QCF: Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection

sn’t it mind-blowing how big and expansive games can be today? Just think about all the releases that have hit the market in the last ten five years that expand beyond 40 gameplay hours or more on average for completion. The real test of modern gaming has now drifted more into finding the time to play the title than the inherent challenge of the game itself—but that wasn’t the case thirty years ago.

In order to stand tall against the even most grizzled players, Video Games extended their mileage on the market by commanding difficulty curves that could immobilize even the most dedicated weekend rental. One series, in particular, made a name for itself when it came to hard-as-nails action, the masochistically macabre hop ‘n bop that is Capcom’s Ghosts ‘n Goblins franchise.

With some niche efforts by teams like From Software and other indie game studios to keep that old-school adrenaline of difficult gameplay alive notwithstanding, it’s a little bizarre to see a new mainline entry to the Ghosts ‘n Goblins in the year 2021. Thankfully, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is a fleshed-out package that strives for a balance that’s accessible enough for anyone looking to celebrate its legacy, yet just as desirable in getting the most out of the crushing experience it has to offer.

Following Capcom’s recent efforts to modernize the G’nG formula like Maximo Ghosts to Glory and Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins, the publisher has brought Tokuro Fujiwara back to helm Arthur’s latest adventure and strangely, the direction of Resurrection stays faithful to the series’ arcade roots in terms of its overall structure.

Ghost ‘n Goblins Resurrection is a pastiche of established mechanics and level designs that’re rearranged with a few unique twists that are new to the property. For starters, players begin their trek into Lucifer’s domain, they’ll be given a choice of nonlinear path to the Demon-Lord’s castle with the choice between two levels, and each modeled after introductory aspects from the previous titles. In addition to the familiar territory, Arthur’s mobility and physics play out more like his Ghouls ‘n Ghosts days, possessing the ability to aim his projectiles upward or downward, but regrettably lacks his double-jump skill. The initial four stages repackage many of the key areas from Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, but with a few different twists that will throw off even the most dedicated fan of the series. Looking at the first Graveyard stage, for example, the stretch of land in the zombie-teeming burial site has the same low-ground/high-ground design quirks of the original, right down to the same eyeball spitting Green Monsters that spawn in the same troublesome nooks and crannies. The feeling of sightseeing down memory lane starts to falter; however, when you approach the end of that stretch looking to face down Red Arremer for the first time, you’ll encounter a row of mystic platforms that lead to a Giant version of the Green Monster to contend with instead. While the dynamics are more archaic than the elements Fujiwara had introduced in Ultimate G’nG, this surprise sequel’s technical performance is amazingly consistent with its framerate and response time, as well as visually stunning all throughout.

One of the more peculiar things about Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is that it’s one of the first games to be developed with Capcom’s brand new RE Engine post Resident Evil VII. Even though it’s admittedly bizarre for a game like a 2D side-scrolling platformer, a genre that may not seem like the best use of a dynamic world-building system like the RE Engine, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is designed around that very fundamental with its Children’s Pop-Up aesthetic, using the processing strengths to its fullest to a successful degree. The fairytale book motif is admittedly jarring when you initially see it in motion, giving off levels of “NewGrounds cringe” at first sight, but the animation at work is here is far more sophisticated than your average web-browser game. All of the visual assets are rendered as individual models, against a heavily layered backdrop where the stage features multiple layers of parallax scrolling for the foreground and background of the stage. The environmental effects have the same sort of visual spectacle the coin-op versions strove for as each stage in Resurrection is in a constant flux of movement, spontaneously breaking apart the level many times in a manner that plays to the reflexive danger of the game’s many lethal hazards.

With so much happening on-screen at all times, players will be relieved to know that the game hardly drops below 60 frames per second, animating stably during all of the busy mayhem of undead hordes and obstacles thrown at you in each level. One of the most unique elements of the game is its use of lighting effects for both the presentation and gameplay. This is notably done in the citadel level; an area encased in darkness with the exception of giant candles that players will have to put out with some well-timed attacks in order to progress onto the candles as makeshift platforms, all the while several enemies lay waiting in the dark. Where the darkness is enough to blackout the lethal pitfalls and traps, most of the baddies here are just barely discernible based on their proximity to the aforementioned candles, which can factor on how they’re approached. This is especially trickier when putting out the candle can also unearth other deadly enemies that were previously held at bay from the candlelight, like an Armored Red Arremer.

