Ghouls'n Ghosts

For the Sega Saturn version, see Capcom Generation: Dai 2 Shuu Makai to Kishi.

n/a

NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J Master System
Ghouls'n Ghosts
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Virtual Console, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega R&D 2 Sega, Arc System Works M2
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR) Samsung (KR)
Licensor: Capcom
Original system(s): Capcom CP System
Developer(s) of original games: Capcom
Genre: Action, Arcade
Number of players: 1-2, 1
Official in-game languages: English 日本語 English
Release Date RRP Code JP 1989-08-03 ¥6,8006,800 G-4013 US 1989-10 $44.9544.95 1002 EU 1990-11 1002 BX 199x FR 1990 449F449 PT 199x MDJ1002 UK 1990-10 £44.9944.99 1002 SE (Rental) 199x CZ 199x AU 199x CA 199x BR 199x KR 199x GM5008JM US 1991-01 7055 EU 1991-04 7055 UK 1991-04 £29.9929.99 7055 AU 199x BR 1991-06 BR (Blue) 199x 025170 KR 199x GB-2006 UK 19xx £? ? JP ▼ 2007-07-31 600pts600 MBJJ US ▼ 2007-08-27 800pts800 MBJE EU ▼ 2007-09-07 800pts800 MBJP AU ▼ 2007-09 800pts800 MBJP JP ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub M-0865 US ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub M-0865 EU ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub M-0865 UK ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub M-0865 AU ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub M-0865
Non-Sega versions Amiga Amstrad CPC Arcade Atari ST Commodore 64 PC Engine SuperGrafx X68000 ZX Spectrum

Ghouls'n Ghosts, known in Japan as Daimakaimura (大魔界村), is an action platform game for the Sega Mega Drive and the Sega Master System. The Mega Drive version was developed by Sega R&D 2 and first released in Japan in August 1989. The Master System version was developed by Sega with Arc System Works and released in Western regions in 1991. Both games are ports of the 1988 Capcom arcade game Ghouls'n Ghosts.

Story

Loki (called Lucifer in the Japanese version), ruler of the Demon Realm, has taken the souls of everybody in the kingdom, including Princess Prin Prin. It falls upon Sir Arthur to again save his beloved princess and return the souls to the people of the kingdom.

Gameplay

Mega Drive version

Ghouls'n Ghosts is a side-scrolling action platform game played as the hapless knight Arthur, who must advance through a series of eerie stages and defeat a number of undead and demonic creatures. A boss guards a door at the end of each stage and bars the way forward. The game is notoriously difficult due to the constant waves of enemies and traps, with Arthur only having a couple of hit points with which to resist them.

Arthur moves with or and kneels with . He jumps with or . He attacks by throwing a weapon with . Initially, he throws lances, but he acquires different weapons during the journey (which replace his equipped weapon). Multiple weapons can be thrown consecutively (though the exact number depends on the type of weapon equipped). Arthur can attack while standing, kneeling, or jumping. He can attack directly upwards with +; while in midair, he can attack directly downwards with +. He climbs ladders with and descends them with .

Arthur can pick up a variety of weapons and armor throughout the stages to help him in his quest. Finding the gold armor allows him to charge up his weapon by holding to release a powerful magical attack. Each weapon has its own special attack.

Arthur begins the game wearing a suit of plate armor. When he is injured, his armor falls off, leaving him wearing only his underwear. If he is injured without his armor, he turns into a skeleton and loses a life. Each stage has a checkpoint partway through and before the boss where Arthur is revived if he has passed it; otherwise, he must restart the stage from the beginning. Every stage also has a time limit, and Arthur dies if the time limit expires. Arthur starts with his armor again after losing a life. The game ends if the player runs out of lives. Extra lives are given every 30,000 points.

The game has two difficulty levels (Practice and Professional). The game has an alternating two-player mode, where two players can share the same control pad or use separate control pads.

