Ghosts 'N Goblins

Yet another classic arcade conversion from Elite. Fiendishly difficult and more-ish. Very hot.

I saw the arcade game all of a year ago and was predictably impressed. When I heard that Elite were to convert the game it caused much amusement, as we dismissed the deal as a triumph of marketing over the possible. Well, Keith Burkhill has proved my intuition well and truly and completely wrong and has gone and produced an excellent interpretation of the arcade original equipped with perfectly smooth scrolling and all the gamey bits that made the original Ghosts and Goblins so much fun to chuck ten pee bits into. Though a little bit hard at first it shouldn't take long to get yourself into the Ice Castle, battling off the fatal advances of the flying killer teddy bears. All in all a really outstanding release from Elite despite the rubbish advert (you know the one, drawn in crayon by a juvenile) and represents unusual value for money.

Let's face it, Ghosts and Goblins defies criticism. Not only is it fun and addicting, but it's spawned many fine sequels, including Maximo for the PS2. You play as an armored knight that can fire projectiles forward, backward, and straight up. Zombies and other creatures pour out of the woodwork as you forge through varied stages that include a graveyard, a burning village, mountains, and caverns. This is pure side-scrolling fun. The graphics provide plenty of variety, and the excellent background music plays a heroic refrain (much like the Genesis version). If there's one obvious complaint, that is that the game is too freakin' hard! The stages are short and you get unlimited continues, but it's still extremely difficult to make progress.

In short, play Ghosts'n'Goblins and you'll be grabbed by the ghoulies. And as a non-sexist note for that half of the population without ghoulies, don't worry - it'll give you the willies!

As far as action platformers go on the Game Boy Color, Ghosts 'n Goblins is definitely on the top. It doesn't have any real extras (I still can't find the promised two-player or Game Boy Printer modes), so I wouldn't put it up with, say, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe as a "perfect" game -- but it comes pretty darn close.

The few sound effects in the game aren't much and there is no tune but the addictiveness makes up for this. If you're looking for a cheap game packed with playability and challenging problems Ghosts 'N' Goblins is here

Die geteste C 64-Version gefiel durch abwechslungsreiche Grafik mit tollen Sprites und diversen Musikstücken, die nicht nur technisch gut gemacht, sondern auch einfallsreich komponiert sind. Die bereits erhältlichen Schneider- und Spectrum-Versionen können sich auch sehen lassen. Die Jagd auf den High Score mit »Ghosts'n Goblins« dürfte jeden Joystick-Freak am Computer fesseln. Unbedingt ansehen!

Since this is a near-perfect clone from Nintendo, the graphics aren't really much of an issue. On the color, GameBoy characters and background come of clear and defined, retaining the moody dark color scheme. If you compare this to newer GBC titles, you will find only slight differences in level of detail. In terms of the sound, it seems to have followed the repeating tune formula of most GameBoy games. It may be cool for a while, but in the end you find yourself playing it mute. In all, Ghost and Goblins is a hard title to get through. Essentially it is frustration in portable form. But above all it is a great way to appreciate the good old Nintendo days.

A great piece of NES history and a great early effort by the boys at Capcom. The game was ported from the arcade and would later spawn a sequel, Ghouls 'n' Ghosts for the Sega Genesis and the SNES version, Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts which would later see a release on the Game Boy Advance. A wicked game which despite the immense difficulty and other distractions, plays out to be a nice game to test out whether or not your one of the best NES gamers.

A true classic if I ever saw one, and if you are into survival games, this is definitely one you must own. The main purpose beside saving the princess is to survive, which some can grasp a lot better than searching all over the Mushroom Kingdom looking for secrets and coins...LOL. If there is a drop of masochism anywhere in your body, then you will definitely be playing this title over and over for months and months to come.

Despite its age, Ghosts 'N' Goblins is well presented, highly playable and an enjoyable romp. Techno-snobs shouldn't be put off because the follow-up is available, because the prequel has a feel and charm that Ghouls 'N' Ghosts somehow lacks. Veterans of the coin-op should ge thold of a copy, even if just for nostalgia's sake, and newcomers to the tale of Arthur and his foes could do a lot worse than take a brief visit to this weird and wonderful world.

Of course, it all looks a bit dated now, and the graphics are plain, to say the least, but you still find yourself coming back to it - even when you've got other games to review, as I have.

The bad news is the poor programming: especially the terrible memory efficiency resulting in a 1Mb only game. The collision detection also seems a bit dodgy, though thankfully it’s on the generous side. And for some reason Arthur can’t turn around in mid-jump as he could on both the coin-op and the C64 version - very odd. The good news is that the technical anomalies are made up for by the classic coin-op’s supreme playability.

Ghouls 'N' Ghosts seems to have stood the test of time. Although there is very little original about it, the game's playability carries it through. The graphics are spot-on copies of the arcade, as is the playability, but it is a little dated. There are a couple of annoying niggles with Arthur's controls, but nothing that ruins an addictive conversion.

Whilst Ghouls is a superior coin-op with updated graphics and ideas, US Gold were able to convert it without great difficulty. So why does Ghosts 'n' Goblins require a meg? Its sales and appeal are restricted, yet there is little in the game which an Amiga couldn't cope with. This isn't to say that the conversion is poor, simply that in the face of current competition that it looks a bit lacklustre. It follows the arcade's graphics closely but the sound is dire - although it was hardly a sonic wall of noise when it first appeared. That said, the challenge posed by the game is undiminished and obviously, most would say, that's the main thing. True, but you'd expect that. Recreating the arcade spirit and finish is what separates real quality releases.

Kurzum: Wer (wie ich) den Automaten kenn- und liebengelernt hat, wird von der neuen Amigaversion ein bißchen enttäuscht sein, es fehlt einfach der Flair des wirklich Großen. Alle anderen find in Ghosts ’n’ Goblins ein recht ordentliches Action-Spielchen, das durchaus seine Qualitäten hat. Wer allerdings schon „Ghouls ’n’ Ghosts“ daheim hat, kann sich sein Geld auch sparen – sooo groß ist der Unterschied nun wirklich nicht!

Mit ziemlicher Verspätung ist die ST-Umsetzung des actionlastigen Geschicklichkeits-Tests "Ghosts'n' Goblins" eingetrudelt. Im Gegensatz zur MS-DOS-Version wurden hier praktisch alle Features des Arcade-Vorbildes übernommen.

Mit dem Arcade-Vorbild und der ordentlichen ST-Umsetzung hat die MS-DOS-Version nur noch wenig gemeinsam. Statt Scrolling gibt's "Bild für Bild"-Action und viele Szenen wurden einfach weggelassen.

After all these disappointments, this game barely deserves to be called the video-game without even daring to consider the fact of quality of the original comparing to the PC conversion. The lowest mark is too high for this one. It is probably worth playing because it is easy to beat and once again, because of the title, off course. On the other hand, if you never saw the original version, perhaps you'll totally ruin the possible feeling by playing this one first.