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Ghosts N' Goblins turns 30 this year.

Ghosts 'n Goblins is a platform game where the player controls a knight, named Sir Arthur, who must defeat zombies, ogres, demons, cyclops, dragons and other monsters in order to rescue Princess Prin Prin, who has been kidnapped by Satan, king of Demon World. Along the way the player can pick up new weapons, bonuses and extra suits of armor that can help in this task.[1]

The game is often considered very difficult by arcade standards and is commonly regarded as one of the most difficult games ever released. The player can only be hit twice before losing a life (the first hit takes away Arthur's armor, and the player must continue on in his underwear until completing the level or finding replacement armor). If the player loses a life, he is returned to the start of the level, or the halfway point if he has managed to get that far. Furthermore, each life can only last a certain length of time (generally around three minutes), the clock being reset at the start of a level. If the clock does run out, the player instantly loses that life.

After defeating the final boss, but only with the cross weapon (if the player does not have the cross weapon, they will be prompted that it is needed to defeat the boss and restart at the beginning of level 5 and must repeat round 5 and 6 again regardless if the weapon is obtained immediately or not) for the first time the player is informed that the battle was "a trap devised by Satan". The player must then replay the entire game on a higher difficulty level to reach the genuine final battle.

Very tough, but very fair, G n' G is one of my favourite games series. Share your favourite titles and memories of

- Ghosts N' Goblins
- Ghouls N' Ghosts
- Super Ghouls N' Ghosts
- Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins

The others I didn't mention aaaand I guess the spin-offs like Gargoyle's Quest and Maximo too!

Personally, I utterly love Super GnG, I think it's one of the best platformers ever. Every unique looks and feels different, and while it's tough as balls it's totally reasonable a challenge, you have plenty control over your character and everything is surmountable first time through.
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
Not to dismiss the anniversary or the greatness of the original games (including UGnG), but there are a few indie games that do a decent job of carrying the GnG torch--Volgarr the Viking, Maldita Castilla, Odallus, etc.

EDIT: remember when Capcom announced GnG Online at E3 a few years back? It never ended up leaving Korea, did it? Does anyone care?
 

TreIII

Member
I still hope beyond hope that Capcom will release a remaster of Ultimate Ghouls n Ghosts (along with the JP-only Kai upgrades). It's my pick for the best game in the series, and the game deserves another chance to be played by more people.

Oh, and if Monolithsoft gave Arthur a bigger part in PXZ2, maybe by teaming him up with Firebrand/the Red Arremer Joker from NxC, so much the better!
 

LogicStep

Member
Man I had the SNES game and I liked it but I never beat it (never really got that far...) That game is really damn hard. :(
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
Ultimate GG on PSP is an awesome game and makes this series very approachable, I highly recommend it!
 

Iokis

Member
Personally, I utterly love Super GnG, I think it's one of the best platformers ever. Every unique looks and feels different, and while it's tough as balls it's totally reasonable a challenge, you have plenty control over your character and everything is surmountable first time through.

Weeeeelllll....

You have no mid-air control whatsoever. When you go into a jumping arc, you're committed.

I still love SGnG despite that, though, and it remains the only GnG game I ever finished. Maybe I should butt heads with the 8-bit entries again.
 

Outrun

Member
GnG series was such a breath of fresh air back in the day. The art direction and setting were a welcome break to the futuristic sci-fi standard that was quite prevalent.

I used to be a little scared of some of the bosses.
 
Weeeeelllll....

You have no mid-air control whatsoever. When you go into a jumping arc, you're committed.

I still love SGnG despite that, though, and it remains the only GnG game I ever finished. Maybe I should butt heads with the 8-bit entries again.

That's true! I wondered if someone would comment on that. I feel as though the double-jump allowing you to reverse direction was a nice bone to throw the player - though mastering it is very tricky.

Not to dismiss the anniversary or the greatness of the original games (including UGnG), but there are a few indie games that do a decent job of carrying the GnG torch--Volgarr the Viking, Maldita Castilla, Odallus, etc.

Volgarr is absolutely brilliant, though I'll never get the good endings.

How are Maldita Castilla and Odallus? Never heard much about them.
 
Incidentally, Vita owners can buy Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded (I think it's Reloaded) on the PSN store. It's a PSP game, but it includes Goblins, Ghouls and Super Ghouls.

With cheats! :D

That you have to unlock with a slot machine. :/
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
Volgarr is absolutely brilliant, though I'll never get the good endings.

How are Maldita Castilla and Odallus? Never heard much about them.

Maldita Castilla is a little easy/forgiving for a GnG-style game but the aesthetic is completely on-point and I loved every second of it. It's a free game, so there's nothing stopping you from checking it out for yourself right now: http://www.locomalito.com/maldita_castilla.php

Odallus just came out on PC; it's by the Brazilian indie team that made Oniken and it's more in the vein of Demon's Crest than GnG specifically, as well as other games like Castlevania, but there are lots of GnG touches and references and I had a good time with it.
 
Maldita Castilla is a little easy/forgiving for a GnG-style game but the aesthetic is completely on-point and I loved every second of it. It's a free game, so there's nothing stopping you from checking it out for yourself right now: http://www.locomalito.com/maldita_castilla.php

Odallus just came out on PC; it's by the Brazilian indie team that made Oniken and it's more in the vein of Demon's Crest than GnG specifically, as well as other games like Castlevania, but there are lots of GnG touches and references and I had a good time with it.

Thanks for the heads up. I loved Oniken so I'll give Odallus a look and I'll download Maldita Castilla.
 

FireCloud

Member
Love these games so much. I've spent many quarters in the arcades playing it never to get very before my money ran out. When I saw it for the SNES I couldn't believe it. I think the game is still in my SNES to this day.

