Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection Review

Poor Arthur, the knight that loses his armour one piece at a time, all the way down to his heart print boxers, has been working the same job for the last 35 years. He first made his appearance in Ghosts ‘n Goblins which proved to be a big hit at the arcades, eating tons of quarters from each person who dared challenge it. After that, he appeared in the sequel known as Ghouls ‘n Ghosts in arcades and on home consoles.  Both titles are known for being extremely difficult, and the first is just plain evil since you have to complete the game twice to see its real ending.

If you are fans of either of these previous titles, you will find a lot to love in Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection. There are a few changes but the overall experience feels like this title belongs alongside its predecessors. One of the first changes is the beautiful hand-drawn look of the game. The opening cinematic makes it feel as if a storybook is coming to life. Arthur is sitting under a tree on the hillside with Princess Prin Prin, the damsel-in-distress that he saved in the earlier titles of the series. All of a sudden the kingdom behind them bursts into flames. The enemy has returned and it is up to Arthur to once again step up and save the day from the Demon Realm.

If you have ever played a game in the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series before, you know exactly what you are in for. A 2D action platformer game with tons of zombies, ghosts, and supernatural creatures coming after you, with thea classic theme music to accompany you on your journey. There’s a huge selection of weapons to use each with their own strengths and weaknesses to defeat your enemy. After trying all of these out, my personal favourite is the lance because of its long attack range, but being able to throw a discus or do a power smash attack with the hammer is a lot of fun too. As you play and experiment you will find the weapons that you want to avoid picking up, because it’s not fun to have a weapon with no range as enemies are coming at you from across the screen. Arthur can shoot/throw weapons in all 4 directions, which is really handy when there is an enemy right above you and no platforms to jump onto so you can fire at them from the side.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is a lot more accessible to players who aren’t great at games like this. The game has multiple difficulty levels depending on your skill level to select from like Legend, Knight, Squire or Page. If you are experienced with the other titles in this series and want a challenge, you may want to choose Knight or even Legend. If games like this aren’t necessarily your forte, or it’s totally new to you, Page or Squire may be a good fit. The levels themselves have Banners of Rebirth placed throughout them. These are checkpoints that you can continue from when you die. If you want you can challenge the level right from the beginning, or use one of the handy checkpoints to get back to where you were.

While exploring the levels you will see glowing bees that are flying around the level. You want to be sure to grab these as they are used to learn skills and magic abilities on the Umbral Tree. The tree is unique as it lets you unlearn an ability and use the bees towards learning something different. So if you decide using a lightning attack isn’t the most advantageous thing for you, just unlearn that move and choose something else like the ability to turn into a boulder and crush everything in your way. It’s nice to be able to try out all the different abilities without being locked into what you happened to choose first.

The game is bright and colourful with an artsy feel to it. The enemies you will recognise from the other titles in the series, including the Red Arremer who swoops down at you. Each of the levels has a unique feel and challenge to it. One level requires you to put out the flames of lit candles and pass by them before they relight themselves and cause damage. Another has you avoiding explosives that are being thrown at you from Ogres. The levels themselves aren’t the only thing that is unique. The boss battles have you fighting goblins that are as big as the screen, or riding a dragon that is flying through the air who sends rows of scales at you to knock you off and shoots fireballs. 

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is a very challenging albeit fun action platformer. No matter your skill level the game goes out of its way to try to make it accessible for everyone. When you die it even asks if you want to lower the difficulty and try again. To be honest, I did this a few times. I’m not proud of it, but after dying more than 50 times trying to ride the dragon and defeat it, I just wanted to move on. If you are a pro like some of the players I’ve seen online, you can probably beat the game in a few hours. If you are more of a beginner, this will keep you busy for at least 10 hours.  I won't spoil the ending for you, I want you to find out on your own if you need to complete the game a second time for the real ending...