10 "Firsts" That Changed Video Games Forever
5. The First To Include A New Game Plus
First: Ghosts ‘N’ Goblins (1985)
New Game+ is a feature which allows players to restart their games upon completion using the same character, complete with everything scavenged throughout the previous playthrough, including weapons, upgrades, unlockable items and equipment. In Dark Souls for instance, the player is able to restart the campaign once it’s been completed, but is allowed to retain weapons and experience, meaning they don’t have to start again from scratch.
In most cases, New Game+ gives players the option of replaying a game minus the challenge. In Resident Evil 4 for instance, players can restart with their weapons already upgraded, meaning most enemies can be dispatched with a single headshot. Other popular examples include Borderlands, Ratchet and Clank, Mass Effect and Dead Space, all of which allow players to restart their games with the majority of their inventory intact.
The question is: which was the first? In 1995, the term was coined with the release of Chrono Trigger, but the origins of New Game+ can be traced back ever further, the first actual use of the feature being found in Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins – a side scrolling platformer released in 1985 – which requires the player to restart from the beginning on a harder difficulty in order to truly finish the game.