Ghosts'n Goblins, the Video Game by Capcom Co., Ltd. [Japan]
DESCRIPTION
Type of the machine : Video Game
Ghosts'n Goblins © 1985 Capcom.
The player takes on the role of Sir Arthur the knight, who sees his sweetheart, Princess Guinevere, kidnapped by the Goblin King.
Arthur must run and jump through 6 horizontal and 8-way scrolling levels in his bid to rescue the kidnapped princess. Arthur is initially armed with throwable lances, but a variety of other throwing weapons, such as axes, flaming torches, swords etc. are dropped by defeated enemies and can be picked up and used to fend off the zombies, bats, demons and other assorted satanic minions that Sir Arthur has to face.
Each of the 6 end-of-level gates is guarded by one of Satan's generals; huge, end-of-level guardians who must be defeated before the player can finally reach the Goblin King and rescue the princess.
Ghosts'n Goblins © 1985 Capcom.
The player takes on the role of Sir Arthur the knight, who sees his sweetheart, Princess Guinevere, kidnapped by the Goblin King.
Arthur must run and jump through 6 horizontal and 8-way scrolling levels in his bid to rescue the kidnapped princess. Arthur is initially armed with throwable lances, but a variety of other throwing weapons, such as axes, flaming torches, swords etc. are dropped by defeated enemies and can be picked up and used to fend off the zombies, bats, demons and other assorted satanic minions that Sir Arthur has to face.
Each of the 6 end-of-level gates is guarded by one of Satan's generals; huge, end-of-level guardians who must be defeated before the player can finally reach the Goblin King and rescue the princess.
TECHNICAL
CABINET :
;)
Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 3 Mhz)
Sound Chips : (2x) YM2203 (@ 1.5 Mhz)
Screen orientation : Horizontal
Video resolution : 256 x 224 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz
Palette colors : 256
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 2
=> [A] FIRE, [B] JUMP
TRIVIA
Released in September 1985.
Licenced to Taito for US manufacture and distribution.
Also licensed to Romstar for US distribution.
This game is known in Japan as "Makaimura" (translates as 'Demon World Village').
The princess was officially called 'Prin Prin' (this is a onomatopeia for the buttocks which make a pretty movement).
The main character, Arthur, appears as a striker character in "Marvel vs. Capcom - Clash of Super Heroes".
The red flying gargoyle enemy that you come across in the first level is known as Firebrand or Red Arrender Ace/Red Arremer depending on the game and it actually has his own game on the Nintendo Game Boy called "Gargoyle's Quest - Ghosts'n Goblins" and two sequels on the NES/Game Boy and Super NES respectively. The gargoyle is also the last boss in the MSX game Makaijima Higemaru and a secret last boss in the Neo-Geo's "SNK Vs. Capcom - SVC Chaos".
Steve Donaldson holds the official record for this game with 811,000 points.
Alfa Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Capcom Game Music - 28XA-94) on 25/08/1986.
Suleputer released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Makaimura Music Collection - CPCA-10128~34) on 28/12/2005 containing music from the original arcade and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis series.
Licenced to Taito for US manufacture and distribution.
Also licensed to Romstar for US distribution.
This game is known in Japan as "Makaimura" (translates as 'Demon World Village').
The princess was officially called 'Prin Prin' (this is a onomatopeia for the buttocks which make a pretty movement).
The main character, Arthur, appears as a striker character in "Marvel vs. Capcom - Clash of Super Heroes".
The red flying gargoyle enemy that you come across in the first level is known as Firebrand or Red Arrender Ace/Red Arremer depending on the game and it actually has his own game on the Nintendo Game Boy called "Gargoyle's Quest - Ghosts'n Goblins" and two sequels on the NES/Game Boy and Super NES respectively. The gargoyle is also the last boss in the MSX game Makaijima Higemaru and a secret last boss in the Neo-Geo's "SNK Vs. Capcom - SVC Chaos".
Steve Donaldson holds the official record for this game with 811,000 points.
Alfa Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Capcom Game Music - 28XA-94) on 25/08/1986.
Suleputer released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Makaimura Music Collection - CPCA-10128~34) on 28/12/2005 containing music from the original arcade and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis series.
UPDATES
The Japanese versions, unlike all other versions, use a cross instead of a shield.
