My next SNES Online playthrough is a rather steep escalation in difficulty compared to what I've played before. Today, I give my hands a workout with Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. BACKGROUND:
I played Ghosts 'n Goblins for the NES (via NES Online) a while back, and it is an incredibly difficult platformer that definitely isn't for everybody. While I do appreciate the game for what it is, it isn't something I'd replay regularly on the account that its difficulty borders on unfair in some sections. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is the third game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins (I thought it was the second — I was incorrect), and is actually the game I knew about first. I think I've only ever seen this game in Let's Plays and speedruns, and I don't recall ever emulating it, so this is pretty much my first time playing this. If you don't think you know this game series at all, you might be familiar with the knight whose armor falls off ends up in his underwear when he gets hit. He's Sir Arthur, the protagonist of this game, and you've probably seen him as a playable character in the more recent Marvel vs. Capcom games. SUMMARY: Much like Ghosts 'n Goblins before it, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is a challenging platformer with devious level design and relentless hordes of enemies. You play as Sir Arthur, who is once again off to rescue the princess from a bunch of evil bastards. Welcome to video game stories from before 1999. Arthur can be hit twice before dying as long as he has armor. If you get hit while you have armor on, the armor falls apart and Arthur is left in his underwear, and the next hit will kill you. Thankfully, there are occasional armor pickups throughout the game, and some even give you upgrades like better firepower and a projectile-blocking shield. Your main method of attack comes in the form of various weapons that manifest themselves as projectile attacks. These range from the lance (a straight projectile), the bow and arrow (a spread shot that's angled upward), the torch (an arcing projectile with a lingering flame), and more. These weapons function differently enough that your strategy when dealing with enemies/bosses changes rather significantly, so you'll either want to get good with most of the weapons or stick to one you're really good at. You can switch up your weapons via pickups, and as mentioned, can even enhance them via a particular armor upgrade. The difficulty comes from the onslaught of enemies (who are tough to deal with on their own) and their sneaky placements throughout the level, the somewhat finicky controls (jumps and double jumps are a bit tough to get right), the time limit that discourages waiting, and horrific platforming sections like hellacious autoscrollers and punishing vertical segments. Paired with each of the seven levels being rather long, playing through this game is quite the ordeal. I definitely don't blame you if you use the SNES Online emulator's rewind feature, because this game is as trial-and-error as they come. As grueling as the levels are, I actually found the bosses at the end much easier to deal with and a lot of fun to beat. Sure, they're all grotesque-looking motherfuckers, but they actually have rather simple attack patterns, and once you figure those out, killing them becomes a breeze. You can adjust certain options before starting the game, such as the difficulty level and the number of lives, which can either mitigate the challenge or make it more punishing, depending on your preference. I find it important to note that "Normal" is already pretty challenging. This game impressed me from a graphical standpoint, with its liberal and creative use of the foreground, and certain sections with some cool effects, like the tower section that looks like it's rotating as you move through it. One gripe I do have with the game is how easily affected it is by slowdown. If there's too much happening on the screen at one time, the game's performance tanks hard, and some could find that uncomfortable to play with. I wish they could have found a way to optimize the emulation a little bit, but for the most part, it's not enough of a common occurrence that it bothers me. Oh, and you've never played Ghosts 'n Goblins before, seeing the ending when you first beat the game might piss you off. I won't give away why. I want that to be an (un)pleasant surprise. VERDICT: If you're looking for an arcade-difficult platformer that will really test your patience, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is the game to play. Its myriad of annoying enemies and sinister level design are no joke, but getting to the end of each stage and laying the smackdown on the freaky-looking bosses makes the journey more than satisfying. This is certainly a game that belongs in any conversation about classics. If my talk of difficulty is worrying to you, don't feel bad about knocking down the difficulty or using emulator functions such as save states or rewind. This is definitely one of those games where I can't really judge you for taking some shortcuts on the account of how tough it is. However, I do encourage you to try and beat this game fair and square and see how far (or not far) you get, just so you can appreciate its difficulty. - end -
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July 2024
Derryck
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