 3 on cartridge.
Rumor: Besides the original trilogy, Splatterhouse (2010) was also going to include Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti as an unlockable.
Status: False. Dan Tovar confirmed that in 2010, at the New England Hardcore & Metal Fest XII. He stated that the game "didn't fit the tone" of what the team was going for. However, there are references to Wanpaku Graffiti scattered throughout Splatterhouse (2010).
Rumor: There was a ton of content cut from Splatterhouse (2010).
Status: True. Due to the changeover from BottleRocket to Namco Bandai, and the subsequent abbreviated development time to get the game ready for its 2010 release, lots of things were cut. Several items of interest were preserved here, and many of these cuts have been thoroughly documented at TCRF.net. Here's an example:
The Lost Tale of Captain Francisco Miguel Cortés
"I tell this story to myself, for no man will ever hear it."
"I once was Francisco Miguel Cortés, Captain of the treasure galleon Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion. She lays broken on the ocean bed now, weighed down by heathen gold as heavy as our sins. I envy those that drowned, for those of us swept up on these bleak shores have paid a heavier toll."
"The survivors, and I among them, were hunted tirelessly, and with grim delight by the slimy man-things that dwell here. Those that evaded capture were slowly changed; corrupted. They are gone now, but I am not alone; never alone."
"I sought refuge in this temple; the only place those ghouls would dare not trespass. At its center stood a golden Sarcophagus oh! So beautiful I swear I could see the faces of angels beneath its surface. Inside that casket: a mask of bone the sight of which did chill my blood. The creatures were greatly afraid of this thing. And in their fear I saw hope. I would swear that mask called to me, offering a chance for escape, and for salvation. 'If you trust me,' it whispered, 'if you put me on...' And so I did..."
"A transformation, a face and a body that were not my own. A confusion of images, a hunger - and so much blood. I was lost. Such power; impossible to describe..."
"...but not enough. For something else came; all horns and fury, immeasurably vast, awful. The Lord Thule..."
"I was captured, condemned and imprisoned. The golden casket I had coveted would be mine now; now and forever... I crave a death so long in coming; but this cursed mask torments me still. In time they shall learn what I have learned..."
"...the flesh is a dungeon for the soul."
To quote what's written on TCRF, "Captain Cortés [...] would have served as the narrator for the removed island levels, and while the levels were cut the entirety of his dialogue was recorded. His corpse can actually be seen briefly in the game, in the coffin holding the Terror Mask after Rick knocks it open before it crumbles to dust."
Rumor: Splatterhouse (2010) was going to have a final DLC level released, titled "My Bloody Valentine."
Status: True. However, for reasons unknown, it never happened.
Rumor: Splatterhouse (2010) was going to be re-released for the PlayStation 4/Xbox One.
Status: False. This rumor dates from 2018, and obviously never happened.
Rumor: A sequel to Splatterhouse (2010), was in the works, titled Splatterhouse II: Spirit Underworld, and was slated to be released in 2017/2018. Also, it was going to be published by Dimps, for some reason.
Status: The falsest false thing to ever exist. It was not coming out in 2017, 2018, or any other time, no matter what year "fandom users" or "Registratech" changed the date to, or added bullshit details for. Namco Bandai did not, and continues to have, no new Splatterhouse titles in development (until a source is given, it's just someone's half-cooked dream idea), and they have made no official announcement regarding any future Splatterhouse game. Dimps has not and continues to have no involvement with the Splatterhouse series.
Heard any more rumors about Splatterhouse? Send them to West Mansion's submissions email address.
