Anniversary Rare's Grabbed By The Ghoulies Is 20 Years Old

Grabbed by the Ghoulies is a clever and fun little game (and I consider the remastered version from Rare Replay to be one of the compilation's highlights), but it suffered from all of the weight being placed on it as Rare's big Xbox debut, and the first new Rare game in a year.

There are all kinds of games like this, which are worthwhile on their own merits, but can be disappointing in their original context, due to being too small in scope, too unconventional, etc. Somewhat fittingly, Luigi's Mansion is another example, where many of us were hoping for a big, flagship Mario title for the GameCube (seeing as the last one was a full five years old at that time!), but the game's quality ultimately speaks for itself.

This disappointment due to failed expectations is understandable, but it starts to seem a bit pointless in hindsight, as we can appreciate what something is, not what it isn't.

@BobaTheFett Do you mean about the gameplay being simplistic, or about the limited scope and short length of the game? If the former, you should know that the later challenges offer difficult conditions that force you to get creative with how you approach things, so the simple mechanics are more of a means to an end, rather than the point itself.

If it's the latter, then I get that. If you asked me to try to define the "Rare Magic" that graced their N64-era output, I would point to the ambition, and the feeling that they were always trying to make the best game ever.

A straightforward shooter campaign, kart racer, or collectathon platformer? Not good enough- they had to cram it full of features, details, extras, and modes.

Ghoulies was satisfied to be what it was- not that there's anything wrong with that, necessarily, but it's a step down from the extravagance of previous games.

@smoreon I agree, buddy. I played Grabbed by the Ghoulies on Xbox One, as part of Rare Replay. It's a frenetic game that looks and plays great in HD and 60fps, so it must be much better than on Xbox 360 at 30fps. I found it a lot of fun, very arcadey and challenging and with a great art style and music. I completed it 100%. It reminded me a bit of Luigi's Mansion, although the latter is obviously slow-paced. Grabbed by the Ghoulies, while simple, makes the most of its simplicity by forcing players to get creative and efficient, while being highly rewarding. It's one of the best arcade-style games that I've ever played. Perhaps, it was developed quickly, being Microsoft's first Rare game. I also think that Luigi's Mansion was developed in a short time, being a Gamecube launch game. Super Mario Sunshine arrived years later.

Over time, however, Grabbed by the Ghoulies has become one of Rare's less-appreciated titles – and even Rare is aware of this, as copies of it are found in overflowing dustbins in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

That's fundamentally a joke. Rare's games are full of that kind of humour making fun of themselves. Even the Donkey Kong Country games have a lot of that.

@Banjo- It actually took three years to make, like most of their games! It was first revealed on the GameCube, then ported and refined on the Xbox. According to interviews, Rare still had to cut content to keep some semblance of a deadline. (Just porting to Xbox was apparently a big undertaking in itself, and ate up a lot of time.)

PS: The unsold copies of Ghoulies in the garbage may be a self-deprecating joke, but that joke is based on something, whether that's actual sales figures, or just public perception!

@smoreon Also, remember that Rare put Sonic inside a rubbish bin! My favourite liines are Cranky's, complaining about modern video games and bashing the sequels starred by Diddy, Dixie and Kiddy.