hardest ghosts and goblins game

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Ghosts and Goblins Resurrection is the hardest game I've ever encountered in my 37 years on earth

• Thread starter ScOULaris
• Start date Thursday at 11:26 PM

• Thursday at 11:26 PM

It's no secret that all of the Ghosts and Goblins games are hard, and I remember hearing all about the difficulty of Ghosts and Goblins Resurrection when it released a few years ago on modern platforms. The punishing difficulty was something that every reviewer highlighted in their review, but to me that seemed no different from how reviews of other intentionally challenging modern games are handled. I'm not someone who shies away from challenge in games. Some of my favorite games of all time are ones that many would consider to be on the higher difficulty side (e.g. Sekiro, Super Meat Boy, etc.) I'm always especially down to take on a challenge in games if the controls are tight and responsive and if retries/checkpoints are fairly integrated relative to the difficulty. But I just picked up GnG Resurrection on an eShop sale for spooky season, and the difficulty of this game is straight up unholy. I've never, ever encountered a game this difficult before in my life, and I say that earnestly and without hyperbole. Not even the hardest arcade/NES games that I can think of can compare to this sadistic game design. I mean, hell. The original GnG was also too difficult for me to beat, but this is IMO far harder than even its retro forebears. Like, what the FUCK is this?! The amount of shit being thrown Arthur's way while he has the mobility of a fucking slug is downright disrespectful. I can steamroll a FromSoft game, 100% a masocore platformer, complete Kaizo Mario levels, etc. But I can't even beat the FIRST GODDAMN LEVEL of this game! It's just... I don't even know what to say. It's so hard I legitimately have buyer's remorse after only playing for thirty minutes. I've never felt that way before. This shit is beyond the pale.  

Actual Brazilian

• Thursday at 11:32 PM

That game's hell. It's built for a different species.  

Woke up still drunk, got a money tag, swears a lot

• Thursday at 11:33 PM

ScOULaris said: I can steamroll a FromSoft game, 100% a masocore platformer, complete Kaizo Mario levels, etc. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Jonathan Lanza

"i've made a gigantic mistake".

I absolutely love the game, it's probably my favourite 2D Action Game, I might even like it more than Rondo of Blood. Agreed though, it is one of the hardest video games I've ever played in my life and I couldn't help but think "Are they even ALLOWED to make games this hard anymore?"  

• Thursday at 11:34 PM

It's brutal but so, so good. Think of every level you overcome the equivalent of beating a regular game that you find difficult and take a break before tackling the next one.  

JuicyPlayer

I always laugh when Souls games are considered the standard for hard. They’re not NES hard.  

oh wait, i missed the resurrection in the title yea its hard  

Chance Hale

• Thursday at 11:35 PM

God those alternative hell levels, just don't have it in me 😅  

• Thursday at 11:37 PM

Now try the arcade version of the first Ghosts n' Goblins. Should you actually make it to the final level, there's a section there that is near impossible.  

• Thursday at 11:40 PM

Lol what's worse is that it keeps the tradition of having to beat it twice and the second time around is even harder. you also must fulfill a condition to actually see the true ending.  

• Thursday at 11:43 PM

JuicyPlayer said: I always laugh when Souls games are considered the standard for hard. They’re not NES hard. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

• Thursday at 11:45 PM

i wish capcom would bring back Maximo  

One Winged Slayer

• Thursday at 11:47 PM

It's the proto Bennet Foddy or w/e  

• Thursday at 11:49 PM

It was definitely the most painful 100% I went for in a game lol Fucking loved it— just beneath ghouls n ghosts/daimakaimura for me— which is so easy compared to GnGR  

Unshakable Resolve - Prophet of Truth

• Thursday at 11:53 PM

stopmrdomino

• Thursday at 11:58 PM

Musubi said: Yup exactly. They aren't hard they just demand your attention. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

I do think the original NES game is harder. I was able to beat Resurrection but have yet to beat the NES GnG. Once you figure out what weapons you need and which path to take, it becomes easier. Also, you can lower the difficulty on the game. Don't torture yourself.  

• Friday at 12:04 AM

I haven't been able to give Ressurection the time it deserves to get through it but I'd be surprised if it's harder than the PSP one. The earlier ones weren't hard so long as you had the patience to play it really slow and methodically. PSP GnG took me a long time to finish. It taxed my teen self a lot.  

• Friday at 12:05 AM

stopmrdomino said: I'd say the only "hard" Souls game is Sekiro tbh Click to expand... Click to shrink...

• Friday at 12:11 AM

I just did the same (bought it via the eShop sale). I've finished all the others except for the PSP game, so I'm curious what I'll think of this one.  

• Friday at 12:12 AM

I love GnG, my favorite being the PSP game following by Super GnG. It's hard but well designed and can be beaten like a Contra game or something like that. When I bought Resurrection a year+ ago on PS4, I was expecting something similar to those older titles but with awesome modern visuals...oh my, I was wrong... it's not well designed like the old games, it's just super cheap random design. They're just throwing shit at you from all sides cause it's hard. I hate this game, it's so fucking bad. Both Battle Princess Madelyn and Maldita/Cursed Castilla are so much better games.  

• Friday at 12:13 AM

ScOULaris said: It's no secret that all of the Ghosts and Goblins games are hard, and I remember hearing all about the difficulty of Ghosts and Goblins Resurrection when it released a few years ago on modern platforms. The punishing difficulty was something that every reviewer highlighted in their review, but to me that seemed no different from how reviews of other intentionally challenging modern games are handled. I'm not someone who shies away from challenge in games. Some of my favorite games of all time are ones that many would consider to be on the higher difficulty side (e.g. Sekiro, Super Meat Boy, etc.) I'm always especially down to take on a challenge in games if the controls are tight and responsive and if retries/checkpoints are fairly integrated relative to the difficulty. But I just picked up GnG Resurrection on an eShop sale for spooky season, and the difficulty of this game is straight up unholy. I've never, ever encountered a game this difficult before in my life, and I say that earnestly and without hyperbole. Not even the hardest arcade/NES games that I can think of can compare to this sadistic game design. I mean, hell. The original GnG was also too difficult for me to beat, but this is IMO far harder than even its retro forebears. Like, what the FUCK is this?! The amount of shit being thrown Arthur's way while he has the mobility of a fucking slug is downright disrespectful. I can steamroll a FromSoft game, 100% a masocore platformer, complete Kaizo Mario levels, etc. But I can't even beat the FIRST GODDAMN LEVEL of this game! It's just... I don't even know what to say. It's so hard I legitimately have buyer's remorse after only playing for thirty minutes. I've never felt that way before. This shit is beyond the pale. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

Version 3.0

• Friday at 12:21 AM

Fat4all said: i wish capcom would bring back Maximo Click to expand... Click to shrink...

SilentStorm

• Friday at 12:33 AM

Dealer A said: I do think the original NES game is harder. I was able to beat Resurrection but have yet to beat the NES GnG. Once you figure out what weapons you need and which path to take, it becomes easier. Also, you can lower the difficulty on the game. Don't torture yourself. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

• Friday at 7:11 AM

SilentStorm said: I think lowering the difficulty just feels wrong to many people. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

• Friday at 7:27 AM

Oneself said: I love GnG, my favorite being the PSP game following by Super GnG. It's hard but well designed and can be beaten like a Contra game or something like that. When I bought Resurrection a year+ ago on PS4, I was expecting something similar to those older titles but with awesome modern visuals...oh my, I was wrong... it's not well designed like the old games, it's just super cheap random design. They're just throwing shit at you from all sides cause it's hard. I hate this game, it's so fucking bad. Both Battle Princess Madelyn and Maldita/Cursed Castilla are so much better games. Click to expand... Click to shrink...

• Friday at 7:31 AM

Everytime i hear that name, i just remember Aris taking almost 11 hours to complete the first zone. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sgmy9nJqZY&list=PLMCyLSAjLlQ03R1LbR1J9F8Jdn4S8VL2q  

• Friday at 7:37 AM

Chance Hale said: God those alternative hell levels, just don't have it in me 😅 Click to expand... Click to shrink...

TheJollyCorner

• Friday at 7:44 AM

I chose Super Ghouls and Ghosts over Final Fantasy II (IV) as my first non-Mario World SNES game back in the day. What a goddamn mistake that was.  

• Friday at 3:33 PM

• Friday at 3:38 PM

I will never forget the torture of the first NES game…. Is resurrections difficulty comparable?  

• Friday at 3:41 PM

I bet games like this should legit make me ill, so yeah I'll stay the hell away from them all.  

• Friday at 3:48 PM

This game is friggin' brutal, I can't even get past first level...  

PassiveObserver

• Friday at 3:51 PM

G'n'G games are not fun for me, full stop.  

• Friday at 3:54 PM

GnG games are like Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun: I adore the genre the games are in, but some specific titles despite being considered classics are too hard imo to be considered fun.  

Too hard for me - I can appreciate it for what it is but I just don’t have what it takes lol  

• Friday at 4:01 PM

Taking me back to me and the homies trading the controller back and forth on Super GnG. The whole series is dumb hard and I love it.  

• Friday at 4:26 PM

Mantrox said: Everytime i hear that name, i just remember Aris taking almost 11 hours to complete the first zone. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sgmy9nJqZY&list=PLMCyLSAjLlQ03R1LbR1J9F8Jdn4S8VL2q Click to expand... Click to shrink...

• Friday at 4:40 PM

I had a tough go at it with the Switch Pro Controller. I switched to the SNES NSO controller and found the game controlled better and became easier. It may just be the placebo effect or the familiarity of playing Gn'G on a SNES controller, but it definitely made a difference for me.  

