Ghosts 'n Goblins
Arcade
Nostalgia Factor:
I've already played and reviewed the NES version of Ghosts 'n Goblins. Check it out here if you want. This review is for the arcade version of Ghosts 'n Goblins, which I previously had never played before. It came out in 1985, so that officially makes it the first game in my 1985 series of reviews. Congrats on the accomplishment, Ghosts 'n Goblins!
But in all seriousness, when I look back at my review for the NES version of this game, I can't believe I gave it an A-. I like the game and I grew up with it, sure, but it's never been one of my favorites. It always seems like such a chore to play, and I never truly have that much fun when I play it. If I could go back and drop the score to something like a B or B-, I totally would.
What would my thoughts be on the arcade version of the game? Let's find out.
Story:
If you are familiar with the storyline of the NES game, you should know what to expect here, as it is pretty much exactly the same. Our buddy Arthur is chilling half-naked in a graveyard with Princess Prin Prin, when a red devil appears and kidnaps her right in front of Arthur's very eyes.
Arthur straps on his armor and heads off on a quest to defeat the king of the Demon World and get the Princess back.
Gameplay:
Seeing as how I've already reviewed the NES version of the game, I don't want to retread too much familiar ground with explaining how this game works. It's a platformer. You kill enemies. You jump over obstacles. You fight bosses. You die all the freaking time. When you beat the game you have to do it again, this time using a shield weapon to defeat the final boss. It's a pain in the ass is what it is.
The arcade game is even tougher and more unforgiving than the NES version. It seems like more enemies are constantly respawning around you, more projectiles constantly coming your way. Bats and other random obstacles appear out of nowhere to do damage to you. Bosses are tougher. And those red demons... they may be my most hated enemy in all of video gaming. They don't have any set patterns, and they're so unpredictable. I could be cruising along, no problems, whatsoever, and then a single red demon kills me in ten seconds. I hate them, and the trick that you can use in the NES game of hitting them on the edge of the screen and then running away to make them disappear doesn't work here. They are the worst thing about this game.
The second worst thing? Their boss form. When you get to the end of the game and have to fight the boss varieties of these red demons, they are SO FREAKING HARD!! I died dozens and dozens of times against these things. It got to the point where I had to use save states to keep retrying the fight, because every time you die you have to play the entire level over again, and I do NOT have the time for that.
Overall I found this game to be much more frustrating than the NES version of the game. I wanted to chuck this out the window more times than I could count. Honestly, I had a pretty miserable time with this. And to have to play through it twice? Ugh. They didn't even give me the shield my second time through the game, and I had to play through the last several levels yet again before they finally gave it to me. Talk about frustrating.
Graphics:
One area where this game is better than the NES version is graphically. It is so much more colorful, and there is so much more detail in the characters and the settings. This game definitely has more of a fun and cartoonish look compared to the NES version.
By 1985's standards, this was definitely one of the best looking arcade games out there, period.
Sound:
While this version probably technically sounds better than the NES version, I actually preferred the NES soundtrack to this game's. The music is still really good, and honestly it is an iconic soundtrack if I've ever heard one. But I prefer the slightly more primitive sounding NES music. It just has a charm to it that this version's music does not.
And I must admit: I found the little jingle that plays after you die to be very, very grating after listening to it about 300 times.
Overall:
I can't imagine being able to beat this game in the arcades, back in the day. It would have taken me about 50 dollars to even have a chance, and even then I don't know if I could have done it the way the game puts you at the start of the stage when you die at the end of the game. Those final stages and those bosses are so dang tough, and you have to play perfectly to even have the slightest chance of making it through.
The more I played this game, the more I realized that Ghosts 'n Goblins really isn't a great game. While it may look better than the NES version cosmetically, this version is even more annoying and frustrating. I was so glad when I beat it, because I knew that I would never have to play it again.
And that's not a good thing. No game should make you feel that way. I gave the NES version what I feel to be an undeserved score of an A-. Now's my chance to make up for it by totally shitting all over the arcade version of the game.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from checking this game out if they are really curious about it. Just don't expect to have a good time with it.
THE GRADE:
D+
1984:
Next up: 1985's
Gun.Smoke
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