From the Memory Bank: My History with Video Games

Reflections: "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" (Arcade)

Then there's the other series that has been having a big impact on my life in recent years: Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins! It, too, has been regularly providing me new favorites across a variety of gaming platforms. That's why I've become such a big fan of it.

Ghosts 'n Goblins' becoming one of my new favorite series is pretty amazing considering how troubled our history is. We got off to a really rough start. I had nothing but miserable experiences with the original Ghosts 'n Goblins and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and I was so burned by what those games put me through that I avoided the series for decades in following.

But then things suddenly changed. A certain experience helped me to see the Ghost 'n Goblins series in a whole new light. I talked about that experience at length in my Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts piece. In short: After I gained an understanding of what Super Ghouls n' Ghosts truly was, I formed a connection with it, and subsequently it became one of my all-time-favorite SNES games. And as a consequence of my positive experience with it, I gained an interest in playing other Ghosts 'n Goblins games and seeing them through a new lens.

The first game that I had my eyes on was Ghouls 'n Ghosts.

For most of the previous three decades, I pretty much ignored Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Whenever I'd see it in arcades, I'd pass right by it. "I know exactly what that game's going to be, and I don't want any part of it!" I'd think to myself in those moments. (Also, I was confused as to why it was called "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" rather than "Ghosts 'n Goblins 2." It seemed like such an inexplicably weird and unnecessary title change.)

And I continued to think that way until the late 2010s, when I finally saw the game in action. Right around then, a few of my favorite Twitch personalities played through it, and I watched them do so; and in each instance, I was impressed by what the game was exhibiting. I was so impressed, in fact, that I wanted to play it for myself! At the time, though, I couldn't build up the nerve to play it because I was still operating under the assumption that it, like the series' other games, was unreasonably difficult. As I'd watch streamers play through it, I'd think to myself, "This game looks fun, yeah, but it probably isn't. I'd bet that it's just as abusive as the other Ghosts 'n Goblins games!" And seeing said streamers struggle mightily with certain stages and bosses certainly didn't allay that fear.

But after I had my revelatory Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts experience, my feelings changed, and I was now eager to seek out and play Ghouls 'n Ghosts. I was ready to enthusiastically embrace it and confidently deal with any challenges it could throw at me!

I gravitated to the Genesis version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts because it was the one that all of the streamers were playing (also, it was the most easily accessible version). And I loved it. In a short time, it became one of my favorite Genesis games. And in the months that followed, I returned to it on a regular basis. I was addicted to its action!

The whole time, though, I was desiring to play the original arcade version because from what I'd seen, it was the best version of the game. It had superior visuals and music, and its longer horizontal resolution (384 pixels compared to the Genesis version's 320 pixels) allowed it to display more of the game's world. The only problem was that the arcade version wasn't available on any of the current platforms, and I didn't want to turn to emulation because I don't like playing games on my computer (mostly because my PC controller is awful). So I decided that the best thing to do was wait and hope that Ghouls 'n Ghosts would one day appear in an arcade compilation or become an Arcade Archives title.

About a year and half later, I got my wish: On February 17th of 2021, Capcom released Capcom Arcade Stadium--a compilation that contained 32 of the company's old arcade games. Ghouls 'n Ghosts was one of them, and its inclusion was the biggest reason why I purchased Stadium. I'd been dying to play the game in its original form, and I was willing to pay $40 to do it!

And Ghouls 'n Ghosts was worth the price of entry. It's expectedly great, and it has been providing me reliably fun and satisfying gaming experiences for more than a year and a half now.

And now I'm ready to talk about the game and tell you why I'm so fond of it!

 So for those of you who don't know: Ghouls 'n Ghosts is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins and the series' second game. It was released in 1988, and at the time, it represented a big step in Capcom's evolution as a game developer. It was a hit with audiences, and like late-80s-era Capcom games were apt to do, it made a big technological leap and helped to advance the medium. Specifically, it helped to usher in the next generation of arcade gaming.

So, really, Ghouls 'n Ghosts was the type of game that enthusiasts from across the world had come to expect from Capcom--the company that had recently produced industry- and life-changing games like Mega Man 2 and Bionic Commando (and naturally I missed out on two out of the three). It was yet another top-class action game.

"So what's the game actually about, you longwinded freak?" you ask while tapping your fingers on the desk.

Well, my impatient friend, I'm about to tell you!

Ghouls 'n Ghosts' story, you see, is set three years after Ghosts 'n Goblins', and its events are driven by familiar characters and motivations. Our hero is the brave knight Sir Arthur, who is once again facing a major crisis. While he was away (presumably on a new adventure), something terrible happened: Lucifer, the king of the Demon Realm, reemerged and put an evil revenge plan into motion. In an act of pure cruelty, he invaded and completely ravaged Arthur's kingdom! This time, though, he didn't settle for merely intimidating his targets, no. He took it to an even greater extreme: He killed all of the villagers and stole their souls!

His final target was Princess Prin Prin--the kingdom's ruler and Arthur's beloved. As she was attempting to flee, Lucifer chased her down and gleefully ended her life with one of his destructive beams. The returning Arthur, who was desperately rushing toward her at the time, got there too late, and thus he unable to prevent this occurrence; all he could do, rather, was watch on in horror as the beam struck her down. As he kneeled next to her corpse, in a moment of grief, he turned and looked at Lucifer's smiling, taunting visage and vowed to set things right.

So now Arthur has a new quest: He must head back to the Demon Realm and confront the evil Lucifer! He must defeat all of the realm's vile guardians and save his countrymen's souls! (Murdering and soul-stealing?! That's pretty heavy stuff!)

