A simple platformer that's tough to play and even harder to master.
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is an homage to the hardcore platform gaming days, and can easily be considered part of a genre of game that is now nearly extinct. Capcom seemed to have decided to make a 3D platformer and at the same time, a strange tribute to their classic game Ghosts and Goblins.
You play as Maximo, a man returning from war whose kingdom is invaded by an army of undead, brought to life by a sorcerer named Achilles. In an attempt to save his kingdom and his love Sophia, he's killed by Achilles and sent to the Underworld. There he befriends the Grim Reaper who promises to bring him back to life on the condition that he stops Achilles' drill that's freeing spirits in order to use them in his army. The game from then on forward is Maximo's search for the Sorceress Council that will prepare him for the final battle.
The game is very straightforward. You are given a limited set of lives and one continue. You start off with a basic horizontal slash and a vertical attack. You also have a shield that you can use to defend yourself from enemy attacks. Just as you traverse the first level, one thing that becomes very apparent is the sharp difficulty curve. The level starts off with slow baby steps throwing few enemies in your direction, but by the end of Level 1: Grave Danger, the game expects you to have the controls down and attack and jump timing right, because if you don't by the next level, you'll most definitely run out of lives.
Maximo punishes novice players with an iron fist. It's the typical game that loses a large audience due to its difficulty. On the other hand, it rewards the expert player with more than one gift. One huge example of this is how power-ups work. There are power-ups that enhance almost every one of your basic functions. You can pick up one that gives you a double slash combo or the ability to throw your shield. There are more of these basic essential power-ups all over the levels you visit. Then you have the more rare and advanced power-ups, like a longsword upgrade or a power-up that turns your shield into a coin magnet. If you never die, you'll be able to enjoy from a large assortment of these. Those who lip up frecuently may not appreciate them for very long, because with the exception of a minimal three that you can lock in and therefore never lose, every other power-up you obtained is instantly lost upon death. This may become rather frustrating since if you're already losing, starting over weaker than before only worsens the situation.
Another way Maximo punishes you is by not letting you get too attached to things. You may pick up sword elementals like Flametongue or Armageddon for example, that allow you to strike down enemies with more strength (Elementals even have their own power-ups like the ability to shoot magic bolts from your sword). The downside is that an elemental only comes with 20 sword units, equivalent to 20 slashes and power-up usage costs as well.
Enemies are numerous and tricky, especially when they can block your attacks. Blocking with your shield can become a problem because by using your shield, you're using up shield units. When these units hit zero, your shield breaks and you're left with nothing to defend yourself.
Combat may seem simplistic, but going up against these factors requires you to be quick and cautious at all times. Maximo doesn't absorb damage very well, and his life bar is represented by green bars, each one representing a layer of physical armor. Every time you lsoe a bar, Maximo becomes more defenseless, until he's left with only his boxer (seriously).
Each death results in the loss of a life. When you run out of lives, Maximo returns to the Underworld where he must bargain with Grim for another shot at life. The first one comes cheap, only costing you one Spirit Coin. From then on, the price increases. In order to gain a Spirit Coin, one must collect 50 blue spirits found in objects spread across every level.
Apart from its difficulty, Maximo: Ghosts to Glory also suffers from a touch of monotony and lack of proper camera controls. There aren't a very large variety of enemies in the game. There enemies are comprised of skeletons that rank by their colors to distinguish their skill (skeletons dressed in yellow aren't as tough or strong as skeletons dressed in red), zombies all of which look the same and some thematic enemies that vary depending on the world you're in.
There are five worlds in total. Each world has it's own specific theme. The problem with this is that none of the themes are very inspiring and in the end, its all the same, because after you've seen one level in that world, you've basically seen everything that world has to offer. Each level is linear and dull, there isn't anything remarkably special about any level in particular.
The game's save and travel system is a cruel one. You're charged 100 coins just to save your progress and if you decide to travel to another world. This is frustrating because coins are also used to open prize wheels that contain goodies like armor, health, special boxers, etc. Unless you go out of your way to collect them, there won't be enough to go around.
As a final note, what most intrigues me about this game is how imposible it is to master let alone complete it. One can easily decide to fly through at their own pace, but a select few may decide to take the long road. After finishing each level, some stats are shown. You are shown the % completion of the level, the game completion and finally, the Mastery Completion. To master a level, one must traverse a level collection everything, killing every enemy and finding all of the buried treasure in the level. What makes this a hassle is that you can never be sure you collected everything, because there's no indicator to tell you. Just like in the first Crash Bandicoot game, you won't know until you finished the stage.
In conclusion, Maximo has its ups and downs. It isn't necessarily a bad game, because it shines and amuses with its cartoony graphics, sounds and catchy music. Plus, it has a very nostalgic feel to it. Unfortunately, its plagued with problems that limit it to a selective group of people who can truly appreciate it, despite its shortcomings.