Ghosts 'n Goblins

"The ghosts 'n' goblins review: Deaths in two seconds"

Yes this is indeed a review for the dreaded Ghosts 'N' Goblins. If you are thinking of getting this game, I suggest that you think twice for the following reasons:

Gameplay: 6/10
Ghosts 'N' Goblins isn't a bad game. However, take into consideration that it's not the best game either. You play as the knight, Sir Arther who is on a quest to save his woman Princess Prin Prin from the clutches of the King of Evil, Satan Lucifer. Already this sounds crazy, and it is. You are armed with various weapons in the game. You start out with Sir Arther's weapon of choice, the lance. All weapons can be thrown as a projectile but work in distinct ways. For example, the torch, when thrown goes into an arc an becomes a bonfire that burns enemy's stupid enough the walk (or fly) straight into it. The engine is like a prehistoric version of the first megaman series except for the fact that you can't slide, but kneel down and throw whatever you have as your weapon. Now you may think that your disposal will make this game look like a cake walk. WRONG! Although the weapons are cool, your armor is as easy to break as cutting through butter. In other words, it only takes one hit to strip you of your armor and expose your red boxers in the open. If you are hit again, you become nothing more than a pile of bones. That's right, two hits away from an inanimate pile of worthless after-decomposions.

Difficulty: 8/10
I can't say this is indeed extremely hard. Although you have only two hits til you run up the tunnel of heaven, you get infinite continues and to tell you the truth, it only takes timing and reflexes to take sown even the infamous Red Demon who you will encounter. The REAL factors that make this game so hard is the position you are in when trying to beat down on creeps, and the glitches. You could easily take down a Red Demon in a linear path if you use the right strategy. But if you were any where above one while it's active, you're just about as good as dead. Due to the poor quality this game possesses, there are also glitches like invisible damage that can put you in a bad situation.

Sound/music: 4/10
I have to admit, some of the music is catchy at first, but dying continuously on one level will turn your humming vocals into silent growls. The sound is very important, however. You'll have to recognize some sounds to tell who or what is coming your way. Other than that, any sound is ridiculously annoying.

Length: 6/10
Capcom was cheap back then. There are six levels in all but in order to get the real ending, you must beat the "Second" quest which is almost the exact same thing as the "First".

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics don't suck. In fact, they are better than whats typical on the NES. You can actually tell what something is. The detail is pretty good in basic.

In conclusion...
Ghosts 'n' Goblins is very poorly made. But if your up to being put through video game hell, I suggest you get it immediatley. Go ahead, challenge yourself if you really want to see what a difficult and poorly made game is like...

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/14/05