SCORING
Scores for enemies killed :
Zombie : 200 points
Grave Spirit : 200 points
Crow : 100 points
Plant : 100 points
Demon : 1,000 points
Dark Shield Knight : 100 points
Wraith : 100 points
Cyclops : 2,000 points
Blue Devil : 100 points
Ogre : 500 points
Two-Headed Golem : 300 points
Purple Goblin : 100 points
Dragon Tail : 200 points
Dragon Head : 1,000 points
Skull : 100 points
Skeleton : 100 points
The Red Guard : 3,000 points
Satan : 10,000 points
Scores for items picked up :
Key : 1,000 points
Skull Coin : 200 points
Wreath : 200 points
Young Arthur Doll : 200 points
Foot Soldier Doll : 400 points
Knight Arthur Doll : 400 points
Princess Doll : 400 points
Ghost Doll : 400 points
Devil Doll : 400 extra points
King Arthur Doll : 10,000 points
Money Bags : 500 points
The Princess' Ring : 100 points
The Princess' Shoe : 800 points
The Princess' Dress : 1,000 points
Arthur's Knickerbocker : 2,000 points
Arthur's Crown : 5,000 points
Capcom Symbol : 10,000 points (this item also appears in many other Capcom games of the time, e.g. "1942").
End of Level Bonus :
Level 1 : 5,000 points
Level 2 : 5,000 points
Level 3 : 10,000 points
Level 4 : 10,000 points
Level 5 : 15,000 points
Level 6 : 15,000 points
Zombie : 200 points
Grave Spirit : 200 points
Crow : 100 points
Plant : 100 points
Demon : 1,000 points
Dark Shield Knight : 100 points
Wraith : 100 points
Cyclops : 2,000 points
Blue Devil : 100 points
Ogre : 500 points
Two-Headed Golem : 300 points
Purple Goblin : 100 points
Dragon Tail : 200 points
Dragon Head : 1,000 points
Skull : 100 points
Skeleton : 100 points
The Red Guard : 3,000 points
Satan : 10,000 points
Scores for items picked up :
Key : 1,000 points
Skull Coin : 200 points
Wreath : 200 points
Young Arthur Doll : 200 points
Foot Soldier Doll : 400 points
Knight Arthur Doll : 400 points
Princess Doll : 400 points
Ghost Doll : 400 points
Devil Doll : 400 extra points
King Arthur Doll : 10,000 points
Money Bags : 500 points
The Princess' Ring : 100 points
The Princess' Shoe : 800 points
The Princess' Dress : 1,000 points
Arthur's Knickerbocker : 2,000 points
Arthur's Crown : 5,000 points
Capcom Symbol : 10,000 points (this item also appears in many other Capcom games of the time, e.g. "1942").
End of Level Bonus :
Level 1 : 5,000 points
Level 2 : 5,000 points
Level 3 : 10,000 points
Level 4 : 10,000 points
Level 5 : 15,000 points
Level 6 : 15,000 points
TIPS AND TRICKS
* There are 2 Capcom 10,000 points in the game.
The 1st one is in the forest (second part of level 1) : Jump at the 4th tree 'before' the last plant.
The 2nd one is at level 3 : Enter a ditch, in the leftmost spot, after you have landed on the bottom of level 3; that is the place where you go to the dragon boss by simply running right.
* Turn Into A Frog : As soon as you become a duck, shoot a tombstone 15 times in a row and an angel character will appear. This angel will fire a bolt at you. Let it hit you and you'll become a frog.
* Frog Bug Trick : Wait until the timer reaches 0 :01 and then have the magician turn you into a frog, if he turns you into a frog as the timer runs out, Arthur becomes distorted (sprite broken) and the timer becomes crazy. But you can continue the play like this.
* Levitating Monsters : At level 6 (just after having beaten the big red guardian), kill the 5 skulls, then climb up the ladder to wake up the 2 doglike monsters. Go down again and walk right until you're blocked by the wall. Then wait for the monsters to stand just over you (possibly at the rightmost possible point), shoot at this very moment and it happens that they jump and remain in mid-air. It's not easy to do that, but you can manage to have both jumping and stuck. After that, you can safely climb up the ladder and walk while the monsters are moving above you without touching you. Don't shoot again, or they may jump up and go to the upper platform.
