#Daimakaimura

[archiesonicretro]

Game review: Dai Makai Mura / Ghouls N Ghosts (Sharp X68000 version)

Title: Dai Makai-Mura

Japanese Title: 大魔界村

Release Date: 22 April 1994

Platform: Sharp X68000

Developer: Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Genre: Platform Action

Number of Players: 1

Music Composer(s): Tamayo Kawamoto

——————————————————————————

Gameplay conducted using WinX68K High Speed Emulation.

"The game that brought spookiness to the platformer genre."

Daimakaimura. The game that brought spookiness to the platformer genre.

Sharp X68000. In the 90s, while most people in the West played on the Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PCs, all of which tended to get substandard arcade conversions, the Japanese were better off as they had their eyes on three computers. The Fujitsu FM Towns series, the NEC PC-98 series, and the most notorious of all - the Sharp X68000 lineup.

The FM Towns being the king of bringing CD media to PC gaming.

The NEC PC-98 series being responsible for bringing Touhou, Policenauts, various Japanese ports of Western games, and being the granddaddy of the hentai revolution where so many games on the PC-98 would be filled to the brim with porn.

The Sharp X68000 is, as the cool kids say these days, the official GANGSTA of PC gaming due to its reputation for arcade perfect ports, which is why there are so many games with arcade-perfect X68000 conversions. This, Strider, Final Fight, and many more.

Daimakaimura on Sharp X68000 is one of them.

——————————————————————————

Daimakaimura or Ghouls 'N' Ghosts as it was known in the west is the sequel to the very popular Makaimura or Ghost 'N' Goblins, in case you didn't know. The game has you set out as Arthur, our knight in shining amour. Battling demons in the hope of getting his kidnapped (again) woman back from the devil, or at least something that resembles him. Arthur must battle his way throughout eight tough platform stages, taking on all manner of zombies, ghosts and ghouls. But wait! 

You reach the end and guess what?  Yep, the bastards send you right back to the beginning to find the magic ring, which you need to defeat the last boss. Why this couldn't be told to you at the beginning of the game, I don't know. So off you set, AGAIN!  As if once wasn't hard enough. 

Thankfully, there are many weapons for Arthur to pick up that will help him on his quest. As well as the weapons, there's also the magic amour that can perform different magic depending upon which weapon you are holding.

Gameplay-wise, it's nothing more than you would expect from a Sharp X68000. Absolutely arcade-perfect.

The music? Well, being a Sharp X68000, players can configure what sort of sound would play from it. You could play it via the internal sound chip, or via the Roland SC-55 and/or MT-32 MIDI modules that upgrade the sound by a margin I can't tell, because I don't own a X68000. X68000 systems are really unreliably expensive, and the 5.25-inch floppy disks these games come on are rather fragile or have a really short shelf life.

This Sharp X68000 version is the absolute BEST version money could buy if you lived in Japan in 1994 and had a load of cash to spend. But for everywhere else, the Mega Drive version (programmed and published by Sega) is still the king.

PROS:

Being a Sharp X68000 conversion (don't forget the X68000 is a series of computers), it plays just like the Capcom arcade machine

The music, whether it be played back via the internal sound chip or the Roland MIDI modules, sound absolutely GREAT

The graphics are exactly the same as that on the Capcom arcade machine

High level of playability

Challenging enough to make gameplay last throughout the month...

CONS:

...but enemies can be a bit brutal

You get the sense the Capcom intentionally wanted to make people break tens of controllers during game production...

...and you have to play the game TWICE to get the game's true ending, which did piss people off; but Capcom could get away with it because the game is a stone-cold tough-as-balls arcade classic

Verdict:

An excellent game which is as flawless as the arcade machine.

Here is my scoring system for this game.... actually, there is no point in grading this game on gameplay, graphics, and all the other criteria because this is a rare specimen I get to play. Sharp X68000 version of Ghouls N Ghosts would have gotten a 10/10 for me, but if a new player were to play this expecting a Mario-style platformer a-la Super Mario Bros. on the NES, they're really going to be disappointed. Saying that though, it plays absolutely well, just as solid as the arcade machine, and that's all that matters when it comes to reviewing Sharp X68000 games.

So overall, Daimakaimura on the Sharp X68000 gets a score of...

9/10.

#game review #sharp x68000

[replayxvalue]

Player Review-Capcom Generation: Dai 2 Shuu Makai to Kishi (1998) Other Titles: Capcom Generations 2: Chronicles of Arthur, Capcom Generation Collection 2: The Demon World and the Knight, Capcom Generation 2,  カプコン ジェネレーション －第2集 魔界と騎士－ System(s): Sega Saturn Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Original system(s): Capcom Ghosts 'n Goblins hardware, Capcom CPS-1, SNES Game total: 3 Games Included: Ghosts 'n Goblins (Makaimura), Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Daimakaimura), Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Choumakaimura) Sound driver: SCSP (1Track) Genre: Compilation, Action Number of players: 1-2

Capcom Generation 2 is the "Chronicles of Arthur" or the collection of the Ghosts N' Goblins or Ghouls N' Ghosts games. If you know anything about these games, they are extremely hard and that's about the gist of their value. They are platforming action-adventures that offer mild enjoyment for a while. I don't really get the point of the Capcom Generation series, especially considering they all came out in 1998. The company had produced so many great games by then that they could have condensed the 5 disks into one big collection and offered more variety.

