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Brave Sir Arthur the Knight is back, once again searching for his girlfriend who has been kidnapped by Lucifer!

The mission of mercy is set over five scrolling levels, starting in the graveyard, then moving to hell desert, up a castle's battlements, down through icy underground caverns and finally inside a castle dungeon.

Our hero can run and jump and is initially armed with a lance that can be thrown left, right, up or down - but it's best to throw it in the direction of the nearest baddie. These horrors come in a multitude of shapes and sizes: vultures and skeletons are among the first to be encountered, and later worms and even Cerberus (the mythical three-headed dog) bar your progress.

Being hit results in you losing your armour, meaning that you must go on in your undies - another hit means death. Some thingies, like the Venus flytraps, kill you automatically, but either way death comes quickly and frequently.

The end of level guardians are huge and deadly and must be shot repeatedly to finish them off. Needless to say, they don't just stand there while you attack, but unleash various forms of attacks to be avoided! It's a tough game. But did anyone say it would be easy?

There are a variety of weapons to pick up. You start with lances, which are pretty useful. Daggers are good too. Disks are great for killing things on the ground, and the axe is better for aerial targets.

One of the most amusing parts of the game is when something happens to the Knight. Losing your armour means running about in your Y-fronts - not very safe when hordes of undead are after you!

Worse still is being turned into an old man, who hobbles around with a walking stick until the magician's spell wears off; try running fast like that! Becoming a duck is also rather humiliating - and dangerous too!

You can't shoot, so you must simply avoid enemies until you become human again - which isn't easy!

There are chests littered around the landscape - break them open and see what's inside! Sometimes it's an evil magician who turns you into a duck or old man if you're not careful. Sometimes it's an extra weapon or new armour. But if you're really lucky, there's golden armour inside. Grab this and you get a super weapon. Simply hold down the fire button for a few seconds to unleash massive power!

What a stunner! Not only does Ghouls 'N Ghosts have some of the best graphics and sound you're likely to see and hear on a console game, it's also one of the hardest games you're likely to play.

But even though it'll have you cursing with frustration, it's so good you just keep on coming back for more. The game is packed with surprises - the giant end-of-level guardians are all highly original, the spooky soundtracks are superb, the sound effects are excellent and some of the baddie sprites are incredible.

Add this all together and you've got a game that you really shouldn't miss.

What a brilliant game! The graphics are wonderful, and the sound is great. My only qualm with the game is its difficulty - it's very hard, and I think some people will have trouble with it.

It's worth persevering though, as they don't come much better than this. I particularly like all the little touches that make the game so enjoyable, such as the array of weapons and foes.

When the hurricane starts blowing, running becomes harder - an excellent visual effect. Although there are only five levels, each one is graphically unique - you really want to see the next level!

Do yourself favour - buy this game now.

Presentation 85%
The options screen has the usual Megadrive sound test, and there are various game options.

Graphics 89%
Superb backgrounds and the main sprite is excellent. A visual treat!

Sound 92%
Excellent tunes and fabulous sound effects.

Playability 94%
Very tough, yet it's so addictive and playable that you won't stop.

Lastability 89%
You ain't gonna finish this in a hurry! So much fun to play it should be illegal.

Overall 92%
A perfect conversion. Whether you're a fan of the coin-op or not, don't miss this.