And that's the story--or at least the story that I was able to piece together after consulting various sources (including the Genesis version's manual, which gave me nothing; its story description is so vague-sounding that I'm convinced that the author was barely familiar with the subject-matter).

The fact is that arcade games are rarely clear in their delivery of information. Their intros tend to leave out a lot of the details--things like the names of characters and locations. So I have to look them up. And most of the time, certain storyline bits are so bereft are so bereft of context that I have to rely on interpretation.

Back in the 80s and 90s, I didn't mind it when games provided only a scant amount of information. I liked that they left a lot to the imagination. Their doing so allowed me to fill in the gaps with my theories and interpretations. That was part of the fun of playing games! And, well, it still is! It's just that when I write about games in spaces such as these, I feel the pressure to stay within the boundaries and be as accurate as possible. I don't want to accidentally misinterpret story bits and resultantly spread misinformation.

Fortunately, it's hard to do as much when we're talking about a game like Ghouls 'n Ghosts, whose story is entirely simple: An evil villain has ravaged the land and killed everyone, so now the armored hero must embark on a mission to destroy the forces of darkness and save his fellow villagers' souls.

That's what the game is about.

 Ghouls 'n Ghosts, to put it in its proper context, is an evolutionary sequel. It's the Super Mario Bros. 3 to Ghosts 'n Goblins' Super Mario Bros., which is to say that it builds upon an existing template and ascends to the next level not by dramatically altering the formula but instead by introducing a number of small-but-very-meaningful additions. I'll touch upon these additions as we go along.

At its core, Ghouls 'n Ghosts is very similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins. It has the same type of structuring and stage progression, and its action is powered by all of the same mechanics and weapons systems. The goal is to complete two five-stage loops and then defeat the game's true final boss, Lucifer, in the second loop's exclusive sixth stage. In order to access the true final stage, you have to obtain a particular special weapon sometime during the second loop and then use it to defeat Stage 5's boss, Beelzebub. If you defeat Beelzebub without said weapon, you'll be prevented from advancing, and the game will penalize you by sending you back to Stage 5's starting point. (This would become the series' tradition.)

Our hero is the brave knight Sir Arthur, who functions similarly to how he did in Ghosts 'n Goblins. He attacks with the Lance, the game's default weapon, and he advances through stages by running, jumping and climbing his way across and through their dangerous environments. Arthur has a fixed jump and is thus forced to fully commit to the action; consequently, he must be precise in his aerial movement. Though, he's able to compensate for his jump's rigidity by turning and facing the opposite direction while he's aerial; this allows him to attack enemies that are behind him.

Arthur has a limited amount of physical resilience. If he takes a hit, he'll lose his armor and have to continue on while wearing nothing but his boxers; and if takes a hit while he's armorless, he'll die and be reduced to a pile of bones. A boxers-clad Arthur can reclaim his armor by breaking open a chest that happens to contain it (I'll explain how chests work in a moment). Though, there are certain hazards against which armor won't offer Arthur any protection. If he falls into a pit or makes contact with spikes or brambles, he'll die instantly.

Otherwise, Arthur can crouch to evade enemies and projectiles that travel at head- and chest-level.

Then there's the game's most highly impactful addition: multi-directional attacking! This time around, Arthur is able to throw (or stab) weapons in up to four directions! The available number is dependent upon his current position. If he's standing, he can throw his weapon right, left and upward, and if he's aerial, he can throw his weapon left, right, upward and downward. The only time he's limited is when he's crouching; when he's in such a position, he can only throw his weapon in a forward direction.

This expanded offensive capability changes everything. It provides Arthur the means for attacking and clearing out enemies that occupy and often crowd the platforms that are positioned above and below him, and it allows him to more effectively deal with enemies that like to fly in from above and below. These are abilities that he sorely lacked in Ghosts 'n Goblins.

With these new offensive skills, Arthur is now a much more capable hero. He's now able to competently engage with enemy hordes and advance through stages with less trouble. In Ghosts 'n Goblins, doing either of these was a painful chore. But in this game, both are easier and more fun! That's what multi-directional attacking does for you. That's what makes it such a great new addition! (Whenever I play Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, I can't help but missing having this ability. Being able to throw upward and downward would make some of the game's platforming challenges a lot less harrowing!)

During his quest, Arthur can obtain other weapons and upgrade his armor. He'll find weapons and armor upgrades in the chests that appear when he steps on or passes through unseen trigger points (some of which are placed in out-of-the-way spaces). These chests, distressingly, can also contain evil magicians, who use dark magic to temporarily transform you into something weaker--something whose capabilities are greatly diminished. If you're armorless, you'll get turned into a decrepit old man, and if you're wearing armor, you'll get turned into a helpless duck.

The cool thing about old-man Arthur is that he can still perform all of his normal functions. He can still throw weapons, jump, and climb ladders. It's just that he does these things much more slowly when he's in this form (but even then, this is still a big step up from what any of his Ghosts 'n Goblins or Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts transformations can do, which is basically nothing). I love what old-man Arthur adds. He's highly amusing, and he strongly exemplifies the game's (and the series') underlying lightheartedness and proclivity for self-deprecating humor. I wish he were in other series games!

Ghouls 'n Ghosts' other new addition is its armor system. This time, Arthur isn't limited to his default steel armor, no. He can upgrade to golden Magic Armor!

The Magic Armor, which you find in hidden chests, allows you to enchant weapons and use the magical attacks that are attached to them. When you obtain the Gold Armor, a special meter appears on the screen's bottom--to left of the HUD's weapon box. If you hold down the fire button, the meter will charge; and if you release the fire button after fulling charging the meter, Arthur will unleash a powerful magic attack (I'll talk about magic later). You can charge the meter while standing, running or jumping but not while climbing a ladder; if you start climbing as the meter is charging, the charge will pause.

