Ghosts 'n Goblins

Infobox VG
title= Ghosts 'n Goblins


caption= Promotional flyer for the original arcade version of "Ghosts 'n Goblins"
developer= Capcom
publisher= Capcom
designer= Tokuro Fujiwara
released= September 19, 1985
genre= Platform game
modes= Up to 1 or 2 players, alternating turns
platforms= Arcade
input= 4-way joystick, 2 buttons
cabinet= Upright
display= Horizontally oriented

nihongo|"Ghosts 'n Goblins"|魔界村|Makaimura|lit. "Demon World Village" is a 1985 platform game developed by Capcom for video arcades.

Gameplay

"Ghosts 'n Goblins" is a platform game where the player controls a knight, named Arthur, who must defeat zombies, demons and other undead creatures in order to rescue Princess Prin Prin. Along the way the player can pick up new weapons, bonuses and extra suits of armor that can help in this task. The game is often considered very difficult by arcade standards and is commonly regarded as one of the most difficult games released for the NES.Fact|date=March 2008

If the player loses a life, he is returned to the start of the level, or the halfway point if he has managed to get that far. Furthermore, each life can only last a certain length of time (generally around three minutes), the clock being reset at the start of a level. If the clock does run out, the player instantly loses that life.

Ports

Many conversions to home computers were produced by Elite Systems.

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 version, released in 1987, featured gameplay. Programmed by Chris Butler, it is also known for its music by Mark Cooksey. Due to the limited resources on the Commodore 64, it was somewhat different than the arcade version. It only featured the Graveyard and Forest, The Ice Palace, The Floating Platforms and Firebridge and The Caves in that order. The player also started the game with five lives. The demon that kidnapped the princess replaces Astaroth in the title screen. Additionally, the cyclops (or "Unnicorn") is the boss of levels one to three, and the dragon is the final boss.

Commodore Amiga

A version for the Commodore Amiga was released in 1990. While the advanced hardware (for the time) of the Amiga allowed an almost arcade-perfect conversion, it failed to emulate the success of the Commodore 64 version. The player started the game with six lives and no music was present unless the Amiga was equipped with at least 1 Megabyte of RAM. The standard configuration of an Amiga 500 was 512 Kilobytes.

Other platforms

"Ghosts 'n Goblins" was also ported to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC 464/6128, Atari ST, IBM PC, Commodore 16, Sharp X68000, Nintendo Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and the NES.

The NES version was developed by Micronics. This version also serves as the basis for the Game Boy Color version, which features passwords. The NES version was also re-released for download for Wii's Virtual Console service on December 10, 2007.

The original arcade version of the game was also included in the compilation "" for the PlayStation (in Japan and Europe) and Sega Saturn (in Japan only), which also contained "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" and "Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts". The three games (based on their "Capcom Generation" versions) were later collected as part of "Capcom Classics Collection".

This game, along with its sequel, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, is available for play on GameTap.

There is a short Ghosts 'n Goblins mini-game included in for the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Reception

The NES version of "Ghosts 'n Goblins "was rated the 129th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.Citation|year=February 2006| title=NP Top 200|periodical=Nintendo Power|volume=200|pages=58-66.]

Legacy

"Ghosts 'n Goblins" was followed by a series of sequels which includes "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" for the arcades in vgy|1988, "Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts" for the SNES in vgy|1991, and "Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins" for the PSP in vgy|2006.

A spinoff trilogy starring the enemy character Red Arremer was produced as well. This trilogy consists of "Gargoyle's Quest" for the Game Boy in vgy|1990, "Gargoyle's Quest II" for the NES in vgy|1992 and "Demon's Crest" for the SNES in vgy|1994. In the English localization of these games, the Red Arremer character is renamed Firebrand.

A version of "Sid & Al's Incredible Toons" was released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in Japan titled ' in vgy|1996. While not exactly a game in the series, the PlayStation 2 game ' was inspired by "Ghost 'n Goblins", which was followed by a single sequel titled "Maximo vs. Army of Zin".

The characters of "Ghosts 'n Goblins" has also made cameos in other Capcom games. The shoot-em-up "Cannon Spike" features an alternate depiction of Arthur (dubbed King Arthur) as a playable character. Red Arremer (along with several enemy character from "Ghosts n' Goblins") appears as a hidden character in "". In "We Love Golf", Arthur appears as a hidden golfer, and in "Marvel vs. Capcom", he is a partner character.

Arthur appears as a playable character in the strategy game Namco X Capcom. Other enemies also appeared as the game's enemies.

References

External links

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* [http://www.juegoszone.es//juego/1155/Ghost-and-Goblins.html The Ghosts 'n Goblins] The game Ghosts 'n Goblins
* [http://dmoz.org/Games/Video_Games/Platform/Ghosts%27n_Goblins/ Category at ODP]
* [http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=950 "Ghosts 'n Goblins" at Arcade-History]