"Underrated, like the film"

Ghostbusters II is a strange breed. Based on the movie (*HINT*of the same name!*HINT*), it's part puzzle, part action, part adventure, but most importantly, ALL FUN.
While hard to find these days, and inferior to the NES version named New Ghostbusters II, the old one being very bad, it's worth tracking down, especially if you've seen the movie. While flawed in some areas, it comes very close to being perfect at what it tries to accomplish.

Story - Just like the film! Evil painting Vigo steals ghostbuster Peter Venkman's friend Dana's baby. The ghostbusters try to get him back. Vigo's army of ghosts beg to differ.

Gameplay - It doesn't get much easier, but at the same time, challenging, than Ghostbusters II. Here's how it works: pick two ghostbusters, of the four available. No strengths, no weaknesses. The only difference between them is their sprite. This is unfortunate, since it would have been much more interesting to choose characters if they'd had different strengths and weaknesses. The first one you pick is the 'zapper', and the second is the 'trapper'. The idea of the game is now very simple. In each mazelike level, there are a certain amount of ghosts. You control your 'zapper', and the 'trapper' follows you. When you spot a ghost, you zap it, which stuns the ghost, and when it's stunned, you use the trapper to suck the ghost up, thereby ridding the playfield of troublesome ghosts. Don't let them touch you, though, or you lose a portion of health. This rule applies to both zapper and trapper. Make it to the end of a level and you are confronted by the boss. The zapper then gets a slimeblower (*HINT*see the film to understand*HINT*), and the trapper becomes invincible, acting as a shield. Easy, right?

Control - 'A' zaps, 'B' traps. D-pad moves you around. No special moves, no codes. Simple.
Unfortunately, the trapper sometimes gets stuck behind walls and doors after you as the zapper goes through, and going back to pick him up is annoying.

Visuals - Keeping with the game's theme of simple, yet effective, each 'buster has a suitable sprite which, and I'm sure you'll agree once you see it, looks remarkably like the real deal (*HINT*have a picture of the ghostbusters handy while you play*HINT*). The levels are as true to the movie locations as they can be, without delving into super detailed graphics. A trashed courthouse is a trashed courthouse. Ghosts look like ghosts from the film, too. Slimer is there, as is the running ghost. Talk about faithful to the film!

Sound - Opening with the unmistakable albeit Game Boy-ified Ghostbusters theme, music is fairly stale from then on. Sounds are nothing special, with only hissing and beeping noises serving as the zap noises. Play with the sound off for best results.

Replay - Once the game is finished, that's it. No passwords, no bonus games, no hidden artwork or gallery. But Ghostbusters II doesn't need any of that. Simple, yet effective. The replay is in the challenge. With only 3 continues, this is NOT an easy task, as simple as the formula seems. The final boss, Vigo, will kill you dead. Be warned.

Fun Factor - If you're a fan of the film, obviously you will have more fun with this, as it's fiercely faithful to the plot. Even the bosses are all from the film. Others will have fun trying to catch all the ghosts, which, as I've said, is NOT as easy as it seems.

Overall - Ghostbusters II is a fun action game which is VERY faithful to a film which didn't scream 'Game Boy Game', and certainly didn't scream 'Video Game' to the makers of Ghostbusters II for NES.
If you've seen the film and want to be a ghostbuster, get this.

Pros
*Simple gameplay is beyond easy to learn
*Faithful to the film
*AWESOME sprites for film characters
*Effectively simple visuals

Cons
*Bad sound
*Poor 'trapper' AI
*Characters all the same
*No replay value

Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/03, Updated 03/16/03