Weapons

	Lance
	The initially equipped weapon. Throws lances straight ahead. Up to two lances can be out at a time. The special ability sends lightning bolts directly upward and toward each side.
	Big Axe
	Throws axes at an upward angle. The axes penetrate through multiple targets, but only one axe can be out at a time. The special ability creates a big burst of fire around Arthur.
	Super Sword
	The only melee weapon. It lacks the range of the other weapons but does twice as much damage. The special ability releases Thunder Dragons into the air that fly around the screen.
	Fire Water
	Drops a concoction that burns blue flames along the ground. The special ability shoots four fireballs that whirl around the screen.
	Discus
	Throws a discus forwards. When thrown from a kneeling position, it skids along the ground. Up to two discuses can be out at a time. The special ability is conjuring a magic mirror that shields Arthur from enemy attacks.
	Dagger
	Throws a dagger forwards. Up to three daggers can be out at a time, and they fly faster than lances. The special ability is creating a temporary mirrored version of Arthur who duplicates his movements. This double can damage enemies but cannot be defeated.
	Psycho Cannon
	The strongest weapon in the game (but the only that does not have a special ability). Shoots fireballs, though they cannot travel the full length of the screen before dissipating. The fireballs neutralize enemy projectiles and explode after hitting an enemy. These explosions can damage multiple enemies. This item is collected from the goddess in the first stage on the second playthrough if Arthur is wearing the gold armor. If it is lost, it can be found again as long as Arthur is wearing the gold armor. It is needed to fight the final boss.

Items

	Treasure Chest
	Treasure chests occasionally erupt from the ground. This can sometimes be triggered by jumping in a certain spot. By firing his weapon at the chest, Arthur can uncover a weapon, armor, or an evil magician that changes Arthur into an elderly man (if he is unarmored) or a helpless duck (if he is wearing armor).
	Big Jar
	Big jars are carried by some enemies and contain an item.
	Weapons
	Changes Arthur's weapon.
	Red Armor
	Collect for 200 or 500 bonus points.
	Silver Armor
	Restores Arthur's armor.
	Magic Armor
	Upgrades Arthur's armor to a set of gold armor that gives him the ability to perform special charged abilities with his weapons.
	Key
	Dropped after defeating the boss at the end of each stage. Opens the gate leading to the next stage and restores Arthur's armor (if lost).

Stages

Goddess

To defeat the game, Arthur must complete stages 1 through 5 twice.

When reaching the entrance to Loki's chamber at the end of stage 5 on the first playthrough, the Archangel Gabriel appears and informs Arthur that he cannot defeat Loki without first receiving the magic power from the Goddess of Battle in the village.

Arthur is then taken back to the first stage. If he has the gold armor, the next treasure chest contains the goddess, who gives him the Psycho Cannon weapon. To enter Loki's chamber, Arthur must have this special weapon equipped. Otherwise, he is sent back to the beginning of stage 5.

	The Execution Place / The Floating Island on the Lake
	The Village of Decay / Town of Fire
	Baron Rankle's Tower / Horrible Faced Mountain
	The Crystal Forest
	Castle of Evil Demons
	Loki's Chamber

Master System version

Pause menu

Stores

The Master System game, like the Mega Drive version, reproduces the gameplay and the stages of the arcade version, but it features a unique power-up system. Players control the knight Arthur and fight hordes of enemies to reach the end of each stage, where a boss guards the gate to the next stage. Arthur moves with or and kneels with . He jumps with . He climbs ladders with and descends them with .

Arthur attacks with by throwing a weapon. He can attack while standing, kneeling, or jumping. He can attack directly upwards with +; while in midair, he can attack directly downwards with +. Arthur can use a magical ability by holding to charge the ability and then releasing when the magic gauge starts flashing to cast it. Using a magical ability costs a segment of the magic gauge (with more advanced spells costing more bars). The player can change the current magical ability by pausing the game with  PAUSE .

Arthur begins the game wearing a suit of plate armor. When he is injured, he loses a health point (depicted by a heart). When he only has one health point remaining, his armor falls off, leaving him wearing only his underwear. If he is injured without his armor, he turns into a skeleton and loses a life. Arthur starts with his armor again at the beginning of each stage or after losing a life. The game ends if the player runs out of lives.

