Gargoyle’s Quest is a side-scrolling action game. You play as the gargoyle, Firebrand, and you’re trying to save your realm from a significant threat. This happened before, and your people couldn’t beat them back then. This makes me think this land of monsters is filled with the mobs you would typically fight to grind for levels.
This is a spin-off of Ghosts ‘n Goblins, and it has a lot of the same things that annoy me about those games. You can only take two hits, your jump/flying ability feels off, and I think some of the enemies are a bit too powerful. I know that adds to the challenge, but it still annoyed me.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins was originally an arcade game. It was made to get as many quarters from you as it could. Yes, it was a very good game and required you to get good at it. I wish they had made some changes before bringing it to the console.
What you see in Ghosts ‘n Goblins is the same as Gargoyle’s Quest. It’s a challenging game, but it can be beaten! Every game in this series is very challenging.
I didn’t play this game growing up. I don’t remember hearing about it. I think I knew about Ghosts ‘n Goblins on the NES, I definitely never heard of the arcade game, but it’s one of those classic NES games that is still fun. Gargoyle’s Quest is the same as the main series. It’s challenging and still a fun game to play today.
TLDR: This is a fun game that is as challenging as the games in the main series.
History of the game
Gargoyle’s Quest was developed and published by Capcom. It was released in 1990 in Japan and North America, with Europe getting the game in 1991. There are two other games in this series, Gargoyle’s Quest 2 and Demon’s Crest.
Many of the characters look like their counterparts in Ghosts ‘n Goblins. This makes me wonder a bit about the series. Did the humans/Destroyers invade the monster realm after the events of Ghosts ‘n Goblins? I think so.
It’s like an endless cycle between these two series. I’m just messing around. The stories don’t have much to do with each other.
Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly standard for a game like this. You move to the right and kill everything that crosses your path. There are pits to jump over, obstacles to fly around, and other stuff to do in a game like this.
When I first started, I didn’t get the jumping mechanic. It has a wall grab mechanic that is similar to Ninja Gaiden. This messed with me when I first started because I wasn’t expecting this. I’m sure it was explained in the manual, which I don’t have. I’m beginning to regret not collecting the manuals along with the games.
You only have two hit points. This is a holdover from the series origins in the arcade. It’s also the thing I dislike the most! It’s not a problem, but if you’re not that great at games like this, it can create a barrier for entry to the game.
I wish they had updated it a bit and maybe given you a few more hit points. That’s just me, though. Everything else in the game is excellent! I had fun playing it even though I wish I didn’t die so fast.
Visuals
I think it looks good for a Game Boy game. The screen feels a bit crowded at times. The sprites are limited to a few on the screen at a time; this is a nice adjustment for a handheld.
For a 1990 game, it looks good. It might look different on the original Game Boy or the Game Boy Color. I didn’t try it on a few other systems I have for playing Game Boy games.
8.5/10
Pros
- It’s a fun and challenging game.
- The controls are good.
- The game looks nice.
Cons
- It can be a bit too hard for some players. You’ll have to play it more to get better.
- Sometimes, the wall jump can get you into trouble.
- I wish you had more than just two hit points.
- At times, the game can feel a bit unfair, but that makes you try to figure out a way around the challenge.
Conclusion
Games like this make me feel happy. I wish I had a chance to play Gargoyle’s Quest when I was younger. The series is interesting, even if it’s a little strange as far as the releases. The second game was on the NES, and the third game isn’t called Gargoyle’s Quest. I’m not sure why they do stuff like that.
The first game in the series that I played was Demon’s Crest. I didn’t know anything about it, and back then, I didn’t try to learn anything about it. Back in the 90s, I didn’t care much about finding all of these games.
Looking at them now, I think they’re some of the best games on their respective systems. They offer a lot of challenges, and they’re very fun games.
The Gargoyle’s Quest games are a bit expensive to collect nowadays. I didn’t check if they’re available digitally. It would be great if they were because these are great games. If you can get a hold of them, they are worth it!