Gargoyle’s Quest: Ghosts and Goblins:

Platform: Game Boy
Developer: Capcom
Released: 1990

In recent years we’ve seen many games where you play as the villain, but believe it or not, Capcom was doing this way back in 1990. Using their highly successful Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins/Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts franchise as inspiration, they made a game which put the ghouls, ghosts and goblins in the spotlight.

Your character was a gargoyle named Red Arremer, or Firebrand if you played the English version. Why would anyone want to play as a gargoyle instead of a lance-throwing knight, you may ask? The answer is that hovering through the air with your wings, clinging to walls with your feet, and breathing fire to kill enemies is just as cool as it sounds.

Funnily enough, your mission did not involve hunting down Sir Arthur and killing him to avenge the hordes of monsters that had died by his hand. This game introduced a world of friendly, peace-loving ghouls and ghosts, with their own mythology and history. Firebrand’s mission was to save this world from a threat known as ‘the Destroyers’, who were- you guessed it- an EVIL army of ghouls, ghosts and goblins!

The interesting thing about this game is that it crossed a 2D platform game with RPG elements. Using a bird’s eye view, you had to walk around the world visiting villages, talking to people, and eventually making your way to whichever landmark (towers, castles etc) contained the next platforming stage. Along the way, you would gain items that would give you new abilities, such as hovering for longer periods of time, jumping higher, and so on. Also, the characters did that thing where they make random noises as the text scrolls by, and while there were only about three ‘voices’, it helped to add some life to the game world.

This was also the game that introduced me to that staple of RPGs known as ‘random encounters’. While walking around the overworld (but not in a village), you would enter a small, 2D area at random moments. These areas featured a couple of enemies who had to be killed to progress. As you progressed further into the game, these areas became more complex and featured tougher enemies.

Gargoyle’s Quest may be pretty basic by today’s standards, and it’s a lot easier than the franchise that spawned it, but it is a fun and unique game in its own right. It was a ‘role-reversal’ game before they became trendy, and it blended RPG elements with 2D platforming in a way that actually worked. If you ever get the chance, it’s worth a play.