Ghouls 'n Ghosts
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| Ghouls 'n Ghosts | |
|---|---|
 Promotional flyer for the original arcade iteration of Ghouls 'n Ghosts |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Designer(s) | Tokuro Fujiwara S. Yoshimoto H. Yamamoto |
| Release date(s) | December, 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game / Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, SuperGrafx, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, ZX Spectrum |
| Input | 8-way joystick, 2 buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system(s) | CPS-1 |
| Arcade display | Raster, standard resolution, horizontal orientation |
Ghouls 'n Ghosts (大魔界村 Dai Makaimura, or "Great Demon World Village" in Japan) is a platform game/run and gun developed by Capcom and released as an arcade game in 1988, and subsequently ported to a number of other platforms. It is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins, and prequel to the Super NES game Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
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[edit] Gameplay
The gameplay cow for Ghouls n' Ghosts is similar to that of Ghosts 'n Goblins. The player controls the knight Arthur, who must advance through a series of eerie levels and defeat a number of undead and demonic creatures in his quest to restore souls stolen by Lucifer (Loki in the English-language Sega Genesis version), including the soul of his bride, Princess Prin Prin. Along the way, Arthur can pick up a variety of weapons and armor to help him in his quest.
[edit] Series innovations
While the core gameplay remains the same as its predecessor, there are a few extra abilities granted to Arthur, aside from the abilities to jump and fire weapons. By holding up on the joystick while firing a weapon, Arthur will throw the weapon straight into the air, which is very handy for attacking airborne enemies such as the Red Arremer.
By jumping in certain spots, Arthur can cause a treasure chest to erupt from the ground. By firing his weapon at the chest, Arthur may find new weapons, an evil magician that can change him into an elderly man or a helpless duck, or the gold armor. The gold armor allows Arthur to charge up his weapon to release a powerful magical attack. Each weapon has its own magic attack.
These innovations softened the difficulty a bit, although it is still considered by many to be ludicrously difficult, despite being considered the least difficult of the series.
[edit] Weapons
Arthur is armed with one of the following weapons. Only one can be carried at any time.
- Arthur begins with this weapon. It moves in a straight line across the screen. The Lance's magic power is a lightning spell, which causes Arthur to fire lighting bolts to his left, right, and directly above himself.
- The dagger behaves like the lance, but it is much faster, and Arthur can throw three at once, instead of just two. The Dagger's magic causes Arthur to create a mirror image of himself for a short time, which will follow Arthur's every move. This can be used to attack twice as fast as normal.
- Arthur lobs a torch a short distance in front of himself, which burns the ground for a short period of time. Generally considered a difficult weapon to use effectively. The Torch's magic causes four fireballs to encircle Arthur and spread out.
- The axe travels very slowly, but it can cut through enemies, allowing you to attack multiple enemies at once. Arthur can only throw a single axe at a time. The Axe's magic causes explosions to erupt in the area near Arthur.
- The only non-projectile weapon. Arthur simply swings the sword in front of himself. To make up for its short range, the sword is twice as powerful as Arthur's other weapons. The sword's magic causes a dragon to appear and attack enemies.
- The discus is similar to the Lance, but if you kneel while throwing it, it will hug the ground, which is useful on hilly terrain. The Discus' magic makes a mirror appear directly in front of Arthur, which will protect him, and damage any enemies that come in contact with it.
- Psycho Cannon
- The Psycho Cannon can only be obtained on Arthur's second time through the game, and it is the only weapon that can defeat Lucifer. He can find it by opening a treasure chest while wearing the gold armor. Arthur throws a blast of magic directly in front of himself. The attack's range is dependent on what armor Arthur is wearing. If he's in his boxers, the range is extremely short, while it's more respectable when he's wearing gold armor. Additionally, with the gold armor, it can destroy enemy projectiles. The strength of the Psycho Cannon depends on how close Arthur is to an enemy when he uses it. If Arthur attacks from close range, it is easily the most powerful weapon in the game.
[edit] Levels
The game comprises six levels, each with an end-of-level boss who must be defeated before progressing to the next stage. The final level can only be accessed after beating the previous five levels twice, and only if Arthur possesses the Psycho Cannon.
[edit] The Execution Place and Floating Island
As in the other games in the series, the first level is a cemetery. Instead of being inhabited by traditional zombies, though, there are Skeleton Murderers, which are numerous miniature versions of Death, complete with hoods and scythes. Arthur must fight through a number of these creatures, along with vultures, while avoiding giant guillotines, until he can cross over to the Floating Island. After braving a windstorm and numerous porcine ogres, Arthur must defeat the boss, Dullahan.
[edit] The Village of Decay and Town of Fire
The village is comprised of giant evil turtles and insects. Arthur must navigate rickety bridges over antlions, and avoid dangerous windmills, as well as fend off his first Red Arremer. The town will eventually erupt into flames, and Arthur will be faced with flaming bats before he makes it to Cerberus, the boss.
[edit] Baron Rankle's Tower and the Horrible Faced Mountain
The first part of this stage is similar to an elevator, as Arthur is trapped in a confined space that is constantly moving vertically. The ability to fire his weapon vertically will be needed as he fends off knights that erupt from the walls and bats that drop stones. The second part of the stage consists of Arthur navigating across a chasm along the tongues of stone heads. The boss is an evil cloud known as Gasutto.
[edit] The Crystal Forest
Despite its name, this is actually a cave, but it does indeed contain numerous crystals, which will damage Arthur if they are touched. The second part of the level is a series of waterfalls Arthur must go down. The boss resembles a giant maggot that releases smaller maggots to attack you.
[edit] The Castle of Evil Demons
The Castle is the most difficult level in the game, as it is filled with Red Arremers and other dangerous enemies, including miniature versions of the previous bosses, Dullahan and Gassuto, as well as clones of Astaroth, the villain of Ghosts 'n Goblins. If Arthur can navigate to the end, he will fight Beelzebub, who resembles a giant fly. If Arthur has the Psycho Cannon, he'll proceed to Lucifer's Chamber after finishing this level. If not, or if it's Arthur's first time through the game, he'll have to start the game again.
[edit] Lucifer's Chamber
The final level consists solely of a boss fight with Lucifer. Lucifer resembles a huge demon, and can only be defeated by firing the Psycho Cannon at his head. Arthur should avoid the lasers and Lucifer's feet, move directly beneath his head, and fire upward to damage him. Lucifer can also fire a vertically directed laser from his mouth: during this time he is invincible to the Psycho Cannon shot.
[edit] Music
The original soundtrack for arcade version was composed by Tamayo Kawamoto. Many computer ports of the game include the soundtrack by Tim Follin which consists of arrangements and some new songs. Follin's soundtrack - especially Commodore 64, Atari ST (which both implement each machines' 'chiptune' synthesizers although the selection of pieces and some scoring differs slightly between computers) and Amiga versions (of which the playlist is again slightly different) - is respected among computer game music listeners and also got appreciation from reviewers when the game was published. It is well worth obtaining the music for all versions released to fully appreciate and enjoy Follin's (and indeed Kawamoto's) talented achievements.
[edit] External links
- General resources
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts at MobyGames
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts at The Killer List of Video Games
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts Dossier Titan (french fan page)
- The Ghosts 'n Goblins Series Online
