Ghosts 'N Goblins

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Description

Ghosts 'N Goblins is a sideways scrolling action platformer spread over six levels, each of which must be completed within three minutes (or a life is lost), taking in forest, village, mountain and cavern settings with increasing difficulty.

Arthur the brave knight must rescue his beloved Princess from the Demon King Astaroth and his forces - amongst them are the various undead (ghosts, zombies), bats, ogres and goblins. Other challenges include moving platforms, ladders and water/fire hazards.

The player can walk left and right, jump, and is also equipped with a lance to use as a weapon. Getting hit by enemies causes Arthur to lose his armor and run around in his underpants, getting hit again will cause the player to lose a life. As in most games in this genre, the player can pick up power-ups such as daggers and bombs during the course of the game, giving the player greater firepower.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "魔界村" -- Japanese spelling
• "Makai-mura" -- Japanese title
• "Ghosts 'N Goblins MOBILE" -- Android/iPhone/iPad title
• "Ghosts & Goblins" -- Alternate spelling
• "Ghost 'N Goblins" -- NES European title

Part of the Following Groups

• Classic NES / Famicom Mini / NES Classics releases
• Game Center CX challenge games
• Gameplay feature: New Game+
• Ghost 'N Goblins series
• Video games turned into board / card games

User Reviews

The legendary difficulty of this title is balanced by great gameplay	NES	J. P. Gray (120)
Rescue your beloved from the legions of hell	Amiga	Katakis | カタキス (41574)
Quite O.K. port for the Amstrad CPC. Kinda too hard and cut off though..	Amstrad CPC	Optimus (83)
An excellent Capcom platform game with a few cool features	Arcade	Katakis | カタキス (41574)

Critic Reviews

IGN	Game Boy Color	Jan 25, 2000	9 out of 10	90
Zero	NES	Jan, 1990	89 out of 100	89
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Commodore 64	Sep, 1986	8.25 out of 10	82
ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment)	Atari ST	Jun, 1990	790 out of 1000	79
Retro Archives	Game Boy Color	Nov 06, 2018	15 out of 20	75
Zzap!	Amiga	Aug, 1990	73 out of 100	73
All Game Guide	Arcade	1998		50
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Wii	Nov 17, 2008	5 out of 10	50
HonestGamers (Staff reviews only)	Arcade	Jul 16, 2004	4 out of 10	40
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	Amiga	Jul, 1990	4.6 out of 12	38

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
US Release for the C64.	1	Edwin Drost (2788) Mar 24, 2017
Wonderswan version should be split	2	Terok Nor (29311) Nov 30, 2012
C16 port - split entry?	1	Rola (8290) Aug 23, 2012

Trivia

8-bit computer ports

The 8-bit computer ports made by Elite Systems and released in 1986 are all shorter than the original arcade game. The game is only 4 levels long (instead of 6) on Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64, only 3 levels long on ZX Spectrum, and only 2 levels long on Commodore 16.

Red Arremer

The famous Red Arremer mini-boss was actually based on Capcom programmer Toshio Arima.

1001 Video Games

The Arcade version of Ghosts 'n Goblins appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Atari ST MIDI music

The Atari ST version has a special trick. The developers programmed the MIDI interface to play the game music. If you hook a MIDI synthesizer to the ST, the game music will play over your MIDI device.

Commodore 16 version

The C16 port is even shorter than the C64 version, as it features only the two first levels, with simplified gameplay (one weapon, less enemy types). There's no music and no title screen picture.

Sales

According to publisher Capcom, Ghosts 'N Goblins has sold 1.64 million copies worldwide since its initial release (as of June 30, 2016).

Spectrum version

The Spectrum version does not load on Spanish +2A or +3 models, as their ROM mapping is slightly different from the UK models. An unofficial patch is available however.

Awards

• Commodore Force
  • December 1993 (Issue 13) – #68 “Readers' Top 100”
• Commodore Format
  • March 1991 (Issue 6) - listed in the A to Z of Classic Games article (Great)
• Happy Computer
  • 1986 - Runner-up as Action Game of the Year
  • Issue 04/1987 - #5 Best Game in 1986 (Readers' Vote)
• Retro Gamer
  • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #39 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
• Zzap!
  • January 1990 (Issue 57) – 'The Best Games of the 80's Decade' (Phil King)

Related Web Sites

• The Ghoul Realm (Fansite dedicated to the history of and information about Ghosts 'N' Goblins.)