Ghosts 'n Goblins

The following is a transferred Backloggd review, with very minor edits done.

So, I want you to imagine the enemies of Mega Man - like, the first game, not the entire series. The Sniper Joe’s tendency to pogo and root itself to fire as it leaves itself open, the Metall’s behavior to shell itself until the Blue Bomber comes in close and fires off its three-spread shot, the Bunny Heli’s aerial dive bomb that’s easy to bait out or ignore entirely due to its spawn proximity, even the Bombombomb’s catapulted launch and arched motors, a majority of the enemies in this title have a ‘static’ behavior that makes them, while tough to crack at first, are still readable enough within a set parameter that makes counterattacking easy to pull off. This, in turn, sheds away once the bosses are reached, presenting much more dynamic patterns and confined spaces by comparison. A more extreme, and far more famous, implementation of this functionality is present inside Super Mario Bros., too. Thing is, however, those games came out after Ghosts N Goblins. MM1 was two years in the future, and SMB would only hit shelves a mere week after GNG’s arcade releases. As a result, this sort of foundation isn’t what the Capcom cabinet is concerned about: it’s instead of constant disarray and frantic behavior. Zombies rise from the grave and beeline to Arthur, Woody Pigs and Blue Killers control the airspace as they stalk the vicinity he struts upon, Bats, Big Mens, and Ravens stalk the area waiting to strike from their positions, even the Flytraps and Towers, firm as they are, belligerently emphasizes pressure and tight plucks from their advantageous positions. If anything, the aggression is a lot more reminiscent of the likes of Strider, Shinobi, or heck, Castlevania 1 which came out a mere year later. Compounding this is how health and weapon arcs are handled so contrary to what a number of people are used to, a two-hit limit and straight lines that almost never allow for an upward arc, all tied together with movement that’s as graceful as it is demanding and committed. Put it all together, and it’s no wonder this has received an infamous reputation… but that doesn’t mean it’s completely all it’s cracked up to be.

Despite the dire straits, all the enemies within GNG can be handled with care. Their positioning and behavioral patterns are set in a consistent manner (for the most part), with a near flat line being presented as the opportunity to learn and baiting them within a vulnerable state is quite a feat. Take Red Arremer, the infamous rascal, for instance: the enemy is supposed to fly up within each ‘pellet’ fire and sticks with wing flaps, a downward bomb, and a projectile fire as a result, which is likely the reason so many have develop an awful reaction to their presence to begin with. However, a lowered guard taunts the demon onto the lower ground, and with either a quick flick of the draw or a successful lure of his charge state, he quickly becomes a minor nuisance easy to take care of, a three hit end to his tyranny. The Ogres’ covering of ladders are manipulated from prancing around below to lure them into a specific spot, then beelining to their level and either successfully downing them, or jumping over their stubby heads and pressing onward. The few bosses that are present here, as a result, are culminations of the three ‘states’ of enemy patterns: The Unicorn’s traditional closer and jumping habits of the grounded enemies, the Dragon’s nonchalant and easily dodgeable attack from the aerial forces, and Satan presenting the full assault of Arremer’s attack pattern and nature. Astaroth, the final threat, is also cool because he’s a premonition of the perplexingly easy Dracula fight that’s presented in Castlevania Bloodlines. I’ve seen it said that the game suffers from RNG, and while this is indeed the case for trying to get the necessary Shield (or Cross, in Japan) to spawn before the end, I don’t believe this actually applies too badly for the enemies. There’s, yet again, a gauge of familiarity and understanding present within their placement and spawns that makes going against them far easier than what you initially think, containing telegraphed windows from their idle to active behavior a slow yet fruitful habit to pick up on.

What I’m getting at, essentially, is that Ghosts N Goblins’ unconventional format as an action platformer is less a detriment to its quality, and more its alluring factor. A rapid succession of thinking on your feet, working with what’s going on within a moment’s notice, all under the pressure of a timer ticking down little by little as you make through the six stages makes each run a joy to push through, and it helps that the weapons themselves aren’t too shabby either. AVGN’s joke of Getting The Knife isn’t something merely fabricated for comedic effect, granted, but the Lance and Torch aren’t slouches either by providing niche cases (Lance being an all-rounder with the longest hitbox to prick an enemy, and the Torch’s two-use limit is understandable considering its lingering flame and having the longest reach available), and the Shield/Cross is an effective short-mid range tool with the greatest boon of deflecting any projectile that heads towards your way. The Axe, while my least favorite, at least has a comparatively equal range like the Torch, as well as continuing its trajectory after being thrown from your hand. As a little secret, try pressing forward immediately following each attack press, it’ll allow for a cancel that launches them much more quickly, thereby mulching the bosses even further when distanced properly. I may not be skilled enough to handle all of its grueling ordeals, granted, especially given I’m still not too fond of places like the second half of Stage 2, but there’s a lot to poke through that makes each coin run rather joyous to achieve and conquer, even during its second loop. It’s no wonder Tokuro Fujiwara went back to try and make the game more difficult should testers be able to clear with ease - without this sort of impending doom baked into the pathos, I doubt I’d ever enjoy this as much as I do now.

Unfortunately, however, Micronics doomed the title to a more lowered view with their meek job of a port for the NES, which is what a lot of people more commonly associate this game with. The smooth scrolling and charming graphics replaced with choppy stutters and a low-tone color palette, enemy placement and spawns feel a lot more RNG-dependant and not at all deliberate and intentional, and there’s a lack of atmospheric drawl conveyed within each stage due to the now lowered enemy spawn rate from before nullified, leading to weirdly empty and hollow sections of places. There’s some small benefits, like Arremer’s dash attack being more cleanly telegraphed and the platforming section inherently - be it due to said choppiness or just in general - being more consistent in both physicality and jumping here than in Arcade, but I certainly wouldn’t suggest giving this a bother at the end of the day. If you’re ever wondering what the arcade is like, I definitely suggest aiming for the Capcom Arcade Stadium release, or use MAME or Finalburn NEO if you don’t mind setting up an arcade emulator. While all three allow the opportunity to play the Japanese or US release, the latter two options might prove further useful due to allowing all of its revisional iterations, some of which more dastardly than others, such as Satan’s patterns being a lot clearer and consistent in JP compared to everywhere else.