Ghosts'n Goblins (lost Amstrad CPC press demo build; 1986)

Unfinished title screen seen in the demo.

Status: Lost

Ghosts'n Goblins, originally released in September 1985 on arcade, is a platformer game known for its extreme difficulty. It had many ports on different consoles, including microcomputers. Among those releases, the Amstrad CPC port by Elite Systems had been a let-down for players as the game misses key features of the arcade game, as well as half of the levels.

It was all the more disappointing given the fact that some tests from magazines described the port as faithful to the arcade version. The test from Amstrad Magazine n°14 says the game is "surprising by its quality and faithfulness to the original", and describes all the gameplay mechanics of the port, matching the arcade original.

When asked about the differences between the test and the final release, the test authors responded in Amstrad Magazine n°15 that their test was based upon a press demo build given by the publisher themselves. This claim indicates that an early build of the Amstrad CPC port at least existed, with all the gameplay mechanics taken from the original game.

Further proofs of its existence

Amstrad Magazine isn't the only actor in the press to mention the existence of the demo. In the test of the final release in Amtix n°10, one tester mentions his disappointment on all the missing features compared to the demo version, where "things were looking really good".

We can also see in the Amstrad Magazine test that the preview of the title screen is incomplete, with text saying : "Please could you send a copy of this picture so I can finish this screen$.".

Theory on features removal

The main theory on why the developers would choose to remove features between the demo build and the final release is regarding space storage. It's speculated that at the time of the demo, the content was focused on the gameplay mechanics, with levels still needed to be added. But when they had to include them, they have chosen to cut on the mechanics. While no interview or quote confirms this is the case, it was a common difficulty at the time.

Gallery

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  Test of the press demo from Amstrad Magazine n°14.

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  Readers' mail answer from Amstrad Magazine n°15.

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  Test of the final release from Amtix n°10.

External Links

• "Dossier #01: Le Scandale Ghosts'n Goblins / Amstrad Magazine" YouTube video by GENERATION MICROS, originaly reporting about a possibly lost build
• "Le Scandale Ghosts'n Goblins et Amstrad Magazine !!! Affaire enfin résolue 3 années plus tard ???" YouTube video by GENERATION MICROS, confirming the press build existence