for those about to rock

Game Review: Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins

The funny thing is, as I fired up Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins for the first time, I wasn't speculating so much on what kinds of graphical enhancements, beefed-up sounds and gameplay tweaks Capcom would bring to its portable update of the console classic.

I was thinking more about the weight, durability and aerodynamics of the PSP system, and about how far it would travel if I whipped it across the room, and whether it could survive a crash landing, and wondering if I had the funds to reimburse my friend Mouse if I ended up smashing the one he let me borrow to review the game.

The original Ghosts n' Goblins on Nintendo set a standard in console gaming's early days for the kind of insanely steep difficulty that inspires gamers to defenestrate their controllers. The hero, Arthur, could hurl projectiles in just two directions and absorb only two hits by bullet or enemy contact before dying, bosses from the opening stages would appear together to tag team the player later on, and if you ever did manage to run the hellish gauntlet and topple Lucifer, the final boss, the game cheekily informed you that you had to complete a second, more difficult go-around in order to finally save the princess and earn the true ending.

Still, solid gameplay mechanics, colorful presentation and a memorable cast of characters proved that Ghosts 'n Goblins was more than a mere exercise in masochism. The same can be said of subsequent series releases on the Genesis and SNES, which improved players' odds a bit by granting Arthur the ability to fire in multiple directions, adding new weapons to his arsenal and giving him screen-clearing magic spells, even as Hell's minions remained as resilient as ever, and the environments they inhabited just as perilous.

Now, having effectively skipped two console generations, Ghosts 'n Goblins returns to remind older players of how a videogame can simultaneously set your teeth on grind and encourage you to come back hastily for seconds and thirds after shaming you, and to punish a host of new gamers who've generally had it too easy in life, what with their multiple save points, generous life bars and powder puff enemies.

This is not to say that Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins poses an impenetrable challenge to newbies. Aware of the vast scope of modern gaming community, the game proffers three difficulty settings: "Ultimate" doffs its helmet to the original game, imposing two-hit deaths on players and sending them all the way back to the beginning of the level with every demise, while the tamer 'Standard' and 'Novice' modes pamper them with more hit points and extra lives, and by respawning Arthur at the exact points where he kicks the bucket.

It's not exactly a kinder, gentler Ghosts 'n Goblins, though, as regardless of which setting you choose, the game does not artificially alter its core challenge by removing enemies or obstacles.

And believe me, UG 'n G wastes no time bringing the pain.

While Arthur enjoys some new weapons (including a nifty boomerang scythe and a Simon Belmont-approved whip capable of taking down the bigger foes in one or two hits), bolstered magic attacks, pick-ups galore and some fresh platforming tricks, all of which render him more well-rounded and user-friendly than before, Capcom has made sure to stack the deck on the other side to more than compensate for such additions. From the get-go, you are forced to essentially multitask in order to survive, mounting a full-court-press offense to keep the hordes of monsters attacking you from all directions at bay, all the while dodging shots and negotiating the expected pitfalls and traps that populate each level. As you'll notice almost immediately, this latter endeavor becomes complicated by the fact that you recoil when hit, a convention of traditional platforming that can instantly send you plummeting into bottomless chasms; purists will likely accept this as an indelible, familiar element of the form, while others will bemoan that the one-hit deaths that result are cheap. Meanwhile, you have to strive for some degree of accuracy with your shots, lest you nail a gravestone with an errant projectile and summon the wizard, a series staple who can transform Arthur into such comparitively impotent forms as a chicken, grasshopper and a skeleton (though resourceful players will find that they can actually take advantage of the 'fat lady' form's ability to float to pepper stubborn airborne enemies with fire).














Along the way, you'll encounter a host of mid- and end level bosses that will impose extreme tests of your reflexes and, more importantly, your ability to be patient and read patterns. Some of the battles, such as the one with the rattlesnake mini-boss pictured above, are decidely uninspired, and lean a little too heavily on the need for sound hand-eye coordination. Others hearken back to showdowns with the awe-inspiring, screen-filling bosses of the 16-Bit entries in the series, and encourage a wonderful marriage of strategy, reaction time and fundamental platforming savvy. One of the most memorable is your second fight with the recurring gate keeper monster, which circles the screen around Arthur, firing off bullets and periodically taking out the ledges from underneath him, which forces you to scramble furiously as you nic away at its health with pot shots.

Whether bland or bursting with innovation, these boss battles are abusive. Make no mistake: you will die. And you will die often.

If all of this sounds a little overwhelming, it's because it's supposed to be. But then, Capcom's aim is not to frustrate you with impossible difficulty, but rather to facilitate the kind of adrenaline rush moments that occur when you're operating on sheer gut-level, trigger-fingering instinct. Such moments have unfortunately become rare as interface and game worlds have become more complex and abstract, and to experience them again here transcends mere nostalgia: they're pretty damn fun, too.

One such sequence came for me on the third board. Finding that a pillar I had just mounted was teetering over, I waited until it had leaned forward enough for me to successfully double-jump the gorge it towered over. Upon nailing the landing, though, I found that my new perch was quickly crumbling. I rushed forward to make use of Arthur's new ledge grab move as it fell away, and pulled myself up onto solid ground. Almost immediately, an enemy set in motion a huge boulder that threatened to knock me back into the chasm. A quick double-jump later, and the rock rolled harmlessly into the pit. All of this happened within a matter of seconds, and the resultant visceral excitement was awesome.

Almost equally satisfying, too, is negotiating the clever ways in which the environments are structured, particularly when it comes to how each one dangles temptations like extra lives and power-ups just out of your reach, forcing you to think creatively and act with precision in order to claim your prize without losing a life. Because the levels are oftentimes on the short side, exploration is generally limited to minor detours off the linear path, and with few stages to begin with, there doesn't feel like there's quite enough extraneous meat to dig into. However, the new warp key pick-ups encourage you to do some backtracking, enabling you to retrieve previously inaccessible treasures and items, some of which bestow permanent abilities.














The graphics and sound evoke a light-hearted, nostalgic theme and feel. Character models are brightly-illuminated and frequently pastel, sporting a vaguely cartoonish look that juxtaposes well with the richly-detailed and oftentimes grim environments. Though two-dimensional in gameplay and essential appearance, UG 'n G employs three-dimensional flourishes liberally, adding a polish of realism. Though parallax is an old trick we've all seen before, I'll have to admit that I was impressed with how the effect translated via the PSP's muscle. Meanwhile, the game's audio aims to tap fond old school memories, from an enhanced take on the original's spooky first level theme to the xylophone clatter of Arthur's skeleton when you perish.

It's obvious that Capcom did not merely dig up Ghosts 'n Goblins's bones, dust them off and call it day. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins is lovingly-crafted, rebuilt from the ground up and tailored to be an accessible, enjoyable experience for seasoned knights and apprentices alike.

For the record, by the way, Mouse's PSP is still intact.

posted by jomilkman @ 8:27 AM