Play 8 Eye's Online

8 Eyes came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, developed by Thinking Rabbit. It was part of that wave of games that tried to capture the exploratory spirit of titles like Castlevania, but it carved out its own strange little niche. You don't hear about it too often, but it has a very specific, almost methodical feel that separates it from the more action-heavy platformers of the era.

You control Orin the knight and his falcon Cutrus, switching between them on the fly to solve environmental puzzles and defeat enemies. The main goal is to collect eight crystals from eight castles, each with its own theme and boss. The core mechanics involve navigating screen-by-screen dungeons, using your sword and the falcon's pecking attack in combat, and figuring out how their different abilities complement each other to progress. The pacing is deliberate, almost slow, and the difficulty is unforgiving, demanding careful planning with every jump and enemy encounter. It feels like a tense, cooperative puzzle where one wrong move can send you back to the start of a long stage.