Ghoul Patrol

Ghoul Patrol
North American SNES cover art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)JVC Musical Industries
Lucasfilm Games (Re-release)
Director(s)Kalani Streicher
Producer(s)
  • Kalani Streicher (LucasArts)
  • Andrew Carter (Motion Pixel)
Designer(s)Kalani Streicher
Programmer(s)Andrew Carter
Artist(s)
  • Harrison Fong
  • Holger Liebnitz
  • Liu Pee Hieng
Composer(s)
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo Switch
Xbox One
PlayStation 4
ReleaseSuper NES
  • NA: November 1994
  • PAL: 1994
  • JP: May 26, 1995
Microsoft Windows, Switch, Xbox One
  • WW: June 29, 2021
PlayStation 4
  • WW: October 28, 2021
Genre(s)Run and gun
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Ghoul Patrol is a run and gun video game developed by LucasArts and published by JVC Musical Industries for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994.

It is a sequel to the Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993). Both games were re-released together as part of Lucasfilm Classic Games: Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows in 2021 by Disney Interactive.

Gameplay

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The game stars Zeke and Julie, the protagonists from Zombies Ate My Neighbors, who must travel through five worlds to save their town from a horror exhibit come to life.

Development

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According to Toshiyasu Morita, a programmer and technology manager at LucasArts during the mid-1990s, this sequel was made by a third party that licensed the use of the Zombies Ate My Neighbors engine for this purpose.[1]

The game was developed by LucasArts, but most of the development work was outsourced by a small Malaysian studio called Motion Pixel.[2] It serves as a sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors, although it originally did not begin development as a sequel to the game, but merely as an unrelated game that used the same gameplay engine.

Release

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It was released by JVC Musical Industries in November 1994 in North America, and later in the year in Europe.[3] A Japanese version was published by the JVC subsidiary Victor Entertainment in 1995.

It was later re-released digitally on the Wii Virtual Console in 2010, and for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Windows in 2021 together with its predecessor.[4]

A Genesis version was under development, but was not released.[5]

Reception

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GamePro commented that "Ghoul Patrol is the closest you can get to the acclaimed Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and it's a worthy successor." They particularly praised the "outrageous 360-degree shoot-em-up action" and detailed, cartoony graphics.[6] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a 7.8 out of 10, calling it "A worthy sequel to Zombies Ate My Neighbors" and "A great salute to old, late-night horror movies."[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ Lucasfilm Classic Games version developed by DotEmu.

References

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  1. ^ "Interview: Toshiyasu Morita at Sega-16.com". Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  2. ^ "Ghoul Patrol - Hardcore Gaming 101". hardcoregaming.net. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  3. ^ "LucasArts Entertainment Company | 20th Anniversary". June 23, 2006. Archived from the original on June 23, 2006.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (May 11, 2021). "Lucasfilm Classic Games: Zombies Ate My Neighbors and Ghoul Patrol announced for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Derboo, Sam (January 31, 2011). "Ghoul Patrol". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  6. ^ "ProReview: Ghoul Patrol". GamePro. No. 74. IDG. November 1994. p. 148.
  7. ^ "Review Crew: Ghoul Patrol". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 65. Sendai Publishing. December 1994. p. 38.
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