Then there are the basic rules.

In Ghouls 'n Ghosts, you get three lives per credit (if the version you're playing has DIP switches, you can adjust this number; you can set it to as low as 1, if you're crazy, or select a higher total--5 or 6, depending upon the version you're playing).

Each stage half has a 2-and-half- to 3-minute time limit (the timer resets back to the default number when you reach a stage's midpoint), save for Stage 5, whose checkpoint reset gives you a 45-second boost (you get 3 minutes and 45 seconds rather than the 3 minutes you had at the start).

And there's a score system. Your score-total is shown in the top-left corner, while the current top score is shown in the screen's upper-middle portion. You get varying amounts of points for killing enemies and collecting armor icons. Also, you get a special 5,000-point bonus for completing a stage and grabbing the "entrance" key. And you can get yourself an extra 5,000 points if you hold upward while you pick up the key; doing so will earn you the "Nice Catch!" bonus, as it's called. Otherwise, you can gain extra lives by reaching certain point-totals. These values are determined by whichever "Bonus Life Type" option is currently selected. In type A, you get an extra life for reaching 10,000 points, another extra life for reaching 30,000 points, and then an additional extra life for every subsequent 30,000 points. In type B, it's 20,000; 50,000; and 70,000. In type C, it's 30,000; 60,000; and 70,000. And in type D, it's 40,000; 70,000; and 80,000.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts also has an alternating 2-player mode, if you're interested in such a thing.

 Ghouls 'n Ghost's three-input control scheme has only a tiny amount of complexity to it. The basic controls are easy to understand: You move forward by pressing left or right on the directional pad, you attack by pressing the "Fire" button, and you jump by pressing the "Jump" button. Otherwise, you press down on the d-pad to crouch and up and down on the d-pad to climb ladders (you can only grab onto ladders from a grounded position). That's it.

The complexity, if you can even call it that, comes into play when we're talking about multi-directional attacking and spell-casting. You have to do some extra work to execute said moves: To throw a weapon upward, you have to hold up on the d-pad while pressing the fire button, and to throw it downward, you have to hold down on the d-pad while pressing the fire button (while you're aerial, which is the only time in which downward weapon-tosses are possible).

Movement controls are, for the most part, smooth and responsive. Arthur moves swiftly (much more so than he does in either Ghosts 'n Goblins or Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts) and jumps quickly. There's no landing lag, so he's able to execute a successive jump the moment he hits the ground. Arthur moves faster when he's jumping, so if you're a speed-focused player, it might make sense for you to advance forward not by running but rather by stringing together jumps.

Arthur's fixed jump carries him four tiles forward and four tiles upward. Because the horizontal jump's range is fixed, you have no margin for error when you use it; you have to be precise. Otherwise, Arthur is able to turn his torso when he's aerial and throw weapons in the opposite direction; this maneuver allows him to attack enemies while he's jumping away from them, and thus it gives him the ability to be evasive and offensive at the same time.

There's no landing lag, no, but your forward-moving jump will face some resistance if you attempt to execute it under the condition that you've just hit the ground and you're currently facing the opposite direction. In such an instance, there's a strong possibility that Arthur will instead jump straight upward or just stand there idly. Ordinarily, this control conflict won't cost you much, but it can potentially spell doom in instances in which you're jumping across series of horizontally-moving platforms.

And there are a couple of built-in limitations: When Arthur is on the ground, he can't move while throwing weapons. He can't turn while crouching, which makes crouch-attacking risky--mostly because this is a game in which enemies come at you from both directions and do so at fast speeds. And he can't attack while climbing ladders.

Overall, though, I don't have any major complains about the controls. They work great. The only thing I feel compelled to say is that I really miss Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts double jump when I play this game. Arthur's jumping ability feels so rigid without it. I miss having the ability to compensate for poorly calculated jumps. If I screw up a jump in this game, I have no options; all I can do is fall helplessly. I feel especially deprived when I come into Ghouls 'n Ghosts immediately after playing Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts because suddenly I no longer have use of what was previously my most handy move! It all balances out, though, because, like I said, I always miss multi-directional weapon-throwing when I play Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts!

That's life, I guess. You can't always get everything you want.

 So Ghouls 'n Ghosts has all of the series' trademarks. You're introduced to its world via a scrolling map that displays miniaturized versions of the six Demon Realm stages, and this same map is shown every time you begin a new stage or restart after dying. Its purpose is to chart your progress and show you how much game is left (you never have to watch this scene, though; you can skip it by pressing either of the two buttons).

The game's world is comprised of six stages, but you can only access five of them in the first loop. The sixth stage is available only in the second loop, and you have to do some extra work to access it. First you have to obtain a special weapon that only appears in the second loop--the Psycho Cannon--and then you have to use said weapon to defeat Stage 5's boss, Beelzebub. If you want to obtain the Psycho Cannon, you have to be donning Magic Armor; if you're not wearing Magic Armor, the Psycho Cannon won't appear in chests. And if you defeat Beelzebub with any other weapon, the game will penalize you by sending you back to Stage 5's starting point.

And the final stage is simply a boss fight against the game's true final villain, Lucifer. Defeating him will get you the "true" ending.

This is the standardized formula--the one that Ghouls 'n Ghosts created via its addition of an armor system.

