Grabbed by the Ghoulies

Laugh in the face of danger.

NA release: 21st October 2003
EU release: 21st November 2003
JP release: 29th April 2004
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft
NGC Magazine Score: N/A
Version Played: Xbox One

When Rare were purchased by Microsoft, their current projects were moved over from the GameCube to the Xbox. In the case of Grabbed by the Ghoulies, the game was very late in development and there wasn’t really any opportunity to adapt the game to the Xbox audience, meaning it ended up fizzling out and never got much attention. Was the game any good and would it have been more appreciated on the GameCube?

Grabbed by the Ghoulies is a beat-’em-up with a robotron style control setup, as the right analogue stick controls the direction you attack. This allows you to position yourself more strategically as you punch, kick and throw weapons around. You can still move the camera with the shoulder buttons, so you can keep track of enemies and keep an eye out for weapons.

Most of the weapons are melee weapons, while most others have to be thrown. They can also only be used a limited amount of times, so learning the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon is vital for progressing well, and smashing stuff is considerably good fun, especially as there are lots of objects you can destroy as you smash things around.

The game progresses room by room of a haunted mansion (where you have to rescue your girlfriend), with each one offering a unique challenge. There’s a big arcade feel to the game as the game will introduce lots of rules – no using weapons, not killing specific enemies, not doing much damage to the room, having limited health and all sorts of others. It helps keep the combat fresh all the way through the game and makes it an immense amount of fun.

And the Rare charm is oozing throughout the game. The cutscenes use comic book style panels while dialogue is shown via silent movie text panels. There’s just a magic touch to the game that makes it feel wonderful. This is a game that embraced both old and new and I think it holds up better now than it did when it was brand new. I do think that it would still have been chastised by GameCube magazines, though, and it’s only looking back that its brilliance shines through.

Great

Grabbed by the Ghoulies is one of the most refreshing, fun and downright brilliant games I’ve played this year. Any game that manages to capture the spirit of 8 and 16-bit gaming, while daring to present it in a new and unusual way, is well worth a look in my Rare tome. It doesn’t matter that it’s Rare, and it doesn’t matter that it’s Microsoft. What matters is that it’s great.
Kaiser Hwang, Eurogamer

Did the GameCube Miss Out?

I do feel this would have done better on GameCube.

Remake or remaster?

While Rare Replay is a collection that consists almost entirely of emulated or re-releases, Grabbed by the Ghoulies on the collection was actually a brand new port, working fully in high definition, widescreen, with controller icons updated and achievements. That’s all the game needed

Official Ways to get the game

Grabbed by the Ghoulies is available on Xbox – either the original or the improved version within Rare Replay.