Throughout the stages, Arthur uncovers mysterious treasure chests, which contain either an evil magician or a magical door. The magician casts a spell that temporarily transforms Arthur into a helpless duck (if he has armor on) or an old man (if he is in his underwear). The magical door leads to a chamber where Arthur can upgrade his armor or weapon or where Arthur can restore either his health or magic points. At the end of each stage, the door instead leads to a boss fight.

Arthur begins with a set of silver armor, but he can upgrade it over the course of the game to red, green, and gold armor, with each new color having improved characteristics. He has three armor pieces: the helmet, which gives him access to more magic spells as it is upgraded; the armor, which gives him more health points as it is upgraded; and the shoes, which increase his movement speed and jumping ability as they are upgraded. There are six weapons of increasing power, which are upgraded in sequence. Arthur retains his armor and weapon after losing a life. He cannot fight the final boss, Loki, unless he is wearing the highest-level armor pieces and armed with the most powerful weapon.

Weapons

Unlike other versions of the game, the weapons are collected in sequence, with each one representing an upgrade over the last in power. All of the weapons are projectiles, but none of them travel the full length of the screen.

	Javelin
	The initially equipped weapon. Throws javelins in a straight line. Up to two lances can be out at a time.
	Dagger
	Throws a dagger forwards. Up to three daggers can be out at a time.
	Axe
	Throws axes, which fly at an upward angle. Up to two axes can be out at a time.
	Discus
	Throws a discus forwards. Discuses can roll over obstacles and uneven terrain. Up to two discuses can be out at a time.
	Fireball
	Shoots fireballs. Up to four fireballs can be out at a time.
	Cannon
	Shoots fireballs. Up to two fireballs can be out at a time. This item is collected from the goddess after entering a magic door if Arthur is wearing all gold armor pieces, armed with the Fireball weapon, and on the second playthrough. It is the most powerful weapon, and Arthur can only fight the final boss if he possesses this weapon.

Magic

Magic abilities are separate from weapons in this version of the game.

	Fire Magic
	Four fireballs burst diagonally from Arthur. This ability is initially available and costs 1 magic point to use.
	Thunder Magic
	Lightning bolts zap out from Arthur upwards and towards each side. This ability is initially available and costs 1 magic point to use.
	Shield Magic
	Arthur is temporarily rendered impervious to damage. Arthur must be wearing the red helmet to use this ability. It costs 2 magic points to use.
	Double Magic
	A duplicate of Arthur appears and temporarily fights alongside him. The double can attack enemies but cannot be harmed by them. Arthur must be wearing the green helmet to use this ability. It costs 4 magic points to use.
	Bomb Magic
	A magic bomb erupts that damages all enemies on the screen. Arthur must be wearing the gold helmet to use this ability. It costs 6 magic points to use.
	Life Magic
	Restores Arthur's health. Arthur must be wearing the gold helmet and armed with the Cannon to use this ability. It costs 8 magic points to use.

Items

	Treasure Chest
	Treasure chests occasionally erupt from the ground. This can sometimes be triggered by jumping in a certain spot. By firing his weapon at the chest, Arthur can reveal either an evil magician or a magical door.
	Key
	Dropped after defeating the boss at the end of each stage. Opens the gate leading to the next stage and restores Arthur's armor (if lost).

Stages

Goddess

To defeat the game, Arthur must complete stages 1 through 5 twice.

When reaching the entrance to Loki's chamber at the end of stage 5 on the first playthrough, the Archangel Gabriel appears and informs Arthur that he cannot defeat Loki without first receiving the magic power from the Goddess of Battle, and he is sent back to the first stage.

If Arthur is wearing all gold armor pieces and equipped with the Fireball weapon, the goddess appears at the next door that would otherwise send him to an upgrade chamber and gives him the Cannon weapon. To enter Loki's chamber, Arthur must have this special weapon equipped. Otherwise, he is sent back to the beginning of stage 5.