• Friday at 4:42 PM

Is it a brutal game on hardcore difficulty, to the point I had to go 1 notch down with difficulty on like 2-3 parts of the 2nd run/alternative levels. It's just ridiculous RNG, like enemies pop up as you land in air, there's little way to really get past them. And Firebrands are like tanks, especially if you don't have the magic necessary to beat them. It became practically like a race past that raft to the checkpoint in the Graveyard level. Such a good feeling to get a checkpoint in a level in that difficulty.  

• Friday at 4:49 PM

I think I have to agree. It's 100% the hardest game in the entire series, and maybe the only game I had to set aside because I simply couldn't do it. I never finished it because I refused to lower the difficulty lol I really think it's the best "NES hard" game out there. By NES hard I mean games where there's literally no way humanly possible that you can succeed on your first try. Cheap, random, surprise deaths. Again and again. So many games use this gimmick, but it's often just tiring because the levels themselves are not that interesting. Like you can quickly see what needs to be done, but just refuse to because you know it will be tedious. You figure it out too fast, so there's no meaning in the execution. But Resurrection leans into this style and embraces it so much that the level design actually supports it. After every failed attempt, your neurons are still firing full speed, trying to puzzle out that absurdly razor thin path to success. It's more like an action puzzle game than just "can you make this jump lol." I felt the depth in the design, so dying a million times did not end up feeling cheap but just part of the process. I'll probably never finish it, but I enjoyed the time I did play it, and I have major respect for this game.  

• Friday at 4:51 PM

I lowered the difficulty and finished the game twice. Wish we could also lower it on the old GnGs. I really enjoyed this game, btw. Wish there was a sequel with the same art style.  

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‘Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection’ Review: One Of The Hardest Games Ever Returns

Featured Image Credit: Capcom

In the arcades of the 1980s, games weren't there for a good time - they were there to rinse you, the player, of your pocket change. Whether it was Pac-Man 's haunted mazes, Donkey Kong 's lethal scaffolding, Bubble Bobble 's baddie-poppin' platforming, or Dragon's Lair 's sublime animation set to agonising QTE patterns, these classics of the era existed to milk you clean. If too many players got too good, too quickly, it was time to shuffle the arcade's attractions - because if you could complete a one-credit run of a game, that was bad news for the location's takings.

Capcom 's action-platformer (I guess, nowadays, we'd call it a run-and-gunner) Ghosts 'n Goblins , released in 1985, hung around arcades right through until its sequel, Ghouls 'n Ghosts , followed in 1988. It was that tough that only the most elite players ever saw it through to its proper ending, where the player-controlled Sir Arthur - a knight whose armour is only ever a whisper from an enemy away from dismantling itself - caught up to the Demon King Astaroth, who has the Princess Prin-Prin stolen away in the game's opening scene. Look, it's not a game that's big on story. That's not really the point here.

What is: super-challenging gameplay where enemies come at Arthur from all sides at once, where just two touches will see our hero collapse into a pile of bones. Assuming you were good enough to one-credit it, Ghosts 'n Goblins could be finished in around 45 minutes - which mightn't sound like much today, but the game was so intense that any longer would have just been cruel (and yet, the game then did ask you to go around again, the merciless monster). Years before 'git gud' became the go-to for anyone arguing against accessibility facilitating difficulty options, and Dark Souls became a shortcut for challenging interactive entertainment, Ghosts 'n Goblins was the game to brag about beating.

And now, Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is taking that crown back from any so-called soulsborne you'd care to mention. This tribute to both the game that provides its title and its sequel - a half-remake, half-reimagining of Capcom's arcade releases, and actually directed by the series' creator Tokuro Fujiwara - is so hard to grind your way through, at its top Legend difficulty, that you'll feel your very soul start to sob. There are considerations, and quality-of-life improvements added: upon death, you now return to a checkpoint rather than the very beginning of a level, and continues are infinite (which might irritate those looking to complete a 'one-credit' run). But if you want Resurrection to hand you your own arse, time after time, it is more than happy to do so.

The gameplay remains much as it was in the 1980s: Arthur throws his weapons on vertical and horizontal paths, no diagonals allowed, and awkwardly runs and leaps from left to right through zombie-filled graveyards, menacing forests, frozen towers and crumbling castles while either splatting foes or outright avoiding them. Oftentimes, the latter strategy is the preferable option, lest you be caught in a holding pattern of facing off against a lengthy onslaught of enemies whose waves repeat. Classic monsters like the gargoyle-like series mascot Red Arremer, the chest-bursting Magician and shielded Flying Knights are present and correct, and they've never looked nor sounded better. The addition of checkpoints means there's less to fight through, should you fall foul to a level's boss (and, you will), but otherwise this is about as perfect as any old-school G'nG fan could want a modern take on the franchise to be.

Resurrection does throw in a few extras, too. There are splitting pathways, initially, with the player able to decide which way Arthur goes at the end of the first few stages (after which, the campaign turns linear). Levels can be replayed after completion, for collectible hunting. Special, unlockable challenge areas can be discovered - drop the knight into a purple-glowing hole in the ground and you'll be faced with a stern test of agility and aggression, and rewarded with something to make your next steps a little easier, like improved, golden armour.

Simultaneous two-player local co-op gives a second player control of a floating trio of supporting characters: Barry (manifests a magical barrier around our hero), Kerry (carries Arthur to safety) and Archie (creates bridges, saving on precarious jumps). All can attack, too, when it's called for (which is: often). Would it have been more fun to have two Arthurs in the mix? Maybe, but playing as a pair, where one can prioritise protection and another aggression, sure makes beating this game easier. The music and visuals are expertly evocative of their predecessors, with the gorgeous, painterly graphics in particular worthy of celebrating for never throwing too much at the player, and keeping busy levels readable. Even Arthur's famous boxers look good enough to wear.

The difficulty can be dialled down, which will help any player of any level get through to the ending - or, rather, the first ending. Because while playing on Legend, Knight or Squire (even the third-down toughness remains tricky) rewards you with a second-loop run-through of past levels given a darker, deadlier overhaul, in order to unlock the true ending, playing on the easiest mode, Page, keeps that hidden away. I'm on the fence about that. I appreciate that holding it back might inspire some players to keep at it, rather than fall back on the sorta-immortality model of Page difficulty (Arthur respawns where he fell, and doesn't return to a checkpoint); but it's also, well, a little ableist, isn't it? It's not really one for me to make a call on, but I'll be looking around the internet to see how players who can only play on the Page setting feel about this.

There are some things I'd have liked to see included. Arthur can cycle between magic he's unlocked on the fly - from lightning bolts to the ability to turn enemies on screen into frogs - but only hold onto and use one weapon at a time - and it'd be great to swap weapons as you need them, as a rolling ball of spikes isn't always as useful as a pointy lance. There's a new magic skill tree, which you evolve by collecting Umbral Bees, sparkling buzzing things that pop up in each level. It's a good, if basic, system, and it'd have been a treat to see how a similar levelling-up model could have been applied to Arthur's assortment of weapons, and his armour.

I get the impression, too, that Resurrection 's default difficulty of Knight is harder than what I played on the original Ghosts 'n Goblins , its arcade sequel, and the Mega Drive port of Ghouls 'n Ghosts , which I adored way back when. I've been dabbling in Capcom's new Arcade Stadium collection on Switch, which features the arcade versions of Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ghouls 'n Ghosts , but I haven't played it enough yet (I bought it, so it's for my downtime, not for review work ) to really know where Resurrection sits in terms of overall toughness, and in regard to a series 'ranking' - but after a few runs through its devilish dangers, it's made quite the impression. I'm just glad I'm not paying for it with my pocket money, nowadays.

Pros: it's definitely a Ghosts 'n Goblins game, with everything that series has to offer in terms of challenge and style, and looks like a perfect love-letter to the arcade classics

Cons: that challenge might be too much for some, there's very little reinvention of the series' formula, and the game's retro roots have it (and Arthur) feeling decidedly stiffer than modern equivalents like Celeste or Dead Cells

For fans of: Ghouls 'n Ghosts (obviously), Metal Slug, Cuphead, Dead Cells

7/10: Very Good

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Resurrection releases for Nintendo Switch on February 25. Review code for Nintendo Switch was provided by Capcom. Read a guide to our review scores here .

Topics:  Nintendo Switch , Capcom , Retro Gaming

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Why Ghosts ‘n Goblins Is One of the Most Difficult Games Ever

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Whether you’re battling enemies, solving puzzles, or racing against time, challenge is the most necessary basic component of any video game. A player wants to feel they’ve earned their win, and many games provide achievable challenges throughout the course of play. But then, there are those games that seemed to be developed by high ranking overlords of hell with the intent of punishing the player for an unknown offense. Games that Skynet their way to sentience, becoming self aware for just long enough to establish their deep and unadulterated hatred of the player. Games that aren’t just difficult, they’re unfair. The truly frustrating games. The rage quitters.

