Developer(s) Capcom Platform(s) iOS | Publisher(s) Capcom Mode(s) Single-player | |
Release Gold Knights: November 11, 2009
Gold Knights II: August 12, 2010 Genre(s) Run and gun, platformer | ||
Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights and Ghosts 'n Goblins: Gold Knights II, released in Japan as Makaimura Kishi Retsuden (魔界村騎士列伝, "Demon World Village: Knight Chronicles") and Makaimura Kishi Retsuden II (魔界村騎士列伝II, "Demon World Village: Knight Chronicles II") respectively, are a pair of run and gun platformer video games developed and published by Capcom for iOS and are the latest games in the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise.
Contents
They are the first games in the series to offer a choice of playable characters in addition to the series standard, Arthur. Similar to Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins they employ 3D graphics, while maintaining much of the 2D gameplay mechanics of the earlier games.
Story
Whenever demons threatened to plunge the world in darkness, the knight Arthur would come forward and stop them. Yet, the hard-won peace has ended as demonic hordes have once again appeared stealing the souls of innocent maidens. In order to protect her kingdom, Princess Prin-Prin assembles the greatest knights in the land. Sir Arthur and Lancelot set out to rescue the maidens and learn the secret of the demons' return. After defeating Astaroth and the demon lord however, Lancelot is attacked and kidnapped. Sir Perceval manages to save Arthur from a similar fate and the two set out to rescue Lancelot. They encounter a mysterious Black Knight who attempts to stop them. After defeating him, they realize that the Black Knight was Lancelot forced to wear demonic armor and that the demon lord has returned and is ready to attack the human realm.
Both games represent a single continuous story, with Gold Knights II beginning directly after the cliffhanger presented in Gold Knights.
Playable characters
Notably, all three knights' names, taken from Arthurian legend, had previously been used in a Capcom game, Knights of the Round.
Microtransactions
For both games, Capcom offered optional additional microtransactions designed to decrease the difficulty of the game. These included such options as to enable unlimited lives, increase the power and durability of weapons and armor, grant new abilities such as a triple jump, or remove traps and simplify stages. Reviews praised this method of optional DLC designed solely to assist the player as opposed to selling additional game content.
Reception
Reception for both games was mostly positive noting them as "solid action titles" that will "appeal to fans of the old-school Ghosts 'n Goblins games." Reviewers also praised the additional playable character which played differently enough to warrant a second play-through. However, both games were criticized for somewhat "fuzzy" controls and lack of support for Apple's Retina display. It was also noted that the traditional high-level of difficulty usually present in the franchise was toned down to accommodate the limitations of mobile gaming.