Now, up to this point, I've avoided comparing Ghouls 'n Ghosts to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts because I don't want this review to have the character of a platform-wars- or versus-type piece. I want the context to be "how Ghouls 'n Ghosts evolved its progenitor's formulas and mechanics." Though, whenever I'm talking about Ghouls 'n Ghosts in regard to how its action flows, I can't help but compare it to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. I do it because it helps me to create a distinction and explain how Ghouls 'n Ghosts is different from the game that shares its name (or part of its name).

They're not the same game, as you may have been led to think. They don't play the same way. If you're only familiar with Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, you might look at screenshots or video of Ghouls 'n Ghosts and assume that it's merely an "alternate version" of the former. It's not. It's something different. It's an arcade-style game. It's not, like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, a methodically paced console-style game in which you traverse multi-layered stages and cautiously tackle series of complexly designed platforming challenges, no. Rather, it's a fast-paced action game whose swift movement controls and straightforward level design encourage you to energetically rush forward and traverse stages in an unrestrained, spontaneous fashion.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts arcade-style action invites you to throw caution to the wind and deal with oncoming challenges not by assessing them or thinking about how to approach them but instead by impulsively engaging with them and overcoming them by simply charging ahead and wildly unloading on any enemies that happen to get in your way. Being fast and reflexive is the name of the game.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts' is a different style of play and one that allows it to stand out as unique.

That's not to say that Ghouls 'n Ghosts lacks complexity, no. It has a fair amount of it. It's just that even its most complex platforming challenges can be overcome with swift movement and some tactical weapon-spamming. They, like all of the game's other challenges, have no interest in wasting your time.

So yeah--Ghouls 'n Ghosts wants you to move fast and have a lot of fun in doing so. That's how it's different from Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts--the game to which it's often compared.

Now let's talk about the game's systems.

First there are the weapons. Ghouls 'n Ghosts has seven of them in total. You start the game with default Lance, and along the way, you can replace it with any of the other six weapons. These randomly shuffled weapons can be found or chests, or they can be dropped by pot-holding enemies (after you lose the Lance, it gets thrown into the weapons mix).

Here's what's available:

• The Lance, which moves in a straight line and travels the length of the screen. Arthur can throw two of them at a time.
• The Axe--a powerful battle axe that spins through the air when you throw it. It travels at a 45-degree angle.
• The Sword--a golden sword that can be swung at a short range. It has twice the power of the second-strongest normal weapon (the Axe).
• The Torch, which is thrown in a short arc. When it hits the ground, it creates a wave of engulfing flames that travels a half a screen's length.
• The Discus--a spinning blade that travels the length of the screen. If it makes contact with an inclined surface, it'll travel up said surface. And if it's thrown by a crouching Arthur, it'll arc downward and descend down declining slopes.
• The Dagger--a fast-moving-but-weak knife that moves in a straight line and travels the length of the screen. You can throw three of them at a time.
• The Psycho Cannon--a supremely powerful fireball attack whose only weakness is its short range. You can throw two of them at a time. This weapon can only be obtained in the second loop.

Like in all of the other Ghosts 'n Goblins games, the majority of the weapons are mediocre-to-bad. The Dagger is the best weapon because it's fast and accurate and has the game's best spell attached to it, and the Lance is decent because it travels in a straight line and has adequate strength. But the rest of the weapons suck. The Sword is powerful, yeah, but its range is way too short. The Axe hits hard, but it's slow and has an inconvenient flight-path. The Torch is only effective against grounded enemies. And the Discus, while it looks cool, is too weak to be effective.

The Dagger is the best weapon by a large margin. It lacks strength, sure, but its positive aspects more than make up for that deficiency. It can be thrown rapidly and in sets of threes, and thus you can overwhelm enemies with it. And that's what makes it such a great weapon. None of the other weapons can do that job for you.

In Ghouls 'n Ghosts, part of the challenge is trying to avoid unwanted weapons. When you have a desired weapon--like, say, the Dagger--you have to be smart about how you (a) approach chest-spawning and (b) engage with pot-carrying enemies; you don't want to put yourself in a position in which an unwanted weapon is blocking the way forward or occupying a space through which you're likely to pass while you're platforming. Having the wrong weapon at the wrong time can doom you. If you have an ineffective weapon, you might not be able to beat a certain boss or survive long enough to obtain a better weapon.

So what you want to do, really, is get the Dagger and hold on to it for dear life!

And like I said earlier: When you're wearing Magic Armor, you can enchant your weapons and use the spells that are attached to them! (Note that the Psycho Cannon, because it's a "special" weapon, has no spell attached to it.)

Here's what each weapon does when it's enchanted:

• The Lance fires powerful lightning bolts in three directions (left, right and upward).
• The Axe allows Arthur to unleash an eruptive flame attack whose explosions shield him and destroy any enemies that are nearby.
• The Sword sends out twin thunder dragons--one in either direction. The dragons arc through the air and then converge at the screen's center, and as they travel along, the destroy every enemy that they touch.
• The Torch sends out two pairs of large whirling fireballs--one in either direction. The fireballs destroy every enemy that they touch.
• The Discus releases a magic mirror that drops to the ground and becomes a stationary shield. The mirror blocks projectiles and kills any enemy that touches it. After about four seconds, it vanishes.
• The Dagger summons a ghostly Arthur clone that mimics Arthur's movements and doubles his firepower (the clone operates on a one-second delay). The clone vanishes after about six seconds.

The Dagger spell is of course the best of them. It doubles your firepower and allows you to absolutely overwhelm minor enemies and bosses alike! I mean, you can just unload on enemies and take down even the toughest of them in seconds! This is a big reason why you'll want to obtain the Dagger and hold on to it for the entirety of the adventure.

There are three items in the game, and all three are dropped randomly by pot-holding enemies. These items include the Red Armor symbol, which awards you 200 points; the Big Red Armor symbol, which awards you 500 points; and the exceptionally rare 1up symbol, which grants you an extra life.

