2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

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2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby VideoGameCritic » October 26th, 2021, 9:31 pm

I wanted to get these posted in time for Halloween, but in retrospect these are really not Halloween games.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on them.

Zack Burner
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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby Zack Burner » October 26th, 2021, 10:08 pm

Two different reviews, with different results. I remember seeing the commercial for the American version many many years ago, if only I could find it on Youtube! I played that version years ago, and I agree 100% about it, it's a step in the right direction but still gets some things wrong, you can't even pause the game! And why only use a slime blower instead of a proton pack? As for the European version, this gets plenty right, even if it's almost too easy. Believe it or not you can also play as Rick Moranis in that as well! I like the bestiary, the graphics, even the music is straight out of the movie such as Glenn Frey's "Flip City" and Bobby Brown's "We're Back". Janoz is the toughest boss in the game, Vigo is a bit of a letdown, a straightforward zapping once you know how to stay in a safe place you won't even get hit! Other than that quibble, I liked it.

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » October 27th, 2021, 12:51 am

Fair reviews.

And it really shows the difference between East and West at the time.

Activision just designed a series of simple reflex challenge, then slapped the license on top. HAL focused on turning the movie's actual mechanics into a simple gameplay loop, with a small bit of strategy organically involved.

Neither game represents the studio at their best, but just by offering a taste of what fans wanted, the Japanese title became a cult classic that's still fondly remembered today.

One small criticism of your review - the grade for the HAL game isn't showing.
Last edited by ThePixelatedGenocide on October 27th, 2021, 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby Matchstick » October 27th, 2021, 12:52 am

Did New Ghostbusters II actually get a review grade? If so, it's not showing up on my browser - I just get a blank space, as TPG noted.

Also, I usually like your style of humor, Critic, but enough with "the black guy" joke in the Ghostbusters reviews. It was used in at least the PS2 and PS3 reviews of that generation's Ghostbusters game, and may even be in other Ghostbusters reviews on different systems. It wasn't funny then, and it's not funny now. Maybe it's meant to be an inside joke, but I just don't get the constant dig on the Winston character.

For me, the joke falls flat, and doesn't add anything to the reviews except a heavy sigh and eyeroll on my end.

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby ASalvaro » October 27th, 2021, 2:50 am

Matchstick wrote:Did New Ghostbusters II actually get a review grade? If so, it's not showing up on my browser - I just get a blank space, as TPG noted.

Also, I usually like your style of humor, Critic, but enough with "the black guy" joke in the Ghostbusters reviews. It was used in at least the PS2 and PS3 reviews of that generation's Ghostbusters game, and may even be in other Ghostbusters reviews on different systems. It wasn't funny then, and it's not funny now. Maybe it's meant to be an inside joke, but I just don't get the constant dig on the Winston character.

For me, the joke falls flat, and doesn't add anything to the reviews except a heavy sigh and eyeroll on my end.

i think it's hilarious each time he's used to it

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby Paul Campbell » October 27th, 2021, 6:08 am

Matchstick wrote:Did New Ghostbusters II actually get a review grade? If so, it's not showing up on my browser - I just get a blank space, as TPG noted.

Also, I usually like your style of humor, Critic, but enough with "the black guy" joke in the Ghostbusters reviews. It was used in at least the PS2 and PS3 reviews of that generation's Ghostbusters game, and may even be in other Ghostbusters reviews on different systems. It wasn't funny then, and it's not funny now. Maybe it's meant to be an inside joke, but I just don't get the constant dig on the Winston character.

For me, the joke falls flat, and doesn't add anything to the reviews except a heavy sigh and eyeroll on my end.


It's obvious you don't understand the context. Dave is making an observation about how people so often refer to the Winston character, especially in the games because he is so often left out completely for some reason. In many of these games, the characters aren't labeled with their actual names anywhere, and there are only three white characters with no names, so you end up asking, as I have many times out loud, "Where in the hell is the black guy"?

Also, you don't feel weird asking Dave not to do something publicly simply because you don't like it? You don't feel embarrassingly selfish doing that? I don't like everything Dave does, but I'm not going to ask him to stop for my sake. I just read past it. I'm an adult. You sound like the kind of guy that goes to a comedy club, laughs the whole time, but then goes home and writes a blog about the one joke that offended you, and that the comedian should stop doing that joke, even though the whole room was laughing. Nobody should be able to hear that joke because it offended only you.

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby Matchstick » October 27th, 2021, 1:45 pm

Paul Campbell wrote:You don't feel embarrassingly selfish doing that?