Many devout gamers reflect back on the most frustrating game moments with a bittersweet combination of nostalgia and despondence. Tales are still told of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Water Temple and Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s Act 1 Barrel of Doom. However, it was their predecessor of several years past that redefined the industry definition of “challenging,” creating one of the most frustratingly difficult gaming experiences of all time and essentially grandfathering the rage quit: Ghosts ‘n Goblins.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins , released on the NES in 1986, is the first of seven titles from Capcom’s highly successful series by the same name. The game opens with the princess being kidnapped by Satan himself, which should have served as a warning to the player of what was to come. The player assumes the role of the brave knight Arthur, on a quest to save his beloved from the fiery grips of the evil one. You must safely guide the knight through six gates, guarded by Satan’s generals, in order to reach Hades. Maneuvering through treacherous level designs – including a forest, an ice palace, caves and Satan’s castle – would prove to be a challenging feat by itself. However, you have to complete each level with the restriction of only receiving two enemy hits before losing a life (the first hit removes Arthur’s armor, leaving him to continue bravely as a Knight in Shining Underwear), with a time limit. If you exceed this time limit, you lose a life, and return to either the start of the level or the halfway point, if it has been reached.

Between each of the gates Arthur meets a variety of constantly spawning enemies, giving the player the honor of learning how it feels to die in the same exact spot for an hour straight. Arthur is designed in a way that, despite those sadistic red devils attacking you from all angles, he is restricted to linear attacks. Additionally, the jumps are unforgiving, allowing you no opportunity to squeak in a few extra centimeters mid-air.

The player utilizes a variety of projectile weapons in order to aid the knight on his quest. However, it is impossible to defeat the final boss without the cross weapon. If you did not retrieve the cross weapon in level 5 you are forced to replay both the 5th and 6th game levels entirely before continuing. After an arduous trek through the pixelated gates to hell, you’ve finally made it to Hades and are ready to assert yourself as savior of the fair maiden. Upon successfully defeating Astaroth, the final boss and second depiction of Satan, you breathe a well deserved sigh of relief. Victory is yours.

This euphoric sense of accomplishment at finally completing your quest is short lived, however. You beat the game and rescued the princess, wouldn’t it all end there? No. No it would not. You are immediately greeted with the following message: “This room is an illusion and is a trap devised by Satan. Go ahead dauntlessly! Make rapid progress!” Instead of the initial assumption that you must battle Astaroth again, your knight is promptly warped back to the cemetery, the very first level, and forced to replay the game in its entirety at a higher difficulty level. It is this twist that carried through the franchise with most of Ghost ‘n Goblins’ successors and earned the title a spot in the unofficial Hall of Fame with the honorary declaration of “one of the most difficult games of all time.”

In summation, the player is expected to complete the game by defeating enemies capable of greater degrees of attack than their own character, with a limit of two hits per life, while telepathically knowing you need to obtain a specific additional weapon two levels before it’s needed, with a limited amount of time, TWICE. Oh, and you can’t save your progress either. Sucker.

That room wasn’t a trap devised by Satan. That entire game was a trap devised by Satan.

It’s difficult to determine whether Ghosts ‘n Goblins would have been celebrated for so much time without the extreme levels of sadistic difficulty. The level designs were acceptable for the game’s time, and while the music was ok, the player spent entirely way too much time listening to it. The villains were interesting and constantly changing and, with a bit leniency with weapon aiming, might not have been so difficult to defeat. However, all of the ups and downs of Ghosts ‘n Goblins are fiercely overshadowed by its unprecedented difficulty.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins is a revolutionary title that became the inspiration for many modern games, including Maldita Castilla and the upcoming Defeated. Additionally, elements of the game’s spectacular “do over” were felt in the epic adventure phenomenon, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, with the [SPOILER] second castle twist. Despite the game’s indescribable level of pure frustration and the many rage quits it inspired, it was executed so perfectly that it was the sort of game a player could not bear to walk away from for extended periods of time. As long as they had a backup controller or second copy of the game, of course.

Lizzy Finnegan is a ginger gamer, with an irrational love of food trucks, and a completely rational love of bacon. More than 15 years later, she still hates the Water Temple . Puns welcome.

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Professional Moron

Daily doses of satire & culture, ghosts ‘n goblins: the most difficult nes game ever.

Right, Ghosts ‘N Goblins. Where to start!? An arcade, and the NES, game that first appeared in 1985, compared to the modern industry everything was all rather primitive back then.

Oh, yes, and it’s also one of the most difficult games in history. Okay. Let’s take a look at what did make it so.

Ghosts ‘N Goblins

Technology didn’t allow games to be particularly long. The original Super Mario Bros. , for instance, can be completed in 40 minutes.

Whilst the latest, Super Mario 3D World , lasts for over 20 hours. So to make up for this shortcoming developers upped difficulty levels.

This artificially made games seem longer by employing tactics such as: borderline impossible boss battles, cryptic puzzles, maddening jumps, or a maniacally complex array of enemies.

The NES era was notorious for it, simply as the games were so short—it was the “ideal” solution to justify their sale tag.

And Ghost ‘N Goblins was one of the most remarkably difficult of the lot.

It’s a perfect example of how some developers lost it entirely and produced titles so hard they couldn’t be completed.

This meant many games were simply abandoned by exasperated kids. To put this into perspective, the first level of Ghosts ‘n Goblins (given a clear run with no enemies) could be completed in 40 seconds.

When played normally, though, it’s a totally different kettle of jam. Some of the more modest gamers have admitted they can’t get past the first stage.

Anyone really determined could spend an hour on their first go and they wouldn’t get far. Sounds odd? Indeed.

Putting it mildly, Capcom’s Ghosts ‘N Goblins is one of the most difficult video games in history. Behind its innocuous 8 bit era looks lies a game almost incomprehensible in its challenge.

Our esteemed editor, Mr. Wapojif, played this in the late ’80s and gave up in dismay. All these years on he was able to download it from the Wii U ‘s eShop for £2 to see if things really were as insanely difficult as he remembered.

After consistent efforts he’s made it to the fourth stage, but the barrage of enemies is beyond belief.

Considering gaming in the ’80s was primarily a niche pursuit for young boys such as Mr. Wapojif (contemporary gaming is now mainstream and most titles are much easier), with hindsight it appears bizarre developers could make things so ridiculous.

This isn’t to say Ghosts ‘n Goblins is bad—it’s pretty good! It’s simply idiotically frustrating.

Many swearwords have been fired in Ghost ‘n Goblins’ direction, and with good reason… but if you’re up to the challenge, it’s right there on the Wii U eShop.

We dare you! You’ll also be able to play it once the Nintendo Classic Mini NES is released in November 2016. Yikes.

Angry Video Game Nerd

Anyone familiar with the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) on YouTube may well have seen his epic 17 minute rant about the preposterous nature of Ghosts ‘N Goblins.

But we thought we’d introduce him to you (along with the game) so you can get a better understanding of the horrors of Ghosts’N Goblins.

Yo, yo, yo, yo! Share if you want, fool!

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I remember trying that game once, i’m pretty sure i beat the first stage once but that was it. Maybe i’ll see how far i can get now.

It’s well worth an effort. The main problem is the Red Devil enemies, they’re extremely difficult to kill. I haven’t worked out a good method to take them out, it’s just about hoping for the best. On top of everything there’s a 3 minute time limit for each level, so you have to rush. Manic stuff.

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Ghosts 'n Goblins: Everything You Need to Know About Capcom's Hardest Platformer

With a reimagining of the first two games coming soon, here's everything to know about Capcom's infamously difficult platformer, Ghosts ‘n Goblins.

Fans of classic Capcom games were in for a pleasant surprise during The Game Awards when a  Ghosts'n Goblins  reimagining, titled  Ghosts 'n Goblins: Resurrection,   was revealed with a new trailer . This is a huge deal due to how little attention Capcom has been giving their older franchises as of recent, outside of  Street Fighter   and  Devil May Cry .

The  Ghosts 'n Goblins  series is often hailed as one of the most difficult games ever, with many comparing the original game to  Dark Souls . With the remake set to release next year, here's a breakdown of the classic Capcom game and why so many are excited to see it return.

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The Plot of  Ghosts 'n Goblins

As it was originally an arcade game, the plot of  Ghosts 'n Goblins  is fairly simplistic. The player takes control of a knight named Arthur, who is on a quest to save Princess Guinevere from a demon lord by the name of Astaroth. Arthur progresses through a series of dark locations, such as a graveyard and a version of Camelot infested by demons.

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Ressurection isn't just a reimagining of the original game. The game's sequel,  Ghouls 'n Ghosts,  is also stated to be part of  Ressurection . The plot is fairly similar, with Arthur questing to defeat Lucifer and free the souls that the demon lord has captured, which includes the soul of Princess Guinevere.  

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It's The Dark Souls of Arcade Games

"It's the Dark Souls of..." is a phrase that's thrown around a lot when talking about difficult games. More times than not, this kind of statement often only considers the surface-level difficulty of the  Soulsbourne  series without taking why the game is difficult into consideration. However, calling  Ghosts 'n Goblins  the  Dark Souls  of arcade games is no exaggeration, though it may be more fitting to call it the  King's Field  of arcade games .

Much like  Dark Souls ,  Ghosts 'n Goblins  requires players to learn from their mistakes and master the game's movement systems. Arthur can take a total of three hits before dying, with death setting the player character back at either the start of the map or at the midway checkpoint. Dying costs a life, and once the player loses three lives, they must start the game over from the beginning.

Ghosts n' Goblins is all about learning from past mistakes and recognizing enemy patterns, all whilst finding new weapons and items along the way. The game is strikingly similar to what a 2D  Dark Souls  might've looked like on the NES. Even the setting and monster designs look similar to those fought by The Chosen Undead.

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The game is famously difficult

Ghosts 'n Goblins  has a reputation as one of the hardest games ever made for a very good reason. The main source of difficulty comes down to the lives and damage system, as certain traps will one-shot Arthur regardless of how many hits he's already taken. The player can only earn extra lives by hitting a score of 20,000, 70,000 and then every 70,000 points after that.

