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Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins Mini Review

Jon Wilcox

08/09/2006

Arthur the knight is back, but this time on Sony's PSP - but does it capture the balance of its rock hard predecessors...

For many of the more 'mature' gamers out there, the release of Capcom's Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins on PSP will be like stepping back in time to their younger days; days when 'Game Over' meant just that, and 2D platformers were all the rage. Like its predecessors from yesteryear, Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins has a pretty straightforward premise: once again Arthur's princess of a girlfriend has been kidnapped by a dark power and it's up to you to rescue her. So how does this pseudo-retro title hold up in comparison to its almost iconic forbearers?

First up, and what is a huge departure for the series, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins has?a number of difficulty settings! Whilst this isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff for most quarters of the gaming fraternity, the fact is that in the context of the Ghosts 'N Goblins series, the ability to switch difficulties is something that could be seen as heretical by purists?in previous instalments there was only a single setting - rock bleeding hard - so to come across the likes of Standard Mode and even the more gentle Novice Mode may be something of a surprise.

Aficionados of the original titles will no doubt remember that the armour suited Arthur would lose his protection if hit by an enemy; one hit would reduce him to his boxers. This would occur no matter which level of armour he wore, from the standard steel through to the more valuable gold. Instant death would then occur if the knight was hit once more, but that was far from the end of ignominy for players; Checkpoints in the game were exceptionally few and far between, so if a player hadn't reached the mid-point of a level when they died, it would be a trip back to the start - and the task of destroying all of the enemies once more. In Ultimate Ghosts 'N Goblins, the Standard Mode regenerates Arthur at the point of his demise (so no more checkpoints) removing a key aspect of the original titles; more than that, his armour is now removed in stages so that if he's wearing gold when hit by an enemy, he drops down to the next level of armour and not directly to his underwear.

But why are we talking about the difficulty settings? Simple. The balance between addictive and frustrating gameplay has always been a juggling act for the franchise, yet the previous instalments managed to do just that. With the addition of the two extra difficulty modes (the third, Ultimate Mode is the 'truest' representation of the difficulty featured in the earlier games), surely the question must be whether the Ghosts 'n Goblins experience somehow feels watered down?

The simple answer is no. What Capcom has cleverly done is create a system that offers accessibility for newcomers of the series, thanks to the Standard and Novice Modes, yet retained Ghosts 'N Goblins hardnut status with the Ultimate Mode for purists. Once again the studio has managed to walk the tightrope between frustration and addiction, thereby creating a title that will appeal to a wide range of gamers.

Making their reappearance are most of the original weapons, from the daggers and holy water, to the lance. Drawing on the previous instalments, Arthur's controls only allow him to throw left, right, up and down, though this is another nod to its roots - so to a slightly nagging jump. Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins does however feature a new Inventory system, allowing players to collect new abilities such as Flying Boots and secondary weapons, and use them whenever they wish. In addition, Warp Wands are also there to be collected, extending the experience by allowing Arthur to revisit past levels in order to collect the number of gold rings needed to unlock the last battle and complete the game.

Despite the transition from sprites to 3D modelled characters, Capcom has stuck with the classic 2D viewpoint of the previous games (if you want to play Ghosts 'N Goblins in a 3D space, go and dig out the old Maximo titles). The presentation of the original games remains, such as Arthur's jumping pose, but the visual update really offers a fresh breathe of live into the series making it feel more homage than retro.

Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins does however suffer from slight longevity problems. In some ways that's part of the charm of games like this, but when the princess is eventually rescued from the evil that kidnapped her, there's very little draw to return to the action. In short, enjoy the experience while it lasts - guess there's always the Ultimate Mode to try out and remember how frustrating gameplay was in the 1980s compared to the guiding hand offered by most titles today.

Old Age Gamers (or OAGs) will surely enjoy this updated trip down memory lane thanks to the strong presentation of the game linking it to its heritage. New additions to the series, including the varied inventory, offer a strong dose of depth that perhaps wasn't there in instalments gone by, though there remains a question of longevity. Once the princess has been rescued, there isn't really much to offer victorious gamers so Ultimate GnG might find itself becoming a retro classic gathering dust alongside Arthur's previous exploits.

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