Gremlins 2: The New Batch

It's a painfully common belief that games based on movies tend to suck, and it is a true sentiment for the most part. However, some licenses have proven to be more successful than expected. There are plenty of good James Bond and Batman games, for example. One license that pleasantly surprised me is Gremlins. I reviewed the Gremlins game on the Atari 5200 last year, and it turned out to be one of the best original games on the system. This year I looked at the Nintendo game based on the second Gremlins film and enjoyed myself again. What are the odds?

You play as Gizmo, the adorable little mogwai, and your goal is to wipe out the Gremlins. The game plays as an isometric platformer/shooter hybrid. It's kind of like Sunsoft's Fester's Quest though, fortunately, nowhere near as tedious. Gizmo moves quickly, the attacks are powerful enough to get the job done, and the enemies don't respawn. The power-ups that he can buy from Mr. Wing in each stage are all useful though it does suck that only one power-up can be bought per stage. The level designs are varied though it is easy to get lost in a few of them, and platform jumping can get problematic due to the isometric viewpoint. Like most Sunsoft games, Gremlins 2 can get fiendishly difficult, mostly due to the fact that Gizmo only has one life. There are unlimited continues and a password system; those are certainly a blessing.

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The game looks and sounds fantastic by NES standards. The sprites are large, detailed, and well-animated. There is even plenty of detail in the levels like flickering lights. I did see some flicker when too many objects got onscreen, but it didn't happen often enough to be a distraction. There was also a rather limited color pallet. Expect to see a lot of gray, brown, and green. I know the NES could have more colors onscreen than that. The cutscenes between stages are excellent for the time. I'm not used to seeing such impressive animation on the 8-bit Nintendo. The music doesn't come from the movie, but it sounds awesome, very energized. For some reason, Sunsoft games always had great music.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch proves that lightning can strike twice. While not a perfect re-telling of the events at Clamp Tower, it does provide a fun little romp with Gizmo. Enjoy the utter chaos this Halloween.