Then, finally, there's the chest cycle.

What you get from a spawned chest is dependent upon your current status. When you're donning the default steel armor, the first chest will contain a magician, the second will contain Magic Armor, and the third will contain a weapon. All of the following chests will alternate between magicians and weapons. When you're armorless, the cycle, usually, is magician, magician, weapon, magician, magician, and then steel armor (I say "usually" because there are times in which the system's algorithm decides to put steel armor in the very first chest; I'm not sure what causes it to do so). And when you're donning Magic Armor, the cycle is weapon, magician, weapon, weapon and weapon.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one of the game's most surprising design aspects: Arthur's extremely generous hitbox! Seriously--his hitbox is basically a small square in the center of his chest. And because this is the case, you're able to partially overlap with parts of enemies or hazards and not take damage. Also, you have hitbox priority, which means that you can kill an enemy that's in your hitbox if you started to attack said enemy before it got there!

Considering that Ghouls 'n Ghosts is an arcade game, this a shockingly favorable design decision.

 Ghouls 'n Ghosts stages are, as I said earlier, straightforward in design. They push you in a single direction. The first stage, the Execution Palace, has a split path at its three-quarters point, but that's the only instance in which the game embraces openness. The rest of it is strictly linear.

But that's not to suggest that Ghouls 'n Ghosts' level design is simple or plain, no. It really isn't. It's creative and sometimes fairly complex. Along the way, you face quite a few unique and interesting challenges. In Stage 1's opening half, for instance, you have to pass between the beams of scary-looking guillotines whose blades continuously raise and drop. And in its second half, you have to run against hurricane-force winds while tactically avoiding an incoming horde of tornado-like sickle weasels, each of which has a different flight pattern.

In Stage 2, the Village of Decay, you have to cross a series of bridges and do so while trying not to walk onto or land on its collapsing segments. If you fall through the bridge, you'll land on one of the underlying sand slides and have to jump against its current to escape. If you don't act quickly enough, you'll get eaten by the sand pool's hungry ant lion, which starts chasing you the moment you fall onto the sand. And if you fall on the ant lion, itself, you'll die instantly. It's a perilous challenge but also an exciting one.

Stage 3's, the Baron Rankle's, first half is a vertical autoscrolling section that has a strong shoot-'em-up theme. As you ride an elevator upward, you have to contend with three separate threats: (1) The mud armors that jut out from the walls and ceiling structures and stab at you. If you don't kill a mud armor before the elevator reaches its level, it'll detach from the wall or ceiling and proceed to crawl along the elevator's surface, in a stalking fashion. (2) The endlessly spawning flying goblins that swarm overhead. They attack by dropping rocks and swooping down at you. And (3) the obstructive ceiling structures. If the elevator presses you up against one of them, you'll get crushed to death.

I call Stage 3's first half the "Galaga stage" because its predominant enemy, the flying goblin, looks and behaves just like the Galagas from Galaga! I have no doubt that both they and the stage they occupy are a tribute to Galaga. Ghouls 'n Ghosts' developers had to have been big fans of the game.

Stage 3's latter half is a wonderfully weird section in which you have to advance forward by jumping onto and riding stone demon heads' extending and retracting tongues. If you don't jump off of a retracting tongue before it reaches its sender, you'll get eaten! Part of the challenge is maintaining your position while you wait for the tongues to extend over to you. In the meantime, you have to work to stay ahead of the horizontally-scrolling platforms and avoid getting knocked into a pit by the endlessly spawning insect goblins.

And in Stage 4's, the Crystal Forest's, latter half, you have to descend down a series of water slides that are separated by deadly brambles. As you're being carried down, you have to contend with slime-tossing evil hands and emerging water worms.

And those are just some examples of Ghouls 'n Ghosts' unique and interesting challenges. The game has a lot of creative spirit--much more than most people think it has. Right from the jump, its level design says to you, "You're going to see a lot of wild and strange new things in this game!" And it delivers on that promise. It hits you with environmental-design features and challenges that are unlike any others you've seen before.

To me, Ghouls 'n Ghost's level design is its most appealing aspect. It's worth playing the game just to see how it's crafted!

Also, Ghouls 'n Ghosts' having a four-directional attack scheme allows for the designers to do more with their enemy characters. Because they've enabled Arthur to throw weapons upward and downward, they're able to create Galaga-like stage sections and bosses who (a) engage you from above and below and (b) raise and lower their vulnerable appendages. They're able to craft distinct challenges and do things that just wouldn't work well (or work at all) in other Ghosts 'n Goblins games--mostly because their Arthur incarnations are too offensively limited to capably handle any of them.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts' uniquely crafted design features and challenges are two more things that help it to stand out strongly.

 For as long as I've been writing about games, I've struggled to rate arcade games' visuals and technical performances. I never know what to compare them to. Whenever I'm preparing to talk about an arcade game's graphical qualities, I wonder to myself, "Should I focus on how this game's technology allows it to render visuals that are superior to previous-generation arcade games'? Should I talk about how this game's visuals compare to its contemporaries'? Or should I create a context that's easier to understand by comparing this game to something that's more familiar to mass audiences: console games?"

In Ghouls 'n Ghosts' case, I feel compelled to do all three because of all of the obvious connections, yet my sense is that taking this path will cause me to lose all focus and instead create what is essentially a textual equivalent of a console-comparison video. And if I did that, I wouldn't be saying anything truly insightful. The better approach, I think, is to focus on what Ghouls 'n Ghosts does artistically and make comparisons only in that context.

