Maldita Castilla EX takes place in the cursed land of Tolomera. One day, a young witch by the name of Moura is crying over the loss of her beloved when a demon appears. Turning her tears into a magical key, the demon opens up a gateway to spew forth evil across the land. Now demons, zombies, and all kinds of unspeakable horrors roam the kingdom of Tolomera.

King Alfonso VI of Leon summons his most loyal knights, Don Ramiro and his friends Quesada, Don Diego, and Mendoza. The king implores them to set forth and put an end to the evil threat and bring peace to Tolomera. This sets the stage for a fast-paced action arcade game heavily influenced by classic titles like Rygar, Shinobi, and especially Ghosts ‘N’ Goblins. The game features retro pixel graphics that perfectly emulate the style of the eighties arcade cabinet titles it was inspired by, even down to an old monitor screen effect that can be toggled on or off through the options menu if you prefer. Even the music was created with the YM2203 sound chip in mind, a chip manufactured by Yamaha that was commonly found in many videogame and computer systems throughout the 80’s and early 90’s. Like most old-school arcade games, it can be quite hard and there is no option to change the difficulty. Playing a game like this every once in a while serves to remind myself how truly terrible I am at sidescrollers.

Maldita castilla ex xbox one