Gremlins II: The New Batch (1991)

Gremlins II: is a platformer where the player doesn’t not walk from left to right, like in pretty much any platformer made for the Nintendo Entertainment System. You see Gizmo the mogwai from a top view and can walk towards all four directions, like in The Legend of Zelda. It is based on the very popular movie that was released a year earlier.

Graphics

The game looks great. I remember seeing the sequence after stage 2-1 for the first time in 1991, back then it was pretty amazing. It contains actual scenes from the movie, and the fact that the evil mogwais actually look pretty much the same as they did in the movie is pretty great. Sounds strange, but something like that wasn’t that normal in the gaming world just after the eighties. While playing the game itself the graphics seem to use the full potential of this 8-bit machine.

Sound

There is a lot of variation in the music. A lot of NES-games drive you crazy because of too much repeating annoying music themes. Gremlins II does not.

Playability

Main character Gizmo reacts very well to your commands. Players who aren’t very good at platformers might have serious trouble finishing this game. It’s a lot more challenging than most of the 2-D platformers on the NES. Especially after stage 2-2. The fact that it’s harder than most platformers is that the opponents are a lot more active, combined with the fact that the playing field itself also isn’t statical. It’s comparable to Super Mario Bros 3, in terms of challenge. Gremlins II has a shop system, making it possible to finish the whole game in one try. You can buy extra lives and other items from Mr. Wing, the old Chinese man where Billy’s father buys Gizmo from in the first movie.

Instant Fun Factor

Because the game hardly has a learning curve, even less than, for instance, Super Mario Bros, you can start playing right away. Also, the speed of the game is pretty high, so you won’t be bored. Even in the very first stage. The stages aren’t very long, so this is a game that can be played arcade style. 

Long Term Fun Factor

Although there are only nine stages, that can be finished in an hour or two, because of the speed of the game it’s possible to play for just a short time. Because of the challenging level of the latter stages playing the game over and over again won’t get boring.

Graphics: 19/20

Sound: 19/20

Playability: 18/20

Instant Fun Factor: 18/20

Long Term Fun Factor: 12/20

Total score: 86/100

Genre: Platform