Ghosts'n Goblins

Ghosts'n Goblins for Commodore 64 is Elite Systems' 1986 home-computer conversion of Capcom's 1985 arcade platform game, known in Japan as Makaimura. It puts the player in control of the armored knight Sir Arthur, whose peaceful moment with Princess Prin-Prin ends when she is carried off into Demon World. Arthur sets out alone to pursue the kidnappers through a hostile fantasy landscape of graves, ruins, caverns, and a final stronghold. The C64 release preserves the series' blend of brisk run-and-jump action, horror imagery, and famously unforgiving pressure in a version made for a single-player joystick setup.

Arthur begins armed with a lance and moves left or right, jumps, and throws weapons at the creatures that crowd each route. Defeated enemies and treasure chests can yield replacement weapons, including fire, daggers, torches, and shields, so the weapon in hand affects how safely a given encounter can be approached. Projectiles travel in distinct arcs or directions, making positioning important: a weapon that is useful against one enemy or platform arrangement may be awkward for another. The game pairs this combat with carefully timed leaps over obstacles, pits, moving platforms, and advancing monsters.

The hero's armor provides a narrow but memorable margin for error. A hit strips Arthur down to his underwear; another hit costs a life. Each area is also governed by a time limit, so simply waiting for danger to clear is seldom an option. Zombies rise from the ground, flying foes swoop in, and larger demons block the path onward, turning the journey into a series of quick decisions about whether to attack, evade, or search for a better weapon. The result is a demanding arcade-style game where memorising enemy patterns and stage layouts is as valuable as fast joystick reactions.

The Commodore 64 edition was programmed and given its graphics by Chris Butler, with a title screen by Ste Pickford and music by Mark Cooksey. Its presentation adapts the arcade adventure to the C64's capabilities rather than duplicating every part of the coin-op unchanged. The conversion condenses the original journey, but retains a sequence of varied environments and boss-like confrontations, while its colourful backdrops and animated enemies aim to keep the supernatural atmosphere intact. The player uses a joystick in port 2, and the game supports one player.

Sound is a notable part of this Commodore 64 release. Cooksey's score gives Arthur's quest an eerie, urgent accompaniment and helps distinguish the C64 version's character. Like the arcade game, its action is built around repeated attempts: learning how enemies enter a screen, preserving armor, selecting weapons wisely, and pushing farther into the Demon King's territory on each run. The compact format makes every area matter, because a mistake late in a run can send Arthur back to retry the challenge.

Ghosts'n Goblins belongs to the long-running Ghosts 'n Goblins series that later continued with Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and other entries. For Commodore 64 players, Elite's conversion is a period-specific take on an important Capcom arcade hit: a dark fairy-tale rescue mission, a precise platform game, and a formidable test of persistence. Its mixture of recognizable monsters, weapon changes, exposed armor system, and haunting C64 music makes it a distinctive version of Sir Arthur's first adventure.