What’s the story?: Super Ghouls’ N Ghosts is the first in the series to be made specifically with a home console in mind. It’s also the last “new” 2D game in the series to be released for a home console. The lucky system was the Super NES, and Super GnG was fortunate enough to be one of the first really good games released on the system in 1991; it’s also one of the most difficult games ever created.

This time, Arthur’s “girl” (as named in the Genesis manual) has a name – Princess Guinevere. As Arthur, you must once again battle your way through the land of Ghouls’ N Ghosts, and rescue your loving princess – this time from the Demon Emperor Sardius – who sadly, I have only seen in pictures.

Arthur can now double jump and more importantly, change directions in mid-air, but only on the second jump. Stages are set up to take advantage of the new move which does require a bit of practice to get used to. The double jump feels a little stiff, but overall, it is definitely an upgrade.

My favorite addition to Super GnG would have to be the new Bronze Armor (which looks oddly teal) that Arthur can now find in chests. This new armor falls in between the Silver and Gold Suits, and enhances whichever weapon your carrying with a magical shot. Gold Armor keeps this enhancement and allows your current weapon to charge up by holding the attack button and unleashing its magical attack.

There are seven regular weapons. New ones include the Crossbow, Scythe, and Tri-Blade. I was disappointed to see the discus gone. The Scythe acts like a stronger Discus, but is much slower. Of all the weapons, the Crossbow and Dagger seem to be the most effective, especially in Bronze and Gold Armor.

What’s not to like: Okay, challenge is good, but this is by far one of the most difficult games ever created. It’ll take some serious memorization to conquer even the first stage. Areas are much bigger now, making halfway points few and far between. Enemies seemed to have multiplied as well, which, unfortunately, brings gameplay to a halt. Slowdown rears its ugly head at the worst possible times and, in almost every stage of the game, increasing frustration.

For some unexplainable reason, Capcom decided to take away Arthur’s ability to fire weapons upward – as well as downward while jumping. So while they improve controls by adding a double jump, they also hurt ‘em a bit by removing (especially) the upward shot. Why?

In my opinion, Capcom had their second bad idea and decided to take away the unlimited continues found in Ghouls’ N Ghosts – making the game nearly impossible to complete. As with every GnG, you’ll have to finish the game twice in a row if you expect to see the “real” ending – a single playthrough won’t do it. This time  “The Goddess Bracelet” is the key to defeating the game’s “true” final boss Sardius, who can only be reached and defeated with the weapon equipped. Good luck!

Check out some gameplay from every stage of Super Ghouls N Ghosts in the video below. That’s the “bad ending” to finish it. Sorry, but as I said before, the “good” ending is nearly impossible to achieve. Overall at the bottom.

Score
Overall
It’s a difficult choice, but Super Ghouls’ N Ghosts gets the nod from me for best in the series (just barely). Its major faults – no shooting up, and slowdown can be overlooked by fantastic visuals and more importantly, great gameplay. Its legendary difficulty can be considered a good or bad. If you want an old school challenge, look no further then this. If you want a fun little game to breeze through, then move along, this will own you. In the end, I think everyone should give it a shot. Other then the original SNES cart, It’s currently available for the Wii VC and Capcom Collection Vol. 1 for the PS2 and Xbox and is highly recommended.
User Score: (2 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)  Loading ...