Ghosts ’n Goblins returns in the form of resurrection, it comes with a new lick of paint, a new soundtrack and some great QOL changes. This is what I would call a successful revival.
Story
The game once again features knight Arthur, who must navigate the Demon Realm and fight the monsters that lie ahead. That is all there is and needs to be, it is however presented in a nice book like format thanks to the new style.
Gameplay
The gameplay here is not really that much different at its core and it did not need changing, it has however added QOL options which are well balanced, you can reach checkpoints and continue from there when you die, and use it as a save point. Which is direly needed, given the extreme difficulty of the game. You can choose to not use them too however and just play it like the original. I will say however, you would have to be one hell of a masochist to do that.
The game is incredibly difficult to a fault, some of the enemy spawns feel very cheap and the difficulty level even on its normal equivalent. The game is incredibly frustrating and challenging to a fault. It does feel like Its focus on difficulty is just to make the game as hard as possible sacrificing fun, and not to give a good balanced challenge. I do love the game but oh how frustrating it is for the sake of being frustrating a lot of the time. I think Capcom may have forgot about challenge curves and just gone into the harder the better mindset, forgetting someone has to play the game.
Visuals
The new visual style is actually quite good in my opinion, it is true the dark gritty identity has been lost; however, it has a new identity like nothing I’ve ever seen and while it will rub some people up the wrong way undoubtedly, I am a big fan of it’s over the top style and exaggerated animations and nature. It isn’t for everyone, but I am definitely in the like camp.
Sound
I imagine this may be remarkably similar to the visuals, I personally adore the soundtrack and find it fantastic but I imagine purists will miss the tone of the old soundtrack. Although personally I feel like the only reason in the tone change is modern equipment and recording. Every tune for every level brought a smile to my face, the composition is fantastic, the quality of the soundtrack is brilliant, honestly for me capcom hit it out of the park here.
Conclusion
Ghosts ’n Goblins is a throwback to a fault, there are great QOL changes, and the core DNA is still here, but the enemy spawns and skill curve is completely off, the game is challenging to a fault, it’s not a fun challenge it’s a straight up masochistic challenge, whether you like the new art direction or not is going to be a very divisive subject. The soundtrack is fantastic and helps transport you to the world, you do soon forget that when you die over and over and over to straight up cheap design.
This is a game I love and hate, I really want to love it, but it is one big balance patch away from being something I love. It is indeed a successful revival I should love, Instead I am merely fond of I t, it’s old school vibes and video gamey soundtrack but my god is it difficult to a fault.