The problem with making a collection out of this series is that they barely changed directions between installments. All 3 of these games feel like the SAME game. It's not like a Mario Bros. or a Sonic the Hedgehog where each game in the series is different enough to feel like a new and meaningful experience.

THE GOOD -At least it's better than the first one. While I don't think Ghouls n' Ghosts/Ghosts 'n Goblins games are that great, they are at least not as boring as the vertical-scrolling shooters from Capcom Generation 1.

THE BAD -There's really nothing here. You would be better off getting these games off of the Wii Virtual console or something like that. I give Capcom Generation 2 a 1.5 out of 10 CAPCOM FANDOM PURPOSES ONLY

#Capcom Generation-Dai 2 Shuu Makai to Kishi #Player Review #1998 #Capcom #Daimakaimura #Choumakaimura #Ghouls 'n Ghosts #Ghosts n' Goblins #Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts #CPS-1 #SNES #Sega Saturn #Playstation #The Demon World and the Knight #Chronicles of Arthur #Capcom Generation 2

[thearkhound]

Ghouls ‘n Ghosts character and art commentary

Source: Gamest #29 (February 1989)

The following is translation of character introductions for the Capcom arcafe game Ghouls ’n Ghosts that were published in the February 1989 issue of Gamest magazine. It covers, Arthur, the Princess and some of the enemy characters (mostly bosses).

Opening

Illustration introductions that we hope will become a mainstay. This time, with the help of Capcom, we’re introducing characters from Ghouls ‘n Ghosts. All the text have been provided by the developers themselves. It seems to be a fun place to work at...

Princess

Height: 1m63cm

Weight: 50kg

The game’s heroine. A fine and tender woman. She is 19-years-old and a Scorpio. She was modeled after Reiko Hayama.

Now Revealed! The Relationship Between Arthur and the Princess

Three years ago, Arthur thought that the Princess, whom have fallen in love with him after being rescued from the Ghoul Realm, was still just a child at age 16. However, while Arthur was away on a training journey, the Princess matured rapidly into a fine woman. Worth noting that her proportions (which are revealed in the ending!) were already something to drool for! When Arthur came back from his journey, the Princess was suddenly killed before his very eyes! What an unlucky chap. Arthur was overcome with the rage of a man, unintentionally giving the means to defeat the Ghoul Realm. The Princess’s name is revealed in the ending sequence. [Note:There’s some hint to her name in the article, as the author uses onomatopoeias such プリプリ/puripuri and ぐんぐん/gungun to describe her in the Japanese text].

Skeleton Murderers 

Height: 18m

Weight: 10kg

They’re all over the Makai. When they see an enemy, they approach him without any thought. They might seem weak at first glance, but surprisingly they can jump up and drop down just fine as well. We paid special attention to how their bones were scattered when they did. There was also going to be a red grim reaper during the initial plannings.

Pig Man

Height: 2.3m

Weight: 205kg

Guardians of the Makai Forest. Their vomits are used to fertilize plants in Makai. Occasionally when they jump on their backs, they will slide down the grass and fall to a lower level.

Poisonous Plant

A nuisance that moves around and spits skulls. He was already a difficult hell in the original plan, where he spits out around seven skulls at the same time.

Shielder

Height: 12m

Weight: 5.5t (according to himself)

The gatekeeper of Makai Forest. An offbeat being who grabs his own head with his hand and spits fire from his mouth. It’s easy to think he’s a scary guy with his giant body and the lumbering way he pursues his foes, he’s actually a dandy fellow with his green skin and red belt that makes him look like an Italian. Note: We were struggling on working out how he would appear. The original plan was to have various parts of his body (his legs, tail, chest and head) come flying from various directions to form into one.

Red Arremer King

Height: 2.2m

Weight: 89kg

An evolved form of the Red Arremer tribe from Ghosts ‘n Goblins. He became particularly strong from the experience he acquired from battling Arthur in the past. The four Red Arremers in Stage 5 are known as the Four Devas and are capable of teleporting. They also have a bad habit of collecting skulls. There are rumors whispered in some places that they’re the secret children of Lucifer himself.

Cerberus

Height: 5m

Weight: 120kg (estimated)

The gatekeeper of the flames and Lucifer’s guard wolf. Not exactly a character you would want to meet during summer. He was initially named “Pochi”, since he easily caught players off guard who were trying to predict whether he’ll make a large jump or a small jump.

