Ghost Lion - NES

Ghost Lion is a rare turn-based JRPG released late in the NES lifecycle and known for its distinctive fantasy-horror tone and striking character art. You play as Maria, a young heroine searching for her kidnapped sister Lucia, whose fate is tied to the resurrection of the demonic Ghost Lion.

This mysterious white lion once attacked a small village and killed many of its inhabitants. But a brave soldier defeated the beast with his spear. The white lion ran away and found a shelter in a dark cave near the town. Some years later, Maria's parents organize an expedition to the cave in order to find out what the white lion really is. But they never come back...

Now Maria has to go to the cave and to search for her parents. Equipped with the famous spear the brave soldier Moja used to defeat the lion, she receives the village elder's permission to descend into the cave. But while wandering through the dark corridors, she falls into a river, and a strong current brings her to the Dream World. She no longer can return back, and the fairies who inhabit the Dream World tell her that the only way to defeat the lion is to travel to yet another world - the Dark World...

In this game, you control Maria as she travels on the world maps, visits towns, and descends into dungeons. The battles are turn-based and are viewed from first-person perspective in Dragon Warrior style. Instead of party members you have ghosts you can summon to help you in battles, such as the soldier Moja and others. Hit points and magic points are called Courage and Dream, respectively. You gain levels only by finding special items, not from fighting random monsters.

The game stands out on NES for its:

• dark fairy-tale atmosphere

• unusually expressive enemy and character portraits

• serious narrative tone compared to most 8-bit RPGs

Gameplay follows traditional JRPG structure with:

• top-down overworld exploration

• random turn-based battles

• towns, dungeons, and NPC interactions

• magic, items, and party progression

⭐ Style & Legacy Notes

• One of the last officially released NES RPGs in North America
  

• Often compared to darker Famicom-era RPGs in tone

• Cult status due to low print run and late release timing

Product Details

Japanese Title: White Lion Densetsu: Pyramid no Kanata ni (ホワイトライオン伝説 ―ピラミッドの彼方に―, Waito Raion Densetsu -Piramiddo no kanata ni-; White Lion Legend: Beyond the Pyramid
Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES, NTSC-U)
Genre: Turn-Based JRPG / Fantasy
Players: 1 player
Language: English
Developer: Katsuya Terada / Kemco*
Publisher: Kemco
Release Year: 1992 (North America)

*Terada provided character design and illustration work; development handled by Kemco.

NES cartridges are region-locked. This NTSC-U copy is for North American NES hardware.