Golly! Ghost!
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is a 1991
light gun shooter Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is to simulate a shooting gallery by having the player aiming and discharging a gun-shaped controller at a scre ...
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
developed and published by
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
. It employs a diorama which is controlled by the game's driver board to open and close mechanical doors which are connected to solenoids, much like the moveable items on a pinball table. The diorama has five 24-volt globe lights that come on only during gameplay to light up the rooms - and they are all on when the game is being played during the shooting scenes, and off for the cutscenes, title screen, and high scores. The globes are not individually controlled, and are either all on or off; the driver board powers the diorama unit's solenoids and lights via several connectors on the driver board and the guns also plug into the driver board via another small connector (it was the first Namco game to use them). In 2012, the game was adapted into a webcomic for Namco Bandai's ShiftyLook webcomic service.


Gameplay

''Golly! Ghost!'' is a light gun shooter video game. Its plot involves a group of scientists inventing an energy weapon named the "Zapper" to defeat a band of comical ghosts, who have taken over an abandoned
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
mansion in the Northeastern United States. Players use the attached light guns, nicknamed "Zip" and "Zap", to shoot these ghosts in each of the game's levels, referred to in-game as "scenes". In these scenes, players are to score a specified number of points before the timer runs out. Each scene contains a bonus ghost that awards extra points when shot. These take the form of everyday objects, such as jackets, hamburgers, and footballs. There are a total of four scenes, which conclude in a boss fight; defeating the boss causes them to burst into other smaller ghosts that can be shot for additional points. The game is also a
redemption game Redemption games are typically arcade games of skill that reward the player proportionally to their score in the game. The reward most often comes in the form of tickets, with more tickets being awarded for higher scores. These tickets can then ...
, in which tickets are awarded based on how well the player performs.


Development and release

''Golly! Ghost!'' uses an electro-mechanical diorama of a house for its background, with movable parts powered by solenoids. These parts, which include a closet door, a chest, and a toilet seat, open and close based on the movements of the ghosts in the game. A mirror inside the machine reflects the game's graphics onto the background, creating the illusion that the characters are interacting directly with the diorama. ''Golly! Ghost!'' was released in Japan in July 1991, running on the Namco System 2 arcade system board. In North America, it was demonstrated at that year's Amusement Machine Operator's Union (AMOU) tradeshow held in Las Vegas, presented alongside the 3D rail shooter ''
Starblade is a 1991 3D rail shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. Controlling the starfighter FX-01 "GeoSword" from a first-person perspective, the player is tasked with eliminating the Unknown Intelligent Mechanized Species (UIMS) before t ...
''. The game was released in Australia in October.


Reception and legacy

''Golly! Ghost!'' was a commercial success in Japan, being a major contributor towards a 93.9% increase in revenue in Namco's arcade game division during the year. ''Game Machine'' commented on its creepy atmosphere and unique concept, believing that its electro-mechanical backdrop would make it stand out from other light gun shooters in arcades. A writer for ''MegaZone'' shared his appreciation towards the game for keeping in line with Namco's line of high-quality light gun shooters. They were impressed with the game's mechanical diorama, commenting that: "Real targets pop up at you, which you must try to hit with your super responsive electro-gun... this looks like a game to try now!". In a 2016 retrospective, ''Hardcore Gaming 101'' writer Aaron Vark felt that ''Golly! Ghost!'' was "held back" due to it being a ticket redemption game and not a dedicated light gun shooter. He was critical of the game's high difficulty for forcing players to shoot every ghost in some levels, and for its short length. However, Vark commended the graphics and synthesizer music, and found its electro-mechanical background technologically impressive. A sequel, , was released exclusively for Japanese arcades in August 1992. Its gameplay is similar to its predecessor, instead being themed around sunken treasure. Players use the light guns to shoot at fish, crabs, seahorses, and other aquatic creatures at the bottom of the ocean. The four ghosts from the first game return as bonus enemies that can be shot for additional points. ''Bubble Trouble'' makes usage of sprite-scaling effects to make enemies fly towards the player. Aaron Vark appreciated the game's wackier tone and more forgiving difficulty, feeling it was a well-suited follow-up. A puzzle game spin-off titled ''Golly! Ghosts! Goal'' was released in March 1996 for
Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...
, being a reskin of the game ''Color Lines'' with ''Golly! Ghost!'' characters. In 2012, ''Golly! Ghost!'' was adapted into a webcomic by ShiftyLook, a division of
Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...
that focused on reviving older Namco franchises. The comic was illustrated by Chris Eliopoulos, who also worked on
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
's '' Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius''. Its plot involved the blue ghost moving into the mansion and trying to win the respect of the other ghosts through outlandish challenges and pranks. Alongside the other ShiftyLook comics, it was taken down in September 2014 after the company ceased operations.


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External links

* * {{Bandai Namco light gun games 1991 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games First-person shooters Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises Namco arcade games Redemption games Video games developed in Japan