The player also has a time-limit to be aware of, as failing to complete a level before the timer runs out will result in Arthur losing a life. Losing three lives leads to a complete game over, forcing the player to start over from the beginning of the game. Much like with  Dark Souls , the challenge the game provides is one that's meant to be overcome through practice, which is what so many fans love this series for.

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There's a New Game+

Though this would be long before the term "New Game+" was coined,  Ghosts 'n Goblins  has one of the earlier examples of a second playthrough that offers a harder difficulty. However, whilst this mode is optional in most games, it's actually required to see  Ghost 'n Goblins ' ending. Once the player completes the game for the first time, they'll be told that the "final" boss they just defeated was actually an illusion and the player will respawn at the start of the first level.

Ghosts 'n Goblins  has some mercy, as getting a game over after beating the game once doesn't send the player back to the previous difficulty, only back to the start of New Game+. However, according to some users, the NES and Arcade version of  Ghosts 'n Goblins  don't ever stop looping. The game increases various enemy stats to provide a harder experience each time the player beats the game.

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I Finally Beat Ghosts 'N Goblins Resurrection 's First Level, But The Victory Feels Hollow

I’ve done the unforgivable: I lowered the difficulty in Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection because I wasn’t getting anywhere close to beating the first level. But now, after finally doing so, I have zero motivation to keep playing.

I was beyond excited to get my hands on Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection when it landed on Switch two weeks ago. I’ve always loved Capcom’s classic platforming series, as much for its satisfying jump-and-shoot gameplay as the mind-numbing difficulty, and the new entry was super enticing personally for its divisive pop-up book aesthetics. That’s not to say I had ever actually beaten a Ghosts ‘n Goblins game, of course, but I started Resurrection fully committed to seeing the credits roll.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection offers up four difficulty levels. Legend is the closest to classic gameplay (two hits to die, few checkpoints) and thus the hardest, followed by Knight, Squire, and Page, which increasingly improve your defenses, decrease the amount of enemies, and add more checkpoints to the lengthy stages. Wanting an experience as close to the old games as possible, I selected Legend without a second thought.

Big mistake. What followed was two weeks of unbearable torture. I spent several hours a day with Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection , learning the enemy patterns and item drops of the game’s first level, but could never quite make it to the mid-stage checkpoint. My breaking point came in matching up against the Red Arremer, a nimble, flying enemy that’s known for being the franchise’s biggest jerk and even got its own series in 1990.

No matter how many times I made it to the demonic asshole I just couldn’t seem to get past him. I knew how to find the best armor before the battle. I knew the monster’s patterns. I knew when to dodge and when to attack. The only problem was that my body couldn’t keep up with my mind. It was the first time in my life that my physical reflexes gave out on me in a video game (well, except for getting my butt handed to me in Street Fighter , of course), and it was devastating. I debated giving up on the game altogether until the solution hit me like a tumbling gravestone:

“Lower the difficulty, dummy!”

Of course! Why was I torturing myself with this hard-ass game when I could make it (and my life) easier and still enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay? I immediately started a new save file, hovering over the Knight difficulty before eventually settling on Squire. Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection had forced me to be realistic with myself, and I knew I could probably use the extra health and checkpoints. Soon after, I was breezing through the first level, using the knowledge Legend had given me to defeat everything that stood in my way. And then, before I knew it, I was standing over the corpse of the graveyard boss.

Despite achieving something weeks in the making, I didn’t celebrate. It didn’t feel right . The victory, in my mind, was hollow. I hadn’t allowed my frustration with the difficulty to keep me from playing Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection , but now, I was well and truly done. I haven’t touched the game since. If I can’t beat it at the level I want, my broken brain tells me there’s no point in returning.

The discussion surrounding accessibility in gaming is a meaningful one, especially when it comes to challenge and difficulty. I don’t begrudge anyone who needs to play hard games at a slower or easier pace for whatever reason, even if I personally love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with killing a particularly hard Dark Souls boss or solving a late-game puzzle in The Witness . We all get something different from video games, and it’s important that developers do everything they can to provide options that increase the number of people who can play. But, as with most things in my life, I rarely afford myself the same compassion and understanding I extend to others.

I don’t know what to make of my reaction to Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection . Maybe, sometime in the future, I’ll get over whatever is making me feel less than and finally play more of the game. I think the worst part of my mental block is that it’s a very good game that I would love to explore. I just don’t need the added frustration in my life right now when everything else seems so bleak.

Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection review - hard as ever, but clever with it

It was also the night that the skeletons came to life.

This game casts a spell. A very particular spell. It is hard as they come, punishing, brutal, unforgiving in its challenge. And yet I love it still. It's not just difficult. It has a perspective on difficulty. It makes its sheer level of horribleness first endearing and then thrilling.

You know Ghosts 'n Goblins by now. 2D action-platformers with a horror vibe. You know the dark of the series' scrolling night. The creep and shudder of the monsters rising from its graveyards. You are a knight, powerful but also delicate, the merest hit shedding you of your armour and leaving you scampering around in your underwear. It is a gothic world, devils and skeletons, but it's also quietly funny: that underwear, but also huge hands descending from the sky to grab you, and there's something charming and comedic about the fist-pumping, knees-up run of yours, somehow so little of the expressed energy channeled into useful speed.

I love this world. It's so wretched, but so inventive. Even before you get to the difficulty, just look at it, and listen too: the classic video game graveyard, with the yawning, dancing, Addams Family accompaniment of an organ on the soundtrack. Beyond the graveyard are crystal palaces, or is it ice? Dragon rides through the clouds, swooping and circling and jumping from one beast to the next. A little intestinal travelling, a little peristalsis, as you move through demon guts surrounded by razor teeth instead of waving villi. Around you: vampire bats! Hungry caterpillars! Clown skeletons! All of it delivered with an art style that was controversial at first but turns out to be pretty wonderful, really, everybody you meet a collection of jangling, jolting articulation points, everyone paper thin, all but dangling on strings. The rich dark colours recall folklore prints, or those lacquered Russian boxes containing secrets. The perfect style for a hideous way of life lit only by the moon.

Venture out. Resurrection feels like a victory lap. Early on at least, you get to choose which level to tackle from a pair, but they're all filled with precision horrors, stuffed with secret challenges, hidden treasure chests and nasty surprises. Then things narrow. Onwards through a short campaign that stretches into hours and hours when you realise that actually it's all about mastery - running these levels on higher difficulties until you feel like you can take on anything, unlocking alternate versions, getting to the point where you can beat the intestinal fly boss while on the phone to your dentist.

Yes, it's hard. And amusingly so. It piles on the horrors in a way that makes you shrug and then engage with them because it's all so unreasonable. You can hear the developers laughing at their own audacity. At one point I was running up a very tall staircase battling some kind of ancient evil when the game decided to chop the staircase into sections, and then move some of the sections up and down. Another time, I was fighting a boss when the game decided that the ground should collapse and I should leap from one piece of rock to the next or fall into the magma. Another time, the hill I was on was not a hill at all. At another, creeping plants grew out of the earth, blocking me in, while their flowering heads spat globules of papier mache at me.

Then there are the weapons chests that might give you something great, or might give you something pretty useless. The first time I fought that fly boss, I had nothing but a sort of bright blue alcopop to throw at him, which was great for setting the ground on fire but terrible for battling a boss who didn't spend much time on the ground. Once, riding a dragon, I found myself chucking what looked a lot like rotten cabbages around. I made do. I had to.

That said, there are concessions. This is what I really like about this Ghost 'n Goblins. It wants you to enjoy yourself regardless of your skill level. It wants to balance the pure evil of the stuff that the hardcore want with an easier setting in which you are reborn exactly where you stood the moment you die, and where you continue to be reborn from each death until the end credits roll. And settings in between!

Even if that's all a bit too kind, there are other options. Scattered bees hidden throughout each level unlock skills on a strange tree, and you can cobble together different selections of them, allowing you to switch between casting lightning, say, and creating a ghost version of yourself to fight alongside you, to turning yourself into a boulder. You can go into battle with a bunch of these skills alongside your standard weapon, but only if you can find those bees to cash in, and that's tricky. And only if you can hold the button down long enough to fire up each spell without being hurt while you do it, and that's tricky too. Balances!

Resurrected is filled with this stuff. With secrets and set-pieces and a decent local co-op mode in which one player is a sort of protective phantom. And it reminds me: I have always loved Ghosts 'n Goblins as a series, because it's so beautifully video gamey. It is filled with things that feel like classic elements. That tinny organ riff, theatrical dread meeting the tannoy at a basketball game. That neat pile of bones you rattle yourself into when you're dead, such a polite monument to your toil. What astonishes me here is that this game manages to balance the desires of an expert audience with the fumbling progress of a willing chancer like me. Somehow nobody gets short-changed.

The 12 hardest games ever made, from Ghosts 'n Goblins to Dark Souls

There's nothing quite like a game that actively hates your guts. Ghosts n Goblins , Capcom's uncompromising side-scroller that turns 30 today, is part of a revered club of ultra-hard classics that still keep gamers coming back with their masochistic difficulty levels. You'll need more than fragile armour to survive this lot...

1. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (SNES)

The most fiendish of the Ghosts n Goblins series is this third entry, a game of few checkpoints and many enemies where bosses fill the screen and armour's as tough as Lego.

Each stage of Super Ghouls n Ghosts pits the player against one horror after another, but just in case that's not enough, there's a kicker: you've got to beat the game TWICE to see its true ending.

