Now I'm starting to see a bump into the evolution of gaming with this entry in my list.
First of all, while being minor, there's a story. Even if simple, there's one to see and understand. The music in this game have also stepped up compared with the other games that I've beaten so far. 4 full songs is crazy when you think about it (plus a couples of short music transitions).
Gameplay wise, it's a platformers with mutiple stages. You go from point A and reach point B. You can collect different weapons to use and they all have their own behaviors. The stage screen can go up, down, left and right, which may sound stupid, but it's the first game that I come across that can do that. Also, each stages have a different background design and environnement, in which the world in makes it more alive.
This game, however is really hard. You get two hits before dying (which is more generous than other games with their one-shot death). You can collect some hidden armor pieces to "heal" yourself. The enemies can be really bulls*** with their behavior and placement (especially the flying demon). The jump momentum is a little bit janky and hard to be precise with. Some weapons are really better than others and you want to keep them. Sometimes however, the enemies can drop a random weapon that can block your path and forces you to collect it. This can be infuriating, especially when the game forces you to beat certain bosses with certain types of weapons. If you reach the last level without the right weapon, you will need to restart some stages.
When finally beating the last boss of the game, it will tell you that it was an illusion and that you need to start over. When completing the first loop, it's so unsatisfying that you need to beat a second time to have the true ending.
The game, while frustrating, is fun to do a full loop, but the second one is too much. I used save states to complete this game (and I'm not ashamed of it). Worth to beat at least once.
Game #23 of my challenge
First of all, while being minor, there's a story. Even if simple, there's one to see and understand. The music in this game have also stepped up compared with the other games that I've beaten so far. 4 full songs is crazy when you think about it (plus a couples of short music transitions).
Gameplay wise, it's a platformers with mutiple stages. You go from point A and reach point B. You can collect different weapons to use and they all have their own behaviors. The stage screen can go up, down, left and right, which may sound stupid, but it's the first game that I come across that can do that. Also, each stages have a different background design and environnement, in which the world in makes it more alive.
This game, however is really hard. You get two hits before dying (which is more generous than other games with their one-shot death). You can collect some hidden armor pieces to "heal" yourself. The enemies can be really bulls*** with their behavior and placement (especially the flying demon). The jump momentum is a little bit janky and hard to be precise with. Some weapons are really better than others and you want to keep them. Sometimes however, the enemies can drop a random weapon that can block your path and forces you to collect it. This can be infuriating, especially when the game forces you to beat certain bosses with certain types of weapons. If you reach the last level without the right weapon, you will need to restart some stages.
When finally beating the last boss of the game, it will tell you that it was an illusion and that you need to start over. When completing the first loop, it's so unsatisfying that you need to beat a second time to have the true ending.
The game, while frustrating, is fun to do a full loop, but the second one is too much. I used save states to complete this game (and I'm not ashamed of it). Worth to beat at least once.
Game #23 of my challenge
It's just not that fun, way too unfair of a game. Too many enemies that have too much health, and everything is made worse by how stiff the movement feels. I used the rewind feature on the Switch and even then I would've never beat the game without also using a speedrun video on youtube to guide me through it.
Honestly I think this games reputation for sadism has been exaggerated by the fact that most have only played the busted outsourced NES version (Thanks for nothing, Micronics). The arcade original, while still extremely difficult feels logically and fairly designed. Its not going to change your mind if you dont like this type of game, but atleast, if you're going to give it a go, make sure you play the right version.
Play this instead of the NES version. This is difficult but still very beatable unlike some of it's sequels
It's difficult, but yall already knew that. The game has the slower, more methodical platforming like something out of castlevania but the level and enemy design is hand crafted to exploit the diagonal space where your attacks won't hit but the enemies will. It's basically designed to wring your quarters out of you like a bully taking your lunch money so of course it's not balanced. That being said I think the only real BULLSHIT is in the last 2 levels as they have no checkpoints and have particularly brutal bosses, levels 1-4 are actually rather manageable if you memorize the layouts and know the games vibe. You do have to play through the game twice to get the "true" ending but honestly the second loop is really barely any different from the first loop so I just spend the second loop as a power fantasy using rewind features to TAS-twerk through all the garbage that gave me so much trouble in the first loop. That certainly felt good.