So what Ghouls 'n Ghosts does exceptionally well is create a world that's visually appealing in a curiously alluring way. Its imagery produces settings and environments that are strikingly spooky and unearthly and quite often a fascinating combination of bizarre, disturbing and surreal.

At first, you won't know what to make of what you're seeing. You'll examine the game's backgrounds and environmental elements and wonder, "What the hell kind of world is this?" And you'll do that because your sense will be that Ghouls 'n Ghosts world isn't your standard "dark, depressive medieval world," as you thought it would be going in, but instead one whose atmosphere is remarkably distinct. It's dark in tone, yes, but not "haunted" or "cursed" like the worlds through which you traveled in Castlevania, 8 Eyes and Shadowgate. Rather, it's matter-of-fact in its appearance. It's a demon world in its natural state. That's all that it is and all that it cares to be.

And soon you realize that all of the guillotines, torture victims, and bone bushels are just part and parcel of a world inhabited by twisted ghouls, ghosts and monsters. This is the demons' space, and its sights speak of what goes on here. Crucifixions, beheadings and hangings are the demons' hobbies. They're the types of activities that occur here on the daily.

And it's that striking weirdness that makes you want to further examine Ghouls 'n Ghosts' visuals and do so with a curious energy. The world they create is so incredibly distinct and so very interesting that you'll develop a deep desire to learn more about it. You'll want to know more of the story of the Demon Realm and its ghoulish inhabitants and how they function.

That's what Ghouls 'n Ghosts accomplishes artistically.

When it comes to creating expression, Ghouls 'n Ghosts' near backgrounds and sprite-layer environments do most of the heavy lifting. They're amazingly-well-rendered, richly textured, and incredibly detailed, and they work hard to tell the story of an unloved, intentionally neglected demon world. They show you what the world is currently while giving you an idea of what it looked like before the demons let it fall into chaos.

The distant backgrounds, in contrast, are a lot more sparse. They're similar to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts backgrounds in that they're mostly plain or mono-colored and generally deemphasized. What this does is allow for the distant backgrounds' most-essential, most-informative visuals to stand out and have a dominating presence to them. When such visuals appear, your eyes are instantly drawn to them, and immediately you sense that they have something important to say. And they do. The game's gnarled trees, dilapidated windmill houses (which, interestingly, have been partially engulfed by bubbling slime), burning buildings, titled towers, and large, skeletal aqueducts give you valuable insight into the Demon Realm's realities.

And I love that there are so many personality-building touches. Everywhere you look, you see interesting little features and decorations: skull piles, destroyed fences, skeleton-filled spike pits, trees with evil-looking faces, dead creatures' ribcages, and demonic statues and sculptures. And all of them, too, tell you a lot about the game's world.

And of course, Ghouls 'n Ghosts' world is populated by a cast of creepy, crawly enemies. And all of the enemies are remarkably-well-presented. Their sprites are super-detailed, and they're very expressive. Those that have faces bear angry, gleefully sinister expressions that say, "I'm going to hurt you and have a lot of fun doing it!", and those that don't instead communicate their intentions with their wonderfully creepy and freaky movements.

Also, the enemies are amazingly-well-animated and very lively. The skeleton murderers (the game's zombie equivalent) peek out from behind walls, trees and tombstones before hopping out suddenly. Vultures squawk and peck at the branches on which they're perched, and then they swoop down and dart toward you. Giant worms break through the dirt and then proceed to creepily bend and contort and stretch in every which direction. And the patrolling pigmen look downward, in a sentry-like fashion, when you're running around on a lower level; if they spot you, they vomit on you!

Every one of the game's creatures is expressive in some way. Each one crawls, moves or idles about in a startlingly creepy, spooky or disturbing manner.

Bosses, too, are impressively animated. Their movements and attacks have great complexity to them; their every action and micro-action is rendered via a multi-frame animation. And the bosses are all huge! For that reason, their great depth of animation is doubly impressive.

Arthur, too, is finely animated. He moves and attacks with purpose, and when he's wearing magic armor, his cape blows in the wind and drifts as he maneuvers about.

So yeah--Ghouls and Ghosts is a great-looking game. As you examine its visuals, you'll think to yourself, "This must've been a really advanced game for the time!"

It was. And it still looks great today! Its visuals still have the power to delight you and stir your imagination.

That's the power of 1990s-era Capcom.

 Ghouls 'n Ghosts' music, too, is designed to give you insight into the Demon Realm's nature and define its mood. It has a certain character to it: It's bleak but not dark. It's gloomy on the surface, but at its heart, it's full of energy and has a striving spirit. That becomes obvious to you when you listen to it intently. Each tune, you discover, has a certain type of vibration to it--a lyrical message that serves to inform you about the true state of its associated environment. And soon you come to know that Ghouls 'n Ghosts' world isn't as dark or depressive as it appears to be. It's actually quite a vibrant place! It's dour, sure, but also whimsical, silly, quirky and even cheerful in nature.

Ghouls 'n Ghost's music isn't like Ghosts 'n Goblins' and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts'. It doesn't speak of a world that's concerningly serious, ominous, hopeless and distressed. Rather, it tells you that the Demon Realm has a lighthearted energy to it. It's a fun place in a twisted kind of way!

The music expertly delivers that message.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts' music is quiet and mellow in character. It's not booming like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts' music, no. It doesn't speak of a grand adventure. Rather, it signals to you that you're engaging in a fun romp. "This game isn't like the others," it says to you. "It's not as dark or as serious." That's how it helps Ghouls 'n Ghosts to establish a unique personality.

