Just when you thought it was safe to remove two-thirds of the word and.
Arthur defeated the goblins of the first game on the NES, only to have them replaced by ghouls on the SNES. Seems that the most prominent enemy in one game is shunted into second place for the follow-up. I can only assume the next game will be called Gremlins ‘n Ghouls, by which time I’m sure Arthur will be heartily sick of fighting every permutation of ‘n the world hurls at him.
Is Super Ghouls ‘n’Ghosts a step up from its predecessor? It is. And it’s a fairly massive one.
SHE REALLY NEEDS DEMON REPELLENT
Having learned nothing from his previous ordeal, Arthur (or Knight Arthur as this game calls him) is just hanging out with his girlfriend instead of ensuring she always carries a weapon or something. A hideous demon (who does not appear in the game again) smashes through the window and swipes up the delectable Princess Prin Prin (yes, Prin Prin. Just wait until you find out what they tell you about her on the end credits).
But this demon is not the problem. He’s working on behalf of an emperor named Sardius (or Samael in the Japanese version). Sardius knows that Prin Prin has a bracelet that could destroy him and so kidnaps her to obtain it. Arthur suits up (oh, wait. He’s already suited. I guess he did learn something from before) and pursues the demon across the very fraught and lethal lands that stand between him and Sardius’s castle.
SHINY, SHINY, SHINY BOOTS AND ARMOUR
Like its forebears, SG&G is a four-way scrolling run and gun style platformer. I imagine that while Capcom were conceptualising the game, they asked themselves “How nice can we make it look?” Seems to me that they came up with a pretty damn good answer to that question. The stages and backgrounds are detailed and the sprites are just plain cool. I feel comfortable enough in my sexuality to say that Arthur in his gold armour is very easy on the eye. Moreover he’s been imbued with the ability to perform a double-jump. Once in the air, you can hit the jump button again and Arthur will jump a bit more. Tasty.
Speaking of armour and such, I’d quite like to do a quick slideshow of Arthur in all his states within the game. Behold.
A great deal more variation than before, as you can see. I’ve found the shield to be of little use, as you have to be standing still for it to work. I rarely used it, as it is rarely advisable to stand still while playing.
Chimerica she ain’t.
As you can see from the map, it’s quite the odyssey. And you’re going to have to traverse it twice. Princess Prin Prin better be fucking worth it, that’s all I can say. God, Prin Prin! I still can’t believe that name.
GROOVY GRAVEYARD
It’s quite closely modelled on the first stage from Ghosts ‘n Goblins, but with more going on. Zombies come out of the ground as before, but there are also leaping wolves and fiery skulls which rise from the ground and spit fireballs at you. Also as before, each stage is split into two parts, with a checkpoint in the middle. The two parts have different looks to them, which really prevents the player from ever feeling the stages are monotonous and repetitive. Great idea and it works. There are also earthquakes which push the land up in some places and collapse it in others. They’re not actually harmful and in fact help with progress through the stage.
Once you’ve passed the checkpoint, you find yourself jumping across the choppy sea and dodging exploding spores. You can see there the bronze armour, which like the gold and all the weapons, comes out of treasure chests which pop up out of the ground. Some of them appear as you progress, others can be made to appear by jumping, falling or walking to the right place. You can see by the images that I have already acquired the mighty and trusty knife that is a staple of the G&G games and tends to be the best weapon at your disposal. I feel another item screen coming on! Let us see what weapons are available to you this time around.
WEAPONS AND WEAKNESSES
As before, get the knife. If you can’t, then get the crossbow.
Sometimes the treasure chests will throw out something less favourable. It might be a bear trap or the mischievous wizard who will transform you.
Not sure what it says about Arthur’s politics that he looks happier as a sea lion than he does as a girl.
IS…IS THAT LECHUCK?
You start on the sunken ghost ship and then make your way on a raft across the sea. So what comes after you this time? Well, ghosts and fish mainly. Sorry, I should say Ghosts ‘n Fish. The sea moves up and down to add to the challenge. It’s a nice little feature of this stage and the sea portion would be quite dull without it. The only drawback is that the second half of the stage is quite slow. If you lose a life at the boss, you go back to the halfway point, which is rather tiresome.
Apropos the bosses, I’ll do another lovely little montage in a bit.
BEFORE YOU’VE EVEN WRUNG OUT YOUR SOCKS…
Arthur descends into the very depths of…somewhere quite deep. And hot. That orange hulking wolf-looking guy is called Woo. Doesn’t matter what his name is. Kill him. You also get attacked by fiery little imps, but they’re no match for Arthur even in his underpants.
