MSX Games #2

Mr. Ghost a.k.a. Yuurei-kun (1989)
By: System Sacom Genre: Action/Shooting (kind of) Players: 1 Difficulty: Hard
Featured Version: MSX2 First Day Score: 21,250
Also Available For: Nothing

Ever since starting this blog, I have kept a list of games I want to play and review at some point. Many, I will probably never get around to, but some I'm happy to say I will. Mr. Ghost is unsurprisingly such a game; one that has lain dormant on my list for around 8 years, I estimate - jeepers! My interest in the MSX systems was recently reinvigorated though, and this was the first title I thought of. It looked quite simple from what I recalled of it, so I actually thought it was an MSX game, but it's a later release for the MSX2. It stars a floaty white fellow who probably has a proper name, but as far as I can tell from the story (which is told via various static cut-scenes, in Japanese of course), he woke up one day as a ghost and can't remember anything from before that. So for now at least, he is known as Mr. Ghost, and it's your job to help him venture forth to discover who and what he is. Or was, as the case may be.

This is done by way of seven side-viewed stages. With the exception of two stages which auto-scroll vertically (one down, one up), the bulk of the game is in flick-screen form. This is probably because, from what I hear, the MSX systems do not excel at scrolling, but it's fine by me as I like flick-screen games. I assume the game is set in the Far East somewhere due to the bamboo forest that features on the first stage, but it doesn't seem to be a very nice area as it's full of evil monsters that are immediately hostile to poor Mr. Ghost. They include birds, spiders and many even stranger looking creatures as well as many spookier and downright nightmarish entities, no doubt emanating from realms we dare not imagine. Happily, Mr. Ghost is not defenceless. He is accompanied by a small spirit known as a 'droplet' and this can be sent forth in a slow and somewhat vague manner with the press of one attack button.

As noble as the droplet's intentions may be, however, it's not very fast or powerful and should only be used on weak and/or solitary foes. Mr. Ghost's other form of attack is a sudden, horizontal bum-bounce. In other words, he flies backwards abruptly for a short distance. This attack is more powerful and knocks any enemies he hits flying across the screen. If that enemy hits any other enemies while doing so, they will also get taken out, releasing coins in the process. This works well against stronger or grouped enemies. May as well just use that attack against everything then, right? Sadly not as doing this depletes the 'attack' meter at the top of the screen. It refills automatically but agonisingly slowly. The enemies are infinite too, so cleansing all of their fetid filth from the land wouldn't be an option anyway. You will need to take some out though, to get some of the lovely coins they carry to buy power-ups.

That's one slightly unusual feature of Mr. Ghost actually. Not the part about having to buy power-ups of course, but more the manner in which it is done. All power-ups are initially hidden, for one thing. Most screens include some breakable blocks though, and even parts of the scenery can be broken too, and bashing them can reveal either more cash or power-ups. The latter show a symbol indicating which power-up it is and also a price, and collecting it will automatically dock you that amount. The blocks also conceal entrances to secret bonus screens which feature coins and... yep, even more breakable blocks hiding power-ups! Breaking blocks is done by way of Mr. Ghost's bum-attack thing too, which means if you just go around hitting all the blocks, you'll soon run out of attack power, and you can't really just hang around waiting for it to recharge as the enemies will keep pouring onto the screen.

There's a tiny hint of strategy then, but keeping Mr Ghost's rather small energy meter as full as possible will quickly become the priority. The first stage is very pleasant, relaxing even, but the second is already fairly testing. By the time you get to the fourth, things are getting tough. Basically the whole stage is covered with spikes, some of which fall onto you, so avoiding these while dealing with the numerous enemies and the bullets they spit is not easy! Power-ups include energy refills, a clock to freeze enemies for a short while, and extra droplets, but on later stages, messing around trying to find these can sometimes cost you more energy than you'll gain. Each stage has mid-bosses as well as end-bosses too, and some of them are a real challenge, at least until you've faced them so many times you've worked out a strategy. Suffice to say, Mr Ghost's voyage of self discovery is considerably harder than I initially thought.

Is it as good as I initially thought, though? Probably not if I'm honest. Mr. Ghost himself is appealing, as are many enemies, and some of the stages are lovely to behold, but others are visually a bit dull with too much darkness and repeated colours. The audio is excellent though, with some decent effects and great music. Whether you'll enjoy this unusual adventure or not though, depends on how prepared you are to replay it enough that you learn the best way through the tougher sections. I can't imagine I'll ever be skilled enough to finish it and discover Mr. Ghost's true nature, but there's a lot to like here as well. It's certainly an original game - I can't think of anything else quite like it - and there are tons of secret bonuses to find so there's a lot to play for if you have the skill/patience. This was exactly the kind of game I was hoping to find on the MSX in any case - an exclusive and an interesting and mostly enjoyable one.

RKS Score: 7/10

Gameplay Video: here's a video of the whole game being played by one of the talented fellows at The MSX Channel (check out their great channel here). Oh, and don't watch if you want to avoid spoilers!