* Boss Tricks :
1) Dragon Trick - You can pass the level four dragon by fleeing! Just walk until music changes to boss theme (if you can't hear that, the spot is where you have the last two flames on the left of the screen), then go to extreme left : if everything is ok, the music should stop and the flames freeze. Go to the door to collect the key.
2) Demon Trick - To make disappear the demon boss at end of level five, try running away from him as fast as you can! Reach the floor with the hole in it and jump through it. If you have correct timing, you will fall in the pit, avoiding the moving platforms, and eventually escape the boss. Ogre boss tricks - The ogre bosses tend to jump when you fire, even if not directly at them. This is very useful in level six,when you can avoid losing your armor by activating the ogres, then going down the ladder and firing while holding your man in the same position where he starts at the beginning of the level.
* Other Tricks :
1) Weapon Trick - After having defeated a level boss(es),the knight can fire two or three "invisible shots"; if the man is facing the right border of the screen while doing so, the shots will reappear in the following stage. This can be exploited to kill some of the skulls at beginning of level 6 (soooo useful...).
2) Fire Bridge Trick - If the game difficulty level is not set to hard (you can check this by the zombies' speed), the fire bridge can be traversed by simply going right without stopping.
3) Weird Spots - In levels 5 and 6 there are spots where you can jump through the yellow rock background : usually getting blocked or killed. In level 6, the floor below the bosses' has an invisible hole in it at the extreme left : this can be used to the player's advantage.
4) Cemetery Glitch - Reach the last tomb before the devil, jump it and go right two or three steps. The knight should now be in front of a tree on the background. Don't go any further - go back, instead. Climb the first ladder you'll meet, then climb down the one on the left, which shouldn't be completely on the screen if you performed the trick correctly : surprise!
5) Warp Trick - This is very odd : by a strategy similar to the one to reveal the cemetery glitch (that is, fiddling with scroll), you can activate a 'level warp' in the platform section at the beginning of level 4. It involves going right, then trying to have some platform carry you beyond the 'scroll stops' line on the left. This should kill the knight and possibly make the next life start on the fire bridge or in level 5.
* Armor :
1) The first armor is in the cemetery, between the red devil's starting position and last money bag : jump there to catch it. In the forest,there's the infamous unreachable armor : to collect it you should reach a spot just above the money bag right after the first plant. This cannot be done by jumping.
2) There are 2 armors in the ice palace. One can be gotten by walking left off the topmost platform; the other will fall right in front of the inferior plant by roaming around the other plant's location.
3) There are 2 armors in the blue cave. The first one is obtained by climbing the leftmost ladder and falling off the ledge. To get the second, perform a well-placed jump (you have to cross some precise point in mid-air while falling) before the fight with the last red devil.
4) The last armor is collected in level 6 by simply walking right on the first floor with hulk-like monsters on it (the programmers thought you couldn't avoid getting hit by the ogres and so they didn't hide that armor).
The 1st one is in the forest (second part of level 1) : Jump at the 4th tree 'before' the last plant.
The 2nd one is at level 3 : Enter a ditch, in the leftmost spot, after you have landed on the bottom of level 3; that is the place where you go to the dragon boss by simply running right.
* Turn Into A Frog : As soon as you become a duck, shoot a tombstone 15 times in a row and an angel character will appear. This angel will fire a bolt at you. Let it hit you and you'll become a frog.
* Frog Bug Trick : Wait until the timer reaches 0 :01 and then have the magician turn you into a frog, if he turns you into a frog as the timer runs out, Arthur becomes distorted (sprite broken) and the timer becomes crazy. But you can continue the play like this.
* Levitating Monsters : At level 6 (just after having beaten the big red guardian), kill the 5 skulls, then climb up the ladder to wake up the 2 doglike monsters. Go down again and walk right until you're blocked by the wall. Then wait for the monsters to stand just over you (possibly at the rightmost possible point), shoot at this very moment and it happens that they jump and remain in mid-air. It's not easy to do that, but you can manage to have both jumping and stuck. After that, you can safely climb up the ladder and walk while the monsters are moving above you without touching you. Don't shoot again, or they may jump up and go to the upper platform.
* Boss Tricks :
1) Dragon Trick - You can pass the level four dragon by fleeing! Just walk until music changes to boss theme (if you can't hear that, the spot is where you have the last two flames on the left of the screen), then go to extreme left : if everything is ok, the music should stop and the flames freeze. Go to the door to collect the key.
