Modern gaming is full of quality-of-life conveniences like fast travel, infinite lives, and much more. Though, these things would not exist today had the frustration due to older games lacking them not been a burden upon the minds of gamers in the ’80s and ’90s. During this era, some games were not exactly meant to be beaten; at least, not without a great deal of practice. Their replay value depended immensely on both their high degree of challenge and how fun they were to play, despite the difficulty.
One series that is the best known for these aspects is the Ghosts ‘n Goblins franchise. This series originated from a time when lore, world information, as well as production history, was often cryptically revealed (or not at all), therefore even longtime fans of the franchise don’t quite know everything about this legendary chain of challenging games.
10 The First Game In The Series Is On 12 Platforms
Since the initial 1985 release date of the first game in the series, Ghosts ‘n Goblins, it has appeared on a total of 12 different platforms over the 26 years of its existence. It is still considered one of the best games in the series, and rightly so, as its success was the reason all subsequent games were made.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins is available on the following platforms:
- Arcade (cabinet)
- Amiga
- Amstrad CPC
- Android
- Atari ST
- Commodore 64
- NES
- Game Boy Color
- IBM PC
- iOS
- MSX
- ZX Spectrum
9 There Is Only One Way To Beat Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
The second game in the franchise, known as Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, is equally as tough as the first, as players need to go through the entire game’s world twice to beat it in any given playthrough. The first time one approaches the final boss’ lair, the archangel Michael will bar the way and tell the protagonist, a knight named Arthur, that the only way to defeat Lucifer (sometimes called Loki in different versions) is to use a special weapon known as the Psycho Cannon.
So the player gets transported back to the start of the first area and must open a chest while wearing the Golden Armor for the Goddess of Battle to reveal herself and bestow this powerful fireball skill onto him. Then it is just a matter of going through the entire game again before facing down the devil himself in a wickedly dangerous duel.
8 Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts Has A Weird Gameplay Switch
The follow-up game to Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, titled Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, appropriately appeared on the SNES and struck many of the same chords that its two predecessors did, though with improved graphics, more weapons, and enemy types for an increased variety that fans loved.
One of the most groundbreaking changes was that the protagonist, knight Arthur, was now able to double jump. This added an entirely new level of tactics that players could take advantage of, both for the offense by closing distance quicker and for the defense, allowing Arthur to evade incoming damage by a greater margin. However, the hero, for some reason, at the same time lost his ability to attack upwards, making battles with flying foes all the more tricky.
7 The Fourth Game In The Series Was A Japan-Only Release
Despite the previous three games being hugely successful and had very wide releases, the fourth installment, Makaimura for WonderSwan (yes, the title had the console’s name in it) was only released in Japan and only on the WonderSwan system.
This seemed like a step backward for the franchise as the WonderSwan is a system only capable of displaying visuals in black and white. In addition, there were fewer weapons than in the previous game for the player to use.
6 The Series Went The Mobile-Only Route
Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Gold Knights appeared only on mobile phones in 2009 and was aimed at a completely new audience than previous games in the franchise. Despite not appearing on traditional platforms, gamers were pretty happy with seeing this franchise get some attention on the mobile market.
The gameplay and visuals weren’t the most polished but were still well thought out and even gave players a choice of two characters with different stats: Arthur, the more defense-oriented hero from past games, and Lancelot, a new knight who prioritized speed over all else.
5 They Made A Sequel For The Mobile Game
Sticking with the mobile-only route, Capcom made a sequel to Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Gold Knights aptly called Ghosts ‘n Goblins: Gold Knights II. Taking criticisms that some players had about the first mobile game in the series, the developers came back with new and improved mechanics and features that reduced some less desirable qualities.
However, they kept things like having multiple characters to play as and most of the overlay that sought to emulate the feel of the older games, though with a touch-screen instead of a traditional controller.
4 Puzzle Game Spin-Off
In the most bizarre spin-off from the main series, Capcom released a puzzle game for Ghosts ‘n Goblins in 1996 that emulated the basic, yet addictive, puzzle game known as Sid & Al’s Incredible Toons.
This spooky reimagining copied the same general vibe and many mechanics from the puzzle game but used Ghosts ‘n Goblins characters, items, and other imagery instead. The title of this Japan-only release that appeared on the original PlayStation and the Sega Saturn was titled Arthur to Astaroth no Nazomakaimura: Incredible Toons.
3 Return Of The Main Series & Series Project Head
In 2006, the main series returned after a 7-year drought on the PSP with Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins. With this reemergence came the genius who was the major reason for the original game, and its classic-era sequels, Tokuro Fugiwara.
The project head took his role as seriously as before and helped guide his team of developers into creating what is arguably the best game in the franchise. Sir Arthur returns to slay fiends of more numerous varieties than ever before and can now do so with a novel equipment system that allowed for different pieces of armor to be equipped independently as well as multiple weapons to be stored in an inventory.
2 Retelling For A New Era
On February 25, 2021, a brand new game in this series was released, though it is a retelling, or reboot, of the franchise. The progression, enemies, levels, and bosses are very similar to the original game as well as the second one in the chain of spooky titles.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is currently only out for the Nintendo Switch and not only allows a new generation to get into the fun of the earliest games but also incorporates a bunch of mechanics that have become popular over the franchise’s long history.
1 Sir Arthur Appears In Other Games
In addition to appearing in every Ghosts ‘n Goblins title, Sir Arthur has shown up in other games as well, most notably the Marvel vs. Capcom games. Like in his series, Arthur uses a variety of weapons to attack his opponents such as his iconic lance as well as swords, bombs, scythes, and more.
The armored warrior expectedly specializes in physical prowess and higher fighting capabilities than many others. His attacks have great range, as he throws many of his weapons. His shorter stature can also be an advantage, as he doesn’t need a large hitbox to get in range to hurt his foes.
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