''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'', known as in Japan, is a 1988 platform

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

for arcades. It is the sequel to '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and the second game in the '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'' series. It was a commercial success, becoming the eighth highest-grossing arcade game of 1989 in Japan. It was also critically acclaimed, with the Sega Genesis version winning four awards from ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...

'' in 1989, including Best Game of the Year.

Plot

Three years after the events of ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'', the Ghosts have returned with Ghouls for revenge, initiating a mortal holocaust on the Princess' kingdom as beams of light struck through countless villagers. When Sir Arthur returns to the village, his rescue attempt was too soon as his beloved Princess Prin-Prin also has her soul taken away from her body in front of his very eyes. Now it's up to the heroic knight once again to slay his way to the hellish castle to defeat the evil Lucifer and his legion of demons and restore the souls of Prin-Prin and every mortal.

Gameplay

The gameplay for ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' is similar to that of ''Ghosts 'n Goblins''. The player controls the knight

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

who must advance through a series of eerie levels and defeat a number of

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...

and demonic creatures in his quest to restore all the people killed by

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

(

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

in the English-language

Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

and

Master System The is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console manufactured and developed by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series ...

versions), including his beloved Princess Prin-Prin, back to life. Along the way, Arthur can pick up a variety of weapons and armor to help him in his quest. While the core gameplay remains the same as its predecessor, the game now allows Arthur to fire directly upward and directly downward while in mid-air. By jumping in certain spots, players can cause a treasure chest to erupt from the ground. By firing his weapon at the chest, players may uncover new weapons, gold armor or an evil magician that changes Arthur into an elderly man or a helpless

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

. The gold armor allows players to charge up the weapon to release a powerful magical attack. Each weapon has its own special attack, with the exception of the special weapon (see below). There are six levels. To defeat the game, Arthur must complete levels 1 through 5 twice. Upon completing them the first time, Arthur is taken back to level 1, but this time, a special weapon appears during the game. To enter Lucifer's chamber, the player must have this special weapon equipped, and must have defeated Beelzebub. After entering the final large door, the player goes directly to Lucifer's chamber.

Music

The original soundtrack for the arcade version was composed by Tamayo Kawamoto. Many computer

ports Ports collections (or ports trees, or just ports) are the sets of makefiles and Patch (Unix), patches provided by the BSD-based operating systems, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, as a simple method of installing software or creating binary packages. T ...

of the game include the soundtrack by Tim Follin which consists of arrangements and some new songs. Follin's soundtrack – especially

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

(which both implement each machines' '

chiptune Chiptune, also called 8-bit music (although not all chiptune is 8-bit music), is a style of electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video gam ...

' synthesizers, although the selection of pieces and some scoring differs slightly between computers) and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

versions (of which the playlist is again slightly different) – is respected among computer game music listeners and also gained appreciation from reviewers when the game was published.

Versions

Versions of ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' were released in Europe in 1989 for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

. These versions were all handled by

Software Creations Acclaim Studios Manchester (formerly Software Creations) was a British video game developer based in Manchester, England. The company was established in 1985 by Richard Kay. They were primarily known for their video games based on movie and com ...

and all omit a great deal of detail from the arcade version. A

conversion of ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' (programmed by

Yuji Naka , credited in some games as YU2, is a Japanese video game designer and programmer. He is the co-creator of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and was the president of Sonic Team at Sega until his departure in 2006. Naka joined Sega in 1984 and w ...

) was released by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

in 1989 in Japan and North America, and in 1990 in Europe. This version was re-released as a

handheld TV game A handheld TV game or plug and play game is an integrated home video game console and game controller, usually battery powered, which connects directly to a television. The game software is built directly into the unit, which is typically desig ...

with '' Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition'' in 2005 and as a downloadable

Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...

game for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

in 2007. This version was also included on the

Sega Genesis Mini The Sega Genesis Mini, known as the Mega Drive Mini in regions outside of North America, is a dedicated console modeled on the Sega Genesis. The Mini emulates the original console's 16-bit hardware, and includes 42 games made available through ...

in 2019, and on the

Nintendo Classics Nintendo Classics is a line of Video game console emulator, emulated retro games distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Nintendo Switch 2. Subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service have access to games for ...

service in 2023. Sega also released a

conversion in 1991. This version introduced a power-up system that allows the player to enter secret shops and upgrade parts of their armor. This includes helmets, which give the player access to new weapons and magic spells; chest armor, which allows the player to sustain more damage; and boots, which increase the player's speed. A

SuperGrafx The , also known as simply the SuperGrafx, is a fourth-generation home video game console manufactured by NEC Home Electronics and released in Japan in 1989. It is the successor system to the PC Engine, released two years prior. Originally kn ...

