Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
System: SMS
Release Date: January 1991
Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action
Arthur is back to save the day once again in Ghouls ‘n Ghosts! This is a demake of the Genesis game of the same name, which was an arcade port itself. Loki is back and has kidnapped Princess Tamara. Someone has to defeat the gatekeepers and power up enough to put an end to Loki’s wicked ways. Do you have what it takes?
Levels are made up to be like the Genesis version of the game, but the capabilities of the Master System are not up to snuff and as a result there are a lot of compromises. Levels are basically the same, but there are some differences here and there. The demon tongue level is slightly different, for example. Magic is also handled differently, with earned spells and a dedicated magic bar. I leaned on the shield spell in the later levels.
In order to beat the game, you need to level up Arthur’s helmet, armor, boots, and weapon. At their weakest, they are silver, but power up to gold after three upgrades. If I played again, I’d focus on upgrading boots first so I could move quicker and jump farther. You earn upgrades occasionally by opening treasure chests. More often than not, however, the chests contain a magician who turns you into a duck or an old man. I really felt the Magicians showed up way too much.
Levels require precise movements, but are quickly learned through trial and error. The annoying ant lion is back in level 2 and the aforementioned demon tongues are there to annoy you, as well. The levels are as much of a one to one port as they can be, which means they are slightly different due to hardware limitations.
Bosses cap off each level but are pushovers. Seriously, they were the least of my worries while playing. It seemed like they all had weaknesses for me to exploit. You aren’t allowed to face Loki without fully powered equipment and the Psycho Cannon weapon (26:00; vid 3). But once you have that, it’s a cakewalk. All I did was throw on a shield, stand below his head and attack up until he croaked.
Graphics: 2.5
For the Master System, sprites and animations are looking good, but there’s a lot of flickering and slowdown.
Sound: 2.0
I can hear what the music is supposed to be, but it’s straining the capabilities of the system and sounds poor because of it.
Gameplay: 3.0
Once you get a couple upgrades, Arthur isn’t so sluggish and annoying to control, but the first 15 minutes are horrendous.
Difficulty: 2.5
Infinite continues will allow you to get through to the end if you really want to get there. It seemed easier than the Genesis version.
Fun Factor: 2.5
This is a somewhat enjoyable play, but I only played to the finish because it was fairly easy.
Overall Rating: 2.5
Ghouls n’ Ghosts earns a B-. This is certainly in the upper echelon of Master System games released in America, but if you can play the Genesis version, just do that.