Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins

Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (known as Goku Makaimura in Japan) is a run and gun platformer game and the recent main installment in Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins series. Developed by Tose and published by Capcom, the game was released for the PlayStation Portable on 3rd August, 2006. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins is the only game in the series to employ 3D graphics, while also maintaining much of the 2D gameplay mechanics of the earlier games. It also marked the return of the series' project head, Tokuro Fujiwara, directing for the first time since 1989's Mega Man 2.

Ultimate_Ghosts'n_Goblins_Trailer — Ultimate Ghosts'n Goblins Trailer

Trailer

An updated 2007 Japanese version was released, entitled Goku Makaimura Kai. The initial version became available for download on January 15, 2009 from the PlayStation Store.

Gameplay[]

The levels are varied, ranging from being inside a more traditional haunted forest to volcanic pits and ruined castles. Enemies are hugely varied and tend to be thrown at Arthur in groups. One annoying difficult variation is the groping hand, which extends out of the ground and pins Arthur on the spot leaving the player exposed to any attack. Others range from zombies, ghosts, Giant Oxen, Green Monster plants and string dragons. The boss characters are also nicely varied, and some are incredibly huge in size (two of which take up the entire screen).

The game has many weapons from the past games (though not all of them), with a few new additions; this installment also has a new equip system. Arthur is now able to gather items that can be stored and used for different levels, ranging from what type of power attack Arthur can use (as a secondary attack) to standard equipment (shields, double-jump boots etc). Arthur can also collect different types of armor, which give him varied abilities too.

The magic system is no longer tethered to the armor and weapon combination; instead, "POW" pick-ups increase weapon power, and armor amplifies the magic spell Arthur has equipped (which are also gathered throughout the levels as pick-ups, hidden in chests).

Instead of the linearity of the original versions, the game has now been designed so that players have to obtain a selection of Golden Rings hidden throughout the levels to access the last battle and finish the game. Players are given the option to back-track to earlier levels, and search previously unreachable areas to find these by the use of powerups found later on in the game. These can vary from equipping "double-jump" boots to a shield which allows Arthur to fly for a limited amount of time.

Characters[]

Japanese cover art by and . — Japanese cover art by Shoei and Shinkiro.

Arthur

Guinevere

Enemies[]

Zombies

Red Arremer

Killer Fish

Wraith - Roams the forest searching for new prey, with its eerie eyes and mouth shining out from under its hooded cape. The only visible part of its body is its hand with its long, sharp fingers.

Minotauros - This ruthless killing machine charges head-on full steam ahead at anyone who dares get in its way. With two large horns and the head of a mutated bull, and a large, muscular body covered in fur, it has Hercules armor for protection and a large axe in each hand to take down unfortunate souls.

Bloodbrain - Guards its own territory, and uses tentacles to extract nutrients from anything that passes by. They won't explicitly come after Arthur, but aside from their nasty tentacles, their bodies contain a very potent poison.

Shocker Dragon - With a body made up of electricity, it surrounds and zaps its prey with powerful discharges. The electricity is also invincible to all attacks, making it a very formidable opponent.

Bosses[]

Earthler - The Level 1 Boss. Completely covered in a steel-like armor, normal attacks do not phase this beast. Its mouth, hanging open and dripping sticky drool, is its only weak spot. It attacks by stabbing with the claws on three of its four legs, and by spitting acid from its mouth.

Death Curse - The Level 2 (Abandoned Castle) Boss. Flies in circles around Arthur as it attacks. With two horns sticking out the sides of its head, a large gaping mouth, and a single giant eye, its body is made up of something like the waves of a magnetic field that grows in the shadows. Sometimes takes shadow form, spins around at high speeds, and unleashes long-distance attacks.

Vermillus - The Level 3 (Swamp) Boss. Although its body looks like a giant floating brain, it is actually covered in a thick layer of rotten flesh. Its movements are normally slow, but once it spots a victim it moves in for the kill with surprising speed and agility. It also lets out Flea Fly parasites to help capture its prey.