conversion of ''Dai Makaimura'' was released by

NEC Avenue was a Japanese Music publisher, music and video game publisher part of NEC. History NEC Avenue was founded in 1987 as a record label within NEC. NEC Avenue eventually got involved with video games, and secured licenses to produce console versio ...

in 1990. This version was included on the

TurboGrafx-16 Mini The TurboGrafx-16 Mini, also known as the in Japan and PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini in Europe, is a Dedicated console, dedicated home video game console modeled on NEC's TurboGrafx-16, released in 2020. It is developed by Konami, who owns the prope ...

in 2020. A version of ''Dai Makaimura'' was released by Capcom in 1994 for the Sharp

X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 Megahertz, MHz Motorola 68000 Central processing unit, CPU, 1 Megabytes, MB of Random Access Memory, ...

. A version for the

Capcom Power System Changer The , also known as Capcom Play System, CPS for short, and retroactively as CPS-1, is an arcade system board developed by Capcom that ran game software stored on removable daughterboards. More than two dozen arcade titles were released for CPS-1 ...

was planned and previewed but never released. In 1998, Capcom released '' Capcom Generation 2'' for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

and

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

in Japan, a compilation which included ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' along with ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and ''Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts''. The PlayStation version of this compilation was released as a bundle in Europe with three other volumes titled ''Capcom Generations'' (in plural) under the title of ''Capcom Generations: Chronicles of Arthur''. Capcom later released in North America '' Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1'' for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

in 2005 and ''Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded'' for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

in 2006, which includes all the ''Capcom Generations'' titles. The arcade version of ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' was re-released as one of the included games on the Capcom Home Arcade console in 2019.

Reception

Commercial performance

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' on their January 15, 1989 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles like '' Image Fight'' and '' Truxton''. It went on to become the eighth highest-grossing arcade game of 1989 in Japan.

Contemporary reviews

MegaTech ''MegaTech'' (sometimes styled with the katakana メガテケ) was a publication from EMAP aimed specifically at the Sega Mega Drive gaming market. The magazine was started in 1991. The launch editorial consisted of a small team including Pa ...

'' magazine reviewed the Sega Mega Drive version, calling it "a truly superb game" and "a stunning conversion" of the "classic coin-op, combining stunning graphics and sound with very challenging gameplay."

Accolades

The Sega Genesis version received the 1989 ''

'' awards for Best Game of the Year, Best Graphics, Best Sequel and Coolest Boss. The ''

Computer Entertainer ''Computer Entertainer'', also known as ''The Video Game Update'', was an American video game newsletter. Based out of Los Angeles, California and edited by Celeste Dolan, it was published monthly between 1982 and 1990. It regularly featured news ...

'' Awards selected it as the Genesis Game of the Year. ''

VideoGames & Computer Entertainment ''VideoGames & Computer Entertainment'' (abbreviated as ''VG&CE'') was an American magazine dedicated to covering video games on computers, Video game console, home consoles and Arcade game, arcades. It was published by Larry Flynt Publication ...

'' gave it the award for the best coin-op conversion on consoles. The ''Computer Entertainer'' Awards selected it as the Genesis Game of the Year. ''

ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

'' magazine listed it as one of the top four best games available for the Mega Drive in 1989. It received a Hyper Game award from ''MegaTech'', as well as a Gold Medal from ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by Commodore International, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

'', Crash Smash award from '' Crash'', and C+VG Hit award from ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

''. In 1992, '' Mega'' magazine ranked it as the 23rd best game of all time. In 1997, ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' ranked the Genesis version as the 48th best console video game of all time, citing its close recreation of the arcade version. In 2017,

Gamesradar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...

listed the game 44th on its "Best Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games of all time."

Retrospective

Retrospectively, Game Rankings gave the Sega Genesis version an aggregate rating of 80% based on four reviews published online in the 2000s, including three reviews for the

Wii Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on past ...

release. The Virtual Console release (ported from the Sega Genesis) was rated 6.5 out of 10 by ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'', 7.5 out of 10 by ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'', and 9 out of 10 stars by ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

''.

Notes

References

External links

*
''Ghouls 'n Ghosts''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

* {{Authority control 1988 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Android (operating system) games Arcade video games Atari ST games Cancelled Capcom Power System Changer games Commodore 64 games Crash Smash! award winners CP System games Dark fantasy video games Ghosts 'n Goblins Horror video games IOS games Master System games MegaTech Hyper Game awards winners Multiplayer and single-player video games NEC video games Nintendo Classics games Platformers PlayStation Network games Run and gun games Sega Genesis games SuperGrafx games U.S. Gold games Video game sequels Video games about ghosts Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Tamayo Kawamoto Video games scored by Tim Follin Video games set in castles Virtual Console games Video games about zombies X68000 games ZX Spectrum games