Golly! Ghost!
Golly! Ghost![lower-alpha 1] is a 1991 lightgun shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. It runs upon Namco System 2 hardware, and employs a diorama which is controlled by the game's driver board to open and close mechanical doors which are connected to solenoids, much like the moveable items on a pinball table. The diorama has five 24-volt globe lights that come on only during gameplay to light up the rooms - and they are all on when the game is being played during the shooting scenes, and off for the cutscenes, title screen, and high scores. The globes are not individually controlled, and are either all on or off; the driver board powers the diorama unit's solenoids and lights via several connectors on the driver board and the guns also plug into the driver board via another small connector (it was the first Namco game to use them). In 2012, the game was adapted into a webcomic for Namco Bandai's ShiftyLook webcomic service.
| Golly! Ghost! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Series | Golly! Ghost! |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Lightgun shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Namco System 2 Plus |
Gameplay
There are two lightguns mounted on the game cabinet; the one on the left is colored blue and nicknamed "Zip", while the one on the right is red and is nicknamed "Zap". The players use their guns to shoot a specific number of comical enemy ghosts before the timer runs out. This is a video ticket/redemption game, in which players will be rewarded with tickets (based on their scores), which emerge from a ghost's mouth painted on the cabinet. The game contains four levels, or "scenes", and is also notable for its use of a three-dimensional diorama over which the actual video ghosts are projected.
Reception
Australian publication MegaZone said that Golly! Ghost! continued Namco's "tradition of high-quality gun games" for its responsive lightguns and interesting usage of projectors and mechanical backdrops.[1] Japanese magazine Game Machine commented on the game's interesting concept, creepy atmosphere, and for its unique usage of projectors and a mechanical backdrop making it stand out from other lightgun games at the time.[2][3]
Legacy
A sequel game, Bubble Trouble: Golly! Ghost! 2[lower-alpha 2] was released two years after the original, and also ran on Namco System 2 hardware; it was also the fifth game from the company to allow scores not ending in "0" (after its predecessor), and the gameplay is very much like the original game, but this time it is themed around sunken treasure. The players, who are again codenamed "Zip" and "Zap", must now use their guns to shoot fish, crabs and other sea creatures at the bottom of the ocean (rather than ghosts in a haunted house) - and a certain number of points must get scored before the timer runs out in order to continue to the next scene, while bonus creatures which are worth 2 to 5 points when killed shall also appear to try to help the players reach that value. However, if neither player manages to score the required number of points before the timer runs out, the sea creatures will take over the bottom of the ocean and the game will, much like the original, immediately be over.
A spin-off puzzle game, Golly! Ghosts! Goal!, was released in March 1996 in Japan only for Windows 95. It is a reskin of the game Color Lines but features characters from the original game.
Notes
References
- "Arcade Latest" (18). MegaZone. October 1991. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "コミカルタ ッチ の T Vガンゲーム機" (PDF) (408). Game Machine. 1 August 1991. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 410. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 September 1991. p. 25.