Ghouls 'N Ghosts (Sega Genesis, 1989)

Ah, yes. Ghouls 'N Ghosts, the sequel to the awesome game Ghost 'N Goblins. You control Arthur, our protagonist knight, who, while having a picnic in a graveyard (who does that?), gets his girlfriend stolen by the devil himself, Lucifer (what a dick!). So you must battle through the various levels, fighting off undead spawn and trying to save the souls of the damned. Fun times. This game is really great. The music is awesome, the graphics are dark and spooky, really helping set the mood of the game. It controls very smoothly and easily. Arthur can pick up a variety of weapons throughout the game, all of them have their positives and negatives. While the game is great, I do have one complaint, and it's three words: Hard. As. F*CK! Seriously, this game is a bitch-kitty with it's difficulty. Arthur can only get hit twice before he's done like dinner (the first hit causes him to lose his armour, redeucing him down to his skivvies, the second hit turns him into a skeleton and he dies. Obviously) To its credit, the game does allow you to fire in all directions, including while jumping, and there are some armour pick ups along the way, but be prepared to get Game Over a considerable amount of times before you start getting good at it. That all being said, once you do start to get good at it, this game is a blast. The spooky graphics will set the mood, the music is a pleasure for your ears, and there's just something very satisfying about throwing a spear through a walking skeleton. All and all, this is a really great game, and if you have an old Genesis laying around, definitely pick this game up, because the Genesis version is one of the best ports of this game. Final Score: 8.5/10

I remember seeing this on store shelves and have no idea why I never picked it up as I use to play "Super G&G" on my friend's SNES all the time. Lately I've dusted-off my old consoles and have been grabbing up some games I don't already own.

From what I can tell this game is very faithful to the arcade version and dare I say more difficult! An added bonus in this one is... when you die, it doesn't always send you back to the beginning of the stage like the arcade version does.

A great addition to any Capcom or Side-Scrolling Adventure fans collection.

This game is a great example of an arcade hit done right by the Sega Genesis system. Other titles include Altred beast, Golden Axe 1-2, Strider, and I will even include Double Dragon. While some games like Double Dragon weren't ecxacly perfect home conversions, Ghouls and Ghosts is a near perfect conversion! The gameplay is very similar if not the same as the arcade. The graphis again are identical maybe off by a hair. Over all if you are a fan of this series you may enjoy the added element of shooting vertically. This feature was not available in the original Ghouls and Goblins. This added feature really increases the playablility and enjoynment of this game!It is put to the test right away during your first boss fight! I will say that this game is right up there with the Sega Genesis best arcade to home conversions. Don't even get me staretd on Super ghouls and Ghouls and Ghosts for the Snes. After all it is quite different than any arcade game within this franchise. Furthermore I don't think it matches the character and originality of this game!

Ghouls and Ghosts is an awesome title. When you look back at it, it’s hard to believe that it was one of the very first Genesis releases. Sega did an amazing job of reprogramming the Capcom arcade original. Graphically it’s brilliant, with nice bright colours and some lovely bold sprites. The music is also very catchy and effective. The main theme is a real classic. The game packs a stern punch, too: once you’ve completed it, you're challenged to go through the remixed levels all over again. It kept me busy for months. Don't miss out on this gem!

Great game. There are two difficulty settings in the options "Practice" and "Professional". I would recommend "Practice" mode even for advanced platform gurus- you can beat the game with that setting- and in Round II it gets definitely more than hard enough.

There are unlimited continues and you always start at the last checkpoint. Even after continuing. For example if you loose all your lifes in a boss battle you start directly in front of the boss after continuing. This reduces the frustration level a little bit.