"I was once puked on by a hog."

Ghouls and Ghosts as appeared on several different platforms but this review will focus on the arcade version. This game is a simple side-scrolling platform action game. You play a hero who must defeat the enemy zombies and ghosts.

Gameplay - 6/10 Good
The gameplay can be best described as HARD. The game is very difficult because it is two hits and you die. You can pick up extra armor, but finding armor is very rare. The controls in this game are very simple. There are only two buttons, one for jumping and one for using weapons. The weapons are all different, but most are not very useful. The torch, axe, and sword are completely useless. The lance and daggers are much better. This becomes a problem if you open a treasure chest and you get a useless weapon instead of some valuable armor.

Story - 0/10 No Story
I have never actually watched the opening sequence, but there is no change in story during the actual game. But stories are not important in arcade games anyway.

Graphics - 5/10 Average
The graphics in this game are pretty good. They look very similar to the SNES Super Ghouls and Ghosts game. When you lose your armor, you must run around in boxers with little hearts on them. This is always funny to watch onscreen. The enemies look good and clean. The backgrounds are boring, but this is because the backgrounds could become annoying.

Sounds and Music - 4/10 Less than average
The sounds in this are nothing spectacular. Very average sounds. The music is not very noticeable. Most of your focus will be on the screen dodging enemies anyway. It is usually noisy in the arcade also.

Replayability - 7/10 Great
Since this is an arcade game, replayability is important. The length of this game depends on your skill. If you are good, you can last for well over half of an hour. If you are a beginner, you may not even last five minutes. I find this game to have pretty good replay value because I always try to get a little farther than last time.

Overall - 5/10 Average
This is a very hard game with average qualities. The gameplay is very simple and can get repetitive. The graphics are nothing special. The sound is almost unnoticeable. The replayability is good because of the difficulty. I would recommend anyone to play this game at least once.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/03, Updated 06/03/03