"The Dark House of Great NES Games"

For those who don't know, this is a somewhat sequel to the movie released in 1985 about a bunch of reject kids who "accidentally" go on a treasure hunt to save their homes from becoming a golf course. Also, no, there was no sequel to the movie, if you're wondering why there is a "2" instead of a 1 and 2. There was an original release...in Japan, but for reasons unknown to me, it never hit the states.

Anyway, in this game, we find out the big bag Fratelli Family has broken out of prison and kidnapped all of the Goonies....and a MERMAID, except for Mikey. Equipped with cheap-ass sneakers and a yo-yo to overcome the evil Italians, snakes, and bats, you must wonder through the family's mansion which consists of a jungle, Antarctic, and other weird zones.

To find a Goonie, you must first obtain some keys to free them from the sells. Sadly though, all the male Goonies look a like, as well as the two females, so no hilarious Chunk here. Plus, oddly enough, Sloth is missing. The game appears to be quite difficult, mainly because your lack of power and a POOR EXCUSE FOR A MAP. When entering rooms to get clues, it's also a real hassle to have to knock on the walls with your fist or hammer to get stuff, but you can beat up on people.

I'm still confused though on HOW a mermaid is in this. It just doesn't make much sense. Anyway, if you're the type of person who will give up in an hour without beating it, a trusty password can easily bring you to where you left off. Or you can just cheat and get the password that has you already holding every weapon and saved all your friends sans the mermaid.

Story Rating: 8/10 - Not too shabby, but it's not the worst idea in the World.

Graphics: 9/10
Mikey looks...odd, and has REALLY bright red hair. Each area of the mansion (and damn it's a big one) is designed differently, to be better suited for the scenario. The enemies look OK, but nothing great, but it's the NES so great really rarely applies here.

Sound: 10/10
The best part...the NES version of the Cyndi Lauper song "The Goonies R Good Enough" is in this. OK, it's only the background music, but it's still a catchy beat. Enemies make funny sounds when being attacked, but nothing bad. Again, like graphics, each stage has different music to be better suited.

Gameplay: 9/10
Pretty much covered this in the first part of this review. Everything moves nice and crisp, but the only fault is having to search the rooms, which takes forever it would appear. Thank God I'm a level headed person.

Challenge: 7/10
You'll easily get lost thanks to a bad map and a bunch of different routes to take in each area. Some of the later level enemies are pretty difficult, especially in the attic after you save all the Goonies and go searching for the lost Mermaid. Someone who knows their way around the area well will win the game fairly easily, but some people don't have the back tracking memory others do.

Fun Factor: 9/10
Exploration games are always fun, and this doesn't let down. Although the game is very loose when it comes to being realistic, it's still fun to play when everything else has become a boring piece of crap. Even after beating this you'll probably want to play it again the next day.

Recommendation:
Definitely buy. No stores rent out NES games to my knowledge, so just splurge the $5 it would probably cost in the discount rack at video game stores and enjoy. Remember, Goonies never sya die...Damn, what a horrible way to go out, With that line...yeesh.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/04