Ghosts’N Goblins Gold Knights

Ghosts’N Goblins Gold Knights [App Store]

My how things have changed. I have played every incarnation of Ghosts ‘N Goblins since feeding that 20c piece into the arcade cabinet at the local fish and chip shop. I spent my days off at Las Vegas Arcade watching the little knight jump over tombstones. I know Arthur quite intimately, so when the iPhone version dropped on the App Store, I raised my sword high and rejoiced! I was actually excited once again. I had the very same feeling you get when pass a tough level, finally finish your favorite game. I wasn’t prepared for what lie within.

Ghosts’N Goblins is a platform game in its true sense. You control a knight named Arthur (no relation) who must defeat zombies, demons and ghouls, and eventually save a Princess. Along the way you pick up new weapons, bonuses and extra suits of armour to help you along. Huge bosses, booby trapped treasure chests, pitfalls and loads of monsters adourn the fantastic and varied stages throughout the game. That was what Ghosts’N Goblins was in 1985. Almost 25 years later, Capcom have decided to revamp the age old recipe into something different, something quite unique.

From the time of this review Ghosts’N Goblins Gold Knights has been removed from the App Store. Version 1.0 was something of a disaster with clunky controls and framerate issues. Version 1.1 decided not to even play. I was let down and quite honestly distraught. The game concept itself was passable, you saw glimpses of brilliance. They even added an extra playable character, Lancelot. That was nice.

Overall though it was sluggish, glitchy in areas and had non-precise virtual controls. The directional pad was too fiddly – I got next to no proper control of my character and the buttons were at times not sensitive enough, especially when there was alot of action on screen. This is quite shocking when you think ghat Capcom as a company prides themselves on tactile precision. They should’ve really got this right. I’m hoping that 1.3 will be a major update and the dev team kicks themselves into high gear. I’m hoping they address the issues and reveal the core of what Ghosts’N Goblins was all about – the whole reason it stood the test of time. It’s an old saying but it is true, if it aint broke, don’t fix it. Clearly this game is, so fix it or Arthur will have his pants down for the last time on the Apple iPhone.

A point each for Arthur and Lancelot. 2 stars.

PS. The game is A LOT less difficult than it used to be!