Gremlins 2 (NES)

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Zack Burner
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Joined: May 3rd, 2019, 6:01 pm

Gremlins 2 (NES)

Postby Zack Burner » January 21st, 2020, 8:34 am

When you think of a movie license, the affair is hit and miss, some get it right, some don't. Thankfully this one gets it right. Based on the 2nd movie, you play Gizmo the mogwai as he searches through the complex battling the evil gremlins. Viewed from a top down perspective you throw items as weapons from tomatoes, to paper clips to finally flaming arrows like he did in the movie. You face a wide range of enemies including the gremlins each with different strategies to beat. Ironically the final foe isn't the brain gremlin you'd expect but the spider gremlin. There's some jumping action as well, but timing is crucial. At certain points you encounter the Chinese man like in the first movie who you buy some helpful items from including invincibility, balloons that keep you from losing a life from falls, etc. The graphics are surprisingly phenomenal and the music is good, even though they didnt include the iconic theme. When it comes to movie licenses this one score big so do yourself a favor and to quote the Brain Gremlin, "Check it out one time, won't you?" (Plays the theme)

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velcrozombie
Posts: 610
Joined: April 12th, 2015, 3:37 pm

Re: Gremlins 2 (NES)

Postby velcrozombie » January 28th, 2020, 12:47 am

I had this back when it came out and it's definitely one of the best licensed games I've played for the NES. The overhead view and level layout are reminiscent of Sunsoft's Fester's Quest and the boss cavern sections of Master Blaster, and like those it's also quite difficult - you're asked to make some devious jumps onto moving platforms over bottomless pits while avoiding traps and enemies (although fortunately failing into pits only costs half a heart). Some of the most detailed graphics on the NES (with a lot of moving parts going on in the later levels without serious slowdown) and the between-level cutscenes look like they were ripped right out of the film (although the animation in them is somewhat limited). There's a quirky and sinister Danny Elfman-style score that fits the game like a glove. Most of the gremlin types from the film make appearances as stage enemies or bosses (the brain gremlin being the most notable absence) and generally they look like their screen counterparts - some of the more active enemies (like the helicopter gremlins or the leaping gremlins) have a monochrome color scheme but those are the exception. There are shops scattered around the levels but there's actually an interesting dynamic with them - you can only buy one item at each shop and it disappears after you leave it, meaning that you can't just load up on power-ups and must make hard choices (level up your weapon or add an extra heart to your health meter, for example). A couple of tips I remember about playing it are that diagonal jumps travel further and weapons fired in midair will have longer range. I beat the game as a child but I doubt I would have without the ability to save. It feels like a B game to me, maybe even a B+. The Critic should consider giving it a look, despite some frustrating gameplay in the later levels.

Zack Burner wrote:At certain points you encounter the Chinese man like in the first movie who you buy some helpful items from including invincibility, balloons that keep you from losing a life from falls, etc.


It's been a LONG time since I've seen Gremlins 2 (and I should rewatch it, as I remember it fondly), but I'm pretty sure that character dies in the first 20 minutes of the movie, before the events of the game. Maybe that's why the shops randomly appear and disappear - ghosts are flexible like that.


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