First, a word from all of us at CBG. We know the series as a whole does not constitute as a single game, but there is a reason why we included the entire run as the winner. Simply put, the best parts of the game were carried across as subsequent sequels of Ghosts’n Goblins were released. Every game had something unique to offer, but when it came down to choosing which one would take the cake, it was painfully obvious that we couldn’t decide. Poot suggested that instead of trying to figure out which one would get the official title, we’d just give the entire series one. This is another reason, why all these games are so deserving. Read on for more…

Poot:
The Ghosts’n Goblins series started in 1986, on the NES, and the second game, which was for the NES as well, was called Ghouls’n Ghosts. It continued on when Super Ghouls’n Ghosts came out for both the SNES and Sega Genesis. In each of these games you play as Sir Arthur, the knight who must battle his way through hell to save his beloved Princess Sweetheart. In this side scrolling adventure you will use many different projectile weapons to fight hordes of zombies and monsters. Ghosts’n Goblins was paid tribute to in the PS2 games called Maximo. Maximo is a 3d action platform game. It featured zombies and a knight that runs around in his boxers, just like Arthur. The Ghosts’n Goblins series are really hard games for many reasons. Firstly, you don’t have a health bar; just armor that will break in one hit. After that your left in nothing but your boxers, and another hit in this state is an instant death. Secondly, all the monsters pop up out of everywhere, literally seeping out of the ground, and materializing in thin air. It gets overwhelming at times. As if that weren’t enough though, the levels make you do some messed up shit to obtain new weapons and better armor (the upgrades to the armor are oddly for weapon power). These games have a really high difficulty, even on easy you will die enough to make you wonder if you’re actually playing on easy, and not on hard. But high difficulty games are dieing out, even the latest Ghosts’n Goblins game for the PSP is easier than the first four. And that can easily be attributed to the simple addition of saving. What ever happened to the games that took 8 or more hour to beat? And if you couldn’t beat it before you went to school or work, you left your system on for the day, knowing that you may hurt your system, but knowing your soul would be much more hurt if you willingly made yourself start the game all over again. I think its much more gratifying to beat a game that is so hard to beat, than any game that can save your progress. Extra lives are a thing of the past. Thanks to the Wii, you can still enjoy your favorite classic games, and the first 3 of the Ghosts’n Goblins series are all available for download on the Virtual Console. So, if you like a challenge in your games, then look at this series to entertain you for hours. This series definitely deserves our Best Game Ever award, it was a 8.0 back when they came out, and they’re an 8.0. now.

daBean:
Few games stand the test of time. Mario and Tetris are two titles that you can easily revisit just for the pure joy of playing a relatively easy game, just to remember the amount of fun you had when you first played it. They’re just straight addictive. The Ghosts’n Goblins series stand the test of time for a whole different reason: its not an easy game to beat. To top it off, these games were born in an age where saves were not common. Though it could’ve been done, the producers chose not to include the function, and it made the game that much harder. Though I don’t agree with Poot that a game with a save function is not as gratifying, I can definitely say its not the same. With Ghosts’n Goblins, you can beat the game in a short amount of time, if you’re good. Real good. But for the rest of us, its countless lives spent just to get to the next level. And you know you have to do everything right when you’re on your last credit. Theres not much that I can add, Poot nails the entire series down well. The bottom line is, if you’ve never played any of these games, go try them out. As Poot stated, The Wii makes it extra easy to access these games, you don’t even have to leave your couch. If you have played them, then you know you’re gonna want to play these games again. Set some time aside and beat the game in one sitting. I dare you. For the month of January, this series wins our BGE award because whether its 10 years ago, or 10 years from now, this game rocks.