	The Hill of Torture
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	The Village of Decay and Destruction
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	Baron Rankle's Tower
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	The Crystal Forest
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	The Castle
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	Loki's Chamber
	Map: 1️⃣

History

Development

Programming

The Mega Drive version of Ghouls'n Ghosts was handled by Sega R&D 2, developed over 5 months. Main programmer Yuji Naka accepted the offer to port Ghouls'n Ghosts shortly after completing Phantasy Star II in December 1988, which was also programmed in part by this game's sub programmer Com Blue. The two also programmed Super Thunder Blade and the first Phantasy Star before that. Naka picked this project as, being a native of the Kansai region, he would need to travel to Capcom's headquarters in Osaka, Kansai, to collect arcade materials. This single trip could double as a visit to his parent's house nearby, saving him money.

Yuji Naka has also said he asked to work on the port due to being impressed with the arcade game when it was demonstrated at Amusement Machine Show 1988, with the sloped hills being the most interesting aspect, at a time when diagonal ground movement was rare in side-scrolling platformers. He visited Capcom a month after the AM Show when the arcade game released (also a month after the release of Super Thunder Blade), acquiring the source code and ROM data, being horrified to learn the program alone took up more than the 4 megabits (512 kilobytes) Mega Drive cartridges typically had at the time, and so didn't know how he would then also include the graphics. As a result, it required a great deal of compression and inserting graphics into odd places in the code.

Arthur running down a slope

While these tricks did work, Ghouls'n Ghosts was still impossible to fit into just 512kB. The team began to overestimate how much they could add and how accurate they could be, and eventually ran out of space. Rather than compromise and remove content, Naka pleaded with executives to add an extra 128kB to the cartridge.

“	We got it into a reasonable shape, to the point where we thought, "We're so close, we can make it basically arcade-perfect!" But when we got to the point where we were just about make it arcade-accurate, we ran out of space. I didn't want to make cuts, so I begged the company, "I'm really sorry, please add just one more megabit......" so it could be 5M. Because of my persistence, Ghouls'n Ghosts is the only Mega Drive game to have the rudimentary "5MEGA ROM".	„
— Yuji Naka

Due to what he learned during its development, Naka has directly credited Ghouls'n Ghosts for paving the way towards Sonic the Hedgehog, as slopes and 360 degree loops play a big role in Sonic's level design and movement.

Music and Sound

One of the most challenging aspects of development, besides the tight deadline, was the audio. The sound driver for the game used the driver from Capcom's CP System, reprogrammed by Izuho Numata with programmer S. Numata had very little experience with assembly, the language it was written in, so the programmers patiently guided her along the way. While there were still problems with her new sound driver, including a major one that she was scolded by the director for, senior sound engineer Kazuhiko Nagai was brought in to do checks on it and make corrections.

As the Mega Drive supported fewer tones than the CP System, Numata had to spend a long time carefully deciding which tones to cut. Kazuhiko Nagai eased her workload by creating the sound effects.

Legacy

The Mega Drive release, was a notable milestone in the console's first couple of years. At the time, it was considered the most accurate home version of the game. In the West, it was billed as a selling point for the Mega Drive system during its first few months, retailing at a higher price than most games available for the console at the time. It also marks the beginning of Sega's relationship with the then-industry powerhouse Capcom, who, until this point, had avoided releasing games for Sega systems.

The Mega Drive version was re-released as part of the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2007. It was also included as part of the Mega Drive Mini in 2019.

The original arcade game was ported to the Sega Saturn in Japan in 1998 as part of Capcom Generation: Dai 2 Shuu Makai to Kishi.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	Ghouls'n Ghosts	Ghouls'n Ghosts
English (US)	Ghouls'n Ghosts	Ghouls'n Ghosts
Japanese	大魔界村	Daimakaimura

Production credits

Main article: Ghouls'n Ghosts/Production credits.

