MAIN
WHAT'S NEW
THE GAMES
CHARACTERS
TRIVIA
EMULATION
WALKTHROUGHS
CREDITS
ARTWORK
MISCELLANEOUS


Developer: Capcom
System: Multiple
Year released: various


The story (from the U.S. Genesis instruction manual):

Eerie music greets you as you begin the ghostly journey into a land of ghouls and goblins. You're Sir Arthur, a knight with one huge headache. The wicked and evasive Prince of Darkness has once again pillaged your land and plagued your people with paralyzing fear. Plus, he's taken your girl, a real princess with a mean temper if she's held captive against her will. To avenge your village and get your gal, get ready for an intense battle of wills.

Yours and theirs.

And the odds aren't even by far. There's one of you and hundreds of them. Everything from snorting pigmen, scythe wielding skeletons, and haunted guillotines with an appetite for human flesh. This place is living torture. And even if you make mincemeat of your foes, natural disasters await with deadly results. Acid rain, tornadoes and strong winds will intermittently rally against you.

So what does it take to get through? Guts and weapons. We've got the weapons, and that leaves you holding the courage meter. You'll journey through four stages before reaching stage five where the Castle of Evil Demons has a "No Vacancy" sign on the door and they don't like visitors either. So get in and get out and consider this one a win!


Screenshots:

Click on any screenshot to see it fullsize.

Arcade:


Sega Genesis:


Sega Master System:


NEC SuperGrafx:


Sharp X68000:


Commodore 64


ZX Spectrum


Amiga

none yet


Atari ST

none yet


Weapons and their magic powers:

  • Sword - It flies straight and is Arthur's first weapon.
  • Torpedo Magic - Sword will send torpedos in three directions; up, right and left. (this is the Lightning Magic. I don't know why they refer to it as Torpedo Magic - Rob)

  • Big Axe - Able to penetrate through things, but cannot be thrown consistently.
  • Exploding Magic - Causes explosions all around your position and burns up enemies in one fierce swoop.

  • Super Sword - It can't be thrown, but you can cause twice as much damage with one stroke.
  • Thunder Dragon Magic - Release the Thunder Dragon upwards and destroy all the enemies in the sky.

  • Fire Water - When Fire Water hits the ground, it spreads blue flames everywhere. If the Fire Water hits your enemies directly, they will burn.
  • Fireball Magic - Spread four fireballs in the area surrounding your position. The fireballs will move in a whirlpool-like motion.

  • Discus - Throw it from a kneeling position and it will skim the ground.
  • Mirror Magic - A mirror will appear in front of you and for a short period of time, it will protect you like a shield from your enemies.

  • Dagger - This weapon will fly the farthest and can be thrown consecutively.
  • Double Magic - For a limited period of time, your double will appear and the two of you can fight together. In fact, your double cannot be defeated.

  • Psycho Cannon - This can only be obtained after completing the first five levels once. Arthur is informed that he cannot fight Loki without this, and is sent back to the beginning of the game to find Valkyr, who will give it to him. After getting the Gold Armor, the next treasure chest Arthur cracks open should have Valkyr in it. If you pick up another weapon, though, you will have to find Valkyr again before you can finish the game.


    Treasure Items:

    Treasure Chests and Big Jars which are carried by demons will appear during game play. Sometimes you'll get lucky and the chests and jars will be filled with good things, other results can be dangerous.

  • The Magician - When the magician appears from inside a Treasure Chest, his magic can turn you into a duck (if you're wearing armor) or an old man (if you're not) for a certain period of time. When you're a duck, you're rendered helpless. When you're an old man, your abilities are decreased.

  • Red Armor - This is released from the demons' jars. Touch it and it's worth 200 points.

  • Big Red Armor - Same situation but it's point value is 500 points.

  • Silver Armor - The normal coat of armor Arthur begins play in. When you're naked, this appears to save you.

  • Magic (or Gold) Armor - This appears during play and will allow you to use your weapon's magical powers once you don it.

  • Shops (Sega Master System version ONLY):

    Whe you open a treasure chest, a door will appear. Enter it and you'll find yourself in a shop where you can purchase many things, including different kinds of armor and new abilities (more coming soon).


    Stages:

    Stage One:

    The Execution Place - Entrance to the Demon's World. Spirits of Death and Vultures are everywhere.

    The Floating Island On The Lake - When you try to cross the lake, you'll be assaulted by winds and rain. Beyond the hill on the opposite shore is the first gateway.

    Stage Two:

    The Village Of Decay - Beyond the windmill is an abyss which you can never return from if you fall.

    Town Of Fire - The ground trembles and splits, and the town is enveloped by raging flames.

    Stage Three:

    Baron Rankle's Tower - The ceilings attack and monstrous beings emit poisonous substances. Yuk!

    Horrible Faced Mountain - A mountain with a horrible face, his mouth agape. You must journey across his tongue. Ick!

