Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. After the last two weeks of awful games based on a beloved movie series, I really need something that can make me feel a little better. So, what better game to cover than one based on another beloved franchise? In this case, one based on the Gremlins franchise? It’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Is this a monster mess, or a diamond in the rough? Let’s find out.
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1990
PUBLISHER: Sunsoft
GENRE: Top-down platformer
In 1984, the original Gremlins films was released to theatres around the holiday season. Directed by Joe Dante and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the horror comedy proved to be a major hit raking in $153 million in the box office. The popularity of the franchise was enough to warrant a sequel.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch was released in 1990. Six years after the original film. However, unlike the more serious horror feel of the original Gremlins, this one was more of a self aware light comedy, opting for more of a spin on pop culture references, and celebrity cameos (Hulk Hogan for example). That, plus the fact that there was such a length between sequels similar to that with Ghostbusters, led to the film under-performing at the box office, making just around $41 million when it was all said and done.
But despite the failure of the film, there was still a game based on the movie from Sunsoft. Sunsoft was still at the point of their golden age by the time this game came about. Titles like Blaster Master, Batman, and Journey to Silius were proving the quality of the games being made was quite high. So, does that mean the same for this game? Let’s dive deeper.
COVER STORY
It’s a cool cover, depicting one of the gremlins. Not to mention a rare case where a movie game actually doesn’t just slap the poster on the game box. But since the initial poster isn’t all that interesting for a video game, it’s definitely understandable. It’s simple, it’s eye catching, and it’s a great cover all around.
STORY
It’s been six years since the events of the first film, and in that time, a giant mega building known as the Clamp Building has been built in the area that once belonged to Mr. Wing, the shopkeeper who was taking care of Gizmo the Mogwai. Billy and Kate, our heroes from Gremlins, are also working at this new building. Billy manages to find his old friend Gizmo in the genetics lab of the Clamp Building.
He frees Gizmo, and warns the Mogwai to stay out of trouble. But Gizmo ends up being exposed to water, which is one of the three things you don’t do to a gremlin, that and bright light and food after midnight. The resulting situation causes more gremlins to be born, and havoc to be wreaked on the Clamp building. Only Gizmo can stop the gremlins and save the day.
GAMEPLAY
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a one player top-down platformer. You control Gizmo the Mogwai as he travels through the Clamp building and destroys the meddlesome gremlins lurking within. You move Gizmo in all eight directions with the D-Pad, can fire your weapon with the B button, and jump with the A button. The top down style of the game does take some getting used to with the movement, and the timing of Gizmo’s jump, but it’s certainly better handled than many games.
The game is broken into five stages, each with about 2 levels within. You start at the office floor of the Clamp building, where you’ll deal with rats, spiders, and… giant bouncing tomatoes. Level 2 is the vents of the building, where you’ll first start dealing with lower level gremins. From there it’s the TV studio, where more gruesome gremlins, and more perils await. The final two levels are higer areas of the building, now filled with fire, spiky floors, and electrical platforms to jump over.
There are four bosses in the game, each being one of the gremlins that spawns from Gizmo after level one. First is a basic giant gremlin that bounces and charges at you. Second is the electric gremlin that can shoot powerful bolts at you. Next is the mohawk gremlin with a machine gun. And finally is the nasty spider-gremlin that has eight legs of terror, and some powerful attacks.
But thankfully Gizmo isn’t just left to his little hands to combat the enemies. With each level comes a new weapon to use. He starts with little tomatoes, then throws lit matches, paper clips, arrows, and finally gets the final upgrade of the fire arrows, as seen in the movie. These items can also be upgraded to maximum strength, as we’ll get into later.
There are other items Gizmo can acquire to deal with the gremlin menace. In each level, you’ll find a door. In the door, you’ll find Mr. Wing, who despite being dead, can still offer Gizmo items to help him in battle against the gremlin menace. You can buy items with orbs you will collect from destroyed enemies. The items up for grabs are balloons, which Gizmo can use when he falls into a hole. This can also result in moving him to a safer area. Hearts will give Gizmo an extra heart of health. Gizmo dolls will give you an extra life as well. And heart bottles, will refill your health.
But the most important item to collect in Mr. Wing’s shop is the P cannister. These cannisters will upgrade Gizmo’s current weapon , and the results often lead to a wider spread shot that can be extremely useful when having to deal with multiple enemies, or enemies that can be tricky to hit with your single shot.
Enemies will often drop useful items as well. The pogo stick will give Gizmo short invincibility as he can jump on top of his foes to destroy them. The stopwatch will stop time for a brief period. And finally the light bulb, which will cause a blinding flash, destroying all enemies on screen. Don’t forget, Gremlins hate bright light.
Gizmo starts with one whole life, one balloon and three hearts, with a fourth that can be bought in Mr. Wing’s shop as previously mentioned. Each heart can take two hits before vanishing, and if you lose all your hearts, it’s game over. Thankfully the game is equipped with both unlimited continues and short, easy to remember passwords. The downside is your extra heart, as well as your upgrades will be gone. And when trying to survive the tougher levels in the game, this makes the challenge even higher than you’d expect. Also, should you die while having a one-up, you will respawn where you left off with upgrade intact, only missing the extra heart if you collected it.
This game is quite hard. Mainly due to some control issues. Moving Gizmo, attacking, and timing jumps can be a hassle. Especially when an enemy isn’t perfectly lined up, you’ll often miss your shot, or be hit yourself, before you have time to react. Also, the jumping is bad, and in later levels where conveyor belts are everywhere, you’ll find yourself slipping off easily as you try to move from belt to belt. It’s a real pain.
Enemy placement is also an issue, as they’ll often be put in spots that are tricky to hit, not to mention the erratic patterns that they move as well. But besides that, there are little to no major hit detection issues. When you hit an enemy, it definitely hits. The game isn’t too long, and if done well enough should take you under an hour to beat. Stages are each pretty short, and aren’t very maze-like, save for the occasional detour needed to find Mr. Wing’s shop. despite taking some time to get the hang of things, it’s still a fun game and it does follow the movie well enough to make it faithful.
GRAPHICS
The game has great graphics, some of the best on the NES I’d say. Sprites and levels are all well designed, and look like the movie counterparts to as best as the NES could provide. But what are definitely the most graphically impressive parts of the game are the cut scenes. They look amazingly done, with great caricatures of the major characters, and follow the flow of the film nicely. Further proof of the roll that Sunsoft was on at this time.
MUSIC
Another epic soundtrack from Sunsoft right here. While the game doesn’t emulate the classic Gremlins theme, they still manage to create a soundtrack that feels like it would fit in the film perfectly. Each level has a memorable and mildly spooky theme that really works in each particular level. My personal favorite song of the game being Stage 3, which just feels fast paced and filled with energy. Doesn’t hurt that it’s my favorite stage in the game as well. This is one soundtrack that is definitely worth a listen.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a solid licensed game. Great graphics, sound, and gameplay mix for a unique, and fun adventure. Granted, you do have to get used to certain aspects of the game, and the difficulty can be a major pain, what you still get is another great Sunsoft game at the time where they were dominating in terms of some of the best games on the console. If you’re a fan of Gremlins, or at least looking for something different for the NES, give this game a shot.
Well, that’s the review. So, if your Mario 3 goes on the fritz, or your Mega Man 2 blows up, or your Castlevania conks out, before you call the repairman, turn on all the lights. Check all the closets and cupboards. Look under all the beds. ‘Cause you never can tell. There just might be Gremlins 2: The New Batch in your house.
RATING: Thumbs Up