All in all, everything that could be said about this game likely already has. It's hard, grass is green, play if you want to take the challenge, yadda yadda
All in all, everything that could be said about this game likely already has. It's hard, grass is green, play if you want to take the challenge, yadda yadda
I played through this twice, I'm never playing it again.
Definição de dificuldade com level design foda.
This review contains spoilers
When it comes to what is considered the HARDEST game on the NES, many names come up... Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, Zelda II, and others, but one that comes up more than all the others is Ghosts 'n Goblins, even though it is an arcade port. From my personal experience, it is NOT the hardest NES game ever made, but HOT DAMN, it is close to that bar. So, with the difficulty, combined with other factors, I would consider it to be... pretty ok.
The story is simple and sweet, nothing more to it, the graphics are fine, but they have aged, and look kinda ugly upon retrospection, the music is good, but sometimes it can get grating on you, the control is fine, albeit weird sometimes, and the gameplay is simple enought to grasp on and get a hang of. It's getting through the challenges that will be the problem.
Like I mentioned before, this game is HARD AS HELL, and it will make you cry for mercy. It does EVERYTHING in its power to stop you in your tracks, including having enemies everywhere you look, erratic movement patterns, weapons that are either great or screw you over, weird as hell platforming, and strict requirements to beat the game. It is a game that I would recommend you ONLY play with save states. Yes, it is possible without them, and you do have unlimited continues, but trust me, it will remove a lot of the pain.
Aside from that though, the main issue I have with the game is the way you actually beat the game. Spoilers if you care about playing a game that is 40 years old, but whatever...
So, to beat the game, you have to get to the final stage and use a shield weapon to beat the boss. If you don't, you will be sent back to the beginning and told to try again. Not to mention, the shield weapon isn't exactly the most reliable weapon in the world. After that, you then beat the two final bosses, and when you do... you are told to keep going.
In order to FULLY beat the game, you have to do it all TWICE, and then you get the full ending. I would complain about how much of a waste of time that is, but trust me, this is a normal occurrence for this series. This, for me, is where all my main criticism comes from. As for everything else... I didn't mind it too much.
Sure, I may have been using save states, but I didn't find the difficulty too much to where I wanted to say fuck it all, and believe me, I get to that stage easily. Yes, it is incredibly unfair at points, and it can get on your nerves a lot, but with enough patience, time, and precision, it isn't too bad. That being said, I can see where this game falls flat in some areas, and I can't say with much confidence that it is THAT good. And let me tell you, when you beat said challenges... it feels AMAZING.
Overall, it has earned its reputation as one of the hardest games on the NES, but moving past that, it is alright for the first entry in the series, and does provide a good challenge to conquer if you are up for it.
Game #36
The story is simple and sweet, nothing more to it, the graphics are fine, but they have aged, and look kinda ugly upon retrospection, the music is good, but sometimes it can get grating on you, the control is fine, albeit weird sometimes, and the gameplay is simple enought to grasp on and get a hang of. It's getting through the challenges that will be the problem.
Like I mentioned before, this game is HARD AS HELL, and it will make you cry for mercy. It does EVERYTHING in its power to stop you in your tracks, including having enemies everywhere you look, erratic movement patterns, weapons that are either great or screw you over, weird as hell platforming, and strict requirements to beat the game. It is a game that I would recommend you ONLY play with save states. Yes, it is possible without them, and you do have unlimited continues, but trust me, it will remove a lot of the pain.
Aside from that though, the main issue I have with the game is the way you actually beat the game. Spoilers if you care about playing a game that is 40 years old, but whatever...
So, to beat the game, you have to get to the final stage and use a shield weapon to beat the boss. If you don't, you will be sent back to the beginning and told to try again. Not to mention, the shield weapon isn't exactly the most reliable weapon in the world. After that, you then beat the two final bosses, and when you do... you are told to keep going.
In order to FULLY beat the game, you have to do it all TWICE, and then you get the full ending. I would complain about how much of a waste of time that is, but trust me, this is a normal occurrence for this series. This, for me, is where all my main criticism comes from. As for everything else... I didn't mind it too much.
Sure, I may have been using save states, but I didn't find the difficulty too much to where I wanted to say fuck it all, and believe me, I get to that stage easily. Yes, it is incredibly unfair at points, and it can get on your nerves a lot, but with enough patience, time, and precision, it isn't too bad. That being said, I can see where this game falls flat in some areas, and I can't say with much confidence that it is THAT good. And let me tell you, when you beat said challenges... it feels AMAZING.
