Back in early March, Capcom Mobile announced that they’d be bringing four of their classic arcade games to the App Store in special mobile versions: 1942, Commando, Ghosts’n Goblins, and Ghouls’n Ghosts. The following week they followed through with that promise as 1942 Mobile ($1.99) hit the App Store. Then the following week Ghosts’n Goblins Mobile ($1.99) hit, and the week after that Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando Mobile ($1.99) hit. Which pretty much ensured that the next week Ghouls’n Ghosts would arrive, except… it didn’t. Was there an error in their original announcement? Was it supposed to be just the original game releasing and not its superior sequel? The answer is no, as today Ghouls’n Ghosts Mobile ($1.99) has finally arrived in the App Store.
Part of me secretly hoped that this strange delay in the previously established release cycle was so that Capcom Mobile could greatly improve the controls of Ghouls’n Ghosts Mobile over the poorly received ones from Ghosts’n Goblins Mobile. I guess that was just wishful thinking. There are a couple of nice new features in this release over the previous one, but as far as controls go this is nearly identical to Ghosts’n Goblins Mobile, right down to the baffling decision of having a mess of virtual buttons be the default setting. If you head into options, the “Type C" controls feature an invisible floating control stick on the left side and are far better than any of the other options, but still fall well short of being adequate for a game as reliant on precision as this one.
Also like the previous release, Ghouls’n Ghosts Mobile offers two modes of play: Classic Mode is just as brutal as the arcade original, while Casual Mode lessens the difficulty quite a bit by giving you more lives and less enemies but also by adding a game-breaking (though fun) double jump to the mix. It also includes the hottest new feature in mobile games, automatic screen rotation! This game also can remember which control option you chose even after you close it! Amazing! On a serious note, Ghouls’n Ghosts Mobile does include a new feature that stretches the game to fill out the entire screen, which I really appreciate, and if you do choose to play in the windowed original aspect ratio mode that window is now centered, which is much preferred over Ghosts’n Goblins’ off-centered window.
While these few extra new features are nice, and the technical quality of all of these recent Capcom ports is quite true to the originals, it doesn’t change the fact that–save for 1942, I guess–none of these have been good matches for a platform that’s devoid of physical buttons. You can read Shaun’s review of Ghosts’n Goblins Mobile and it rings just as true for this new Ghouls’n Ghosts release. These are amusing novelties for fans of the originals, especially for the 99¢ introductory price or even their normal $1.99 price, but they still aren’t reasonably playable on touchscreen and there are far better options on mobile to get your fix of similar types of games. However, if you do jump in or are just curious what folks are saying about this latest release, check out the discussion in our forums.
