Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (MD)
Graphics-8 Sound-7 Control-7 Challenge-8.5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-9 Fun-8 Originality-7
Overall Score-8
+ Great spooky atmosphere, varied and intense action, unlimited continues, shoot in 4 directions, awesome victory pose, also has unlimited continues as an option, difficulty options, fun weapons and specials (get golden armor for a charge attack), good bosses overall (large and intimidating; the cloud in stage 3 is an exception), pretty fast paced, memorable set pieces, great art direction
+/- Respawning enemies, you only have 2 HP, chests work like solid objects (cheap section in stage 3), final boss is easier than the second to final one (considering the hard work needed to get there it's not much of an issue), need to finish the game carrying the golden armor to get the right weapon quickly on the second run (first stage),
- Heavy trial & error (fast flying enemies, floor traps, bosses, platforming section and rising floor in stage 3), having to replay (the exact same game) to actually beat it, unbalanced weapons (get stuck with the torch later on and the game gets a lot harder), the soundtrack doesn't make good use of the hardware (no PSG or DAC), somewhat primitive control (can't jump onto/off of ladders, can't shoot while climbing a ladder, can't change direction during a jump, no crouching movement, Arthur falls straight down when walking off a ledge), some annoying sound effects, weapon drops are somewhat random and you need to go far back in the stage to make an unwanted weapon disappear (sometimes they drop where you can't dodge them)
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-9 Fun-8 Originality-7
Overall Score-8
+ Great spooky atmosphere, varied and intense action, unlimited continues, shoot in 4 directions, awesome victory pose, also has unlimited continues as an option, difficulty options, fun weapons and specials (get golden armor for a charge attack), good bosses overall (large and intimidating; the cloud in stage 3 is an exception), pretty fast paced, memorable set pieces, great art direction
+/- Respawning enemies, you only have 2 HP, chests work like solid objects (cheap section in stage 3), final boss is easier than the second to final one (considering the hard work needed to get there it's not much of an issue), need to finish the game carrying the golden armor to get the right weapon quickly on the second run (first stage),
- Heavy trial & error (fast flying enemies, floor traps, bosses, platforming section and rising floor in stage 3), having to replay (the exact same game) to actually beat it, unbalanced weapons (get stuck with the torch later on and the game gets a lot harder), the soundtrack doesn't make good use of the hardware (no PSG or DAC), somewhat primitive control (can't jump onto/off of ladders, can't shoot while climbing a ladder, can't change direction during a jump, no crouching movement, Arthur falls straight down when walking off a ledge), some annoying sound effects, weapon drops are somewhat random and you need to go far back in the stage to make an unwanted weapon disappear (sometimes they drop where you can't dodge them)
