The gameplay delivers pretty much what you would expect from the series: classic platforming with an old school feel and a punishing difficulty level. Needless to say, the old dog has learned a few new tricks this time around with many new items, weapons, etc now at your disposal to help you in your quest. New weapons include a wonderful boomerang scythe, a menacing whip made from thorns and even a giant lance (obviously a tribute to the classic starting weapon in the previous games) to name but a few. In addition, weapons are now somewhat upgradeable. By finding special ‘Pow’ items you can increase your weapon’s speed, range or strength. New items offer the ability to double jump while special shields not only allow you to block enemy projectiles but also offer certain attributes too such as the ability to absorb enemy attacks as well as being able to fly for limited periods.
There’s also a new magic system too. Filling up your magic meter by collecting magic bags, lets you use spells that you’ve found along the way and while they’re initially a bit useless, some of the later ones like Invincibility are obviously more than helpful. As well as dealing out the damage there’s also an armor leveling system to help you when it comes to receiving it. While in the old games you could only take the one hit before losing your armor you can now build up multiple layers of protection before you die. Combine this with the fact you now respawn where you died and not at the start of the previous section of the level means Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is certainly more forgiving than its old incarnations, though still a stiff challenge by anyone’s standards, if not a very long one.
It's like Back to the Future II all over again.
Commendably, Capcom have included 3 very different difficulty settings to play through. In Novice Mode for example, you begin the game with more lives, respawn where you die and are knocked backwards less of a distance when attacked. Also, powered-up weapons retain their extra strength when players spawn back to life. When in Standard Mode, however, you’re only given two lives before the Game Over screen appears. Ultimate Mode is the closest thing to the original game and makes you respawn at the beginning of the stage when you die. Your armor also break after one hit too.
In terms of how the game plays Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is a real mixed bag in almost every respect, with much of its problems stemming from the controls. The game feels intentionally old-school and suffers as a result. Movement feels somewhat clunky, no doubt thanks to the decision to use 3D models on a 2D plane. Many games that have done this have lacked the responsiveness and precision that traditional 2D sprites offer, even New Super Mario Bros lacked the swiftness of the 2D games. But it’s when you have to jump that the biggest problems arise. No matter where you are, how much momentum you have or how long you hold the jump button for, every jump is exactly the same. Want to hop up on top of the tree stump you’re standing right next to? Well unless you take a few steps back and line up the landing of the jump perfectly, it’s not going to happen. If you jump too far away you won’t make it and if you’re too close you’ll jump right over it. Moreover, you can’t adjust your movement after you have jumped. It’s needlessly fussy and makes hard work in situations where it doesn’t need to be.
Hands off!
The PSP d-pad isn’t exactly the most ideal device in the world when it comes to precision movement either which certainly doesn’t help matters. The control deficiencies are highlighted further by the constant use of randomly spawning enemies. Having things appears in front of you while your midway through a jump soon grows tiresome because you can’t alter your direction, remember? Time after time a seemingly safe jump leads to a death simply because you have just made a jump and now have neither the time or space to avoid damage. What’s worse than that is when you’re trying to jump to a ledge in the distance while enemies are constantly spawning between you and the ledge. As soon as you clean them out and fresh wave appear before you’ve even had time to take the jump and climb up from the ledge. The sad thing is that when the game isn’t throwing random enemies at you and takes form of some memorable sequence it’s much better for it, the screen filling boss fights being a prime example of that. When there are attack patterns to observe and learn there’s more pleasure when you overcome them.
Graphically things are as hit and miss as the rest of the game. There are lots of moments where it looks superb, the theme of the game offers a great deal of freedom when it comes to designing the environments, but they too often play it safe and too much of the game looks rather dull and dirty. On the plus side there’s a good deal of variety packed into the environments. The game starts out in a familiar woodland setting but soon moves on into underground caves, lava pits and haunted castle grounds. The green/brown colour palette is a little overused as are some of the more generic enemy designs but there’s a fair few visual treats to be had. The soundtrack on the other hand is consistently superb throughout as it uses simple, old school styled, catchy themes with the benefit of modern production values fitting the mood of each level perfectly. The sound effects are of an equally high standard too meaning this really is a game deserving of a decent pair of earphones.
Put some clothes on young man!
Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is a difficult game to sum up. In many areas it’s better than any of the previous games in the series. There’s more weapons, more items and it certainly looks better but there’s something not quite right with it. I don’t know whether its problems are more to do with changing standards over time or simply because it’s not that great of a game but while the formula of similar platform/adventure games like Castlevania or even Metroid are timeless, Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins feels somewhat stuck in the past. With its archaic controls and irritating enemy spawning patterns it’s often more like hard work than enjoyment. It’s not an issue with difficulty either. Recent games like Gradius V and Devil May Cry prove you can be hard and enjoyable but while Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is throwing random enemies at you in an attempt to be difficult, Gradius V’s carefully constructed waves are entirely memorable with practice. Death in that game is almost always down to player error while in Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins ‘cheap’ deaths are far too common.
Despite the relatively average score at the bottom of the page, Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins is something well worth trying out as it’s such an acquired taste. Fans of the original games may well find a great deal of enjoyment here, as could those who like their games to offer a challenge. There’s certainly a fair amount of content here, not in terms of the number of levels because there isn’t that many, but for the sheer amount of hidden areas and secret items there is to uncover there’s plenty of reason to keep coming back to it. In fact, you can’t finish the game properly without collecting all 22 special rings (and maybe more after that….). But for many the clunky controls, randomly respawning enemies and the sheer amount of unavoidable deaths spoil what could have been a must own title for the PSP.
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