Ghosts 'n Goblins, known as in Japan, is a platform video game developed by Capcom and released for arcades in 1985. It is the first game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise, and has since been ported to numerous home platforms. It was a major commercial success across arcades and home systems. It was among the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1986 in Japan and the US, the year's sixth best-selling computer game in the UK, and NES version sold over cartridges worldwide. It initially received generally positive reviews from critics. It is often cited as one of the most difficult games of all time, and retrospectively it has been considered one of the greatest video games ever made. Gameplay The player controls a knight named Sir Arthur, who must defeat zombies, ogres, demons, a cyclops, a dragon, and other monsters to rescue Princess Prin-Prin, who has been kidnapped by Astaroth (also called the Devil or Great Satan), king of Demon World. Along the way, the player can pick up new weapons, bonuses, and extra suits of armor that can help in this task. The player can only be hit twice before losing a life. Losing a life will result in having to restart the level, or starting at the halfway point if the player has reached it. Furthermore, the player will lose a life if a level is not completed within a set time limit. After defeating the final boss, the player must then replay the entire game on a higher difficulty level to reach the genuine final ending. Ports Ghosts 'n Goblins was ported to Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore 16, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Color, IBM PC compatibles, MSX, and ZX Spectrum. Consoles The Famicom version was released on June 13, 1986, and was the first Famicom game to utilize a 128 KB cartridge. The North American NES version was released on November 1, 1986, and in Europe in 1989. The Famicom/NES version was programmed by Micronics and published by Capcom. A hidden in-game credits screen verifies that it was scored by the original composer, Ayako Mori. Upon defeating the game a second time, the player is given the following message: The Famicom/NES ports served as the basis for the Game Boy Color version, which utilized passwords to allow the player to access certain levels. Allister Brimble scored this version. Computers The