2) Demon Trick - To make disappear the demon boss at end of level five, try running away from him as fast as you can! Reach the floor with the hole in it and jump through it. If you have correct timing, you will fall in the pit, avoiding the moving platforms, and eventually escape the boss. Ogre boss tricks - The ogre bosses tend to jump when you fire, even if not directly at them. This is very useful in level six,when you can avoid losing your armor by activating the ogres, then going down the ladder and firing while holding your man in the same position where he starts at the beginning of the level.
* Other Tricks :
1) Weapon Trick - After having defeated a level boss(es),the knight can fire two or three "invisible shots"; if the man is facing the right border of the screen while doing so, the shots will reappear in the following stage. This can be exploited to kill some of the skulls at beginning of level 6 (soooo useful...).
2) Fire Bridge Trick - If the game difficulty level is not set to hard (you can check this by the zombies' speed), the fire bridge can be traversed by simply going right without stopping.
3) Weird Spots - In levels 5 and 6 there are spots where you can jump through the yellow rock background : usually getting blocked or killed. In level 6, the floor below the bosses' has an invisible hole in it at the extreme left : this can be used to the player's advantage.
4) Cemetery Glitch - Reach the last tomb before the devil, jump it and go right two or three steps. The knight should now be in front of a tree on the background. Don't go any further - go back, instead. Climb the first ladder you'll meet, then climb down the one on the left, which shouldn't be completely on the screen if you performed the trick correctly : surprise!
5) Warp Trick - This is very odd : by a strategy similar to the one to reveal the cemetery glitch (that is, fiddling with scroll), you can activate a 'level warp' in the platform section at the beginning of level 4. It involves going right, then trying to have some platform carry you beyond the 'scroll stops' line on the left. This should kill the knight and possibly make the next life start on the fire bridge or in level 5.
* Armor :
1) The first armor is in the cemetery, between the red devil's starting position and last money bag : jump there to catch it. In the forest,there's the infamous unreachable armor : to collect it you should reach a spot just above the money bag right after the first plant. This cannot be done by jumping.
2) There are 2 armors in the ice palace. One can be gotten by walking left off the topmost platform; the other will fall right in front of the inferior plant by roaming around the other plant's location.
3) There are 2 armors in the blue cave. The first one is obtained by climbing the leftmost ladder and falling off the ledge. To get the second, perform a well-placed jump (you have to cross some precise point in mid-air while falling) before the fight with the last red devil.
4) The last armor is collected in level 6 by simply walking right on the first floor with hulk-like monsters on it (the programmers thought you couldn't avoid getting hit by the ogres and so they didn't hide that armor).
SERIES
1. Ghosts'n Goblins (1985)
2. Ghouls'n Ghosts (1988)
3. Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (1991, Nintendo Super Famicom)
4. Maximo - Ghosts to Glory (2002, Sony Playstation 2)
5. Maximo vs. Army of Zin (2004, Sony PlayStation 2)
6. Ultimate Ghosts'n Goblins (2006, Sony PSP)
2. Ghouls'n Ghosts (1988)
3. Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (1991, Nintendo Super Famicom)
4. Maximo - Ghosts to Glory (2002, Sony Playstation 2)
5. Maximo vs. Army of Zin (2004, Sony PlayStation 2)
6. Ultimate Ghosts'n Goblins (2006, Sony PSP)
STAFF
PORTS
Consoles :
Nintendo Famicom (jun.1986) [JP] Nintendo NES (nov.1986) [USA] Nintendo NES (feb.1989) [EUR]
Sony PlayStation (1998, "Capcom Generation 2") Sony PlayStation (1998, "Capcom Generations - Chronicles of Arthur")
Sega Saturn (1998, "Capcom Generation 2")
Nintendo Game Boy Color (1999)
Sony PlayStation 2 (2005, "Capcom Classics Collection")
Microsoft XBOX (2005, "Capcom Classics Collection")
Sony PSP (2006, "Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded")Computers :
Commodore 16 (1986)
Commodore C64 (1986)
Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1986)
Amstrad CPC (1986)PC [MS-DOS] (1987)
Commodore Amiga (1988)Atari ST (1990)
PC [CD-ROM] (2003, "Capcom Coin-Op Collection Volume 1")
* Other :
Mobile Phone (2005)
SOURCES
Game's rom.
Machine's picture.
Machine's picture.
LAST EDITION
February 14, 2010