In terms of quality, the music is expectedly excellent. It's what you always get from Capcom. The best thing about it is its distinct style. The composer, Tamayo Kawamoto, crafts her tunes using the usual medieval-sounding horns, violins, organs and harpsichords, yeah, but also an assortment of weird and spooky sounds--eerie chimes, clangs, whistles and clacks; and as a result, they have an unnatural, ghostly quality to them. They feel appropriately otherworldly. And thus they form a soundtrack whose tunes are wholly distinct-sounding; no other Ghosts 'n Goblins game has music quite like it.

Of course, Ghouls 'n Ghosts' first stage has the series' classic main theme. And it's a great variant of the tune. It has a slower tempo and is softer in tone, and this helps it to be more melodious and more rhythmic than the original version. It's a more-fitting version, I feel. It does more to capture the series' spirit.

Though, I still think that Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts' main-theme variant is the best of them. It's not as rhythmic as Ghouls 'n Ghosts', but it definitely has more power and emotion to it.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts' version is still high up there, though.

The sound effects are fine. Chests chime when they open, the spell meter blaringly revs up when you charge it, and weapons clank when they hit solid objects. And all of Arthur's attacks sound fiery, destructive and explosive.

These sound effects are a little staticky in quality, but still they're highly descriptive and aurally pleasing.

But the music is the real star here. It's wonderfully melodic, it has great quality, and it does a marvelous job of defining the game's world and telling you the truth about it.

 Of course, whenever you're talking about a Ghosts 'n Goblins game, you have to address the elephant in the room: the issue of difficulty.

Everyone knows that this series has a reputation for producing highly difficult games. Every time a commenter, chatter or games journalist talks about a series' game, they always spend a lot of time tell you how hard it is. Most of them even go as far to say that the series' games are unreasonably difficult and should be avoided for that reason.

In my Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts piece, I argued against that idea and explained why I feel that Ghosts 'n Goblins games' having "unreasonable difficulty" was a sad misconception. The majority of them (the ones that aren't titled "Ghosts 'n Goblins") aren't nearly that difficult, I contended, and could be competently beaten by anyone who was willing to take the time to (a) memorize enemy patterns and spawn points and (b) seek out the most useful weapons.

And I believe that to be the case with Ghouls 'n Ghosts. If you understand how the enemies operate and make it a point to obtain and abuse the Dagger, you'll have a good chance to win. It's really that simple.

Make no mistake, though: Ghouls 'n Ghosts is a tough game. You're not going to waltz your way through it even if you're well-equipped knowledge- and weapon-wise. Beating it will take some work. Though, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do it. Because, really, there's nothing unique about the game's difficulty; its difficulty, like most other games', can be overcome with some simple memorization.

Now admittedly, Ghouls 'n Ghosts has some troubling randomness to it. Sometimes skeleton murderers pop out from the ground unexpectedly, from directly beneath you, and sometimes multiple projectile-spewing enemies attack simultaneously and create a projectile storm that's extremely difficult to avoid. And it can be hard to account for this type of enemy behavior. If, for instance, three or four of Stage 4's ghoul snakes simultaneously fire at you as you're descending downward via the stage's narrow plant platforms, you'll be short on options; you'll have little space to maneuver, and thus you'll have no choice but to throw yourself into the air and hope for the best.

So yes--Ghouls 'n Ghosts can be a little unfair at times.

Really, though, the amount of randomness is dependent upon the selected difficulty-level. The higher the difficulty, the greater the randomness. In all, Ghouls 'n Ghosts has 8 levels of difficulty, and in each successive difficulty-level, the enemies move faster and have higher spawn rates.

In certain versions of the game (like Capcom Arcade Stadium's US version), there are extra checkpoints (one at the end of every third screen, it seems), which you might appreciate if you're a newcomer. Though, I recommend avoiding these versions if you're looking to learn the game. Their babying you and sometimes pushing you ahead a few screens robs you of the opportunity to study stages' layouts and get a strong sense of the enemies' behaviors. (I avoid these versions because having an abundance of checkpoints sucks all of the challenge out of the game.)

The boss fights' level of difficulty is very much dependent upon the weapons with which you're equipped when you enter into them. If you come into a boss battle with a good weapon (and by "good weapon," I mean "the Dagger"), you'll be golden; you'll be able to wail on the boss and take it out quickly. But if you come into a boss fight with the Torch or the Axe, instead, you're going to have rough time of it (you might stand a chance if you have Magic Armor and the spell-casting power it grants you, but your odds of having Magic Armor late in a stage are pretty low). Like I said earlier: Part of the challenge is obtaining and then holding onto useful weapons. Having a bad weapon can make both boss battles and stage-traversal a lot more challenging.

As is series tradition, the true final boss is easy to beat if you know how to handle him. The boss, Lucifer, is another one of those giants who likes to hang out in the background and casually assault you (you'd think that these giants could easily squash you if they were motivated to do so), and you can pretty much destroy him by spamming Psycho Cannon shots while jumping back and forth. You can take him out in about 6-8 seconds or even sooner if you can manage to get on top of one if his knees and thus closer to his head (his vulnerable point); if you're in the latter position, you'll be able to aggressively wail on him and do so without interruption!

I've always assumed that Ghosts 'n Goblin games' final bosses being super-easy is the developers' way of showing mercy. It's their way of saying, "We've put the players through enough already, so let's just make this last fight a cakewalk so that they can calm down a bit and regain their composure and feel better about themselves as they watch the ending."

It's either that or some type of strange running gag.

As usual, the game's peskiest, most formidable enemy is its minor-enemy cast's most famous member. I'm of course talking about the Red Arremer--or the "Red Arremer King," as he's called here.