Spiral Mantruder - The Level 4 Boss. A single eye at the center of a swirling vortex of lava, it envelops Arthur and uses its arms that appear out of nowhere to grab him.

Dark Astaroth - Semi-final Boss. Has two phases. In the first shoots flamethrower and projectile from lower and upper mouths. In the second, flies slowly in a circular pattern while shooting gorgon spell and thunder.

Hades - True Final boss. Has three phases, shoots many lasers, tornadoes and other powerful attacks.
- First Form - Always starts fight by quickly slamming ground with hands, which will stun Arthur. Continues to slam ground and punch horizontally along the ground while occasionally dropping cursing sludge from mouth. After enough damage, transitions to next stage by breaking the ground with hands clenched together. This attack is fatal to Arthur if it connects.
- Hades Unleashed - Hades' second form. Shoots lasers from fingers, creates tornadoes to lock Arthur in, and can make a "delayed" ripple attack that homes on on Arthur.
- Hades Enraged - Hades' third form. Same attacks as in 2nd form, but with greater frequency and utilizes 4 fingers for his laser more often. Will also fly up making his head harder to hit.

Story[]

As part of their ambition to rule the world, the dark forces of the Demon Realm seek to mix their own blood with that of the royal family. Until now, the legendary knight Arthur has always put a stop to their devious plans. However, the Demon Realm is home to a new ruler, more powerful and more evil than any who have come before him. His underlings waste no time in seeking out the princess--the sole surviving heir to the royal bloodline--in an act that promises dire consequences for all. The princess is in grave danger...

When our intrepid knight Arthur catches wind of this dastardly plot, he sets off at once to the castle, his steed's hooves beating an ominous chorus.

Goku Makaimura Kai[]

An enhanced updated version of Ultimate Ghost 'n Goblins, known as Goku Makaimura Kai, was released only in Japan in 2007. Goku Makaimura Kai featured a greatly decreased difficulty level, re-mixed and and new enemy locations and types, a re-worked magic system, and limited continues. These changes result in a more linear game that plays more similarly to previous entries in the series.

Rather than selecting a difficulty level when starting a new game, players select a "Lifestock Type", which affects the number of lives and continues you start the game with. Interestingly, despite these changes to make the game more arcade-like, the player is still allowed to save the game after clearing stages. The flow of the game was also altered with Arthur now being forced to complete stages in a fixed order and re-spawn checkpoints now located only at the start and half-way points of levels. Arthur starts with the double-jump ability and can cast magic infinitely by charging with the attack button, similar to Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Arthur can also only hold one weapon, shield, and magic at a time and will carry these over between lives (including if the shield if broken). Changes making the game less difficult include lowered enemy and boss HP, removed or weakened enemy attacks, and easier level layouts.

Rings and red chests still exist, though locations have been made easier to access in general, there are only 3 rings per level, and getting them is entirely optional and just grants the player an extra life. Once Dark Astaroth is beaten on the first playthrough, the player will be taken to a Rose Witch lair to fight the originally optional witch boss, and will be forced to collect the Wave Magic once they are defeated, at which point the game will loop. The 2nd loop has similar difficulty increases to the original game, and like in the original, the player will not have to fight Astaroth again at the end of stage 5. In order to fight the true final boss however, the player must have the Wave Magic once they reach the end of stage 5. If they do not, they will be sent back to the start of stage 5 so they can collect it.

Making an easier version of a Japanese game has usually been reserved for the rest of the world, making this an interesting Japan-exclusive release.

Goku Makaimura Kai included the full original version of Ultimate Ghost 'n Goblins on the same disc.

