Between Freddy, Jason and countless other slashers, horror movies were big business in the 1980s. So big, in fact, that many of the most popular franchises got their own video games, mostly from publisher LJN and its parent company Acclaim. Today we're going to be looking at the Nintendo Entertainment System version of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, along with Warlock on the Super NES and Genesis. Those sure are video game adaptations of ‘80s horror films, but are any of them actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Next Generation, Mean Machines Sega and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. I sure hope you have some No-Doz handy, because this is going to be a real stabby episode of 1980s Horror Review Crew!


Depending who you ask, Friday the 13th is either a misunderstood gem that was ahead of its time or one of the worst 8-bit games ever made. Released nine years after the original movie introduced us to Camp Crystal Lake (and eight movies into the franchise), everybody expected the LJN game to be your basic side-scrolling action game. And, at first glance, it looks like that's what you're getting. However, there's a lot more strategy at play here, including tracking down important items and sneaking your way around Crystal Lake without being murdered by a mask-wearing Jason (not his mother, which you might expect given the title). Of course, this is incredibly hard, which is one of the reasons why Friday the 13th has a bad reputation. Let's see if the critics saw a gem hiding deep within the rough exterior.

While there aren't a lot of reviews for Friday the 13th, the magazines that did bother to cover the game gave some truly fascinating takes. We're going to kick things off with Electronic Gaming Monthly, which gave the game an average score of 3.25 out of 10. This review actually made history, as this would be the first time any critic gave a game a 2. “A very poor game that displays little of what an action/adventure game should contain. The action portions of play are sparse, and the whole thing is topped off with graphics that are just plain bad. Friday the 13th is not very enjoyable at all.” Steve largely agreed, giving it a 3: “Friday the 13th could have been an excellent game, with blood spurting and knives slashing. What we get instead is another boring Goonies II rip-off that is just plain dull. The graphics are sub-standard and the whole game is slow and tedious to play. This game could turn even Jason's stomach.” It is worth noting that the other EGM critics gave the game a 4, which is relatively high compared to Ed's 2. Jim explains that “Friday the 13th's gameplay is just awful. The graphics are plain and you don't need to apply any strategy to beat the game. Just wear down Jason and, in the process, wear yourself down. A real loser.”

While EGM may have hated it, Computer Entertainer was more than willing to give this movie adaptation a chance. Giving the game a 3 out of 4, they explained that “you have a lot to keep track of, as you can switch control among the teenagers, trying to keep the quickest of them busy seeking weapons while the slower ones stay close enough to protect the children from Jason's inevitable attacks. There's a lot of area to cover, from the cabins and forest to bat-infested caves and the lake itself. Along with the fast-paced action, there is also a certain amount of strategy involved, since you must gather weapons and plan how to rid Crystal Lake of Jason. And if you've seen any of the umpteen Friday the 13th movies, you know how impossible a task that is. Fans of the movie series are likely to enjoy this game. In all honest, we are most definitely NOT fans of these movies, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a pretty good game to back up the notorious licensed name on the package.”

If you're on the side that Friday the 13th is a misunderstood gem, then you have to be impressed with the Computer Entertainer review. Despite not being fans of the source material, I think they actually took the time to understand what the game is asking of you, unlike Electronic Gaming Monthly, which just wrote it off because it wasn't a generic action game. Given the polarized takes, you shouldn't be too surprised when I tell you that Friday the 13th's overall average is just 54%. It's a shame that more magazines didn't chime in.

If you were a fan of slashers in the 1980s, you were either Team Jason or Team Freddy. One was a methodical killing machine that could seemingly appear out of nowhere, while the other was a jokester who invaded your dreams. One year after releasing Friday the 13th, LJN took on A Nightmare on Elm Street, a 1990 action/survival game with a multiplayer twist. While Friday the 13th was a solo experience, you could have up to four players going up against Freddy Krueger, thanks to the NES Satellite. Despite the multiplayer gimmick, this was a much more straight-forward affair, which might actually work in its favor. Let's see which team the critics are on.

When it comes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, they were Team Freddy, but don't get too excited, because they weren't all that impressed with A Nightmare on Elm Street. Ed ended up giving it a 4, explaining that “this game capitalizes on a movie name and doesn't deliver a decent game to back it up. The play is barebones, with the exception of some harder dream sequences, and delivers very little of the potential fun the theme could have created.” Steve, on the other hand, liked it enough to give it a 6: “Elm Street does fare pretty good in most respect. The transitional gameplay, to the dream world and back again, provides an interesting twist, but the graphics aren't great and the play not as engrossing as it could be.” EGM gave Freddy an average score of 4.75 out of 10.

