This was among the first Genesis games I ever played- summer of 2003 when I was 7 years old and at the absolute peak of my Sonic the Hedgehog obsession. To this day, it is still my favorite entry in the series as it strikes the best balance and has some of my favorite setpieces.

Don't get me wrong- it's still a Ghosts n Goblins game and is still very challenging. However, being able to shoot up (as well as down) makes a huge difference in how the game can be approached and is a bit more forgiving because of it. It's also not "game breaking" in the way that Super Castlevania IV's multi directional whip allegedly is, as the level design and boss encounters definitely account for this nuance. Case in point- the barfing pigs at the end of stage 1 and the giant slug you take on before entering Lucifer's castle.

I also don't think people talk about the psycho cannon. It's the game's mandatory second loop weapon this time around, and it is awesome. It genuinely feels great to use in nearly every situation once you're able to obtain it. When wearing golden armor, it does not grant you any sort of magical ability (like the other weapons) but is able to cancel out projectiles which is very helpful. I'm bringing this up because, in Super Ghouls n Ghosts, the magical bracelet was awful and made the game harder if anything due to its gimped range and lack of any special traits.

Definitely give it a go- you might enjoy this game even if you didn't care for the others in the franchise. I'd consider this, Forgotten Worlds and Mega Twins to be some of the most enjoyable of Capcom's arcade-to-Genesis conversions.

[Played via the very recent NES port which can be found for sale on itch.io]

I'm going to be honest, I usually frown upon homebrews. Once the novelty of playing a new game on an old console wears off, I've always felt like I was left with a half baked product. At least, that's been my experience with the homebrew scene so far.

This, however, was rock solid. Sam's Journey is a bit Yoshi's Island (due to the collect-a-thon element), a bit Donkey Kong Country and a bit Super Mario Bros. 3. You have the large, sprawling levels that europlatformers were typically known for (thankfully not as confusing as something from the original Turrican) and a good number of suits to mess around with. Sam will find himself turning into a pirate, a wall jumping ninja, a vampire that can turn into a bat and even an Elvis knock off that can twirl around in the air.

Knights of Bytes certainly didn't skimp out on the presentation for their first project, either. This game looks just as good as an actual late release NES game, although it does get a little too busy visually. There were definitely times I struggled to distinguish the foreground from the background, but it was never game breaking. Also, the music is absolutely fantastic. It goes way harder than it needed to for a game about a kid getting yoinked into a magic warphole in his closet.

Give this one a go if you don't mind the fact that it's not on the traditional storefronts. I really hope this will come to Steam as well as Switch- it would definitely have an audience on the latter!

I think the concept behind this game is sound and, in some ways, better than Pac Man 99.

That being said...I can't really recommend the game as it stands.

I played several hours in early access and some once the game was officially out on May 8, and almost every game was completely filled with bots. Let me tell you, these bots are even more brainless than your average Reddit moderator. They'll constantly run into ghosts and any kind of trap you set up for them, guaranteed. Normally I'd be okay with bots since the game is new and the cross play functionality may or may not take off, but they offer zero challenge. I'm almost certain even a five year old could put up more of a fight.

The game is fun when there's at least a few other human players involved, but it doesn't seem to be guaranteed at this time. This could have been alleviated if there was some sort of offline/bots only mode with a difficulty scaler, or (heaven forbid with a modern game) local co-op...but Bamco has omitted both.

The final nail in the coffin for most will undoubtedly be the price. 20 dollars is a lot to ask for what is essentially an online only game that may or may not develop the kind of player base Pac Man 99 had. If I wasn't a huge fan of the IP, I likely would've passed and honestly can't blame anyone else for doing so at the moment.