Ghosts 'n Goblins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since November 2006.

Ghosts 'n Goblins
Promotional flyer for the original arcade iteration of Ghosts 'n Goblins
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Tokuro Fujiwara
Release date(s)	September 19, 1985
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Arcade, NES, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, IBM PC, Commodore 64, WonderSwan, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console,
Input	8-way joystick, 2 buttons
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade display	Horizontally oriented

Ghosts 'n Goblins (魔界村, Makaimura^?, lit. "Demon World Village") is a platform/run and gun arcade game by Capcom. Released in 1985, it was ported to numerous home computer platforms and followed by three official sequels; Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins. The Maximo series of games for the PlayStation 2 are generally considered to be spiritual sequels to Ghosts 'n Goblins.

1 Gameplay
2 Levels
3 Ports
4 External links

[edit] 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 a princess. 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.

The game did have a two-player feature, but in this mode play simply alternated between the two players.

[edit] Controls

The arcade cabinet allowed the player to control his character through a standard 8-way joystick and two buttons - one button to fire his weapon and the other to jump.

[edit] Lives

The player starts out with three lives, and is awarded an extra life when the player reaches 20,000 and 70,000 points. A further life is awarded at every 70,000 points after that, though these settings could be changed using the DIP switches. Two hits from an enemy attack will result in a life being lost. After the first hit, Arthur is reduced to his briefs. A second hit turns him into a skeleton. At the start of each level, Arthur is dressed in full armor whether or not he had armour at the end of the previous level. At certain points in the game, Arthur can suffer instant death whether he is suited in his armour or not.

If the player does lose 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.

[edit] Weapons

Arthur is armed with one of the following weapons. Only one can be carried at any time.

Lance: The player begins with this weapon. Moves in a straight line across the screen.
Dagger: Similar to the Lance but travels much faster.
Flaming Torch: A weapon of dubious value. Moves in a descending arc from the point of release. It momentarily burns on the ground, destroying any enemy it comes in contact with. It will kill enemies quicker than the Lance or Sword but is more awkward to use.
Axe: Moves in a similar manner to the Flaming Torch. However, this weapon continues through enemies, allowing one axe to kill multiple targets. More powerful than the Flaming Torch but, again, is awkward to use.
Shield (or Crucifix depending on version): Similar to the Lance in movement but with a very limited range. However, unlike all other weapons, it can also block enemy fire. The Shield is the only weapon capable of defeating the final boss. (See below).

[edit] Levels

The game comprises seven levels, each with an end-of-level boss who must be defeated before progressing to the next stage. Only after Arthur defeats the final boss for the second time does the game display its finale sequence and declare the player victorious.

[edit] The Graveyard and Forest

Avoiding the zombies in The Graveyard

The game begins in a graveyard with one of Astaroth's minions kidnapping Arthur's girlfriend, Princess Prin-Prin. Arthur must then make his way through the graveyard, avoiding or killing the zombies and demons he meets on the way. After crossing a river, he then enters the forest. Defeating the boss at the end of the forest allows him to collect a key and progress to the next level.

[edit] The Ice Palace

The Ice Palace involves more jumping than the previous level. The player must make his way through the level, avoiding or killing the flying sprites and spitting plants. The player can suffer instant death in this level if he misses a platform when jumping. In the latter half of this level, the player must make his way through a large dilapidated house, defeating several Ogres along the way. After finally defeating two bosses, the player proceeds to The Caves.

[edit] The Caves

The third level ratchets the difficulty up a notch. Similar in design to the Graveyard, the player must fight more demons, cover more ground and two new enemies are introduced - bats and spitting pillars. The pillars can be particularly difficult to kill, as they are only vulnerable for a short period of time. If Arthur makes it through to the end of this level, he must face the first dragon of the game. If he manages to defeat this boss, he will again be awarded a key and move on to the next level.

[edit] The Floating Platforms and Firebridge

New players often find the floating platforms tough. An incorrect jump here usually results in instant death as Arthur will fall into the chasm below. The player must ride these platforms to the other side, defeat a demon and then make his way across the firebridge, which is infested with sprites. The bridge is guarded by a second dragon that must be defeated to enter Astaroth's castle.

[edit] Lower Castle

The castle is divided into two sections, upper and lower. The game's difficulty is again ratcheted up a notch. Almost all creatures encountered earlier in the game are present here and the floor is littered with skulls that come alive when approached. Most of the level involves climbing until a difficult and large boss is encountered, similar to the one that initially kidnapped the princess. This boss is particularly tough to defeat, as it is only vulnerable when its cape is open. If the player is successful here, Arthur will be granted access to the upper level of the castle.

[edit] Upper Castle

The penultimate level is rather sparse compared to the previous levels, and features multiple boss characters - gatekeepers, dragons and demons. The final two bosses must be defeated with the Shield (or Crucifix) to enter Astaroth's throne room. The limited range of the shield makes this a tough task. If the player kills these bosses with any other weapon, Arthur is returned to the start of the previous level.

[edit] Astaroth's Throne Room

The throne room features Astaroth standing between Arthur and the Princess. Arthur can defeat Astaroth only by hitting him at very specific points on his body with the shield. If the player defeats Astaroth, and it is his first time reaching this level, he is returned to level one to repeat the entire game, at a higher difficulty. Only if the player manages to repeat his victory does the game finish and show Arthur being re-united with Princess Prin-Prin.

[edit] Ports

Many conversions to home computers were produced by Elite Systems.

[edit] Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 version, released in 1987, featured compelling gameplay. Programmed by Chris Butler, it is also known for its excellent music by Mark Cooksey. Due to the limited resources on the Commodore 64, it was somewhat different to 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.

[edit] 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 strangely 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.

[edit] Other platforms

Ghosts 'n Goblins was also ported to the Commodore 64/128, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC 464/6128, Atari ST, IBM PC, Sharp X68000, Bandai WonderSwan, Nintendo Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and the NES.

The NES Version was developed by Micronics.

The original arcade version of the game was also included in the compilation Capcom Generations Vol.2: Chronicles of Arthur 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.

[edit] External links

v • d • e

Ghosts 'n Goblins video games

Ghosts 'n Goblins • Ghouls 'n Ghosts • Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts • Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/h/o/Ghosts_%27n_Goblins_136f.html"