Moving up the scale, we see Nintendo Power give the game a 3 out of 5. Of course, this was a time when Nintendo Power didn't explain their scores, so let's instead move on up to Video Games & Computer Entertainment, which gave the game a 7 out of 10, the highest score of any magazine. “At the Consumer Electronics Show in June of 1988, LJN announced the licensing of the Elm Street name and Freddy character for an NES game. The promotional materials they distributed looked extremely promising, with highly detailed screen shots and a written description of a game where YOU controlled Freddy Krueger. Two years have passed, and that germ of a game concept has been turned inside out. Happily, the final version of A Nightmare on Elm Street is a pretty decent game. A lot of people are sure to buy it because of the name alone, so it's a relief to find that there's more to it than Freddy's pretty face.”

With an overall average of 59%, the critics slightly prefer A Nightmare on Elm Street over Friday the 13th, which they gave a 54%. Both of these games had their detractors (Electronic Gaming Monthly) and defenders (Computer Entertainer and Video Games & Computer Entertainment). It really comes down to who you believe.

After releasing questionable games based on both Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, there was only one obvious next move for LJN. No, not Halloween or Phantasm or Hellraiser or Child's Play or even the Ghoulies. I'm talking about Warlock, the 1989 film starring Julian Sands that bombed at the box office but was resurrected through VHS rentals. Okay, look, I'll admit that this pick is not as high-profile as Freddy and Jason. Even with a sequel, the Warlock series was basically a non-factor in 1995, when both the Super NES and Genesis games were released. Is it because there was a drought of good slasher movies in the early 1990s? Or did Acclaim snag this license because it was dirt cheap? I guess we'll never know. Thankfully, we know exactly what the critics thought of Warlock.

With no EGM review to look at, let's instead check in with the Australian magazine Hyper, which is about as close to the middle of the pack as you can get. Giving the Super NES version a 60%, Eliot Fish described it as “a bit Flashbacky, Ghouls ‘N Ghostssy and Castlevania-ish, Warlock has a little bit of everything, but huge dollops of nothing. My excitement level during play was frighteningly low, and nothing Warlock could do saved me from just leaning over and flicking my SNES off from utter disinterest. Trying to battle flying demons when your character refuses to follow the most basic maneuvers is frustrating at least, but trying to nimbly hop from disintegrating platform to disintegrating platform is near impossible, and frankly, I don't have the time.”

It's worth mentioning that Sega Visions gave the Genesis version the same score as Hyper – 3 out of 5. Next Generation went a bit lower when they reviewed the Super NES version, giving it a 2 out of 5. I would read that review, but let's instead check out their even harsher review of the Genesis port, which they gave a 1 out of 5. “With Warlock, Acclaim manages to suck all life from a bad movie and further demonstrate the uselessness of the side-scrolling game. Oh, and here's a new one – as you run from left to right, you can pick up healing magic potions and one-ups. Some of the backgrounds are well-shaded, and the accompanying music is a touch on the eerie side, but all the game does is prove that bad movies make horrible side-scrolling action games.”

When it comes to the more positive reviews, things are a mixed bag. Nintendo Power, for example, gave the game a 3.2 out of 5 in their 72nd issue, while Super Play went all the way up to a 68% in issue 31. Die Hard Game Fan didn't like it much better, going with a 69%, while GamePro gave the Genesis version a 3.5 out of 5. We'll talk more about GamePro in a minute, but first I want to look at the 72% that came from Mean Machines Sega. “Warlock doesn't do itself any favors with the appearance of its first few levels. It looks like the video game equivalent of a hangover – rough. But unlike many more unfortunate titles, the initial disappointment and confusion lifts somewhat with the prospect of a tough challenge and gameplay that mixes platform blasting with puzzle genres. As you get deeper, the tasks get more complex and the gameplay more rewarding. Okay, it's never going to win a beauty contest, but it's far better company than many of those Pamela Anderson platformers.”

Before you start to question the Pam Anderson comparison, let's talk about the magazine that gave Warlock the highest marks. I'm of course referring to GamePro, who may have given the Genesis version a 3.5 out of 5, but ended up giving the Super NES version a slightly higher 4 out of 5. “Warlock won't set your system on fire, but despite the sometimes frustrating controls, it's a good intermediate adventure with some truly challenging puzzles. However, Warlock is definitely no lock.”

Yeah, that was a stretch, even for GamePro. With the scores all over the place, it turns out that overall average lands at 60%. In case you're wondering which system came out ahead, it was definitely the Super NES, with an average of 62%. Compare that to the 58% average we saw from the Genesis reviews. Neither instill a lot of confidence, but at least it scored better than A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. That's something, right?