Right, get this — you're out on a nice date with your girlfriend until, annoyingly, you get horribly murdered by a crime syndicate. Now you're a ghost, and you have to team up with your girlfriend's dad to rescue her from said syndicate, but wait! There's more! The syndicate are one step ahead of you, because they're researching ghosts... and they need your girlfriend's dad, a leading, uh, ghost scientist, to help them!
That's the plot of arcade-turned-Game Boy game, Avenging Spirit, which has just been announced as an upcoming Switch re-release. You may have seen Avenging Spirit on the site quite recently, as it was also the subject of a snazzy physical Game Boy release courtesy of Retro-Bit.
As the ghost-protagonist (poltergonist?), you'll have to possess a number of different characters (including gangsters, robots, and vampires) and use their powers, Kirby-style, to fight through six stages, infiltrate the syndicate's base, rescue your boo, and impress your future father-in-law.
Avenging Spirit will be available on the Nintendo eShop alongside other console releases for $5.99 on the 29th July, 2022.
Comments 35
I assume this is a port of the arcade original, not the game boy version?
@XiaoShao yep! It's never been released outside the arcade.
Is there a big difference between this and the GB version on the 3DS eshop? This was going to be a pickup before it closes down.
I have the original Game Boy game on 3DS from the virtual console. I’ve not booted up the 3DS in a while. I didn’t get too far but will revisit it on the switch if it reviews well.
"Right, get this — you're out on a nice date with your girlfriend until, annoyingly, you get horribly murdered by a crime syndicate."
Ugh, I know right? Happens to me all the time.
@d-slice No big differences between the two. The game boy version is a little more platformy, and the arcade version is a little more actiony. But they're both generally the same.
3DS eshop is still live until March 2023 by the way!
Such an overlooked game, but to be honest I would have never asked my parents for it on the Gameboy if it wasn't for the cover. I thought it was some Mafia game when I first saw the cover art.
It's also on the forthcoming Jaleco Arcade 1 collection on Evercade. Other Jaleco games have been released on Switch by Hamster - I wonder why the change?
I've known this as one of the GB library's highlights for many years, but I was today years old when I learned of its arcade origins. And to think it only got ported to Game Boy of all consoles before! Either the folks behind it faced some constraints (of which there are various kinds - Magical Doropie, for instance, never got the planned sequel because the devs literally couldn't afford the SNES kit at the time), or "inferior" portable power didn't baffle the industry much back then either, especially when counterpointed by the increasingly gargantuan userbase.
Wait, this isn't an ACA release? Would seem most likely, feels like Hamster pretty much has the entire Jaleco catalog available (along with Nichibitsu and UPL).
@nhSnork Game Boy was literally the only home port.
Same with Soldam before the Switch (though a Famicom port was announced).
@BJQ1972 @KingMike At least it is cheaper than the Arcade Archives. 😊
However, it may not have different play modes, online score boards, alternate ROMs, etc.
@Kermit1 very cool, thanks!
I bought the game boy game years ago on the 3DS. I liked it and played it pretty often back then. Always wanted to play the original arcade version, looks like I’ll be able to do that now.
@Tasuki Okay, I just looked at the original Gameboy boxart. That is an atrocious cover. It's so bad, I would say that it definitely hurt sales. (They should have put a ghost on the cover, duh!) I will say that Mega Man 1 has some bad artwork too, so sales can sometimes overcome bad box art.
@CharlieGirl I know! It’s the WORST, am I right?!
Hang on:
Game Boy Forgotten Gem 'Avenging Spirit' Is (or is not?) Making Its Way To Nintendo Switch(?)
Finally the arcade version, always wonder why they never port this to the Super NES when the Game Boy handle this game just fine.
One of Jaleco’s better games.
I was initially quite excited, but I wish they had included the GB game as well in order to make this a more complete package.
Anyway, with LRG releasing their own Game Boy cart, I’ll hold out for a potential Switch cart release. Otherwise. I’ll be tempted to grab this on sale.
Cool but it should include the game boy version too.
@CharlieGirl You're rather expressive for a corpse.
And I just got the original game boy version on the doomed 3DS virtual console....
I had no idea this had arcade origins. I will be giving this a go as I did enjoy the GB version. I remember being super drawn in with the GB cover just to see a cutesy Casper-ish ghost in the game lol. @kategray Do I smell a box art cover article for Avenging Spirit incoming...?
@ZZalapski Aw, thanks! 👻
Wait a minute. The headline is misleading. This is the arcade version, right? In this case I'll pass, because I'll have it on the aforementioned Jaleco Arcade 1 Evercade cartridge.
If it was the Game Boy version with color added, though...
Graphics look too good for a GB game. They are GBA level. I will check if i got the game on my GBC
@CharlieGirl happened to me when my wife and I were dating. Says a lot that she still married me. She's really committed.
@Moroboshi876
yeah i was saying the same thing. what does this have to do with gameboy, besides that there was a "port" on gameboy years ago? (really any gameboy "port" is more of a demake or completely different game, right?)
GAME BOY??? THIS IS THE ARCADE VERSION
@IronMan30 So what did you do about the "till death do us part" in your vows, or did you just skip that altogether?
@-wc- They were called ports. We didn't make the distinction in those days because we didn't expect the console versions to match the arcade.
As long as it vageuly captured the idea of the original game, is all we could hope for.
@ZZalapski skipped it, oddly enough.
I remember I first heard of Avenging Spirt when I saw it on the eshop in 2012. It looked cool, so picked it up. I ordered the Game Boy physical from LRG because I have a large collection of games from the GB line. Might get this as well.
@KingMike
yeah i know (rather, remember) they were called "ports," that's why i wrote the word "port" and put it in quotation marks like that. thanks! 👍
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