The Goonies II | |
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Developer(s) | Konami |
Publisher(s) | Konami |
Platform(s) | Famicom, Famicom Disk System, NES |
Release date(s) |
PAL December 19, 1988[1]
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Genre(s) | Platform game |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Media/distribution | 128-kilobyte cartridge and FDS disk |
The Goonies II (グーニーズ2 フラッテリー最後の挑戦 Gūnīzu Tsū: Furatterī Saigo no Chōsen[2] , The Goonies II: The Fratellis' Last Stand) is an adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released on March 18, 1987 in Japan, November 1987 in North America, and on December 19, 1988 in Europe.[1] It is a sequel to the first Famicom Goonies game, which was only available in North America on Nintendo Vs. System and PlayChoice-10 arcade units. This led some people to believe that it was supposed to be a sequel to the movie The Goonies which was never produced.
The game's story centers on Mikey. His friends, the Goonies, have been kidnapped by the Fratellis, an Italian family of small-time crooks and counterfeiters. Mikey must rescue all six of his friends and free a captured mermaid named Annie who didn't appear in the film.
Contents |
The Goonies II features two modes of play: platform and first-person. Most of the game is played as the former as the player works through a non-linear map. The player moves Mikey to new areas of the map by ladders or doors that may act as warp zones. Several different types of zones are found in the game, each with distinct enemies, graphics and music.
When the player exits the platform screen by entering a door, the game shifts to a first-person mode. Using a command menu similar to Shadowgate (released around the same time), the player explores the area by navigating through rooms, searching for hidden items and interacting with non-player characters. The items the player finds may be useful on the overworld (such as weapons or transceivers) or within the rooms themselves (such as the candle, key and ladder). The player will find the six Goonies in cells in this mode. Each rescued Goonie increases Mikey's health.
There are a number of weapons the player can use, and the player can equip both a primary and secondary weapon. Mikey can use three primary weapons: the yo-yo, a short-range weapon with limited power; the slingshot, a ranged, ammunition-based weapon; and the boomerang, a slower ranged weapon with unlimited use. The bomb and molotov cocktail are the two secondary weapons the player can use, and the player can increase Mikey's carrying capacity by finding additional cases of them. These are explosive weapons that have a small blast radius and can damage Mikey if he is in range; the bomb can also reveal hidden doors.
There are also two performance boosting shoes in the game. The spring shoes increase Mikey's jumping ability and are required to reach certain areas of the map. The hyper shoes increase Mikey's speed and make some areas more easily accessible.
In first-person mode, a number of regular characters will sometimes appear in the passageways:
In addition to the consequences listed above, hitting these characters with a fist prompted the compelling broken English response: "Ouch! What do you do?" If hit with the hammer, they say, "Please, help me!"
In addition to a number of unusual enemies (such as animated suits of armor, meat-cleaver throwing eskimos, and fire-breathing dragons), the Fratellis make repeated appearances in certain rooms. They cannot be "killed" like other monsters, only stunned. After a short period of time, they get up and continue to chase the player (if still on-screen)
Ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
1UP.com | B+[3] |
GameSpot | 7.4[4] |
GameTrailers | 6.2[5] |
The Goonies II has developed a cult following among classic gamers. Though the game was received with mildly positive reviews and is typically given average or mildly positive ratings, it is still known among gamers for several reasons. The game was unique in its mix of a platform game and a first person exploration game. Players still recall confusion at the title given the Family Computer game The Goonies was never released for the NES home consoles in North America, Europe and Australia and that there was no sequel to the motion picture.[6] References to the game even appear in elements of pop-culture including the title of Homestar Runner's FAQ page .[7]
The game Goonies II can be seen being played in the movie My Blue Heaven in the hotel scene, though the sound effects are not of the game. (Generic sound effects for video games are typical in most movies and TV shows.)