I love the Tomba! games, I really hope someone decides to return to that action later.
I was never a big fan of the SNES game (all I played), but I really like Maximo.
With the upcoming PSP game in the series I figured it would be a good time to look back on the games of this great Capcom franchise.
Ghosts 'N Goblins(Makaimura in Japan)
Back in 1985 Capcom released an arcade game quite unlike anything made before. Sure, there were side-scrolling platformers before it and the damsel in distress theme had been in video games since the late 1970s but GnG had a style and feel all its own.
I believe the 1986 NES version was ported by Pony Canyon for Capcom.
Elite released the Commodore 64, Spectrum and Amstrad CPC ports in 1986 and the Amiga and Atari ST ports in 1990. Mark Cooksey's soundtrack is different than the arcade game.
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
CPC
ST
Amiga
The 1987 DOS PC port wasn't an Elite release but a Capcom published version made by Pacific Dataworks.
Digital Eclipse did the Game Boy Color port for Capcom in 1999.
Some downloadable Windows 9x version I don't know much about -
http://arcade.mlb.com/game_screensho...3fb2/scrshot=2
Retro FX was making a PC remake but the project was killed in 2000 for legal reasons.
In 2004 the NES version was re-released on Game Boy Advance.
Ghouls 'N Ghosts - Arcade, 1988
U.S. Gold got the Western computer game rights and they released various versions developed by Software Creations in 1989/1990. Unlike the mostly quality Elite ports of the previous game I found these weren't as good and were often too Euro-fied(I love Euro games but I don't want ports of Japanese games looking like that).
Commodore 64
Amiga
ST
Spectrum
CPC
Capcom licensed the game to Sega and they made a couple console ports:
Genesis, 1989
Master System, 1990
The SMS port strayed a bit from the arcade with its hidden item rooms and magic selection screen.
NEC Avenue also did a SuperGrafx version in 1990. I think most would agree it was the best game on that system.
The 1994 x68000 version managed to get closer to the arcade experience than the Genesis and SuperGrafx ones. Neogeoman's site has a good comparison of them - http://nfg.2y.net/games/GnG/
Mobile phones, 2005
Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts
I don't know if I like the 1991 SNES sequel more than the previous game but aside from some slowdown issues it was damn good and I loved the added double jump.
It was ported to Game Boy Advance in 2002. A save feature was added as well as alternate mode with levels from the arcade game.
The three games mentioned so far also appeared on compilations such as:
Capcom Generation 2 - Playstation/Saturn, 1998
This was also released in Europe as Capcom Generations: Chronicles of Arthur.
Capcom Classics Collection - Playstation 2/Xbox, 2005
Makaimura for WonderSwan was an exclusive game in the series for the Bandai WonderSwan portable in 1999. Personally, I have only played it through emulation so I don't know if the slowdown is because of the emulator or not. Other games I played on emulator seemed to run as good as the real thing though so I suspect it's the game. Besides some speed issues I found it played quite well.
~Side-series'~
The character Firebrand got his own Game Boy game in 1990 titled Gargoyle's Quest. It was a mix of side-scrolling action and overhead adventure.
Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness - NES, 1993
Demon's Crest - SNES, 1994
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory was a 3d spin off for the Playstation 2 developed by Capcom's US development team Capcom Digitial Studios(later renamed Capcom Production Studio 8) in 2002.
Maximo vs. Army of Zin - Playstation 2, 2004
Arthur to Astaroth no Nazomakaimura: Incredible Toons
This 1996 Playstation/Saturn game was a variation of Dynamix's computer game The Incredible Machine with a Ghouls theme.
Puzzle Ghosts 'n Goblins - Mobile phones, 2004
Game Factory was developing an online GnG game for Xbox and PC but it has most likely been cancelled.
GnG characters have also had a ton of cameos in other Capcom games. I highly recommend checking out these tribute sites for those and more in depth info on the franchise.
http://www.geocities.com/theghoulrealm/main.html
http://gngseries.retrogames.com/
I can't wait for the PSP game Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins.
It looks like an excellent return to the style of the older games. I wish I knew more about the people behind these games though and how many are still at Capcom. I remember reading a bunch of GnG people left to form the developer Whoopee Camp which made the Tomba! games.
Please make additions and give your thoughts on the franchise.
Last edited by NeoZeedeater; 26 Feb 2006 at 12:28 AM.
I love the Tomba! games, I really hope someone decides to return to that action later.
I was never a big fan of the SNES game (all I played), but I really like Maximo.
I love these threads. You need to do them more often.
"All creatures will DIE, and all things will be BROKEN: That is the law of the SAMURAI."
The GNG for the SMS was better with the magic and armor, but obviously the graphics and sound suffered.
No gnus is good gnus.
I've owned the GnG games on NES, Genesis, SNES, Saturn, and SuperGrafx and loved them all. Like Neo said, they had a distinct style all to their own, whether it came from the unforgiving difficulty, the hellish motif, the platformer/shooter hybrid feel, whatever, the GnG games don't really compare to anything else I can think of, with the exception the first three Castlevanias & Drac X (and still not quite).
Ultimate GnG (along with New SMB) is my most anticipated game in a long time. An action-oriented 2D Castlevania would be the only other game I think that would match this level of anticipation.
Someone now needs to do a contra tribute.
The Mobile Phone game shown there is obviously GnGhosts and not GnGoblins.
Makaimura for Wonderswan was a licensed game made by Bandai and not Capcom. I don't think it's supposed to be part of the GnG canon (if the series has any canon).
My personal favorite is GnGhosts. Although, I never got the chance to finish either, that nor Super GnG (at least not without the stage select cheat). I did finished GnGoblins though, even though I find it to be a bit more boring than the sequels. The method of unlocking the cross/shield is way too random.
The new PSP is a modern take on the classic. Basically, a heavily-remixed version of the original arcade GnG from 1985. The series' creator returns to work on this version, so it should be really good.
I hate G&G on the Nes with a passion, almost to the same extent that I hate Solomon's Key...
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