
Photos courtesy of GiantBomb.com
Maximo continues the quest to rescue the princess
I have a love and hate relationship with Capcom. For every game they develop and publish that will be a smash hit by being more creative and sticking to the basics, they churn out five or six copies of the same game without breaking any new ground (i.e. Street Fighter V). I won’t even mention how they studied the Konami code of disposing of one of their greatest game series and its leader. With this view of Capcom off my chest, let’s look at a game that is original and has become a successor to the classic games Ghosts ‘N Goblins and Adventure Island: Maximo: Ghosts to Glory.
You take the role of said character, Maximo, who, after returning from a battle to protect his kingdom, finds out that his main lady Queen Sophia is captured by his once-trusted adviser, Achille. To make matters worse, Achille has developed a drill that has pierced the underworld, allowing him to create an army of undead monsters to terrorize the kingdom. All is not lost as is seems that as Maximo was free-falling, the Grim Reaper makes a deal for him to return to the living world in exchange for returning the lost souls to the underworld. Maximo accepts and begins his quest to free Sophia and restore the peace taken by Achille.
Maximo retains the elements from Ghosts ‘N Goblins and Adventure Island but allows freedom to explore all of the stages thanks to its 3D design. Maximo has the ability to run, jump and crouch to avoid enemies and is easily controlled with use of the analog control stick. Maximo is also ready for battle with his trusty sword and shield, which can be thrown at approaching enemies and capable of wiping out all enemies on the screen if the right power-ups are applied. In addition to his sword and shield, Maximo has his armor which, if all the parts are gathered, he becomes invincible for a brief period.
A heads up: Make sure that Maximo keeps his armor as long as possible since like Arthur in Ghosts ‘N Goblins, if Maximo takes too many hits, he would be down to his boxers, which would lead to his death if he takes another hit. Also, controlling Maximo is not difficult, but some practice is recommended to get adjusted to moving around.
The stages are excellently designed and guaranteed to make you feel that you’re in Maximo’s world. The game’s music is an enjoyable mix of original and remastered tracks from the original Ghosts ‘N Goblins. The challenge level is ridiculously high, guaranteeing great replay value.
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is one of those type of games that will please fans of old-school adventure gaming who want to play the genre with the latest technology. In my opinion, Maximo is also a example of what Capcom can do when they allow creativity to flourish instead of always milking their golden franchises to death.
Well done, Capcom. Well done.