According to MediEvil creator Chris Sorrell, he described MediEvil as a fusion of Capcom's Ghost n Goblins and Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. It had the working title 'Dead Man Dead' before being called MediEvil.

"The first design proposal for the game had the working title ‘Dead Man Dan’ and described a game that was a fusion of Capcom’s Ghouls’n Ghosts with the art style of Tim Burton – especially the look and feel of The Nightmare Before Christmas. In both cases these were things that I was a huge fan of back in the mid ‘90s. Lead artist Jason Wilson shared my interest in dark, gothic influenced artwork and we worked together to define the look and feel of the game."