MiSTer FPGA – Ghoul Patrol / SNES (Super Famicom)

The sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors was surprising to play after thoroughly enjoying the original on my first try last year. This one was farmed out to a Malaysian development studio using the same engine, and was not planned as a sequel originally. The two main characters from ZAMN were shoe-horned in, later into development.

Much of the gameplay design that made the first game unique and enjoyable is absent here, instead going for a more generic run-and-gun maze style presentation. Jumping and a slide maneuvers were added in this one, but really don’t add much to the gameplay here. IMO it is a bit of a downgrade with those additions, but this doesn’t especially become evident until some of the last stages where they have instant-death pits everywhere and accurate jumping becomes crucial. It doesn’t feel good, and the jumps themselves are hard to gauge at times because of the variable heights to the platforms which are not at all obvious from looking at the screen. This makes the end of the game more frustrating than fun, and if you didn’t save a bunch of lives before getting to this weird transition to instant-death pit platforming, then you’ll just game-over. Not bad because you can use a password to get back near the ending, but this puts you at a *severe* disadvantage compared to playing through the game to that point, as you lose all weapons, items and keys.

There is strangely more incentive to avoid enemies in this game than to fight them. Fighting them usually ends up with the same enemy respawning right back and makes you wonder why you bothered in the first place. Only tougher enemies that don’t respawn should be a priority when playing. Unless they’re blocking your path- skip the rest.

In ZAMN you have to strategize using keys to open the correct doors and not waste them, which created somewhat of a puzzle in the game that honestly was well balanced and implemented. Not in this one. By the end of the first world you can easily farm 99 keys if you want to. It only ever becomes an issue if you use a password to continue, and then you will find yourself needing to seek them out again.

Rescuing civilians is also reduced to near-meaninglessness in this. They only serve to give you points and open the exit portal here. You could let enemies slaughter them to open the portal and it makes no difference.

It’s not all bad though- the game features some great pixel art through its different environments. Seeing the different visuals on display through these stages was the high point of my experience here.

Probably won’t be returning to this one, besides maybe to try out the co-op mode.

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SNES core 07-13-2021 build – Ghoul Patrol

Filter: SNES_110_85_soft // Gamma: Off

Played using a Hori Real Arcade Pro VX-SA (with Seimitsu LS-62 lever) arcade stick & 1ms USB polling.

Settings: Integer Scaled to 1080p // HDMI to Datapath e1s capture card

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|:=-Timestamps-=:|
00:00:00 – Settings
00:00:38 – Title / Intro
00:03:54 – World 1 (Metropolis)
00:35:23 – World 2 (Ming Dynasty)
00:53:13 – World 3 (Caribbean)
01:17:35 – World 4 (Medieval World)
01:35:41 – World 5 (Ghosts and Demon World)

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Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/WalrusFPGA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalrusFPGA

=—————CONTRIBUTE—————=

None of this would be possible without the constant hard work of Sorgelig. It cannot be overstated how much he has done and continues to do for this project, since its beginning. You can support him either at his Patreon in the link below, or on Paypal, depending on your preference. MiSTer is a paradigm shift in how we can experience these classic games. This is a long-term preservation project that will continue to grow so that gamers today and in the future can experience these excellent systems as accurately and lag-free as possible. Donating what you can will help keep the updates coming. Thank you.

Patreon: https://patreon.com/FPGAMiSTer

PayPal: https://paypal.me/FPGAMiSTer

NOTE: I am not affiliated with Sorgelig and am only sharing these links as a fan of the project who wishes to see it continue to grow rapidly.

=—————–INFORM—————–=

SmokeMonster’s overview video of this core: https://youtu.be/8DF8UPSNYys

Github link for this core: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/SNES_MiSTer

MiSTer Forum/Wiki/Github (source, guides and info): http://MiSTerFPGA.org

Official MiSTer Discord for live chat/help: https://discord.gg/4xKVg4XVYn
(Be respectful; this server is moderated. New users must be verified.)

=——————BUILD——————=

Worldwide list of sellers for MiSTer expansion boards: https://misterfpga.org/viewforum.php?f=34&sid=74e1c5e7dae1b99284789d93194cfa0b

I have personally ordered all my parts from https://www.MiSTerAddons.com and have been 100% satisfied with the quality and service there. (North American seller. If in a different region, check list linked above for best local shipping rates.)

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