Ghosts & Goblins Resurrection Adds What The Original Desperately Needed

Capcom rebirthed one of its most brutally difficult game series of all time with the February 25 release of Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection on the Nintendo Switch. The launch was the first mainline Ghosts ‘n Goblins game to release in 15 years, and the upgrades and tweaks made to the 2D platformer were immediately obvious to anyone who gritted their teeth through past installments. The most notable addition was a flexible difficulty system that makes the release the most approachable entry in the franchise.

The original 1985 Ghosts n’ Goblins is considered one of the most notoriously unforgiving games of all time. With no difficulty settings, players could only get hit twice before dying, and every level had a countdown clock that would kill the protagonist, Arthur, when it hit zero. It was essentially the retro Dark Souls that made early gamers fume. Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection stayed true to the franchise’s enraging roots while also giving casual gamers a more enjoyable experience.

Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection features four difficulty levels: Legends, Knight, Squire, and Page, which is the easiest. Users choose the difficulty they want to play on at the start of a game. If they die multiple times within the same checkpoint, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection gives them the option to tone down the difficulty for the rest of the level but not for the entire playthrough. That’s a perfect safety net that the original sorely lacked.

Ghosts n’ Goblins Resurrection Difficulties Explained

Not being able to decrease the difficulty permanently ensures that Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is testing players limits with every level. Previously, gamers had to either tough it out or stop playing, but now they have the option to continue progressing if a level proves too pesky. Lowering a level’s difficulty will result in a point penalization, but that’s a small price to pay if it allows gamers from losing interest.

Reducing Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection’s difficulty will result in fewer enemies to deal with and lower the amount of damage required to defeat bosses. The two lower difficulties give users even bigger boosts. Squire lets Arthur take more damage before he’s reduced to a bag of bones. Page makes Arthur immortal and will respawn him right where he died instead of transporting him back to a checkpoint. These might sound like small changes, but they go a long way to ensure the Nintendo Switch’s Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection doesn’t make people give up on it as the original did on vintage consoles.