Review Date: March 14, 2021
Release Date: November 1, 1987
Platform: NES
Genre: Nonlinear Platformer
Anecdotes: In 1987, Konami released Goonies II for the NES. No mention was ever made to explain why there was a II at the end of the title. I had always assumed that the movie was I and the video game was the sequel to the movie. I had found out years later that I was wrong. Meanwhile, Nintendo was experimenting with guides and magazines to supplement the games. One of the earliest prints is The Official Nintendo Player’s Guide. While Nintendo was notorious for partial walkthroughs and stopping coverage right before the point where I needed the help, Goonies II was an exception. It had a complete, quality walkthrough with full room and house maps, plus it numbered the doors to make the game easy to understand. One day, I found that I had a scanner and wanted to test it out, so I scanned all eight pages of their walkthrough onto my old website. Those scans are now gone, but I have been able to find it elsewhere on the Internet.
The numbers from the guide will be used throughout the review as reference points. I will not be using the guide or the maps for this playthrough, though. I will be using my own handwritten notes listing what door to go to and why to go into it, so it looks like this: 5-Hammer, 6-Key Ring, 8-Sling Shot, 9 to 46, 41-Goonie 1, 46 to 9, 10 to 55, etc.
Description: Mikey has to roam around a house that closely resembles my grandparents’ house. It has underwater sections, an ice area, a volcano, a suspension bridge, creatures all over, blind old people, and Konamiman. Anyway, Mikey will be going to both the front and back of the house, using the 76 doors scattered across the map. Inside the doors are six Goonies to rescue and items needed to complete the game. Once he rescues the Goonies, he will need to find Annie, who is locked away behind door #24.
Positives: The lack of realism makes Goonies II far more entertaining than it has a right to be. It’s not realistic to have Konamiman hanging around to energize you, but it’s great. It’s not realistic to have to punch an old woman in the face five times and be rewarded with a candle, but it’s a lot of fun to do. It’s not realistic to bomb a wall to reveal a door and get speed shoes for it, but players will be glad they did. It’s certainly not realistic to have a volcano and an ice area near each other, let alone in the basement of a house. Exploration is a blast (sometimes literally). The wide variety of areas will prevent the game from getting boring.
Negatives: Really, the game is nearly perfect, but the only major problem is finding the right spots in the adventure rooms to hit and whether to use the hand or the hammer. Mikey will also need to use the glasses in unannounced spots. New players playing blindly will be using up a lot of time trying to punch, hammer, or use glasses in every room they enter. Another problem, although minor, that weaker players may run into is that a game over will cost Mikey his keys and the drop rate is painfully low.
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Grade: A