Gassuto

Height: 8m

Weight: N/A

The gatekeeper of the heavens. Its main body is just a giant eyeball, but it can formed a body by surrounding itself with clouds. In Stage 5 you encounter its three offsprings. Note: This guy caused a programmer to cry a lot. The results were pretty convincing.

Nupunupu

An eel-like monster that appears in Stage 5. The green cells that are clinging to the walls are actually the eggs that they’re hatched from. It spits intestines from its mouth. Note: During production, one of the developers saw a corner in a magazine called the Nupunupu Grand Prix and someone liked the name enough that they decided to use it as the name of this character. By the way, Nupunupu is a sound made during [blank].

Beelzebub

Height: 6m

Weight: 90kg

The gatekeeper of Makai Castle. A giant bee-like monster that is formed when several small flies are gathered into one. Turning this into a graphic turned out to be a challenge. There were plans to draw a hairy Beelzebub, but due to a leg hair removal boom at the time, we thought a smooth hairless Beelzebub might look good as well and that’s the version we decided to use.

#Capcom #Ghouls 'n Ghosts #Daimakaimura #Gamest

[cidraman]

GnG ReAction.

#arcade #ghosts n goblins #ghouls n ghosts #capcom #arthur #zombie #retrogaming #80s #daimakaimura #astaroth #plaftormer #run and gun #tokuro fujiwara #gng #reaction #funko #action figures

[khylovarkhiv]

Memories of walking home from school. I did a series of posts on this over at Instagram that have a little more detail about the excellent trees that lined my street, which were all torn down some years later. Because who wants to bequeath anything good to later generations.

#TurboGrafx 16 #turbografx #hucard #bonks adventure #daimakaimura #Ghouls n Ghosts #NEC #pc engine #classic gaming #khylov #Orcutt #santa maria #80s #legendary axe #kaiju #turbo express #beat boards #Comic Panels #allan hancock animation department #treescape #trees #suburbia

[4chanmusic]

https://soundcloud.com/alt-f4-music/daimakaimura

#soundcloud #alt #f4 #music #daimakaimura #4chan #mu

[mckinleybrooksmorton]

Finally finished Ghouls 'n Ghosts arcade version. A lot of people talk about how it's an evil game because when you finish it once, you have to begin again from stage 1. But, the 2nd playthrough is way easier, despite increased difficulty because you can get a "psycho cannon". Keep it, shoot down enemy fire and fly through the game. #ghoulsnghosts #16bit #ending #videogames #picofday #arcade #retro #daimakaimura #tokurufujiwara #capcom https://www.instagram.com/p/CdixyfFgWa7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#ghoulsnghosts #16bit #ending #videogames #picofday #arcade #retro #daimakaimura #tokurufujiwara #capcom

[keepfronting]

#daimakaimura #pcengine #turbografx16 #coregrafx #pcenginecoregrafx #pcenginemini #coregrafxmini #pcenginecoregrafxmini #keepfronting https://www.instagram.com/p/Ccn8SIRIOFx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#daimakaimura #pcengine #turbografx16 #coregrafx #pcenginecoregrafx #pcenginemini #coregrafxmini #pcenginecoregrafxmini #keepfronting

[abobobo]

Daimakaimura (PC Engine SuperGrafx). Capcom, 1990. (Source)

#Daimakaimura #PC Engine #SuperGrafx #Capcom #1990 #ads #illustrations #Yoshikazu Yasuhiko #Makaimura

[techturd]

Daimakaimura (Ghouls n Ghosts) Mega Drive Artwork

#Daimakaimura #Ghouls n ghosts #Sega mega drive #Sega genesis #ghosts n goblins #Capcom

[videodracula]

Chomakaimura (Capcom, Super Famicom, 1991) 

*Dies for the 7 millionth time*

#Daimakaimura #Ghouls n Ghosts #Super Famicom #Assorted Photos #Retrogaming

[videogamesdensetsu]

Daimakaimura / 大魔界村, AKA Ghouls'n Ghosts (SuperGrafx - Capcom - 1990) Artist: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko / 安彦 良和

#Daimakaimura #大魔界村 #Ghouls'n Ghosts #Yoshikazu Yasuhiko #安彦 良和

[lord-tiki]

Daimakaimura Box Art from Pc Engine Super Grafx

NEC, Capcom 1990

#daimakaimura #ghouls n ghosts #pc engine #supergrafx #turbografx16 #nec #capcom #yoshikazu yasuhiko #pce

[fyeahym2612]

#Ghouls 'n Ghosts #Daimakaimura

[mrfoxgow]

convert damakaimura / capcom / 1988

#capcom #borne arcade #candycab #daimakaimura

[nakedbob]

Finally got to spend some quality time with the #supergrafx I got from #PRGE and my new #TurboEverdrive! Yay! #daimakaimura #ghoulsnghosts #pcengine #everdrive #krikzz

#prge #pcengine #ghoulsnghosts #daimakaimura #turboeverdrive #everdrive #krikzz #supergrafx