Overall, it has earned its reputation as one of the hardest games on the NES, but moving past that, it is alright for the first entry in the series, and does provide a good challenge to conquer if you are up for it.
Game #36
A pretty faithful port of the original game in the series, not arcade perfect by far, but it's decent and does the job.
gulp
[Capcom Arcade Stadium]
This title was a free download when the compilation was first released and I spent a bit of time playing it then either using save states or rewinds, possibly both. I recently bought the complete game set and the invincibility DLC, so I went back and brute-forced my way through this. I can't say it was a huge amount of fun. The gameplay was often frustrating, even with the advantage of invincibility. The graphics were ok but the animation was a bit clunky, especially on Arthur's run cycle. One piece of music caught my ear - the stage 3 theme (https://youtu.be/Q9Db61mH3Cg). I may come back to that piece of music but I don't imagine I will play the game again.
This title was a free download when the compilation was first released and I spent a bit of time playing it then either using save states or rewinds, possibly both. I recently bought the complete game set and the invincibility DLC, so I went back and brute-forced my way through this. I can't say it was a huge amount of fun. The gameplay was often frustrating, even with the advantage of invincibility. The graphics were ok but the animation was a bit clunky, especially on Arthur's run cycle. One piece of music caught my ear - the stage 3 theme (https://youtu.be/Q9Db61mH3Cg). I may come back to that piece of music but I don't imagine I will play the game again.
Era muy buen juego en ese momento
I played this game a lot, and have tried to like it. But this port is bad for a lot of reasons. The sounds are like nails on a chalkboard, the control are stiff and sometimes lock up on you (not sure why, would appreciate if someone could explain) and the graphics are flatout ugly. The sprites could have been designed much better, as well as everything else. Choppy scrolling and excesive flicker makes this not a good way to play ghosts'n goblins. It is a classic and you might enjoy some of it, but its a butchered port.
I had to do the last level 4 times because the first time i didnt grab a shield and the second time didnt count or something and so i had to do it a third time and then a fourth time because you have to beat the game twice to beat the game.
The last level entails of you having to climb the weird clunky ladder into a tiny arena where you fight 2 of the same boss at the same time, more ladder climbing, fight another boss, and then fight 2 of the boss from the previous level.
The game is ugly, it’s annoying to listen to, it has awful controls, it has abysmal level design, and its buggy. I could honestly forgive some of that if i didn’t have to experience it twice. Here’s hoping the next few are better. (Capcom arcade stadium)
The last level entails of you having to climb the weird clunky ladder into a tiny arena where you fight 2 of the same boss at the same time, more ladder climbing, fight another boss, and then fight 2 of the boss from the previous level.
The game is ugly, it’s annoying to listen to, it has awful controls, it has abysmal level design, and its buggy. I could honestly forgive some of that if i didn’t have to experience it twice. Here’s hoping the next few are better. (Capcom arcade stadium)
You know people would be SALIVATING over this if it was made by FromSoft
One hard son of a bitch
Ghosts 'n Goblins is a very, very infamous game on the NES and Capcom nowadays knows how bullshit this game can be. I just wanted to attempt the first level of the game and it took me a while to beat it. I'm not looking forward to the SNES sequel if it's this hard, but we'll find out when I play that soon. Do not play this game unless you are both severely dedicated to your time and sanity, and if you want a challenging title.
Ghosts 'n Ghoblins might just be one of the earliest examples of a video game designed to not respect the player's time. It's the kind of late 80s, early 90s arcade game that gave arcade games today the stigma of being pure quarter munchers, with the pure intent of syphoning as much money out of teenagers as possible, where deaths are common, cheap, and sometimes totally unavoidable.
Ghosts 'n Goblins on its own today would only be a bit offensive when it comes to its core game design and design philosophy, in the light of emulator savestates, rewind, and infinite continues, but this game still manages to take the cake by telling the player, after beating the penultimate level, after climbing this insane vertical shaft of enemy spam and a few totally unavoidable hits, that "THIS WEAPON HAS NOT EFFECT, TRY AGAIN.", and sends you back two fucking stages. I had absolutely no issues getting through the stages using a couple continues, but this really rubbed me the wrong way.