    Stage Four:

    The Crystal Forest - Inside the huge cave that goes straight to the Demon's Castle is a gigantic crystal forest. Don't touch the crystals!

    Stage Five:

    Castle of Evil Demons - The Prince of Darkness awaits. Good Luck!


    Tips and codes:

    Sega Master System:

    Chest Tips:

    Don't open the first chest. Only open the second chest with armor on (you'll get the Golden Armor). The third chest will give you a weapon. Fourth chest - armor (if you need it) or a weapon.

    Slow Motion/Invincibility:

    Pause the game and hold Button 2. The game will play in slow motion, but you'll be invincible.

    Weapon Tips:

    Swords aren't good -- you can't throw them, so are only effective at close range. With a magic power-up, however, it proves to be quite valuable. Same for the Fire Brand -- unless magically powered, it's not a great weapon to use. The Axe is nice, as it'll keep cutting thru one or more villians, but it's slow firing rate (only one allowed on screen at any given time) reserves it for use in less populated levels of the game. The magic power-up limits the axe to a short range -- but powerful -- explosion. The Lance is great as a long range weapon (especially powered). The discus is by far the best weapon available -- it's faster than the lance, and will "hug" the ground if you duck, making it ideal for fighting on unlevel terrian (which is common in this game). Avoid powering up the discus -- it'll be changed into a VERY close range magic wall which destroys enemies (you'll have to wait for them to come to you, instead of hitting them at a safe distance).


    Sega Genesis:

    Invincibility:

    Wait for the "Start" message, then push A, A, A, A, UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT. You should hear a chime. Then press and hold B, then START. You should hear another chime. Finally, press and hold C, then push START.

    Play the Mega Drive version:

    From the Options screen, select 26 for music and 56 for sound. Then hold DOWN-LEFT + A + B + C + START.

    Key Catch Method 1:

    At the end of each stage you can grab the key and receive a bonus 5,000 points. Have the key on your left side, stand close to it, and jump towards the left. It takes a bit of practice to get the timing down. If you get the key as you begin your jump you should see the message "Nice Catch!" and receive 5,000 extra points.

    Key Trick Method 2:

    Instead of trying to catch the key by running to that specific spot all the time let the key drop. Then after it has dropped, hold on to up and jump on top of it and it will say "Nice catch".

    Level Select:

    To go to any level in the game, press Up, Down, Left, Right at the title screen. Repeat until you hear a tone. Then use the following codes to choose a level. Press A to go to the second half of a level.

    Level Codes:
    The Execution Place : START
    The Floating Island : A, START
    The Village of Decay : UP, START
    Town of Fire : UP, A, START
    Baron Rankle's Tower : DOWN, START
    Horrible Faced Mountain : DOWN, A, START
    The Crystal Forest : LEFT, START
    The Ice Slopes : LEFT, A, START
    Beginning of Castle : RIGHT, START
    Middle of Castle : RIGHT, A, START
    Loki : DOWN, RIGHT, START

    Change Game Colors:

    Enable Invincibility and choose level 5. Pass the three Mistral Winds and the Cyclops on the wall, climb the ladders, and stand on the highest block. Walk to the edge facing the pit, turn around, and walk to the other end of the block. The game should automatically reset (if it doesn't, repeat the back and forth walking). Repeat the invincibility code, choose level 5 again, and repeat the pacing on the wall until the game resets again. Press START at the Title screen, and notice how strange the colors have become!

    Slow-motion:

    Use the Level Select, Invincibility, or Mega Drive tricks. While the game is paused, press START to pause the game. Hold B to play in slow motion.


    NEC Supergrafx:

    More credits:

    Press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, I, II at the "Push Run Button / 1 Player Only" screen. Up to nine credits may now be selected for game play.

    Options menu:

    Hold button I and press Run at the title screen. Game settings, player number, and sound test options will now be available.


    Ending screens:

    "Bad Ending" (Sega Genesis)
    "Bad" Ending pics courtesy of Dark V Alis
    Ending (arcade, Sega Genesis and Sega Master System)
    Ending pics courtesy of Rey of the Video Game Museum

    Additional media:

    Arcade marquee #1
    Arcade marquee #2
    Arcade cabinet
    U.S. Genesis front cover
    U.S. Genesis back cover
    U.S. Genesis cart
    Japanese Mega Drive front cover
    Japanese Mega Drive back cover
    European Mega Drive front cover
    Sega Master System front cover
    Sega Master System cart
    NEC SuperGrafx cover
    NEC Supergrafx cover #2
    NEC Supergrafx HuCard
    Commodore 64 cover (Kixx)
    Commodore 64 cover (U.S. Gold)

    *both Commodore 64 covers on this page are courtesy of Rene L. Gonzalez Berrios and The Ghosts 'N Goblins Series Online. The arcade marquees and cabinet shot are courtesy of mame.dk. The Mega Drive covers are courtesy of Japan Gaming*


    *all info from the Genesis instruction manual is © 1989 Sega/Capcom*

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