Credits[]

Producer: Hironobu Takeshita
Project Coordinator: Koji Oda
R&D Manager: Takeshi Taniguchi
Quality Control Manager: Kazuhisa Inoue
Head Planner: Takayoshi Miyake
Planners: Masaya Imachi, Ryutaro Ueki, Sachio Nogita, Yuichi Shimizu
Main Programmer: Takafumi Gotoh
System Programmers: Kosei Yagi, Motoki Nishikura
Character Programmers: Hidenori Takaya, Yasufumi Suzuki, Sadaharu Ichimura
Map Programmers: Koji Matsuda, Haruyoshi Nakanishi, Hideo Matsumoto
Design Director: Hiroshi Kasajima
Character Model Designers: Koji Ishida, Norihito Ueno, Yuya Okada
Character Art: Shin Yuasa
Character & BG Art: Makiko Nihari
Character Animators: Masako Yokota, Tatsuya Miyake, Yuya Okada
Background Image Designer: Akiko Nagashima
Background Designers: Shinya Kawane, Yukie Nishiguchi, Gen Sato, Yusuke Maeda, Junji Ihara, Atsushi Fukushima, Daisuke Sakane, Asako Kimura, Norihito Ueno
Object Designers: Tomoki Asano, Mamu Uno, Eriko Sato
Object Motion Designer: Yuki Shishido
Effect Designers: Eri Inoue, Seiko Imano, Katsuya Emi, Azusa Okamoto
2D Designer: Asako Wada
Music Composers: Masaya Tsunemoto, Kazuhiro Kotani
Sound Effect Designer: Kengo Hagiwara
Music Adviser: Hidenori Miyanaga
Special Adviser: Fujio Hirai
Software Support: Akihiro Yokoyama
Package Illustration Designers: Shinkiro, Shoei
Title Logo Designer: Satoshi Ukai
Software Manual: Akemi Iwasaki, Masako Honma
Publicity Team: Ryosuke Hagiwara, Norikazu Fujikawa
Promotion Team: Takayuki Sato
Sales Planning & Development Team: Kohei Kubota, Mariko Tamura
Legal Team: Yuko Yasuda, Noriko Watanabe
Licensing Team: Takashi Kitahara
Music and Publishing Team: Hidenori Shinohara, Keishin Itsukaichi, Tetsuya Ohno
Customer Support Team: Shosuke Suzuki, Seiichiro Miyabe
International Support Team: Masayuki Fukumoto, Hanako Ozawa, Ayumi Kambara
Localization Team: David Crislip, Brandon Gay, Kaori Funakoshi
Marketing Team: Yuji Ito, Seon King, Tsuyoshi Kanda

Capcom Entertainment, Inc.

Marketing: Todd Thorson, Laili Bosma, Kaori Tsukuda
Public Relations: Melinda Mongelluzzo, Arne Cual-Pedroso
Project Management: Robert Johnson, Rey Jimenez
Printed Materials: Michiko Morita

CE Europe Ltd. (U.K.)

Marketing: David Corless
Public Relations: Ben LeRougetel
Quality Assurance: Rick Blanco

Testers: Yusuke Hisahori, Yusaku Ueno, Syohei Okamura, Tsuyoshi Suhari, Masaki Gamo, Hitomi Fuku, Toshio Kou, Tomoyoshi Matsumoto, Hiroshi Etoh, Yosuke Inoue, Kazuo Sakata, Rie Tanaka, Sayaka Yasuoka, Yuji Morita
Special Thanks: Shigenori Kiwata, Yoshimi Zaima, Sachiko Sasaki, Kazuya Takimoto, Setsuo Yamamoto
Project Supervisor: Tatsuya Minami
Direction and Planning: Tokuro Fujiwara

Instruction Booklet (NA Version)[]

Manual: Hanshaw Ink & Image
Marketing: Charles Bellfield, David Riley, Jack Symon, Laili Bosma, Carrie Root, Robert Johnson, Rey Jimenez, Robert Hamiter and Ryuhei Tanabe
Creative Services: Michi Morita, Corey Tran and Jacqueline Truong
Translation: Brian Dunn
PR: Melinda Mongelluzzo, Arne Cual-Pedroso and Alicia Kim
Customer Service: Philip Navidad, Frank Filice and Kellie Andreine