That's right, me, the player, in my infinite wisdom, surely should have known that you had to use the shield against the boss. Silly me.
So I reluctantly did stage 4 again, farmed enemy drops until I got the shield, beat stage 5 and subsequently the game. I actually knew about the two loops required to get the true ending in advance, so I was satisfied with the final boss beaten one time. Never again, though.
Ghosts 'n Goblins on its own today would only be a bit offensive when it comes to its core game design and design philosophy, in the light of emulator savestates, rewind, and infinite continues, but this game still manages to take the cake by telling the player, after beating the penultimate level, after climbing this insane vertical shaft of enemy spam and a few totally unavoidable hits, that "THIS WEAPON HAS NOT EFFECT, TRY AGAIN.", and sends you back two fucking stages. I had absolutely no issues getting through the stages using a couple continues, but this really rubbed me the wrong way.
That's right, me, the player, in my infinite wisdom, surely should have known that you had to use the shield against the boss. Silly me.
So I reluctantly did stage 4 again, farmed enemy drops until I got the shield, beat stage 5 and subsequently the game. I actually knew about the two loops required to get the true ending in advance, so I was satisfied with the final boss beaten one time. Never again, though.
Pros: This game is TOUGH, and the trial and error nature is brutal, but there is something SO satisfying about making it through those challenges after dying time and time again from them.
Cons: This game is TOUGH, and the trial and error nature is brutal, and there is something SO aggravating about dying over and over and over and over and over and over and over....
What it means to me: Played this game with a bud one Halloween night, marathoned it, it was pretty memorable, pretty fun. And that's it, that was the only time I played the game, played til we both beat it! A good memory!
Cons: This game is TOUGH, and the trial and error nature is brutal, and there is something SO aggravating about dying over and over and over and over and over and over and over....
What it means to me: Played this game with a bud one Halloween night, marathoned it, it was pretty memorable, pretty fun. And that's it, that was the only time I played the game, played til we both beat it! A good memory!
Its just overrated shit. Do you want a game with GOOD DESIGN and GOOD DIFICULT?.
Just play fucking Megaman 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, or WHATEVER EXCEPT THIS GAME
Just play fucking Megaman 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, or WHATEVER EXCEPT THIS GAME
"THIS ROOM IS AN ILLUSION AND IS A TRAP DEVISED BY SATAN. GO AHEAD DAUNTLESSLY! MAKE RAPID PROGRES !"
Nah i'm good
Nah i'm good
What beginners will always do when playing GnG for the first time is advancing to the right until they get to the Red Arremer. Then they will get destroyed, inevitably, and they will probably stop right there and give up (and I understand, I used to be that guy too). If you do beat him, you'll be "awarded" the first checkpoint of the game. You passed the "tutorial". Does it get easier? Hell, no. But you may discover the appeal of the game: perseverance in front of adversity.
And there's a lot of adversity in Ghosts 'n Goblins. From your encounter with ladder hell in stage 2, to the Red Arremer gauntlet in stage 3, or EVERYTHING in the final stage, no punches are pulled. But it's fine, because the game is fair. Well... Mostly fair. Enemies and patterns are semi-random, so if you learn the stages, you can deal with any challenge properly. The issue is with the semi-random thing, so your job is to play in a way to keep bad guys in easy, established patterns, and not to panic when they act irregularly. Discovering a new level feels like hitting a brick wall, but if you keep probing you'll eventually find your way, and you'll be able to avoid that wall every time after that. Execution and skills are not a problem (thankfully, because the controls are incredibly stiff and unforgiving), if you keep playing and learning, you'll be able to beat this.
GnG is also famous for its gotcha moments (typical Tokuro Fujiwara, really): an extremely annoying one is that you're forced to beat the game using the shield/cross weapon. Avoiding bad weapon drops will become very important in the later stages because of this. More infamous, but not really as bad: you have to beat the game twice to get the ending. If you know how arcade games work, you'll understand it was probably implemented to make looping the game more exiting. Honestly, anyone able to beat one loop can do the second one just fine. The real issue is that it's long and will sap your concentration (especially tough if you're crazy enough to go for the 1CC).
If there's a part where GnG shows its age, it's the platforming. It's bad, like real bad. It's mostly limited to a few parts like the start of level 4, and you'll do just fine after figuring when and where to jump, but the awkwardness will never go away. It was released only two months before Super Mario Bros., but it feels like a decade away here. So if you needed more proof to understand the importance of SMB in video games history, here's another one.
