Review By

Brad Gallaway

A classic franchise resurrected as the "ultimate" iteration of old-school design, Ultimate Ghosts N’ Goblins lives and dies by the decision to cling so closely to the mechanics and quirks of days gone by. Although I definitely have a respect for its approach, I feel that Andrew let the game off the hook far too easily.

As anyone familiar with this series knows, difficulty is one of its hallmarks and this entry is no different. But, contrary to most reports, I didn't find Ultimate Ghosts N’ Goblins to be too difficult. Make no mistake—it's tough as nails on any setting past novice, but since novice exists there really shouldn't be much grousing. The game doesn't penalize players for choosing it, so people wanting to preserve their sanity should take advantage.

However, the rest of its design is so faithful to the source material, it's virtually indistinguishable from the older games. Except for the fact that it’s rendered in 3D, it could easily pass for something on the Genesis. Although some might be content with this homage, I'm not.

I like being able to play portable games in small, bite-sized pieces, but the hardware itself is capable of being shut down at a moment’s notice. Therefore, I don't really need developers to design tiny stages or entire games that are only a few hours long. We’re long past the era of quarter-munching, so it’s not very satisfying to discover that everything except for the final stage can be seen within the first day of play.

Instead of crafting more levels or giving it a heartier structure, Capcom stuck to its guns and went old-school all the way in requiring multiple pass-throughs to see credits roll. As Andrew mentioned, replay for Ultimate Ghosts N’ Goblins is supposed to come from using a fine-tooth comb extract every single hidden item from every nook and cranny. He found it satisfying, but I found it sadistic.

Though randomly searching for things is not my preferred way of gaming, I would have been all right with this if it wasn't for the harshness exhibited towards players. Old-fashioned to the point of being inscrutably unwelcoming, Ultimate Ghosts N’ Goblins hands the player absolutely nothing. Key items and magic spells are hidden away, and usually found by blind luck when they’re found at all. No explanation is given on how to use some of Arthur's abilities, and there's no way to tell where items are hidden or where to search throughout the adventure.

Even worse, most of the things required to actually complete the game are stashed at the far end of bottomless chasms or at the very top of lofty nooks. Arthur can't do a lot without winged armor (it vanishes in two hits) or a flying dragon shield (it vanishes in four, or one unlucky landing in lava .) Going back and forth between levels to regain these easily-lost items is a chore, and the game revels in stripping them away at the earliest opportunity. Good luck trying to find important abilities like the hover Andrew mentioned without a ton of repetition—Ultimate Ghosts N’ Goblins skips over the traditional “win new item after beating boss” structure and lands smack dab in the design philosophy of early NES cartridges, eschewing any sort of hints, instructions, or tips for players. (Clash at Demonhead, anyone?)

After hearing me swearing and cursing in between the ceaseless groans of complaint, my wife asked me several times why I kept on playing the game. Such a simple question stopped me dead in my tracks, and I honestly couldn't answer for a few moments. After giving it some thought, I believe the only reason why I put as much time and effort into Ultimate Ghosts N’ Goblins as I did could be boiled down to one word—nostalgia. If I hadn’t grown up with Arthur's earlier adventures, I don't think that I would have given this game more than an hour or two. It's short, brutal, and made me work overtime doing things that I didn't enjoy. I still have fond memories of cutting my teeth on games that were far too hard for their own good, but the fact is I left this stuff behind in the late 80’s and early 90’s and never looked back. In this case, it's a disappointment to see Capcom choosing to reissue so pedantically rather than reinventing for the modern era.

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