The only disappointing aspect to Resurrection’s presentation is the rather tame soundtrack and sound design, with level compositions that are barely redefined with the few added synth notes remixed into their arrangement. There are a few original tracks that are easy on the ears, but nothing memorable—which is a bit strange when the game had such a strong orchestral theme in the inductor cut-scene playing to the campaign. In all fairness, delivering a fresh take on the trademark music of Ghosts ‘n Goblins is a tall order for what may arguably be one of the most nostalgic jingles of video game history, but the effort here is a bit lacking in contrast to the rest of Resurrection’s stellar presentation.

While Fujiwara and camp have played Resurrection’s core mechanics pretty close to the chest, there’s still plenty of new elements that set the sequel apart from its predecessors. One of the biggest additions is the Umbral tree, a literal skill tree that will grant Arthur a slew of new skills and passive buffs to increase his odds of survival against the army of Hell. Each stage has a number of “Umbral bees’ hidden in them for players to collect, which act as currency for the various upgrades that’re branched for Arthur to choose from. The one unique thing about the tree is that any of the skills purchased can be reversed, refunding the bees spent on it back into the skill point total. The twist is admittedly a fun spin on an otherwise tired trope for character development, but the execution is a bit flawed as the initial loadout options don’t offer a lot of flexibility for the bee collections that total on the low end. Even when you do build up a sizable swarm of bees to play with, the appeal of swapping different branches on the skill tree starts to lose steam when a good chunk of the quality skills are just lateral improvements of the starter skills. The mechanic is still an enjoyable addition to the often rigid ebb ’n flow of Ghosts ‘n Goblins, especially when paired with the brand new difficulty balancing system.

For the very first time in the franchise, there are four different difficulty settings, each attuned with varying adjustments that not only affect how many hits you can take before collapsing, but the number of hits enemies can, and even the sheer numbers of enemies or hazards appearing the level themselves. The tweaks between these settings are precise enough to distinguish themselves within ounces of difference at every juncture of a stage—so much so that there are even optional checkpoints that can only be used if the player decides to scale back the difficulty for that one section of the stage should they die before the real checkpoint. The changes in the stage and evil goons plaguing them are so subtle, yet still significant enough to cater to a range of skill levels and strategies, and it’s an effort that’s immensely refreshing from a property that’s infamously alienated players with its daunting difficulty. Not only are all of these settings finessed for their skill levels, but none of them have any bearing on the outcome of the game’s endings, taking even more pressure off those looking to engage with the devilish campaign. Speaking of endings—Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection also paces Arthur through a second trek on the map, only instead of just simply ratcheting up the struggles of the level, Resurrection changes up the level entirely with new “shadow level” iterations of the stage. The aesthetics of these stages are not only obscured with different sinister setting effects that can affect movement through the course, but the architecture of all the walkways and platforms are significantly rearranged, changing the entire makeup of their initial incarnation.  In addition to the different build of the level, there are new hazards and enemy mobs also thrown into the mix, making for a more chaotic run that’ll push even the most weathered veterans to the edge.

Beyond the nonlinear progression and skill tree building, there is a load of other collectibles that will not only yield extra endings, but new modes to play with as well, all gated behind a goal post that successfully incentivizes players to come back for more. For as short of an experience as it is once the dust settles around the end credits, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection offers a deceptive depth to its gameplay that’s thoughtfully accessible, yet can still hit you like a ton of bricks. In a generation where retro-flavored challenges are ruled by the likes of Super Meat Boy and Rude Bear, it’s relieving to know that Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection proves that the forces who pioneered that same gritty arcade action haven’t lost their step one bit, and absolutely deserves your precious storage space on the Nintendo Switch.