Essentially a retro game with retro gameplay design. Some modern elements such as a skill tree and many difficulty modifiers, but otherwise, it's super retro, for all that implies, be it good or bad. I found it enjoyable enough, but old gameplay does not age well imo.
There's this disdain I have towards stagnant granchises that leech of nostalgia. Series that were once popular that are now just used as nostalgia bait every 10 or so years. Latest Contra was one such example, and the newest Ghosts and Goblins release is no different.
Granted, I've enjoyed this game a bit more than Contra. I've never had much attachment to the series, but unlike most other hyper popular IPs of the 80s and 90s it didn't create a ton of clones, so if you want to play Ghosts and Goblins, you're pretty much left with Ghosts and Goblins and some really niche stuff like Maldita Castilla. Due to that, I'm a bit more lenient to this game. Helps that it looks gorgeous! While animations are a little stiff, the backgrounds and enemies look great!
Still, do we have to have a cemetery, a hamlet, a city stage? It feels like every classic retro IP now has New Super Mario Bros design to it where you just have to get the references. Yes, I do remember this boss. Yes, it's cool that the city from the original game is all icy. Know what'd be cooler? A new idea. I don't mind that the game controls pretty much exactly how you'd expect - a very Castlevania-esque locked jump was a surprise to me, figured it'd be the first thing they'd get rid of, but I do wish it had more to it than being, what, effectively a fourth remake?
The game features a pretty thorough difficulty selection which goes from what other games would call "story mode" to basically just being a dick. There are a few split paths that allow you to choose a level, a counter for hidden treasures, and a skill tree. I get the idea that modern players might bounce off of just dying over and over so they might be more inclined to work for something to feel a little more powerful each time, but the skill tree is pretty barebones, mainly just featuring different spells for you to use. I'd prefer some weirder options and game modifiers, personally.
If you like Ghosts and Goblins, this is more Ghosts and Goblins: an unfortunately short game, brutal if you wish it to be, and it even has a second campaign much like the originals (granted, it changes a few more things, but come on!). Certainly would be cool if we weren't stuck making the same game again and again. Sometimes I feel Mega Man only escaped this cycle because they churned out 6 of them for NES, otherwise we'd be stuck with replaying Bomb Man's stage for all eternity.
Granted, I've enjoyed this game a bit more than Contra. I've never had much attachment to the series, but unlike most other hyper popular IPs of the 80s and 90s it didn't create a ton of clones, so if you want to play Ghosts and Goblins, you're pretty much left with Ghosts and Goblins and some really niche stuff like Maldita Castilla. Due to that, I'm a bit more lenient to this game. Helps that it looks gorgeous! While animations are a little stiff, the backgrounds and enemies look great!
Still, do we have to have a cemetery, a hamlet, a city stage? It feels like every classic retro IP now has New Super Mario Bros design to it where you just have to get the references. Yes, I do remember this boss. Yes, it's cool that the city from the original game is all icy. Know what'd be cooler? A new idea. I don't mind that the game controls pretty much exactly how you'd expect - a very Castlevania-esque locked jump was a surprise to me, figured it'd be the first thing they'd get rid of, but I do wish it had more to it than being, what, effectively a fourth remake?
The game features a pretty thorough difficulty selection which goes from what other games would call "story mode" to basically just being a dick. There are a few split paths that allow you to choose a level, a counter for hidden treasures, and a skill tree. I get the idea that modern players might bounce off of just dying over and over so they might be more inclined to work for something to feel a little more powerful each time, but the skill tree is pretty barebones, mainly just featuring different spells for you to use. I'd prefer some weirder options and game modifiers, personally.
If you like Ghosts and Goblins, this is more Ghosts and Goblins: an unfortunately short game, brutal if you wish it to be, and it even has a second campaign much like the originals (granted, it changes a few more things, but come on!). Certainly would be cool if we weren't stuck making the same game again and again. Sometimes I feel Mega Man only escaped this cycle because they churned out 6 of them for NES, otherwise we'd be stuck with replaying Bomb Man's stage for all eternity.