After a disappointing start to Spooktober, I needed a pick-me-up. What better than Capcom’s seminal Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts, as brought to the ST in 1988 by Software Creations. I’m sure this game needs little introduction, but for those living under a rock impervious to gaming for the last two decades, Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts is a side scrolling run ‘n’ gun game similar to its predecessor Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins (confusingly converted to the ST two years later, this time by Zippo Games).

It features the brave knight Arthur in a quest to rescue the souls of his people and his love from the clutched of Lucifer. To help him in his quest, Arthur is bedecked in a suit of armour which can absorb one hit from the myriad demonic hordes that populate the levels separating Artie from Lucifer. Several power-ups can be collected that give Arthur a different weapon and a special power that can be charged up by holding the fire button. As is often the case, the conversion suffers here thanks to the single button joystick, necessity dictating the need for jump to be mapped to up on the stick. This means that you can’t fire upwards without first leaping into the air. A small quibble maybe, but it makes a difference when things get hectic. And get hectic they will. Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts is, as my favourite magazine from the nineties would say, a bast. It is granite hard. Have a look at my pathetic attempt in the gameplay video – and that’s before things get really tricky. Still, if things are getting too frustrating, you can always activate the trainer (read cheat, thank you Pompey Pirates) and just cruise through the game listening to the music. For me, the music is the most compelling reason why I keep returning to this game. Tim Follin’s work here is amongst the best I’ve ever heard in a video game. Every single level features a soundtrack that augments the atmosphere and pushes the Atari’s YM chip to produce compositions I never thought possible. Awesome stuff. So there you have it: Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts, scary more because of the difficulty, but doubtlessly deserving of its place in the Atari ST Spooktoberfest.

Gameplay Video