Welcome back, to 16-bit Brawl, where we’re once again grabbing our machetes and slicing the numbers in half. That's right, I’m still in a Master System mood, and since it’s the spooky season I thought there was no better time than now to pit a pair of horror classics against one another. One is an incredibly flawed yet influential piece of NES history, one is a surprisingly late Master System classic, both are tough as nails. That’s right, we’re talking Ghosts n Goblins and Ghouls n Ghosts. Who had the better GnG? Let’s meet the combatants. 

First up, we have Ghosts n Goblins for NES. This is a much maligned, yet rather popular port of Capcom’s arcade classic of the same name. This specific port was cobbled together by Micronics, who don’t exactly have the best reputation. This version of Ghosts n Goblins… doesn’t exactly disprove said rep. It’s not the best looking NES game. It’s not the best sounding NES game. But it is one of the best selling NES games, garnering a ton of popularity all over the world. 

Then we have Ghouls n Ghosts for Sega Master System. This is actually the followup to Ghosts n Goblins, and as such has the benefit of being a few years younger. While the 8-bit version pales in comparison to its 16-bit older brother on Sega genesis, this ambitious port still does a great job of bringing the arcade action home. This one was ported by Sega themselves, who clearly had a good grasp on their own hardware, especially by 1989, when the game came out.  

Both games are considered classics, and both games are stupid hard. But which is better? 

Now that we know what we’re up against, it’s time for an 8-Bit Brawl. 

Graphics (1 point)

I’m not even sure where to begin with this one, because it’s absolutely no contest at all. Like, in no way is this even a consideration. The Master System game, when compared to its arcade counterpart or its Genesis older brother, holds up reasonably well considering the power of the platform. Not amazing, but solid. But the NES game? There’s no other way to say it, it’s butt ugly. This is a game that doesn’t even look good in screen shots, and in motion, it’s even worse. Even the way the screen scrolls is choppy compared to the smooth scrolling on Master System. Sega’s game isn’t perfect, and I would argue that it’s not really all that pleasant to look at either, but a lot of that comes down to the intentional art direction. Ghouls and Ghosts are supposed to be ugly, right? 

That said, there are some pretty major texture issues. A lot of the Master System game really does look… off. I mean, just look at this screenshot down there. This doesn’t look right. 

But the NES game? It has almost nothing going for it. There’s tons of flicker, nothing animates particularly well, the sprite work is crude, the stage elements are bland, it’s a mess. The only thing I can say it has going for it is that Arthur’s more detailed animations come off a little overly flail-y on Master System, if that makes any sense, but other than that, absolutely nothing leans in the NES game’s favor here. The point celery goes to Master System. 

NES - 

SMS - I

Sound (1 point)

Unlike the visuals, this one’s actually kind of close. Let’s start with the NES game. Just like its graphics, the music isn’t exactly impressive. However, the compositions themselves are. There’s no shortage of considerably more impressive music in other NES games, especially in the spooky genre. Just listen to anything Castlevania. Still, this really isn’t bad. It’s just mediocre. 

The Master System, on the other hand, while a bit of a mixed bag, wins on ambition alone. Yes, it has the advantage of pulling from a larger soundtrack from its arcade counterpart, but there was also clearly a ton of effort put into making the Master System sound as good as it could here. A lot of stuff winds up getting muddled together sometimes when the music gets too complex, but there’s much more audio dynamic stuff going on here. It’s not a soundtrack I’m going to put on and just listen to for fun. It’s not amazing by any stretch. But it’s a far sight better than the NES game. 

The point once again goes to Master System. 

NES - 

SMS - II

Content (1 point)

This is another category where things are reasonably close, at least on the surface. The NES game has seven stages, while the Master System game only has five. But the Master System stages seem to be a bit longer. In the end, according to howlongtobeat.com, both games take around 3.5 hours to complete, depending on how much effort you put into mastering them. However, the Master System game has one big advantage, an economy. 

There are a series of secret shops in the Master System game where you can get special armor, and even shoes and helmets to augment your abilities. It’s not the most life-altering thing you’ve ever seen, but it’s an entire other layer to the game that simply doesn’t exist on NES. Looks like Sega gets the point yet again.  

NES - 

SMS - III

Gameplay (2 points) 

Here’s the thing. When it comes to gameplay, these are both deeply flawed games, but they’re both overall pretty fun to play. For all the choppiness of the NES game, its gameplay is what kept it in the conversation for as long as it was. After all, if the game was complete garbage, it probably wouldn’t have sold quite so much, right? It’s absurdly difficult, and a LOT of the deaths feel super cheap when they're happening, but it’s a game that’s possible to master with enough practice. It feels reasonably tight to control once you get the hang of it, and is a deceptively solid experience.  

Same can be said of the Master System game. Watching videos of gameplay make it look like its controls might feel loose or unresponsive. But when you actually get a Master System controller in your hand (or a Genesis controller because the SMS controller ain’t great) it’s really very tight. Plus, unlike the NES game, you have some control over Arthur once you’re in mid air, and you can fire your weapons in the four cardinal directions instead of just left and right. 

Outside of that, when it comes to the actual fun factor of the games themselves, I’d say they’re both pretty close, with the Master System maybe taking the edge thanks to some more impressive looking boss encounters. But add in the better controls and offensive options, and it becomes clear which one comes out on top. 

The points go to Master System. 

NES - 

SMS - IIIII

And there you have it. A complete blowout for the Master System. Again, I can’t stress this enough, this was never going to be a fair fight. Ghouls n Ghosts is a more advanced game than Ghosts n Goblins, and when you consider Ghosts n Goblins hit the Famicom in 1986 under the helm of Micronics, while Ghouls n Ghosts came out on Master System in 1989 courtesy of Sega themselves, yeah. The NES game never stood a chance. 

Regardless, this is a great showing for Sega’s 8-bit console. It may not have enjoyed the same levels of success as Nintendo’s machine, but there’s still plenty of great stuff to be found. 

The winner is Sega Master System. 

But what do you think? Am I missing something with the NES game? Do its simpler visuals add to the overall readability of the environments? Does the slowdown and flicker somehow make it… better? Let me know, and we’ll see you next time for another 16-bit Brawl!