The Ghost ‘n Goblins series comprises of run-and-gun platformers with a fantasy setting published by Capcom. The first game, Ghosts ‘n Goblins (directed by Tokuro Fujiwara), initially released in arcades in 1985, then ported to home consoles. It ported to the NES, selling the most on this platform. The series since gained a reputation for being extremely difficult: I hoped to gain an appreciation. The questions is: How does the original hold up now, and how does it compare to modern games? As players became motivated by games like Elden Ring to gain an appreciation for difficult titles, they tended to play those made by FromSoftware. Instead of going in that direction, I chose to put my efforts in Ghosts ‘n Goblins, expecting something short and sweet. That is certainly one trait the game has, among many.
Impressions
The version of Ghosts ‘n Goblins I played is the emulation of the NES version available on the Nintendo Switch Online service. Version-specific features such as save states and rewind really cut down the playtime and let me manage my patience. This was crucial throughout my playthrough as it softened the blow of my several deaths in the game. Because as many players soon find out, it truly does have a disgustingly hard difficulty, bordering on unfair. Thankfully, since playing a few classics and getting through many games on hard mode, I became open-minded. Funnily enough, even then the game tested my patience and my will to go on.
The story is very simple: Satan kidnaps Princess Prin Prin as she sits with Arthur, the knight and protagonist of the game. After the fact, Arthur immediately dons his knight’s armor, beginning his quest to retrieve her. He faces several demons, including bosses that hold keys to the next area. Arthur must go through six stages before fighting the final boss and leader of the demons, Astaroth. Astaroth is a clever deceiver, well versed in the magical arts. He is responsible for one of the most controversial gameplay elements, in my perspective. After defeating him, Arthur saves the princess and receives a kiss from her. This is considered by the game to be a “happy ending.” That may be so for Arthur and Princess Prin Prin, but less so for the player. The game dares you to play again.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Matching its Reputation
The difficulty of Ghosts ‘n Goblins is in the fragility of Arthur and the fast-paced nature of enemies and obstacles. Arthur dies in just two hits: the first hit takes away his armor, the second deals death. Enemies throw themselves at the player at varying spawn points. The bodies and projectiles of enemies deal damage, making their very presence dangerous. They are difficult to react to, oftentimes having walking speeds or attacks that are faster than Arthur can avoid. Each “run” requires a high level of concentration and decent reflexes, as Arthur has limited movement. Arthur is thankfully flexible to turning directions even in midair, letting those reflexes express themselves in gameplay. Tight platforming mixes in, thrown in the middle of it all. The fun in the difficulty is that after you die, there’s little chance that your dash to the next checkpoint will end up the same.
Due to the fast-paced enemy assaults, platforming is a bit more interesting. Depending on how close and fast certain enemies spawn, they can interrupt you while running and jumping. I experienced many deaths: cornered and attacked in succession or hit into an endless pit. The game functions as a side-scroller, and in classic fashion, features a time limit. The game’s hidden message essentially being: “Hurry up, or you’ll die. Be careful, or you’ll die. Get good, or die.” As daunting as starting a whole stage over can be, the gameplay stays interesting with the randomizing obstacles and constant pressure. If the player starts keeping up with the pace, they may realize the depth the game has to offer. It is not some slow 1980s game: it is a gimmicky, tight, high-intensity challenge.
The Unbalanced Gameplay
Most players will be frustrated, matches the game’s reputation—but it unfortunately has its flaws beyond that. For a game of its time, it does seem visually glitchy. At the edges of the screen enemy silhouettes will flash at times, perhaps attempting to spawn. On other occasions, an enemy will appear in an inconvenient space. One hit doesn’t just mean your armor is gone: it means your run is done. This could be in tight platforming spaces, or most erroneously, in regular spaces where Arthur can’t fight back. It is jarring to look at, and hard to react to.
As a hard mode enjoyer, I felt like I could adapt to these flaws. But perhaps the biggest flaw is the slow animation after death before you could start another run. It slowly pans over the map, with a musical jingle acting almost as a taunt. Strictly speaking, this isn’t an unpassable flaw, but it did require a rewind from me to skip it all. However, the worst gameplay feature, I must warn, has to do with Astaroth’s advanced magic and deceit. When Arthur makes it to the final room and slays Astaroth, you discovered that it was all an illusion, and you must play the whole game again for the ending. I never did get that ending. If any players are completionists, this is dreadful, so there goes the warning.
Appreciating Ghost ‘n Goblins
The fun lies in the deep game design, the atmosphere and the sense of humor. By means of its trolling or seeing Arthur in his underpants, the game has a unique charm. With its fantasy setting of demons, graveyards, magic and brave knights, it makes the game interesting to look at. At the heart of it, it is quite stimulating in its depth of gameplay. Every step is important, the way you face and how you turn is crucial to survival. Yet you can also choose how you respond to situations, attacking aggressively if you wish. This is felt strongly in the changing attack patterns of enemies as well. A player’s reflexes and approach define how Ghosts ‘n Goblins feels. Weapons are a big part of that.
Weapon Variety
In favor of the player, there are a variety of weapons that are used as projectiles. These weapons include javelins, axes, daggers, shields or flame balls. With your chosen weapon, the choice of defense or attack changes with the weapon type. The javelins are long and moderately quick, going straight ahead of Arthur. The daggers are small, go straight but can be thrown the quickest, being able to be thrown several times in a jump. Axes and flame balls are the only weapons that are thrown in an arc. An axe can pierce through demons but is quite slow. The flame balls are not very quick but explode in a fire pillar if it reaches ground before contact.
The last weapon, the shields with a cross, can block projectiles as they are thrown–both offensive and defensive. The unique mechanic with the shield, however, is that it is required for the player to fight the final boss at any point. Not so fun, considering that I made it to the end before the game told me so and forced me to go through the last stage again.
A Surprising Amount of Depth
Nonetheless, all these elements of charm and gameplay made the experience enjoyable. In my eyes, it aged well, having a surprising amount of tight game design and fair-ish combat. Ironically, if you accept its unique qualities, it unexpectedly shares a lot of content at a perfect pace, as an NES game. A full run, deathless, is only a few minutes long, especially due to the timer. Any YouTube speedrun shows this well, making the game technically “short and sweet.” Play well, but play how you will. During a run, the player is forced to strategy and react carefully to obstacles, doing so differently after every death. Just like the modern challenging games, each death is meant to inform you, grabbing all tiny bits of information to make the next run better. The game is unfair in its difficulty but still leaves room for improvement. If you let it, the game will grow on you.
Underrated
At the end, with an open mind, I definitely gained an appreciation for the classic. If you are comfortable with overcoming overwhelming difficulty, I can sincerely recommend the game. Capcom has several great franchises under its belt, Ghost and Goblins is undeniably one of them. This first entry solidified what the entire franchise is about, birthing more entries over the decades that iterated upon that. That borderline unfair yet intriguing difficulty has become a staple, as reflected in the newest titles.
At first, its reputation seemed to have a negative connotation, but after playing the game has changed in my eyes. Yes, it is table-smashing, hair-pulling, controller-banging and rage-quitting-ly hard. At the same time, I believe its charm and depth earned it the same level of appreciation as soulslike games do nowadays. Playing the game is both a journey and a triumph. If you are a casual player or someone truly averse to repetition, then yeah, you probably aren’t the best audience. However, if you are into NES games, punishing platformers, or merciless gameplay, then Ghosts ‘n Goblins can scratch your itch.