Mega Drive version

• Main Programmer: YU2
• Subprogrammer: Com
• Sound: Ippo
• Planner: オカル
• Graphics: Toru Yoshida
• Capcom/SEGA hybrid driver, SE: Kazuhiko Nagai

Source:

Uncredited

---

• Cover Illustration by: Yuji Kaida

Source:

JP cover

Master System version

• Director: Katsuhiro Hasegawa
• Izuho Numata

Source:

Uncredited

Digital manuals

• 

  Mega Drive Mini US manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini EU manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini JP manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Ghouls'n Ghosts/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

File:MSII NL TVAdvert 1991.mp4

NL TV advert (1991)

File:MSII NL TVAdvert 1991.mp4

SE advert

Print advert in Computer Games (GR) #3: "Ioúnios 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in ACE (UK) #37: "October 1990" (1990-09-xx)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #107: "October 1990" (1990-09-16)

Print advert in Atuagagdliutit (GL) #1991-08-28 (1991-08-28)

Artwork

• 

  Cover art

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 70 ACE (UK) PAL 90 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 72 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 80 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 98 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 93 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) 93 Console XS (UK) PAL 92 Computer & Video Games (UK) 96 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 90 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 70 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 5 (RU) 70 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 90 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 78 Games Preview (DK) 95 Hobby Consolas (ES) 93 Joystick (FR) 94 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) 86 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 86 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 83 Mega Action (UK) 90 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 81 MegaTech (UK) 93 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 80 Mean Machines (UK) 92 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 93 Player One (FR) 90 Power Play (DE) 72 Raze (UK) PAL 93 Sega Power (UK) PAL 92 Sega Power (UK) PAL 100 Sega Pro (UK) 93 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 76 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 77 VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) 90 Zzap! (IT) 94

	87
Based on 37 reviews

Ghouls'n Ghosts

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, SE rental (Kanal10)
Cover

Mega Drive, BX†
Cover

Mega Drive, CZ/SK (ITO CS)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Manual

Mega Drive, AU (alt)
Cover

Mega Drive, BR (Cardboard Case)
Cover
Manual

Mega Drive, BR (Plastic Case)

Mega Drive, CA
Cover

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Ação Games (BR) 75 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 60 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) PAL 79 Console XS (UK) PAL 90 Computer & Video Games (UK) 81 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 75 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 80 FX (UK) 84 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 84 Games-X (UK) PAL 60 Hobby Consolas (ES) 87 Joystick (FR) PAL 83 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 70 Mean Machines (UK) 80 Player One (FR) 84 Power Play (DE) 38 Raze (UK) PAL 54 Sega Power (UK) PAL 90 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) 90 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 User (GR) PAL 92 Video Games (DE) 38

	76
Based on 23 reviews

Ghouls'n Ghosts

Master System, US
Cover
Manual

Master System, EU (6 languages)
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, EU (8 languages)
Cover
Cart

Master System, BX†
Cover

Master System, AU (Vertical manual)
Cart Manual

Master System, AU (Horizontal manual)
Cart

Master System, AU (Not for rental/hotline stickers)
Cover
Cart

Master System, AU (Not for rental sticker)
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, AU (Red Hot)
Cover
Cart

Master System, BR (cardboard)
Cover

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, BR (re-release)
Cover

Master System, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,

Technical information

Main article: Ghouls'n Ghosts/Technical information.

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 4f2561d5 MD5 c61ff4bcdf10813c74f36ab57e29f646 SHA-1 aab6d20f01db51576b1d7cafab46e613dddf7f8a	640kB	1989-06	Cartridge (US/EU)	Revision 02
✔	CRC32 d31bd910 MD5 815aab1193bf534063e8f032ec76852a SHA-1 3a3e9eb5caaf6cfb75e99ed2843d58b3dda7284f	640kB	1989-06	Cartridge (US/EU)	Revision 01
✔	CRC32 5659f379 MD5 203213c107fc17731dc7953343b5ffab SHA-1 a08a5764dc8651d31ef72466028cfb87fb6dd166	640kB	1989-06	Cartridge (JP)
?	CRC32 7a92eba6 MD5 85707b3a74483910699ccc4ba20c64ff SHA-1 b193e624795b2beb741249981d621cb650c658db	256kB		Cartridge (EU/US)

External links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
• Nintendo catalogue pages: US, UK, AU

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Daimakaimura