2. Jet Set Willy (ZX Spectrum)

The sequel to Spectrum mega hit Manic Miner saw protagonist Miner Willy cleaning up his mansion the morning after a celebration that made Project X look like a tea party at an old folks home.

There were 61 rooms chock-full of death traps, everything was out to murder Willy, and one hit spelled instant death. As if that wasn't enough, buggy code made the game impossible to complete. We'd love to take an axe to that Banyan Tree.

3. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)

You can't knock Tecmo's 2004 Ninja Gaiden remake for its authenticity. After trying to get our head around its sophisticated combat system, we felt liked we'd gone 12 rounds with a ninjutsu master.

This Xbox hackathon descended from a line of NES platformers that were renowned for being some of the most challenging and merciless games of a generation.

4. Discworld (PC)

So, it turns out you use the butterfly with the lamppost to cause a thunderstorm in the future so you can steal the monk's robe. Why didn't we think of that?

As anyone who played Discworld on PC in the 1990s will tell you, the above statement doesn't make any more sense in context, which is but one reason why Psygnosis' Terry Pratchett adaptation is one of the most illogical and difficult point-and-click adventures ever made.

5. Ikaruga (Arcade)

When we first heard that EA was working on a game called Bulletstorm , we initially thought it might be a sequel to arcade coin-muncher Ikaruga , because that's literally what Treasure's shoot 'em up forced players to contend with throughout.

The screen was a mess of enemy fire at all times, easy mode made a mockery of the term, and the only way to get the better of this one was to play it to death until the layout of every stage had been burned into your retina.

6. Dark Souls (Various)

Dark Souls has gained a reputation for being more brutal than a Dothraki execution, setting players up to fail, rewarding perseverance and teaching us a lesson in patience that we won't forget in a hurry.

Software's dark fantasy adventure and its sequel separate the men from the boys, with enemies that slap you silly if you drop your guard for a split second and bosses that can take you out with as little as two hits. Newcomers, get used to that 'You Died' screen because you'll be seeing it a lot.

7. Battletoads (NES)

Even with ram horns and fists that could take on comical proportions on your side, beating NES brawler Battletoads solo was near impossible, but it took on a new level of frustration in multiplayer.

Players could inflict damage on one another, and in a game with so many enclosed spaces, you were just as likely to take a battering from your teammate as an enemy. Plus, if one of you died, it was curtains for both players. How exactly is that fair?

8. Super Hexagon (PC, Mobiles)

It's ironic that one of the most difficult games of the last few years is also one of the most rudimentary.

Terry Cavanagh's Super Hexagon shapes up as one of the toughest puzzlers around because moving that tiny triangular cursor through those cascading hexagons requires a level of concentration that most mere mortals simply cannot muster.

9. Contra (NES)

A testosterone fest with a reputation for being hardcore, run-and-gun classic Contra is further proof that we were gluttons for punishment during the 8-bit era.

One-hit deaths were simply unacceptable in a game where there are so many bullets flying around, and two-player mode was like fighting with a ball and chain shackled to your ankle. That waterfall stage where you perished if your partner ventured too far ahead, anyone?

10. Super Meat Boy (Various)

Indie platform sensation Super Meat Boy introduced players to the kind of challenges and frustrations we haven't seen since the days of Contra , Mega Man and other games that had us smashing control pads during the 1990s.

Despite being harder than a flight of stairs to a Dalek, Team Meat's retro-themed charmer kept us coming back for another helping thanks to its masterful controls and level design.

11. F Zero GX (GameCube)

Mastering any F-Zero game is no easy feat, but the series GameCube debut was a guaranteed recipe for road rage.

If staying on course while travelling at 2,000 miles per hour wasn't challenging enough, there were 29 other competitors hell bent on taking your down, difficulty spikes big enough to impale you, and courses seemingly designed by a madman.

12. Treasure Island Dizzy (Various)

It still shocks us that a game with such an upbeat soundtrack, bright visuals, and cutesy sprites could want to hurt us so much.

Treasure Island Dizzy for home computers had players contend with the tricky task of helping the eggy protagonist escape from a trap-filled island while collecting 30 hidden coins along the way. That wouldn't have been so bad if Codemasters had given us more than ONE MEASLY LIFE to do it with.

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Ghosts 'n Goblins

• First Released Sep 19, 1985 released

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GameSpot Reviews

Ghosts 'n Goblins Review

• Reviewed on:

Simplistic shooting mechanics and brutally tough levels are the best and worst aspects of this classic side-scroller.

Ghosts N' Goblins Review

Overall, it's a great version of a real classic.

Player Reviews

Most helpful positive player reviews, the port of the nes classic... but how does it stand today.

So here it is. One of the hardest games to complete in history. The port of the NES game that is a port of the Arcade game Ghost N' Goblins...but how does it stand today? The story is simple. Sir Arthur and his girlf... Read Full Review

What Gamespot Users have to say about Ghosts 'n Goblins

One of the hardest games for the nes, still holds up as a challenge today.

Some video games, seem to get a lot easier with time, but this game is a VERY noticeable exception! Even with the helpful rewind feature of the Nintendo Switch, to help you avoid and perfect your jumping and attack skill... Read Full Review

Its status as a classic is irrefutable yet it is still unlikely to appeal to new players unfamiliar with its infamy.

During the NES days, Ghosts N' Goblins was a huge success and to this day it is a well-known classic amongst gamers, especially those who enjoyed gaming in that time period. For those unfamiliar with the game it is a hor... Read Full Review

review 99 capcom likes to torture us.

hey its me and its the holiday season.this is not my christmas review i just wanted to say that.so merry not yet christmas and today i will review a game that is not as hard as battletoads 2 players but is harder then ca... Read Full Review

Behold, the definition of Nintendo hard.

Castlevania, Contra, Battletoads, Ninja Gaiden; these are considered to be the hardest games on the NES, as well as some of the hardest games period. Those games, however, are a massive cakewalk compared to Ghosts 'N Gob... Read Full Review

Here's a video game that's very good, yet extremely hard to beat.

While video games have been getting much easier since the PSOne era of gaming, the difficulty of video games back in the day were not only cutthoat in difficulty but also required the patience of a Jedi Master to beat th... Read Full Review

Only those with extreme patience and a good ability to control their temper should play this game.

If you think you can buy this game and beat it with relative ease because you consider yourself an elite hardcore gamer, let me tell you like it is... you are naive and foolish. I have been gaming since the tender age of... Read Full Review

One very odd NES game,but it did play well,and it is pretty fun.Just,it's really difficult.

When you think of some classic games,then you probably don't think of them being very hard.But,if that's what you think,then you obvouisly haven't ever played Ghosts 'n Goblins before.You actually start out in a graveyar... Read Full Review

This game is so hard, that not even Chuck Norris could beat it.

Ghosts and Goblins was and still is one of the hardest NES games ever created. Aside for the frustrating red demons that fly erratically and randomly at your face, there would be monsters that pop up out of thin air and ... Read Full Review

You ain't big enough.

All hail the hardest damn game ever made. Yes, even harder than Earthworm Jim, even harder than Minesweeper, Ghosts and Goblins was the hardest P.O.S. ever. With the amazing ability to suck the fun right out of your so... Read Full Review

This is the first NES game I ever owned, besides Mario, so I am highly biased towards it.

The premise is simple: you're a knight who is set to the task of rescuing his damsel in distress from Satan himself. The game play is simple, using whatever weapons you can find - a lance, daggers, axes, fireballs, eve... Read Full Review

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All 12 ghosts 'n goblins games (& why they disappeared).

The Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise is full of tough platformers, but it has been dormant for years. What happened to this classic Capcom franchise?

Ghosts 'n Goblins is a series known to many classic video game fans. The retro Capcom series first made its debut as an  intensely-difficult action platformer in arcades, and was soon ported to home consoles. The first installment in the series is likely the most recognizable one, but unknown by many gamers, the Ghosts 'n Goblins series is made up of 12 games including multiple spin-offs and reimaginings.

How come such a big franchise seemingly faded into obscurity? It was likely due to a drastic change in direction during the later portion of the series' life.  Ghosts 'n Goblins started as action platformers, but over time to adapted to evolving interests in the gaming market, the series shifted genres and strayed away from what made the series so iconic.

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There was a late attempt to reboot the  Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise by bringing it back to its roots, but those latest installments failed to kickstart a reboot due to their poor reception. Here's a look through of all the games in the series, to help pinpoint what was done right, and where things went wrong.

Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985)

The first installment in the Ghosts 'n Goblins  series instantly turned into a classic. In this platformer, players control Sir Arthur while he ventures to save Princess Prin-Prin from Astaroth, the king of demons. Players go through levels fighting various different demon enemies and collecting upgrades. The game's iconic difficulty comes from two major hinderances on the player. Players only have two hit points per life, and after getting hit once Arthur will lose his armor and will comically be left in his boxers. Taking another hit will result in losing a life and restarting some progress. On top of that, each new life has a strict time limit; if time runs out, a life is lost and some progress resets. Once the game is over, it must be played through again to receive the true ending. The second playthrough increases the difficulty further with less upgrade drops and even more difficult enemy spawns! Only the most patient and skilled players are able to endure this game's main quest, but being able to clear Ghosts 'n Goblins authentically is one of the greatest gaming achievements someone could earn.

Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1988)

This direct sequel to the previous game has Arthur saving Princess Prin-Prin from a new, greater threat, Satan and his army. The gameplay is very similar to the first Ghosts 'n Goblins , but with some enhancements. Perhaps most clearly, the graphics see an upgrade due to newer hardware at the time, allowing for a more distinct and cartoon-ish visual style. Unlike the first game, players can now aim their weapon attacks in three directions, including directly upwards. There are new weapons and upgrades, such as gold armor, which adds a charge attack to any equipped weapon. The tough difficulty remains, but with some additions to make things even tougher. One of the more iconic additions to the difficulty is false item chests that contain magicians that can transform the player into an elderly man or helpless duck, which reduces all hit points down to one. The main game must be completed two times to unlock the true final level and ending.

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1991)

Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts was the third entry in the series, and the first to be made exclusively for home consoles. The game first launched for the Super Nintendo and was later ported in many Capcom compilation games, and is even included installed on the Super NES Classic Edition. The story follows a very similar pattern, as Arthur once again rescues the princess, this time from Emperor Sardius. The game receives some graphical upgrades once again, now with more rich-looking background and level art.

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Players now have a double jump for more maneuverability, and more armor upgrades that allows for protection from projectiles and faster attack charge ups. Once again, the game must be played through twice to unlock the true end. In 2002, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts received an enhanced port for the Game Boy Advanced which featured an "Arrange Mode" with redesigned levels.

Gargoyle's Quest Series (1990, 1992, 1994)

Gargoyle's Quest is one of two Ghosts 'n Goblins spin-offs. In Gargoyle's Quest , players play as a Firebrand goblin and explore the Demon World. This series strays away from the arcade style of the main series and play out more like adventure games, with platforming levels, top-down exploration segments, and RPG-style random encounters. The playable Firebrand has multiple abilities like gliding in the air, firing projectiles, and climbing up walls. Players will gradually upgrade the Gargoyle's abilities throughout the game, allowing for extra traversal and firepower to navigate the platforming levels. For those familiar, the gameplay is comparable to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link . Gargoyle's Quest received three installments, one for Game Boy, one of Nintendo Entertainment System, and one for the Super Nintendo.

Makaimura for WonderSawn (1999)

Makaimura for WonderSwan was the Japan-exclusive fourth installment in the series. It was released for the WonderSwan handheld console, which was also a Japan-exclusive product. Once again gameplay remains mainly identical to the previous games, but there are some additions to the formula. Makaimura features branching paths throughout the game, comparable to a game like Star Fox 64 . There are also water levels, and, uniquely, a level that takes advantage of the WonderSawn's design and has players hold the console vertically to properly traverse a vertical-oriented level, similar to changing the orientation of an iPhone. Another difference from past games is that Makaimura does not require multiple playthroughs to receive a true ending, but instead the branching paths encourage the player to replay the experience to see levels they may have missed.

Maximo Series (2001, 2003)

Maximo is the second Ghosts 'n Goblins spin-off series. These games feature a stark change in direction for the series, shifting into a 3D hack and slash platformer. The story follows Maximo, a king on a quest to rescue Queen Sophia from the evil King Achille. Maximo is killed on his first attempt to slay Achille, but is revived by the Grim Reaper and works to save both the Queen, and the Underworld, from King Achille's evil plans.

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These games keep some elements from the Ghosts 'n Goblins series, such as enemy types, music, and even losing armor down to Maximo's boxer shorts. The Maximo series was definitely made as an attempt to cash-in on the success of similar 3D games such as Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet & Clank , using Ghosts 'n Goblins as a base to attract existing fans. The spin-offs two installments, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory and Maximo vs. Army of Zin , received high review scores and acclaim from players. Despite the positive reception, it wasn't long before Capcom returned Ghosts 'n Goblins back to its original style.

Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins (2006)

Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins was made for the PlayStation Portable, and was the first classic-style entry in the series to use 3D graphics. The base gameplay and story remain similar to past entries, but this game takes on more of an adventure game style. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins adds an equipment and inventory system, so upgrades and weapons can be switched around easily and can be used to find secrets throughout the game. Rather than clearing the adventure twice in a linear fashion, to receive Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins ' true ending, players must go through and collect all the hidden Golden Rings in the game.

Many Golden Rings are hidden in locations that required specific upgrades to access, so segments of the game do need to be replayed to find every Golden Ring. There is also the addition of difficulty options , which can make the game more accessible for casual players, or make the gameplay as difficult as the past series entries. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins received a remake exclusively in Japan, and this remake removed the RPG and exploration aspects of the game and made it play like a classic, linear style Ghosts 'n Goblins game.

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights I & II (2009, 2010)

Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights was a return to form for the series. Gold Knights entirely removes the RPG-style mechanics added in Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins , and returns to the linear platforming style. Once again, 3D graphics are used instead of sprite-based art. The story follows Arthur, Princess Prin-Prin, and new knight characters named Lancelot and Perceval. Arthur, Lancelot, and Perceval are all playable characters with their own unique styles, making this the first traditional entry with multiple player characters. The story in Gold Knights I ends on a cliffhanger, and Gold Knights II picks up directly after. These games were exclusively released for the iOS App Store, and they were pretty poorly received by consumers and critics. Aesthetically the games did seem like proper revivals of the classic gameplay style, but the games were hindered by unappealing iOS touch screen controls  and microtransactions. Players could purchase microtransactions that would unlock unlimited lives, increases item durability, and even remove difficult obstacles from levels. These pay-to-win aspects turned away a lot of classic Ghosts 'n Goblins fans. Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights I & II were both removed from the iOS App Store on May 10, 2016, meaning there is no longer a legitimate way to play these two games.

It seems the series' final attempt at notoriety, Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights , was the nail in the coffin for the series. There was definitely a step in the wrong direction; swaying away from hardcore fans, and including pay-to-win aspects to a platformer was unappealing to many players. The complete removal of Gold Knights from the App Store may seem like a bad sign for the series, but there is still hope. It may have been 10 years since the last Ghosts 'n Goblins game, but the timing seems right for a new revival. Just three years ago Capcom saw great success with the  return-to-form Mega Man 11 , and it is possible Ghosts 'n Goblins may receive a similar treatment in due time.

Whatever the future may hold, the Ghosts 'n Goblins series currently contains a number of games that can satisfy any platforming fan looking for a classic, fun, and challenging experience.

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Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection Review

Grave danger..

Like a zombie emerging from a graveyard, Capcom’s classic Ghosts ‘n Goblins series has come back to life and shuffled its way onto the Nintendo Switch in the form of Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection. But this storybook-styled semi-sequel is anything but braindead, reimagining and remixing the best elements of the ‘80s Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, and offering a raft of flexible difficulty options to make it far and away the most approachable entry in the action platformer series to date. Of course, that doesn’t mean it isn’t still as hard as coffin nails if you want it to be.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection has come a long way from the simple sprites of the early games – and from the slightly lumpy 3D look of Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins on the PSP, for that matter. Everything from the armour-clad Sir Arthur to series stalwarts like the pigmen and cyclops have been hand drawn and brought to life with the quirky movements of murderous shadow puppets, and staged inside fantastical reinterpretations of classic series levels like the Graveyard and the Crystal Forest (now the Crystalline City). As a result, Resurrection is the most visually striking and personality-packed Ghosts ‘n Goblins game by quite some margin.

To be honest I still viewed the bulk of its beauty through a red mist because despite its fairy tale appearance, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is anything but child’s play. Hordes of demonic enemies continuously respawn in each area to keep you perpetually under attack from all angles, which can be agonising to endure but exhilarating to overcome. It’s also constantly messing with you: you can never be sure if the hidden treasure chest you discovered houses a power-boosting suit of gold plated armour or a magician waiting to transmogrify you into an aggravatingly defenseless frog.

Meanwhile, there’s very little story to dig into during Arthur’s quest to rescue his damsel in distress from a diabolical demon lord, which does seem like a missed opportunity to reboot the lore into something that matches the art style’s charm. Instead, the only words uttered between ‘Once upon a time’ and ‘Happily ever after’ was the roughly five hour-long string of profanities supplied by me as I battled my way to Resurrection’s climax.

Despite its fairy tale appearance, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is anything but child’s play.Five hours isn’t exactly an epic length, but each of Resurrection’s seven levels introduces a series of unique gameplay twists that prevents the action from ever becoming stale and kept me from ever relaxing into a rhythm. In one stretch you might ride a series of stone dragons through the air while dodging giant electrified squids, which feels just as bracing and brutal as a rollercoaster ride through a hailstorm. In another, you must simultaneously stave off both hordes of zombies and an intensifying sense of claustrophobia as a gaping maw closes in from all four edges of the screen, threatening you with rows of spindly teeth should you misstime a jump by millimeters.

Its playtime is extended a fair bit by the fact that after you complete Resurrection the first time around you gain access to Shadow versions of each stage, which rearrange enemy types and placements and add environmental effects like fog to make platforming even more fraught with danger. I welcomed the challenge of playing through Resurrection a second time since it reframed each stage as an entirely new obstacle course, although I was slightly disappointed that the end-level boss fights in the regular stages and their corresponding Shadow forms remain the same.

Ghosts 'n Goblins: The Complete Playlist

Passing the Torch

There are eight different weapons for Arthur to get his hands on, the bulk of which have their own clear strengths and weaknesses – from the classic lance that can be lobbed long distances but only deals a medium amount of damage, to the hammer which delivers a more devastating shockwave but requires you to get uncomfortably close to enemies in order to be effective. Some weapons are also better suited to certain environments than others, such as the bladed discus that can be skimmed along undulating terrain towards their target, or the spiked ball that can be hurled like Donkey Kong’s barrels down cascading platform sections in order to skittle enemies below.

