Ghosts 'N Goblins

Overview

Ghosts 'N Goblins (known in Japan as Makaimura, translated to Hell Village) is a 2D side-scrolling platformer developed and released by Capcom in arcades on September 17, 1985. Players control a knight (named Sir Arthur) who must battle legions of demons, ghosts, and other undead creatures in order to save Princess Prin Prin from Satan, King of the Demon World.

Known for its unrelenting difficulty, the game was later ported to various systems, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (by Micronics), Commodore 64, Commodore 16, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, IBM PC compatibles, Sharp X68000, and Game Boy Color. The game received numerous sequels (maintaining the platforming feel of the original) and spinoffs (such as the Gargoyle's Quest and Maximo series).

Gameplay

Ghosts 'N Goblins is a side-scrolling action game with platforming elements. The game has six stages with a boss at the end of each stage. Upon completion of all six stages, the player has to repeat all six stages again with increased difficulty before finally beating the game. There are five weapons in the game: Axe, Dagger, Lance, Torch, and Shield. Sir Arthur starts the game with the lance, but can pick up other weapons as they are dropped by enemies. Enemies include zombies, red demons, dragons, ogres, and other monsters. The shield must be equipped to enter the final stage and complete the game.

Ghosts 'N Goblins is often regarded as one of the hardest games ever made. It only takes two hits from any attacking foe for Arthur to die, and considering the player's supply of just 3 lives, completing Ghosts 'N Goblins is considered to be very difficult. There are, however, ways of improving both the quality of Arthur's armor and how many extra lives he has. Better armor can be found throughout the game in a few hidden locations. The extra lives are earned by first scoring 20,000 points, then 70,000 points. Thereafter, the player gains a new life for every additional 70,000 points they earn.

Weapons

Weapon	Description
	The Lance is Sir Arthur's starting weapon. It travels in a straight line and will go off the screen unless it connects with an enemy.
	The Knife works similarly to the lance in the sense that it travels in a straight line and will go off the screen unless it connects with an enemy. The main difference is that it travels at a faster speed than the lance, but is weaker.
	The Torch, when thrown, travels in an arc and when it strikes the ground fire is emitted that damages enemies who touch it making it a powerful weapon. However, only two can be thrown at a time.
	The Axe travels in an arc similar to the torch and only two can be thrown at a time. The difference is that it can pass through enemies and doesn't emit fire on the ground. The axe is considered to be the worst weapon in the game due to the awkward throwing arc and its property to pass through enemies is not very useful.
	The shield travels in a straight line like the lance and knife, but has a very limited range. However, it can destroy any enemy projectiles it collides with making it very useful. This weapon must be equipped to be able to enter the final stage.