Like anyone who has been playing games for any length of time, I've seen so many endings that they barely even register in my memory anymore. But I distinctly remember the Saturday one summer in high school when I finally finished Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. My friend owned the game, and I had dabbled with the game here and there over the couple of years leading up to that moment thanks to the occasional loan. It was something I had originally written off as being too frustrating to care about, but I was staying at my buddy's house that weekend and he was out for the day. Lacking other options, I sat down and played through the whole thing (twice). It's an incredibly difficult game even for its era, but there's a certain rhythm to it that will carry you through once you learn it. And to be perfectly honest, it's probably the easiest game in the series that started with 1985's Ghosts 'n Goblins.
No, for my money, the hardest game in this series is that very first game, Ghosts 'n Goblins. It's pretty much the ultimate example of how cruel an arcade game could be in its pursuit of more of the player's coins. Packed to the brim with nasty tricks, tough enemies, and a twist in its ending that has to be experienced to really grasp the weight of, Ghosts 'n Goblins was so hard that you'd have an easier time finding decent Mexican food in The Pas than you would finding someone who could beat the game in the pre-save states era. Yet for how mean-spirited it could be, there was something...