Initially, you can only pick up one weapon at a time which means that yes, for significant stretches of Resurrection you’ll likely find yourself saddled with that perennially useless bastard of a flaming torch. However, by collecting ‘umbral bees’ hidden in each stage you can upgrade Arthur with skills and magical abilities, and early on I made an umbral beeline for the Kitted Out enhancement that enabled me to carry two or even three weapons in its fully upgraded form. Carrying a small arsenal made me better equipped to counter the varying attack patterns of each boss fight, which made my eventual victories feel like they were earned through my strategic smarts rather than just blind luck.

Which dormant Capcom series should be resurrected next?

Arthur’s loadout of magic powers can be configured in between levels, and I regularly relied on them to save my bacon by throwing up walls of fire to block swarms of darting death birds or briefly turning Arthur into a stone boulder to crunch through overwhelming zombie hordes. The use of these abilities is unlimited, but there is still plenty of risk involved in performing them since charging them up by holding the attack button leaves Arthur momentarily exposed. So their use needs to be timed smartly rather than merely relied upon as a last-second win button.

Yet given the option I’d probably trade almost all of these special attacks for the ability to double-jump or fire weapons on a diagonal axis, because even with these extra upgrades Arthur is still as stiff as rigor mortis as far as his fixed-arc jumping and four-way shooting is concerned (with the exception of the crossbow, which shoots two bolts diagonally but can’t be fired in a straight line horizontally or vertically). I realise that Arthur's rigid move set is by design and true to the arcade originals, but there were times in the more pressurised later levels where I couldn't be completely sure if Resurrection's unwavering adherence to Arthur’s long established limitations was scratching a nostalgic itch or gleefully picking at old wounds.

Giving Up the Ghost

Arthur’s movements may be as stubborn as ever, but Resurrection’s difficulty options are surprisingly flexible. I opted to play through on the second hardest setting, ‘Knight’, and although I didn’t regret it it did make me sweat. Fortunately, while you can’t permanently reduce the overall difficulty once your quest has begun, Resurrection still offers you a small amount of mercy if and when you need it: Die a few too many times within one checkpointed area, and you’ll be asked if you want to drop the difficulty down for the remainder of that level, thinning the enemy herds and reducing the amount of damage required to take down the boss. If Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection can be considered as a form of side-scrolling sadomasochism, then these optional mid-level difficulty drops serve as its safe word. Your overall points bonus for completing the level are penalised, but it’s a small price to pay to prevent your progression from stalling for too long, and I’m not too proud to admit that I gladly took these lifelines on a handful of the more desperate occasions over the course of my two playthroughs.

The two lower difficulty settings are even more accommodating. ‘Squire’ allows Arthur to withstand more hits before he collapses into a pile of bones, and even lets you slow enemy movements to half-speed if you’re still struggling to avoid their attacks. Meanwhile ‘Page’ is effectively god mode, granting you the ability to respawn on the spot with unlimited lives rather than boot your armoured arse back to a checkpoint. I wouldn’t say that this would be the ideal way that someone should experience Resurrection, since a Ghosts ‘n Goblins game that’s completely removed of friction is likely to have a running time as brief as Arthur’s boxer shorts, but there’s certainly no harm in Capcom including it for the younger set. And before you die hard fans protest, there’s still the extremely punishing ‘Legend’ mode if you’d prefer to play Resurrection with your teeth gritted and the well-being of your controller under constant threat.

There’s also the ability to play Resurrection in two-player co-op, which is a first for the series. However, since it’s local multiplayer only I haven’t been able to test it as part of this review process, as the only potential co-op partners I have available to me are my kids and they’re far too young to be exposed to the full extent of their father’s swear word vocabulary. Still, the inclusion of this feature, which allows a second player to act as a guardian angel by shielding the first from attacks or carrying them safely over more perilous stretches of terrain, is at the very least just another example of how inclusive to all players Resurrection aims to be.

Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection is an old-school action platformer that’s not too cruel to compromise, allowing you to fine tune its challenge level relative to your individual skill and tolerance for pain. Its seven-level story mode may be slightly short, but it packs in plenty of variety and unique challenges to navigate, and bolsters its replay value with the addition of the alternate Shadow levels that unlock after your first playthrough. If Capcom had added further flexibility to Arthur’s movement and attacks – and maybe had some fun with the story – this would have been a truly sensational second coming, but regardless Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is still a supremely spirited comeback.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection Review

More Reviews by Tristan Ogilvie

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The 20 hardest games for the original NES console

Nintendo changed the video game landscape. It wasn’t the first home console. But it was a massive hit and started a video gaming juggernaut. Atari may have fallen by the wayside, but the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, was a dominant force. People had a lot of fun playing the NES at home. Well, at least when they weren’t getting frustrated by a gaming experience. Not every Nintendo game was a cakewalk. Some were quite difficult, perhaps even ostensibly impossible to a child trying to win without a cheat code. These are the 20 hardest NES games ever.

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films and cartoon series were super popular in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and a lot of kids were probably excited to play this game as a result. Then, they found themselves playing a crushingly hard offering. It’s a long game, and if you somehow make it to Shredder in the final level, it’s almost impossible to beat him.

'Ghosts ‘n Goblins'

We don’t know what’s the most frustrating thing about Ghosts ‘n Goblins . It could be the fact that if you are hit twice, you die. Or it could be that when you think you’ve “beaten” the game, you are only at the halfway point, and you have to play the game all over again to truly beat it and get to the real ending. We’re sure plenty of people beat it the first time and then figured that was enough.

'Battletoads'

Battletoads may be a  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  ripoff, but it beats the TMNT video game in one way: It’s more annoying and frustrating to play. A lot of people consider this the toughest NES game of them all, especially that speed bike level.

'Silver Surfer'

If more people had played Silver Surfer , it would probably be the consensus toughest game in NES history. This game is basically impossible. For whatever reason, the people who made this game based on the Marvel character decided that you must be perfect. If you are hit once by the constant barrage of enemies you face, you have to start the whole game over. Every. Single. Time.

It’s kind of impressive that Mega Man turned into such a popular and lengthy franchise, given how challenging the first game was. Every Mega Man game is hard, but this first game was also a little hinky. It was tough in ways it meant to be and challenging in ways that were perhaps not intended.

'Punch-Out!!'

Sure, you got past Glass Joe, no problem. Then, the boxers start getting harder and harder. Maybe Soda Popinski or Mr. Sandman took a time or two to get past. All this is to land on the final fight, where you face either Mr. Dream or Mike Tyson, depending on which version you are playing. That final round is basically impossible to beat the first few times. It took a lot of effort to finally get past that last round.

'Bart vs. the Space Mutants'

The Simpsons were huge, and Bart was an icon, so naturally, they decided to make a video game. That Simpsons arcade game is a classic. On the other hand,  Bart vs. the Space Mutants is mostly remembered for being incredibly tough because its controls are a mess. Sometimes a game is tough on purpose. Sometimes it’s tough because it’s a fiasco. This is the latter.

'Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse'

The first Castlevania is pretty tough. Then, Castlevania III happened. This really ratchets up the difficulty. The boss fight has three stages, but you must go back to the beginning if you die at any point in that battle.

'The Adventures of Bayou Billy'

It seems like The Adventures of Bayou Billy could be a lark of a game. Instead, it’s incredibly difficult. There are tons of enemies, including some memorable alligators, but the game also jumps from side-scrolling to driving to shooting levels. You have to do so much, and all of it is so tricky.

'Ninja Gaiden'

Ninja Gaiden is a game that is considered hard but worth it. The game has a lot of fans, but even those fans will acknowledge that it’s tough to beat. Fortunately, its quality keeps it from being a slog. That’s true even if you lose in the final boss fight and are sent back three levels.

'Fester’s Quest'

Well, Uncle Fester seems like a bit of a masochist. Maybe they decided his video game should also be for gluttons for punishment. Or maybe this Addams Family adaptation was just a rush job with finicky controls and a confusing game place. Plus, if you die in Fester’s Quest , you have to start from the beginning.

'Friday the 13th'

This is an infamous game for a variety of reasons. It might not be remembered if it wasn’t adapted from a famous horror film series. Or maybe it would be for how tough it is. The game is immensely difficult because it’s so confusing. Try figuring out its mapping system before Jason kills off your fellow camp counselors. Also, we don’t remember Jason wearing a purple tracksuit in the movies.

Fans of kitsch and nostalgia would surely love to play a game based on the old (and recently revived) Domino’s mascot. Alas, Yo! Noid is just so frustrating to play that the novelty quickly wears off. Once again, we have a game where if you are hit once, you die and have to start the level all over. Capcom ruined this game like the Noid ruined pizzas.

'The Karate Kid'

There are only four levels to The Karate Kid , making it one of the shortest games on this list. Of course, those four levels may take you a while to get through. Every level is difficult, even the first one, and the bonus levels are considered even trickier. Sure, the movie was popular, but the game isn’t really worth it.

'Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones'

For some reason, they decided to ratchet up the difficulty for Double Dragon III . It seems like they overcorrected. We are left with a game where you get swarmed with enemies, but you also take bigger hits to your energy bar when you’re attacked. The balance just wasn’t there, leaving Double Dragon fans to go back to the first couple of games.

'Final Fantasy'

Final Fantasy is one of the most successful video game franchises ever, though it found its biggest success away from the Nintendo systems. Perhaps that’s because the first game in the series is rough. It takes the grinding associated with many RPGs and kicks it up to the nth level. Also, the randomization of the battle sequences is a mess. Eventually, they figured it out, but you don’t see the series’ future success in this game.

