Ghost n' Goblins - The Heroes Game

It is fitting that I begin this blog with two firsts; Ghosts n' Goblins and Iron Maiden. (Altho Eddie's guys will appear in the next post, this ones all for Sir Arthur.) This game wasn't my first played, those were Oric 1 titles like Rat Splat!, but it was most definately the first game to make an impact on my bowl haircutted model way back in 1985. (Haircutted? A word? It should be.)
The story of Capcoms unforgetable classic was simple; Sir Arthur must rescue Princess Prin Prin, who has been kidnapped by non other than that pesky Satan, King of Demon World. Go get him Sir Arthur!
Blocking your path to glory were hoardes of zombies, ogres and lethal crows (amongst other foul creatures) and this was a one hit, one kill affair, meaning if you were touched (oo-er!) by a foe you were killed straight. No health packs or rations for us gamers in the 1980's, or at least for this bearded knight. Actually thats not entirely correct because the first touch stripped you to you underpants (there's that oo-er again) which had you fighting the undead on screen while much hilarity ensued OFF it.
It was an amazing game and all these years later I still fire it up to pass a few hours. And you know something? Ive still yet to complete it. 25 years on, a quarter of a century, 25 friggin' years of sweat and vile cursing and im still nowhere near beating this game. I completed Metal Gear Solid in a DAY!? Pfft Solid Snake? Sir Arthur would have him for breakfast. A nice, big, gruff voiced, smoky lipped, rationed-to-the-gills breakfast. And have enough room for Ocelot dessert.
There was a bunch of things which made Ghosts n' Goblins fab for me, things which even after all these years are still stamped on my Jagermeister drenched mind. The white ogres with studded wristbands and red heart tattoos for example. I remember really taking a shine to those, amazed that Capcom would be so detailed in character design. Hey don't snigger! Red heart tattoos were like this generations water effects in that most games designers either bodged it or skipped it completely.
There was something cool about those ogres which made me fight all the harder to reach the levels they inhabitated just so that I could wallow in their awesomeness. (Another word that should be if it already isn't.)
Then there was the zombies themselves which from the very start had you delighted in the way they emerged from their pixelated graves and arms outsretched, staggered to halt you in your tracks. In fact those zombies still look great today, so chunky and well drawn and the blue tattered suits went well with the grey skin.
And those flying devils weren't too shabby either and rated highly on my young in-built horror radar which most boys have between ages 12 to 15. (And some never lose.) I liked they way they flitted about in the air ahead of you, enticing you into a good old scrap which inevitably ended with a lance in his winged ass.
Which brings us nicely onto the subject of weapons on offer. There were the lethal spears (or lances? I could never decide which) and daggers that felt oddly satisfying to throw but everyone avoided picking up those dreadful fireballs. If there was anything broken with Ghosts n' Goblins it was those balls of fire. As soon as the player picked up the flaming power up (or power down in this case) they quickly spent the next five minutes hoping for the dagger to appear. The fire balls were next to useless as they fizzled through the air, only to flop just a few feet ahead of Sir Arthur like golden snowballs. Bad fire!
Still you can overlook that minor niggle when the rest of the game is such class, and for me (and a lot of gamers) to still be playing it 25 years on is all the proof needed that Ghost n' Goblins is pure retro gaming gold.