Loved the game so much that I bought Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins for my PSP back in the day and again digitally so I can play it on the Vita. The game is brutally hard.

Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins, why do you hate me so much when all I'm trying to do is love you? :-(
 

Iokis

Member
That's true! I wondered if someone would comment on that. I feel as though the double-jump allowing you to reverse direction was a nice bone to throw the player - though mastering it is very tricky.

Admittedly being able to reverse direction was sometimes a boon, but there were if I remember rightly a couple of sections (I think the lava level?) with some tiny platforms that were just too far apart for a standard jump, so if you didn't activate the double jump at juuuust the right time you'd overshoot and hit the lava. Good times :D

Also not heard of most of the "GnG-likes" mentioned in the thread. I've only heard of Volgarr but didn't pick it up - now I might just do that, and also investigate the others mentioned here.
 
Always had a weird relationship with this series, it was just too tough for me. I was fine with Ninja Gaiden, Contra, Castlevania etc, but I always tapped out almost immediately with the 8 and 16-bit GnG games. Which is too bad because I adored the aesthetic.

Demon's Crest was more palatable and the Maximo games are amongst my favorite games ever. Surprised me how a western dev did the best work in translating hardcore Vania/GnG action/platforming into 3D with Maximo 1. Games like that essentially don't exist now, it's all combo-happy character action games. Never understood why they didn't just use Arthur and the GnG IP though.
 
Also not heard of most of the "GnG-likes" mentioned in the thread. I've only heard of Volgarr but didn't pick it up - now I might just do that, and also investigate the others mentioned here.

Well worth it, Volgarr is a wonderful game. Very much ascribes to the GnG "hard but fair" ethos. And it is bloody hard.
 

Nev

Banned
Jesus, 30 years. I only played the PSP remake and I thought it was great. Tried the original afterwards and couldn't stand the dated bullshit mechanics.
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
Did you play the update ver. of it that only got a JP release?

This is one of those series are 2hard4me :/

No, I had no idea there was a second version!

Yeah Ultimate G&G is the best way to enjoy the series, IMO. Maximo series is also pretty good, but I have a feeling its 3D platforming probably feels real dated compared to the 2D games. I haven't tried them in a long time, but I think they're up on PSN
 

gondwana

Member
the original is great. i can still replay it and enjoy it because of the randomized respawning enemies that flood the screen. just that element alone adds a lot of tension. the others toned that down too much and became mnemonic action platformers.
 

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
Jesus, 30 years. I only played the PSP remake and I thought it was great. Tried the original afterwards and couldn't stand the dated bullshit mechanics.
Remake? UGnG is a fully-fledged sequel.
 
My first NES game (other than Gyromite/Duck Hunt; amazingly never had SMB).


Ghosts and Goblins made me so fucking angry. Both the level preview music and Arthur turning to bones music still haunt me.
 

MysteryM

Member
Big fan of GNG was around when it was released, but the reality is that I'm just terrible at it, I mean really terrible despite owning it on the spectrum and then later on the SNES.

Still everything from the art style to the music is just adorable and its definitely in my top 10 arcade cabs of all time.
 

Tain

Member
Action-platformers don't get much denser than the Makaimura games. Daimakaimura/Ghouls seems like the best game in the series, but I'll probably never beat it or the original on one credit so I'm not 100% confident on that.

Volgarr is a great game, but it's not so close that I'd call it a clone. The melee weapon focus, more restrained enemies, dodge roll and wall climb stuff... It's a very different feeling.

If you want to honor the series, though, don't turn to the games inspired by it before turning to the originals.
 

petran79

Banned
My first introduction to the game must have been on Atari 8-bit computer but I also played the CPS1 game in the arcades. A classic but very difficult. Also played the SNES version through emulation but did not like it as much

The others I didn't mention aaaand I guess the spin-offs like Gargoyle's Quest and Maximo too!

There was a game inspired by GnG called "Warlock's Quest", popular on Amigas and AtariSTs.
It was also much more difficult and almost impossible to finish, even on easy. In the end you face an enemy similar to Firebrand (the Red Demon in the intro)!

626005-warlock-atari-st-screenshot-intro-3.png


626012-warlock-atari-st-screenshot-that-big-guy-is-shooting-at-me.png
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
I wish more had been done with this series on a more regular basis. It makes me sad.

Well, the guy who created the series got moved to the console division and got caught up producing/overseeing a lot of other games--Mega Man, all the Disney stuff, Resident Evil, etc--and then he left to form his own company, so the series pretty much stopped when he left. He came back as a freelancer to do the PSP game but at this point it seems like it's done, sadly.
 
Wow, that makes me feel old, when I try and play any of those games now it makes me realise how much my reflexes have slowed over the years, I think Super Ghouls and Ghosts was the version I hammered the most, I remember finishing it several times but I wouldn't stand a chance now!
 

Tizoc

Member
No, I had no idea there was a second version!

Yeah Ultimate G&G is the best way to enjoy the series, IMO. Maximo series is also pretty good, but I have a feeling its 3D platforming probably feels real dated compared to the 2D games. I haven't tried them in a long time, but I think they're up on PSN

Maximo 1 and 2 have been on EU and JP PSN for a few years now.
 

Pinky

Banned
A great classic and, at the same time, the biggest pain in the ass imaginable. Still cannot beat it and I'm 37 years old.
 
Wow, that makes me feel old, when I try and play any of those games now it makes me realise how much my reflexes have slowed over the years, I think Super Ghouls and Ghosts was the version I hammered the most, I remember finishing it several times but I wouldn't stand a chance now!

I can't be that bad. It practically runs in slow motion, lol.
 

NoWayOut

Member
Maybe it's because I was just a kid, but I remember it being one of the hardest and most unforgiving games. I would call it the Souls game of its era.
 
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