Feeling the need for speed? Stick to the movie. Top Gun is another short game but so difficult. It’s like the world’s hardest flight simulator. You really need to get used to the mechanics of the game. When it’s screaming “Up!” at you when you need to press down on your controller pad, it’s hard not to crash a handful of times.

'Blaster Master'

Add another one to the “quality but too hard” category. Some call Blaster Master one of the best NES games, but even those fans will admit it’s immensely difficult. You have to beat the game in one sitting, but they don’t make it easy on you. All this because the protagonist followed his frog down a hole and met some radioactive mutant monsters?

Do you know the famed Konami Code? It’s probably most synonymous with Contra , and with a good reason. With the code, you get 30 lives, and you might need most, if not all, of them to beat the game. However, if you don’t use the Konami Code you only get three lives. Without the cheat code, Contra is extremely difficult to beat.

'Zelda II: The Adventures of Link'

We don’t mind that the second  Zelda game became a side scroller after the first game had a top-down view. What we do mind is Death Mountain. It’s a dungeon level that is about as pleasant as being in an actual dungeon. There are some great  Zelda games, and they all provide some level of challenge. Zelda II just ended up a smidge too far down the difficulty spectrum.

Chris Morgan is a sports and pop culture writer and the author of the books  The Comic Galaxy of Mystery Science Theater 3000  and  The Ash Heap of History . You can follow him on Twitter @ChrisXMorgan .

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Is ghosts n goblins the hardest game ever?

Table of Contents

• 1 Is ghosts n goblins the hardest game ever?
• 2 How many times do you have to beat ghosts and goblins?
• 3 Is Super Ghouls and ghosts hard?
• 4 Do you have to beat Ghosts N Goblins resurrection twice?
• 5 Do you have to beat Ghouls and ghosts twice?
• 6 Is ghosts and goblins resurrection easier?

Ghosts ‘n Goblins has a reputation as one of the hardest games ever made for a very good reason. The main source of difficulty comes down to the lives and damage system, as certain traps will one-shot Arthur regardless of how many hits he’s already taken.

Are goblins harder than ghosts Dark Souls?

All of the games on this list are demanding on a scale unheard of by today’s standard, but Ghosts ‘n Goblins was actually considered extremely hard even by 1980s arcade standards. If you’re proud of beating Dark Souls III, then attempting Ghosts ‘n Goblins would provide a sharp reality check.

How many times do you have to beat ghosts and goblins?

All of those ‘goblins game must be finished twice to get the real ending and sometimes real last boss. After the second time, the story is finished. The game will loop forever. Yes, but as has been established, the game will get harder as it loops for at least the next two playthroughs.

Do you have to beat Super Ghouls and ghosts twice?

Each stage of Super Ghouls n Ghosts pits the player against one horror after another, but just in case that’s not enough, there’s a kicker: you’ve got to beat the game TWICE to see its true ending.

Is Super Ghouls and ghosts hard?

Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts is a difficult game to review – in more ways than one. It’s not the kind of game that can be fired off as an easy recommendation, unlike most of the games parked on the SNES Classic Edition. It’s well-built; as I mentioned earlier, it’s a hard game, but it’s rarely unfair.

Can you beat ghosts and goblins without the shield?

It looks like a heart in some versions of the game and is a fast weapon to fire but very limited range. It can destroy enemy projectiles as well as the enemies themselves. The game can not be completed without the shield, attempting to complete it without it will result in the game repeating level 5.

Do you have to beat Ghosts N Goblins resurrection twice?

How many times do you have to beat ghosts and goblins? All of those ‘goblins game must be finished twice to get the real ending and sometimes real last boss. After the second time, the story is finished. The game will loop forever.

Why is Ghouls n Ghosts so hard?

It’s also that exact moment that makes Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts the hardest game for the SNES. It’s different from other games, because it toys with the player on a personal, psychological level. And it hits hard.

Do you have to beat Ghouls and ghosts twice?

What does the AXE do in ghosts and goblins?

It causes explosions all around his position and burns up enemies in one fierce swoop.

Is ghosts and goblins resurrection easier?

The Ghosts ‘n Goblins series is notable for being extremely difficult, but Resurrection includes four difficulty levels that can make things a bit easier for players, including the ability to take multiple hits, reduce the number of enemies or even respawn instantly upon death.

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Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection

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GHOSTS 'N GOBLINS IS BACK FROM THE GRAVE!

Watch as this nostalgic yet completely reimagined storybook world unravels before your very eyes. Taking cues from both Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ghouls 'n Ghosts and giving birth to something entirely new, Resurrection is a title worthy of its name. Don't be fooled—this picturesque storybook world, while gorgeous, is a love-letter to the original titles and maintains the same punishing gameplay that fans have come to expect. So go on and test your mettle, for the gauntlet has been thrown! Story A long time ago... In a far off land our tale begins, its beauty matched by none. The knight, Arthur, and the princess there, bathed in midday sun. ...but suddenly something's amiss, the town is up in flames, a cloud of darkness does emerge, the palace it does claim. The shadow then extends its reach, to the Umbral Tree divine. Its color fades, its vigor drained by powers most malign. And with this chaos wrought, the Demon Lord plays his vile hand. While Arthur's back is turned, the princess he kidnaps as planned. In haste does Arthur don his armor, to save his maiden fair. To the Demon Realm he does depart, so demons best beware. Gameplay Just like its predecessors, Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection makes use of simple controls that anyone can enjoy. Use them to your advantage as you fight your way through weird and spooky stages filled with unique enemies in this enchanting world brought to life with modern technology and game design philosophy! Ghosts 'n Goblins is, well, hard. Its unyielding difficulty has been a defining characteristic of the series, and Resurrection pays respect to that legacy. You'll die, and you'll die again, but you'll dust yourself off and get better with every attempt as you learn more about your foes and further craft your strategy. You'll struggle, but you'll also bask in glory once you do eventually emerge victorious. That is Ghosts 'n Goblins. In Resurrection, Arthur can obtain 8 types of weapons, each with its own unique characteristics. Fell your foes with old favorites such as the Lance and the Dagger, shoot shockwaves with the Hammer to launch enemies, or send a Spiked Ball crashing along the ground to bowl them over instead! Use these—and more—to your advantage as you form your plan to progress through the Demon Realm! In addition to his large arsenal of weapons, Arthur can also learn a magnitude of magic and skills. Use Thunderstorm to unleash a hailstorm of bolts in four directions, or learn Kitted Out to increase Arthur's inventory space and carry more weapons. With tons more available, be sure to make room for magic and skills in your strategy! Make full use of Arthur's weapons, magic, and skills as you brave the ordeals of the Demon Realm to bring the princess home safely. Muster every ounce of grit you possess; you're going to need it! On top of single player mode, which focuses on the fun of hunkering down and overcoming challenges alone, Arthur can be aided in his quest by support characters, the Three Wise Guys. This gameplay style makes for an intense two player co-op experience—a first for the series. Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection can also be played with a single Joy-Con™ held horizontally, so fun couch co-op play is as easy as passing your other Joy-Con™ to a friend! Note: Local co-op only. Online play is not supported. Experience the sweaty palms and white-knuckles that come with single player mode, or share the fun with your friends in a party game-like co-op experience!

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1 SONG • 3 MINUTES • OCT 20 2023

Things To Do | Gatorland’s Halloween characters mix it up with…

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Subscriber only, things to do | gatorland’s halloween characters mix it up with haunts, games, history.

Gatorland is adding more characters to the Halloween stew that is its Gators, Ghosts and Goblins event.

Visitors to the south Orlando attraction’s Monster Midway may meet the “one-man monster menagerie,” a blended creature who encountered a vampire, a mummy and a werewolf.

“My insurance isn’t the best,” the character said during a media preview. “My general practitioner is Dr. Frankenstein.”

This happens near a coffin-based cornhole game and a chance to catapult brains into the open skulls of moving Frankensteins in an attempt to win candy.

“There’s not many Halloween daytime events in the marketplace, and that’s really our niche,” Mark McHugh, president and CEO of Gatorland, said. “We’ve tried to capitalize on that, make really fun interactive attractions with characters.”

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Across the park is the Monster Museum, a more intense, haunted house-style walk-through attraction that fits in with the creepy/comic atmosphere. It starts by parodying pop-up Halloween stores, then moves into a flashlight-led tour that explores the history of the holiday.

That leads to an encounter with Stingy Jack, who takes tour guide duties into more frightening scenes with jump-scares and characters. (There’s an exit for folks who choose to skip the last part.)

Stingy Jack was “a man so evil the devil was actually his fan,” an undertaker/tour guide told visitors. His story also includes being locked out of both heaven and hell, creating an eternity of wandering, plus a burning ember and turnips that lead to carved pumpkins.

Gators, Ghosts & Goblins kids can also be in a costume parade, check out trick-or-treat stations, visit Gator Gulch, a Western town with skeleton horses and other characters, and go on the cryptid scavenger hunt, where a skunk ape might be spotted.

The attraction has veered away from the Oktoberfest elements of its fall event. (Think Frankenstein + lederhosen.)

“It just seemed to wane in popularity,” McHugh said. “But we’re really going to maximize the Halloween experience throughout the park.”

The park has increased its Halloween-specific merchandise. Among the wares: A Frankenstein T-shirt with the slogan “Gators on the brain.”

Gatorland’s Gators, Ghosts & Goblins is held on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 29. It’s included with regular admission. The attraction is offering half-price admission – that’s $16.50 for adults and $11.50 for ages 3 through 12 – to Florida residents through October.

Email me at [email protected] . My Threads account is @dbevil . You can subscribe to the Theme Park Rangers newsletter at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters .

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