Ghost and Goblins Review

[Guest Sprint Media]

Ghosts'n Goblins is a classic that anyone above 25 years might remeber , it's known for the badass anarchistic thoughness and near impossible to complete and it was an Coin-op aswell as ported to every 8 and 16 bit format out there and ofcourse just like every other classic it spawned a few sequels on its way.

The gameplay stays the same in UGNG as with its forerunners and you get the same level of impressions and the same old "WOW" factor which the orginal game gave you back in 1988 and to say it in a simple way..its fantastic, the new gfx and the implementation of mixed 2d with 3d works tremendously good.

The music has been changed sadly but for them of us who remeber the classic songs from GNG and Ghouls and Ghosts should feel rather fammiliar with the new "touted" music aswell as it bear a somewhat resemblence if not too much CastleVania.

The level design, it starts just like the first game but with a few twists and you feel instantly at home with the same quirky controls which actually works great once youre "into it".

The design of the levels gets more and more wicked as you progress into the darkness towards the final boss, it has every ingredients a plattformer should have and well that involes things like castle levels aswell as volcanic levels and ofcourse the elevator type of levels where you just stand ontop of a cloud or whatever and have to jump and crouch etc.

The Bosses , many of the much loved goblins are back aswell as the ghouls and so on and everytime you visit one of them you get that a small feeling which tells you, this cannot be the boss??? ..until he starts moving and then you know...kill him!!!!

So whats new you might ask? , well the music and the gfx is enough for most just to buy this game i reckon but capcom actually made it possible to complete for a normal person now unlike its forerunners ...that said it still will require alot from the player to complete the game so you will see the full ending along with beating the boss (and getting your girl back).

New: you now have many lives (7?) and you keep getting new ones if you select continue after you die.

New: You can now select 3 levels of difficulty. This was most likely done to make old classic gamers like myself happy (playing on hard level feels alot like playing the first game...ie very though)

New: You can now run aka double dash.

New: You have Magic, it did sound very odd to me and i was afraid it would ruin the game but honestly it did not and for the most of the time you wont even use it.

New: You can now fly with your sheild and one some of the stages you must use it , its very limited but it aint destroying the game in any way.

New: You can now (shock , Horror) Double Jump , yep...the Super Mario Double jump has made it into yet another game and to be honest...it was a much needed feature.

And now the last new feature (i think) , you can run from A to B and completing the game pretty fast but there is a hidden thing in the game and that is....the "Golden Rings" and theese rings are in the game for a reason, it is to unlock the last gate to enter where your girl is locked inside and ofcourse the big boss is protecting it, so if you meet up in the last level without all the rings (22) then youre forced back to the map and start finding the lost rings... A very nice touch and it means the game will last much much longer and you will also start to look more carefully around on the levels.

I wont spoil to much of the game to you guys out there but it must be said that every oldschool monster seems to be in this game...everything from the dragon from R-Type to the man on stilts from The MisAdventures Of Flink to the weapons of Turrican.

For me this game was a MUST BUY and if youre a hardcore plattformer guy then this is a must buy for you aswell as its not been done this good in atleast a decade (since SuperFrog and Brian The Lion).

Graphics: Can it be done better?

Music: Sounds alot like Castlevania but it still has a few orginal Ghosts'n Goblins sounds/music jingles)

Playbility: Damn Hard!, you will swear, you will cry and you will scream ...be sure to have a wrist band connected while playing.

Lastability: Who knows but the golden rings adds quite a bit and ofcourse the hard selection should piss you off into an eternity.

Cover Art, Box design: it Felt like i was back in the 80's again , looks alot like the orginal ghosts'n goblins cover/loading picture. Exellent.

Rating: Top Notch 9/10 (would have gotten perfect score if it had gameshare and a few more settings)

Price i paid: 399 Nok (about 45 GBP)

Edited September 24, 2006 by Sprint Media

[Guest odt]

great review, until just now i just though it was a direct port of the classic version of the game (which was awesome on the Genesis). I have that one on my c600, i think i might invest in the above also.

nice one, cheers

[Guest gvr]

Great review!

I've always been dubious about the classics getting remade for modern consoles. However from what yoiu said SM, it seems as thought they've made a very good effort with Ghosts & Goblins.