Frequently Asked Questions
What is CarnEvil?
CarnEvil is a horror-themed rail shooter arcade game made by Midway Games Inc. and released in October 1998. It utilized a light gun that could be pumped to reload rather than needing to be shot off-screen.
Was it ever ported to a home console?
Sadly no. There is a rumor that there were plans to bring it to PC and PS2 back in the day, but whether that is true or not it never happened.
Is player 1 named Jacob and player 2 named Lisa?
No, the Main Character is never named in any official material. No, not even in the manual, there he is only referred to as ‘the ultimate hero’. You can download the manual here.
As for the second player, there likely is no second player. When playing as player 2 solo, we still see the Main Character’s red sleeve in the ending sequence, and enemies still call him "boy" and "him". So in the context of the game, 2-player mode could have the Main Character dual wielding. Either that or Player 2 is the other guy in the Ghost Tour group with the green hat and brown jacket, but who knows.
As for the second player, there likely is no second player. When playing as player 2 solo, we still see the Main Character’s red sleeve in the ending sequence, and enemies still call him "boy" and "him". So in the context of the game, 2-player mode could have the Main Character dual wielding. Either that or Player 2 is the other guy in the Ghost Tour group with the green hat and brown jacket, but who knows.
Who is that girl that keeps popping up?
That's Betty, a girl who chose to tag along with her friends and the player on Spooky Sam's Ghost Tour and got trapped in CarnEvil.
Betty shows up seventeen times in the game and you have to avoid shooting her. Sometimes you'll have to free her from the clutches of an enemy. Shooting her will take away some of your health bar, so watch out. You don't get rewarded for keeping her alive though. How much health you lose depends on what difficulty 'player starting health' is on. You can see all the Betty locations in our Stages guide. |
Why are there two Freak Show bosses?
The default boss of the Freak Show is Junior, a giant baby brought to life with electricity. As some people might be offended by killing a giant baby enemy, an optional boss, Deaddy the teddy bear, can replace him.
You can switch to Deaddy either through dip switches, or the Additional Adjustments menu.
You can switch to Deaddy either through dip switches, or the Additional Adjustments menu.
What about the official webiste?
CarnEvil did have an official website back when the game was released, as advertised during the game's attract mode. It contained a more detailed back story for the game, character bios and a variety of downloads, music, screenshots and concept art.
The website lasted for three years until it was shut down. Archived pages from then can still be accessed using the Wayback Machine though sadly many of the images are now broken. |
What was the 'Sneak Preview'?
Not much is known about the Sneak Preview. It is likely that it took place at some sort of event where upcoming arcade games were being presented and that the development team went there to promote it. There is evidence in the game’s files that the Big Top was not accessible in the Sneak Preview.
More images from the Sneak Preview can be found in the Gallery. |
Were there ever any cut enemies?
It is likely that some enemies were planned but cut during production as the game's flyer, website and manual all boast that there are 40 different enemies, even though that is not true. Several enemies appear on banners in the game or had their names trademarked, and yet cannot be encountered. However, some of these were simply reworked into existing enemies, such as The Human Fly being renamed Flem the Fly.
Can I play CarnEvil on my computer?
Yes you can, using arcade emulation software called MAME. We won't tell you where to find MAME or the CarnEvil rom files, but we do provide instructions on how to get set up in our Getting Started guide.
This game is too violent, can I turn off the gore?
Not sure why you'd want to, but yes., the level of gore has four settings: 'full gore', 'red blood', 'green blood' and 'none'. These can be selected in the adjustments section of the Diagnostics Menu.