No, I don't. It's the Review Feedback forum, and I'm giving my feedback based on the text of the review. If this isn't the appropriate place to address something within the review, I don't know what is.

Paul Campbell wrote:I just read past it.

Believe it or not, we have quite a bit in common, there! I'm not on the Internet much (no social media, and no message boards aside from this one) and I have definitely learned over the years that, in most cases, I'm better off moving along and staying out of other people's business.

In this case, I chose to bring it up because it's the third time I've read the same joke in a Ghostbusters review. I feel it's played-out, and wanted to give feedback based on that.

I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea that I'm upset or asking for edits. I'm not. I didn't ask for the previous uses of the joke to be changed, nor did I ask for the current review to be edited, either. My main gripe is that the current joke is just over-used, and I feel like it's becoming a fixture in the Ghostbusters reviews.

If the review is attempting to call attention to the fact that the Winston character is in the game, great! There's an easier way to do that, though - just say that the game features Winston. "The game includes all of the original Ghostbusters, including Ray, Peter, Egon, and everybody's favorite: Winston!" The joke still hits the same way, and feeds off the notion that the Winston character is under-represented in most video games.

That much I can understand, and I agree with.

Yes, Ghostbusters games featuring the Winston character are fairly rare, especially for classic titles from the NES era. Calling him anything besides Winston just seems to be going out of the way to make the same joke, when the joke is pretty much already there: If he's in the game to begin with, it's a surprise, and a nice one.

On a different note, commenting on whether or not Winston is playable doesn't really have much bearing on the review, anyway, making the joke feel all the more unnecessary. Case in point: the review for the US version of Ghostbusters II doesn't mention the members of the Ghostbusters at all, yet all four of them - including Winston - are playable in the game. And it's still a solid, accurate review.

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby VideoGameCritic » October 27th, 2021, 5:04 pm

I added the grade to New Ghostbusters II.

Matchstick - OMG chill out dude. In interviews even Ernie Hudson himself jokes about being "the black guy" in Ghostbusters. For the record, that line was meant to be a compliment. I like him in everything he's been in - including The Crow.

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby Matchstick » October 27th, 2021, 5:15 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:Matchstick - OMG chill out dude. In interviews even Ernie Hudson himself jokes about being "the black guy" in Ghostbusters. For the record, that line was meant to be a compliment. I like him in everything he's been in - including The Crow.

Heh, ten-four, Critic. I appreciate your direct reply - and thanks letting me vent a bit, too :D

As you and Paul noted, context is important. I can definitely see Ernie Hudson being aware of his, um, "status" within the Ghostbusters fandom. Different people handle that sort of label in different ways, but I'm happy to hear he's able to accept it, and get a laugh out of it. Knowing that he jokes about it, himself, does add a layer to everything.

If he's at peace with it, and you meant it as a compliment, I can live with it. I will not bring it up again.

Side note - The Crow is my Wife's favorite movie - well, next to The Princess Bride. When we watched Ghostbusters together for the first time (she'd seen it before, but only as a little girl) her eyes popped when Winston first appeared on the screen. "Whoaaaa, it's the dude from The Crow! He's in this, too?" Heh.

The actor also plays a recurring role on Grace & Frankie, which is one of her favorite shows. For me, seeing Ernie Hudson always goes back to Ghostbusters, but for her, it's The Crow. It's the little things in life...

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Re: 2021/10/26: NES: Ghostbusters II, New Ghostbusters II (Europe)

Postby Paul Campbell » October 31st, 2021, 2:45 pm

On a different note, let this review be a lesson to all you readers who badger The Critic about reviewing a game you think he will enjoy. I nagged Dave about this game, even reading through reviews looking for the quick misspelled word or grammatical error, which never takes long (Oh no he didn't!), so I could report it to Dave and add an addendum about keeping this one in his crosshairs. Here's the catch: This is a hard game to find, and a solid hour or so of searching online gave me no definite leads about finding it. But I could have done more, I could have done so much more! ("This ring! This ring could have paid for overseas shipping!") But instead, I left the ball in Dave's court to track this game down and review it. But put yourself in his shoes. Wouldn't you be thinking, albeit subconsciously, as you clicked that "Place Order" button, "This game had BETTER be as much of an improvement over all the other Ghostbusters games of that era as he says it is, or it's not breaking the 'C' barrier!"

And that's my point. I GUARANTEE if I had tracked this game down and gifted it to him, The Critic gives this game no less than a B-. I've been coming here for over a decade. I know what he likes. In other words, just between you an me, bump that grade up by a letter if you are reading this. I did it a disservice by making him work for it. My bad.


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