Ghosts 'n Goblins

Ghosts 'n Goblins (Makaimura in Japan) is a run and gun platform arcade game developed and published by Capcom in 1985. It is the first game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series. The game marks the first appearance of Arthur, a valiant knight hell-bent on saving Princess Guinevere. He battles his way through a graveyard, demon-infested Camelot, the Great Abyss and beyond. The game is also included in Capcom Classics Collection for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Like many of the games that followed it, it was directed by Tokuro Fujiwara.

Gameplay[]

Ghosts 'n Goblins is a run and gun platform game where the player must defeat zombies, demons and other undead creatures in order to rescue the princess. Along the way the player can pick up new weapons, bonuses and extra suits of armor that can help in this task. The game is often considered very difficult by arcade standards, and is commonly regarded as one of the most difficult games released for the NES.

The player starts out with three lives, and is awarded an extra life when the player reaches 20,000 and 70,000 points. A further life is awarded at every 70,000 points after that. Two hits from an enemy attack will result in a life being lost. After the first hit, Arthur is reduced to his boxer shorts. A second hit turns him into a skeleton. At the start of each level, Arthur is dressed in full armor whether or not he had armor at the end of the previous level. At certain points in the game, Arthur can suffer instant death whether he is suited in his armor or not.

If the player loses a life, he is returned to the start of the level, or the halfway point if he has managed to get that far. Furthermore, each life can only last a certain length of time (generally around three minutes), the clock being reset at the start of a level. If the clock does run out, the player instantly loses that life.

Characters[]

Main[]

Enemies[]

Zombie - Corpses that have been revived by the energy of the Ghoul Realm. These hordes of living dead have no will of their own, and attack people in order to preserve their rotting flesh.
Crow - The blue crow flys sideways in wavy patterns. The red crow targets Arthur, and flys directly at him.
Green Monster - Reminiscent of a Venus Fly-Trap, this plant will bite players that get close to them and spit eyeballs from their throats.
Blue Devil - These small devils are swift and agile creatures. They attack their opponents mischievously, as if playing some kind of game.
Wraith - Also known as Woody Pigs, these are incarnations of pigs who wear tree stumps. These guardians of the woods appear abruptly and fly through the air, weaving back and forth.
Goblin - Also known as Big Men. Although they lack armor of any kind, it takes many attacks to pierce their toughened bodies. They use all of their strength to launch projectiles at the enemy.
Flying Knight - Armor haunted by the ghosts of knights who were slain by monsters. These unhappy spirits wander through the air, attacking any people that they encounter.
Magician - Spell-using imp that changes Arthur into a form in which he briefly cannot fight. Similar to the Jester.
Monster Tower - also known as a Golem, this creature of stone has the ability to come alive for brief seconds to shoot stone balls at Arthur. The Monster Tower has two heads, allowing it to shoot from the upper head, the lower head, or both.

Bosses[]

Unicorn Demon - At twice the size of Arthur, it commands massive strength. It has incredible jumping power, rising high into the air to land on and squash its opponents. Appears as the Stage 1 Boss, and as twin enemies for the Stage 2 Bosses.
Dragon - It staggers enemies with its long body and spews fire from its gigantic mouth. The Stage 3 and Stage 4 Bosses.
Satan - Satan is the one who, under Astaroth's command, swooped down and captured the Princess. He is a strong opponent who uses his swooping attack while hurling star projectiles. He can block any attack when he closes his wings. He will later work under Sardius, but only for a brief time. Appears as the Stage 5 Boss and as twin enemies for the Stage 6 Bosses.

Trivia[]

The famed Yashichi makes yet another Capcom appearance in this game. In the NES version, it nets the player 5000 points if it glows solid red. Other times, depending on the placement and level at which the Yashichi is collected, it grants the player additional time. However, if the Yashichi glows green as well, it will subtract time from the timer.

Credits[]

Arcade Version[]

Ghosts 'n Goblins, like many other games during this era of gaming, credited its staff in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:

Top Yuk 10000 PTS
2nd Fum 10000 PTS
3rd Mik 10000 PTS
4th Tom 10000 PTS
5th Tan 10000 PTS
6th Kei 10000 PTS
7th Rum 10000 PTS
8th May 10000 PTS
9th Oot 10000 PTS
10th Hor 10000 PTS

NES Version[]

Planning: Hasse and Fuji
Music: Hal and Wood
Design: Black and Hasse
Program: Kazzo
Presented by: Capcom

Commodore 64 Version[]

Elite Systems Ltd Presents

Programming by: Chris Butler
Graphics by: Chris Butler
Sound Effects by: Mark Cooksey
Copyright © 1986 by Japan Capsule Computers UK Ltd

Additionally, the game's staff is credited in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:

1st Chris 5000
2nd Musicman 4500
3rd Elite 4000
4th Capcom 3500
5th Alistair 3000
6th Dave 2500
7th Kay 2000

Amstrad CPC Version[]

Program: Nigel Alderton
Assistant: Dan Hartley
Sound: David Whittacker
Graphics: Ste Pickford
© 1986 Elite
© 1986 Japan Capsule Computers (UK) Ltd.

Additionally, the game's staff is credited in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:

1st Nigul 1000
2nd Steve.P 1000
3rd Dave.W 1000
4th Dan.H 1000
5th Myk 1000
6th Ed 1000
7th Jackie.F 1000
8th J.M.J. 1000
9th Zulek 1000
10th Speccy 1000

Atari ST Version[]

© Elite Systems International 1990
© Japan Capsule Computers Ltd. 1985
Programmed by: Michael Delves and Elite Systems
Graphics by: Zippo Games Ltd.
Sonics by: Mark Cooksey
Coordinator: Pete Cook

Additionally, the game's staff is credited in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:

1st Mike 10000 PTS
2nd Pete 9000 PTS
3rd Paul Gill 8000 PTS
4th Andy Route 7000 PTS
5th Ste Pickford 6000 PTS
6th Ziggy 5000 PTS
7th Graphic Dave 4000 PTS
8th New Order 3000 PTS
9th VS 2000 PTS
10th Joy Division 1000 PTS

Amiga Version[]

Program: R Frankish
Graphics: D Percival
Music: M Cooksey
© 1988 CAPCOMtm USA Inc.

Additionally, the game's staff is credited in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:

Top Ric 10000 PTS
2nd DP 10000 PTS
3rd MC 10000 PTS
4th PJC 10000 PTS
5th GB 10000 PTS
6th JCM 10000 PTS
7th GnG 10000 PTS
8th GnG 10000 PTS
9th GnG 10000 PTS
10th GnG 10000 PTS

GBC Version[]

Programming: Mark Fitt
Additional: Alex Amsel
Producer: Troy Sheets
Music: Allister Brimble
Art: Richard Whittall
Special Thanks: Freya Shephard
Capcom: Jim Wallace, Bert Schroeder, Mark Rogers
Testers: Russell Young, Gene Sprague