The Arremer King, as those of his kind are apt to be, is incredibly swift and highly evasive, and his long swooping attacks are very hard to dodge. The good news, though, is that the Arremer King isn't quite as fast or as resilient as the Arremers you encounter in Ghosts 'n Goblins and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. He tends to react a little late and leave himself open for long periods of time, and he doesn't have a lot of health. And because he moves more slowly, it's easier to spam him to death when he executes his ground-charge move (which you should always try to bait him into doing, since it sets you up for an easy kill).

I'm not suggesting that the Arremer King is easy to deal with, no. I'm just saying that he's not as annoying as other Arremer types.

As for how Ghouls 'n Ghosts difficulty compares to other Ghosts 'n Goblin games': Well, the consensus seems to be that Ghouls 'n Ghosts is the series' easiest game. Mostly, people compare it to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, which they consider to be the series' hardest game (because obviously they haven't played the original Ghosts 'n Goblins), and say that it's not nearly as difficult as the latter.

And I couldn't disagree more with that opinion. Ghouls 'n Ghost is the more difficult game by a large margin. The only reason people think it's easier than Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is because it has unlimited continues. They don't think about what Ghouls 'n Ghosts would be like if it didn't have limited continues--if it only allowed you to continue, say, three or four times. If it did that, it'd be one of the most difficult games ever made! For the majority of players, it actually would be "unreasonably difficult."

If Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts gave you only three or four continues, you'd still have more than you need. You'd still have a good chance of beating the game. And that tells you all you need to know about the disparity.

So let's just say that Ghouls 'n Ghosts is technically but not actually less difficult than Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Its having unlimited continues is what creates the illusion that it's "easier."

Closing Thoughts

 And that's how I feel about Ghouls 'n Ghosts--another one of the series; wonderful gifts. I'm fond of it because it succeeds on two levels. First, it's a great Ghosts 'n Goblins game. It has everything you could want from a series game: imaginatively ghoulish, otherworldly visuals; entrancingly spooky music; memorably creepy and ghastly enemies; smooth controls and character movement; and intense and challenging action.

Also, it's a great arcade-style action game. It does what the best arcade action games are apt to do: encourage you to speedily advance through stages and eliminate enemies by wildly unloading on them! And because it allows you to throw your weapons rapidly, you have the ability to mow down minor enemies and absolutely wail on bosses--two things that are always incredibly satisfying! It's just so much fun to charge ahead and aggressively assault any creatures that get in your way! Ghouls 'n Ghosts' inviting you to do such things is what makes it so appealing.

And because Ghouls 'n Ghosts' action moves so quickly, you can complete the game in an ideal about of time--35 to 40 minutes (and half that amount if you're the type who only cares about completing a single loop). That's a big contrast to the 60-90 minutes that you have to devote to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts or any of the series' other games. Ghouls 'n Ghosts isn't like them. It has its own values. It delivers fast-paced action and makes sure not to waste any of your time. It's a pure arcade game. That's what makes it different; it's what makes it stand out.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts is two great things in one.

 Over the past year, I've played a couple of versions of Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and my opinion is that the arcade original is the best of them. It wins on the power of its superior music and visuals and its longer horizontal resolution (no console or computer version has anything close to its 384-pixel horizontal length). No other version looks or sounds as good.

Honestly, though, the Genesis version really isn't that far off. It's one of the best arcade-to-console ports in existence. You could easily mistake it for the arcade original. That's how well-produced it is. And it has something that the original game doesn't--something that series newcomers will find very appealing: pre-boss checkpoints (in all other versions, you're sent back to a stage's halfway point if you die to its boss)! This element, alone, will likely cause a majority of newcomers to prefer the Genesis version.

Personally, I prefer the standard one-checkpoint system. I like the challenge of having to fight through a stage's latter half and defeat its boss in one go. It makes the boss battle feel more consequential, and it makes the victory feel more satisfying. When I get a checkpoint right before a boss, I feel like I'm being babied. And I get nothing out of beating a boss after restarting from a pre-boss checkpoint. It's an empty victory.

I'm eager to revisit the PC-Engine version of Ghouls 'n Ghosts--Daimakaimura, which is a Japan-only release. It doesn't look or sound as good as the arcade and Genesis versions, but still is has something that's very appealing to me: a more daunting difficulty! It uses the one-checkpoint system, and it only gives two continues. I look forward to seeing if I'm capable of winning under those conditions. If I'm able to beat the PC-Engine version, I'll finally become what I desire to be: a Ghouls 'n Ghosts master! I might even write about the experience here!

As to where Ghouls 'n Ghosts falls in my Ghosts 'n Goblins hierarchy: It's a solid #2. It's second to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, which is my favorite series game. I like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts more for a few reasons: Its campaign feels like a grander, more epic adventure. Its world is more engrossing. Its mechanics are superior. And it has better level design, music and bosses.

That's not to say that Ghouls 'n Ghosts is a lesser game, no. It isn't. Like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, it's a top-tier action game. It's just that it's not quite as great as Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.

 The only thing I can say in closing is that I'm so happy to have the Ghosts 'n Goblins series in my life. It's been with me for about three or four years now, and in that time, it has introduced me to some of the best action games I've ever played. And I'm certain that it still has more great things to show me. I'm expecting even more surprises!

It's just such a shame that I missed out on the series for so long. I shunned it for decades. I treated it with disdain. And I was a fool for doing that. All I did was rob myself of great experiences.

That's what happens when you choose to live in a bubble.

But as my experiences with the Ghosts 'n Goblins, Bionic Commando, Shinobi and Contra series have taught me: It's never too late to open your mind and try new things. Expanding your interests, I've learned, brings enrichment to your life.

And that's exactly what Ghosts 'n Goblins has done for me.