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This hack turns a punishing, yet fun game into one of the best titles on the Super Nintendo. Not only is the player punished less for making a single mistake and getting hit, but it allows the player to use any weapon (they've picked up previously) at any time, allowing for gameplay customization unseen in the series otherwise. Actually getting to use a shield for more than just one hit is also a godsend for certain parts of this game, specifically in the later levels. This hack comes highly recommended, especially when paired with the Restoration (slowdown removal) hack for the ultimate Super GnG experience.

Excellent hack. Now you won't have to worry about getting hit twice only or accidentally picking up another weapon, making the game easier to tolerate for those who are intimidated by the difficulty. Works excellent in tandem with the Restoration hack as well.

I do have to warn those who are playing it for the first time, however (like I am), even on beginner difficulty. You will get your ass kicked, especially if you don't time your movement and jumps well. A full arsenal of weapons and armor against multiple hits will not solve sloppy platforming inflicted by the player, or enemies and projectiles coming at you unprepared and unexpectedly. Your worst enemy is not the enemies (and maybe bosses as well), but pitfalls. You want to know how bad I am? I can't finish the first two levels without using up multiple lives, mostly because of falling off pits. Fall off pits, lose the armor and shield you just collected. Gotta find them again!

(This review has been written in part by this hack being played on original hardware via FXPAK Pro.)

Given its arcade roots, it's no surprise Ghouls n' Goblins/Ghosts is a punishing franchise, and while that remains true, this hack makes the challenge, in my opinion, much more fair and manageable.

The armor decrementation system deserves special note: reminds me of Sega Master System port of Ghouls n' Ghosts that I love so much wherein Arthur could permanently collect better gear to ease up the difficulty.

A totally recommended patch, for sure. Also a small request to the author goes here, since this patch doesn't seem to have a forum page attributed to it:

I'd love to see a similar patch made for the GBA port of this game, since it is by far the most complete version of SGnG, despite the usual shortcomings (degraded palette and sound), thanks to its wonderful arrange mode.

Well this makes the game a far fairer experience whilst still maintaining the challenging! Excellent work.

I like that this mod gives purpose to the lesser weapons that might only be good in specific situations that are usually disregarded but I think having just two weapon slots would help retain a bit of the strategy of the original when it comes to deciding what weapon to pick up. Something to consider as an option?

Though it's one of the fairer titles in its series, Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts was lacking a lot of mercy even by the standards of the time when it was originally released. Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts - Super Arthur addresses this by altering the gameplay in several ways, as listed in its description.

The biggest impact by far comes from returning to your previous set of armour upon being hit instead of losing it all at once, and from being able to collect and cycle through the game's weapons using the shoulder-buttons instead of only being able to hold one at a time. These two changes alone give the gameplay a much nicer flow, and the other changes complement this as well.

Though I always found the original release to be perfectly enjoyable, I feel that the Super Arthur hack makes Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts more fun, both when comparing it to its SNES contemporaries, and when comparing it to more modern standards for action games. It also makes the game considerably more time-respectful, which is a big plus.

This hack does everything that it sets out to do, though I would have liked to have seen a bit of text on the title-screen denoting that it's the Super Arthur version and not the vanilla release, for a bit of added clarity and polish.

In spite of a lifelong fondness for the original game, Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts - Super Arthur has quickly become my go-to way of playing Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, and its design feels every bit like something that would have been released on the SNES back in the day. Highly recommended.

I tested this game in the versions of RetroPie for both the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B and the Raspberry Pi Zero W, and it worked as it should with both.

This makes the game feel more fair. Switching weapons is quick and painless.

The exception being I wish there was an alternate patch that didn't include the damage reduction. That almost tones the game down a little too much IMO.

Other than that a wonderful way to make this game a little less masochistic. Also the weapon swapping makes several of the more situational weapons at least slightly less useless, being you can switch to them in places they are useful then promptly switch back when done. Though the axe and scythe are still completely useless IMO. The lance serves their function of a harder hitting weapon better.

I love platformers with macabre themes like Castlevania, but I was never able to keep with this game due to its brutal difficulty that often felt unfair (random enemy spawns!!!). With this patch, the game is still very hard but now gives the player some reasonable tools to work. Had the game been released like this (with the SA-1 lag reduction patch as well), I have no doubt it would have been even more beloved by the community.

Tips for getting through the games learning curve faster:

1. Use your double jump wisely. After your second jump you lose all directional control, so only double jump when you absolutely have to. The second jump should only be use to clear necessary jumps or to attempt to jump away from danger.

2. Learn the weapons, and spam fire quickly. The dagger can be spammed super fast, the bow is great for very large or floating enemies for example.

This is a great hack for a great game! Super Ghouls'n Ghosts is a hard game, but is easy to learn how to play and (with training) become a "Professional" player. Super Arthur hack by Lufia is the perfect "easy" mode! The changes makes this game fun and fair!

No more bye bye magical/gold armor in one single hit! No more "I don't want the crazy flying weapon". You can use any weapon previously collected with L and R. No more breakeable shields! This mod is compatible with Practice and Restoration Hacks. Super Arthur+Restoration hack is a must! I recommend this hack for players who wants more fun from this great game!

Thanks Lufia, for the hack and the two recent bug-fixing updates!

This is my first review here! (Updated review!)

.....if the weapons could be changed via a backward cycle, and a forward cycle. I mostly swap between the crossbow, and the knife, and it's annoying to have to cycle all the way back around.

Outside of this one gripe. This hack makes the game perfect.

[UPDATE] Version 1.1 added cycling to the shoulder buttons making this game absolutely perfect.

Bonus: Pair this with the Restoration patch for the Ultimate Super Ghouls'n Ghosts experience.

Amazing.

Years ago I saw this game reviewed in Nintendo Power. I had played its predecessor on the NES and had never made it past the first level... however I was in awe of the graphics and the enormous array of weapons and magic to make use of. I thought the game might be easier because of the graded armor system, in which you moved from lesser to better armor. Surely, I thought, the game had a Super Mario Bros. 3-like mechanic in which getting hit just degraded the quality of your armor, instead of returning you to your boxers. I was disappointed to learn this wasn't the case. I enjoyed the game and played it anyway, but always felt it would be more enjoyable if it had the armor degradation.

GNG was one of those games, like the early Castlevanias, that were designed to be unbeatable by all but the fastest button pushers. This was an aspect of the marketing of the time, in that it promoted a sense of awe and exaltation in the kids who couldn't beat the games of the kids who could. This increased the hype surrounding the games and the time playing them which naturally increased fixation on playing and sales. It was a holdover strategy from the arcades but Capcom apparently still believed in it even by the time of the game's release for the GBA, which by my understanding is even tougher than the original. This patch makes the game play as it should have, with surmountable difficulty and a less jarring (and frustrating) power up curve. The game also has a strategic element now in that you can use the shield defensively. The timer still isn't gone which still hampers the immersion, but can be easily neutralized via cheats. In summary, this patch is a great improvement on the original that gives it a sense of playability and staying power beyond the nostalgic.

This is a much more approachable version of this game. All the features in the description work as said. The only shortcoming is that when Arthur is hit, his sprite is still naked. When he lands on his feet, he has his armor on again. Not a big deal and I understand why it's like this. All the other features still make this patch worth playing. I bet a few more people might be able to make it to the end of the game now.

This makes a trial & error heavy game a lot more fun to play. Now I only hope that the same is done for the SAT or PS1 versions at some point, which have much less slowdown.