Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins for Sony PSP

So Close Yet So Far Away

Strengths: Neat graphics, unique physics engine.

Weakness: Arbitrary difficulty.

Ultimate Ghost n' Goblins captures much of the essence of the classic games - extreme difficulty, weird jumping physics, and the need to beat the game twice - and adds some modern-day conventions like hidden Castlevania-esque power-ups. However, ultimately, Ultimate is too hard and arbitrary even on the lowest difficulty setting. Player deaths seem to be caused equally by mistakes and bad luck.

By yakkotank - Sep 10, 2008

2-d classic gone portable--Chop some goblins!!!

Strengths: Arthur still hacks away after all these years, c'mon you know what you are getting into.

Weakness: hack, hack, hack

So this game isn't overly complex or anything, you basically go around and hack what the title says. If you fail to do so in a side-scrolling 2-d manner, you're toast or end up in your underpants (seriously). It's a classic though, and good for the road when you don't really want a lot of convuluted games and just want to pick-up and go. Look at the cover and you get an idea of the story...
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So this game isn't overly complex or anything, you basically go around and hack what the title says. If you fail to do so in a side-scrolling 2-d manner, you're toast or end up in your underpants (seriously). It's a classic though, and good for the road when you don't really want a lot of convuluted games and just want to pick-up and go. Look at the cover and you get an idea of the story more-or-less; medieval dude-vs-monsters. So it does what it does, nice graphics, controls are responsive, capcom quality is apparent.
Overall: Did I mention the hacking? If you are in the mood, go for it ; ]

By jbetancourt - Aug 29, 2008

Never has adventuring in your underware been more fun

Strengths: Multitude of levels, new gameplay options, ability to revisit levels

Weakness: Difficulty level is still very high

I was never very good at the original Ghost 'n Goblins. I don't really have those twitchy skills needed to dodge and jump and duck. That said, I really enjoyed this ultimate remake, though I haven't even come close to beating the game. Since I assume you all know the classic GnG, I'll focus on what's new. First of all, there are all sorts of new weapons that weren't in the original. Added to...
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I was never very good at the original Ghost 'n Goblins. I don't really have those twitchy skills needed to dodge and jump and duck. That said, I really enjoyed this ultimate remake, though I haven't even come close to beating the game.

Since I assume you all know the classic GnG, I'll focus on what's new. First of all, there are all sorts of new weapons that weren't in the original. Added to that, each weapon can be powered up into a greater form. Also, instead of only having one suit of armor, there are now varying types which will affect your abilities and sometimes allow additional hits before being destroyed. In each level is a Warp Staff which allows you to revisit past levels. In that way, the game has advanced beyond the old school side scroller and into more of a platformer in general. There are reasons to revisit past levels as you gain new skills or weapons and can then access previously unreachable items. The difficulty selection does provide for an easy mode, but I'm afraid that it's still a bit too much for me. Maybe you'll have better luck.

By henwy - Jul 24, 2008

A Blast to the Old School Past

Strengths: Sharp Graphics, varied level and enemy design, tight controls

Weakness: Unforgiving mechanics, with save points few and far between

This is a continuation of Capcom's Ghosts n' Goblins series. It's a 2d game, but with 3d graphics, which works very well. The graphics are great, the enemies are designed well, and each level is immediately and uniquely recognizable. If you remember anything at all about Ghosts n' Goblins, you will remember that beyond anything else, it was HARD. You will die in this game and you will die a LOT....
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This is a continuation of Capcom's Ghosts n' Goblins series. It's a 2d game, but with 3d graphics, which works very well. The graphics are great, the enemies are designed well, and each level is immediately and uniquely recognizable. If you remember anything at all about Ghosts n' Goblins, you will remember that beyond anything else, it was HARD. You will die in this game and you will die a LOT. Sometimes you will die because you jumped somewhere and an enemy spawned the moment you landed. Unfair? It depends on whether you are old-school or not. Fortunately if you want to take it easy, there's a Novice mode available, where you are allowed to take more hits before you die, you get knocked back a shorter distance, and you spawn approximately where you died. In the other modes, each death brings you to the beginning of the level, you get knocked back further, and you die in fewer hits. A lot of times, you will simply have to memorize enemy locations to progress. That's the way the game is. One thing about the series is that jumping always goes the same distance. In many other games, the jumping distance depends on how long you press it or how hard you pressed the button. In Ultimate Ghosts N' Goblins, you will always jump the same distance, which makes the game harder as once you jump, you commit to the landing spot. One complaint I have with this game is the few save points. You can only save about every half a level. So literally, you could play 9 min of a 10 min half-level perfectly, die, then be forced to replay those 9 min again just to get back to where you died. Again, this game is only for the truly hardcore.

I would recommend this for any old school gamers out there looking for a challenge. People who need their hands held need not apply. Either way, prepare for a challenge, and don't throw your psp at the wall in frustration. I got this game cheap ($10) so I'd say I got a good value. I give this game 4/5 because it aims at the hardcore old school audience and succeeds.

By rpnguyen - Jun 15, 2008

Arthur Returns

Strengths: +classic 2D hack/slash action classic old school feel +good updated graphics and load times +classic original music +3 difficulty levels +alternate endings +treasure chests

Weakness: -challenging -jumping -PSP controls -only six levels -not much added to original just update

Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins is a wonderful update to the classic Ghosts and Goblins. Players assume the role of Arthur as he battles villains on his quest to save the princess. As Arthur takes damage he will lose pieces of his armor until he is stripped down to his boxer shorts. Arthur battles his enemies by throwing his lance (your original weapon) at his opponents. Progressing through the game...
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Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins is a wonderful update to the classic Ghosts and Goblins. Players assume the role of Arthur as he battles villains on his quest to save the princess. As Arthur takes damage he will lose pieces of his armor until he is stripped down to his boxer shorts. Arthur battles his enemies by throwing his lance (your original weapon) at his opponents. Progressing through the game Arthur will have access to new types of armor and weapons. Graphics are bright and colorful making this a beautiful game. The game remains challenging, and Arthur’s jump mechanics remain a problem. However this still remains a great game, which I highly recommend.

By monsoonman - Nov 27, 2007