So yeah, Ghosts 'n Goblins. I love that game almost as much as it hates me (it's not an exclusive relationship, it hates everyone). It's honestly a tough recommendation, and I think most people won't like it because of its sheer difficulty alone. Still, if you're up to, try to challenge the first checkpoint. And then maybe go a little further beyond... It might just be your thing.
And there's a lot of adversity in Ghosts 'n Goblins. From your encounter with ladder hell in stage 2, to the Red Arremer gauntlet in stage 3, or EVERYTHING in the final stage, no punches are pulled. But it's fine, because the game is fair. Well... Mostly fair. Enemies and patterns are semi-random, so if you learn the stages, you can deal with any challenge properly. The issue is with the semi-random thing, so your job is to play in a way to keep bad guys in easy, established patterns, and not to panic when they act irregularly. Discovering a new level feels like hitting a brick wall, but if you keep probing you'll eventually find your way, and you'll be able to avoid that wall every time after that. Execution and skills are not a problem (thankfully, because the controls are incredibly stiff and unforgiving), if you keep playing and learning, you'll be able to beat this.
GnG is also famous for its gotcha moments (typical Tokuro Fujiwara, really): an extremely annoying one is that you're forced to beat the game using the shield/cross weapon. Avoiding bad weapon drops will become very important in the later stages because of this. More infamous, but not really as bad: you have to beat the game twice to get the ending. If you know how arcade games work, you'll understand it was probably implemented to make looping the game more exiting. Honestly, anyone able to beat one loop can do the second one just fine. The real issue is that it's long and will sap your concentration (especially tough if you're crazy enough to go for the 1CC).
If there's a part where GnG shows its age, it's the platforming. It's bad, like real bad. It's mostly limited to a few parts like the start of level 4, and you'll do just fine after figuring when and where to jump, but the awkwardness will never go away. It was released only two months before Super Mario Bros., but it feels like a decade away here. So if you needed more proof to understand the importance of SMB in video games history, here's another one.
So yeah, Ghosts 'n Goblins. I love that game almost as much as it hates me (it's not an exclusive relationship, it hates everyone). It's honestly a tough recommendation, and I think most people won't like it because of its sheer difficulty alone. Still, if you're up to, try to challenge the first checkpoint. And then maybe go a little further beyond... It might just be your thing.
Brutally difficult and unforgiving, the first episode in the Makaimura series set the tone for a franchise that's been consistent along the years at frustrating generations of players.
I could see how someone would look at how miserable and unfair this game can be and draw the conclusion that it's trying to make people unhappy to draw power for satanist rituals. Only through trying to beat Ghosts 'n Goblins does the satanic panic make sense. Cuz otherwise what the hell man.
Things that are easier than completing the 1985 NES game Ghosts and Goblins:
- punching through a brick wall with your bare fists
- cutting a speeding bullet in mid-air with a butter knife
- swimming across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe
- finding peace in the Middle East
- having sex with every model on a Sport's Illustrated Swimsuit calendar within a year
- convincing Valve to make Half-Life 3
- reuniting The Smiths for a reunion tour
- licking your elbow
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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com/
The line of difficulty falling between "Hard, but fair" and "Bullshit for the sake of it" is thin. Ghosts 'N Goblins falls so deeply into the latter camp that I often forget it comes from the same company who would go on to make Mega Man, Devil May Cry and God Hand.
damn, i was wrong about this one. actually way more manageable than i remembered it being. only dips into full-on unfairness a couple of times and even then it's stuff you can completely account for and strategize around. still quite a bit more haphazardly designed than the rest of the series (and that shield requirement at the end remains total bullshit), but the bone crushing difficulty has the effect of making you feel like a fucking deity when you overcome it, in a way that no other game truly managed to harness until resurrection last year. mostly i am just struck by how well this game plays and how much it does right on its first attempt. this game came out before super mario bros! how crazy is that?
This game kinda makes you feel like when you get a bad subweapon in Castlevania by accident and waste the III
Except that's all the time, and you don't have a main weapon
Except that's all the time, and you don't have a main weapon
gimmie a fuckin break, game
Fuck this game. I mean it's a classic, but fuck this game.