After the checkpoint, Arthur ascends twisty towers, fending off bats and grotesques that block his way. Your reward for beating this stage? You get to climb into a ghoul’s arsehole.
BELLY OF THE BEAST
This is the stage that likes to show off what the SNES can do. You’re inside the body of a great ghoul, apparently. In certain areas before the checkpoint, the walls turn red and sprout teeth, which impels Arthur to take refuge on floating platforms. When this happens, the entire room spins around you and sends you off in a new direction. It was the SNES’s mode 7 chip that allowed the console to make the rotation possible. While not essential, it was the kind of effect that left the Mega Drive owners rabid with envy. Blast processing had nothing on this. Mode 7, at least, meant something.
After the checkpoint, it’s turn-your-stomach time. Not quite sure what part of the body it is, but it’s full of valves and bloated bits and noxious purple gas. You’ll be quite glad to jump through a big hole (no, really you will) and take on the boss.
I FEEL SO SPECIAL
Let’s take a break from our battle for the princess with the stupidest name and predilection for making her boyfriend do hard things twice, and take a look at the special weapons.
When you have the gold armour, you can hold the fire button to charge your weapon. Upon release, something awesome will happen.
Impressive as they are, you’ll hardly need them. They really do feel a bit bells-and-whistles with regards to the game. Still, if they weren’t there, the combat might seem a bit flat. You can go nuts with them if you like, as there’s no ammo limit.
Back to the game.
GIDDY UP, GIDDY UP, GIDDY UP, LET’S GO
It’s literally uphill work for Arthur to traverse the frozen forest. You climb and attack, climb and attack. The music on this stage is pretty cool and fits it well. The wolves from the first stage are back, but this time they’re a bit Arctic-looking. Our old buddy Woo is back, but now he breathes an ice blast at you. Beyond the checkpoint, these knights that weave up and down come at you holding up big shields. You can only kill them from behind, but for the most part it’s better just to advance and dodge.
WHILE THEY WHILE AWAY THE HOURS…
This one’s pretty short, but not sweet. Why not? Because of everyone’s favourite red dickless fuckface, the Red Arremer. You will find him quite ineluctable this time around. It doesn’t matter how far you go or how much trouble you are in, the Red Arremer will follow you and royally piss you off. This isn’t the first time he appears. In fact, he’s there from stage one. Stage six is very short and there’s no checkpoint, but you will be attacked by three, yes THREE Red Arremers. Best way to beat them is to get the crossbow and at least the bronze armour. See the look of pain on his face up there? He doesn’t know how to avoid the crossbow and he can’t escape the seeker. Hahahaha! Fuck you!
APPROACHING ENDGAME (OR SO YOU THINK)
Again there’s no checkpoint here. And yes, there are more Red effing Arremers. From stage six onward, it’s pretty good to have the crossbow, especially if you have the bronze or gold armour. The ghosts from stage two reappear along with their chums the mimics, who pop out of fake chests.
It’s now time for the boss montage! I’d envy you if I weren’t the one creating it!
Once you’ve defeated Nebiroth, it’s time for the classic G&G bitch-slap. The princess tells you she hid the bracelet at the start and to go get it. Take it away, Prin Prin…
So it’s back to the start of the game for Arthur in order to obtain the Goddess’ bracelet. Once you have the gold armour, one of the chests will release a fairy who will give you the bracelet. Fight your way to the end and after you defeat Nebiroth for the second time, you’ll get to the final confrontation with Sardius.
He shoots lasers and little platforms. Don’t know what service the platforms provide for him, but they certainly make it easier for Arthur to leap up and shoot him in the face. And that’s how you give him a proper beatdown.
HAPPILY EVER AFTER
OK, that doesn’t really happen. It would certainly catch your eye though, wouldn’t it?
In addition to the fairy tale ending, you’re given the names and pictures of the enemies. You’re also given some discomfitingly intimate and superfluous information regarding your paramour.
Just…what?
Are…are those her MEASUREMENTS? For God’s sake, why? I’m guessing those measurements are in centimetres, otherwise…wow. This is just such a weird thing to include and I can’t fathom the motivation behind it.
WHAT’S THE SCORE?
Despite the standard go-back-to-the-start bullshit, this is a really great game. The action keeps coming, so you’re never bored. The variety within and between stages keeps your attention and the boss battles, while not innovative, are still entertaining.
The graphics are colourful, deep and lush. The music and sound gel well. Each stage has music unique to it, as does every boss.
It would be great if you could fire in four directions instead of just two (like you can in the Mega Drive version, which I guess I’ll come to later), but that’s a minor niggle.
All told, this game is well worth multiple play-throughs. A real gem for the SNES.
Rufus plays games! 
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