I was shocked to see AVGN review this one because I always heard this was one of the better games on the Famicom at the time. I gave it a go and wow it was a fun time. You have to search around and find hidden items, items in skull doors like keys, and other members of the Goonies. Wait, is that what they’re called? I haven’t seen the movie. There’s six levels and some intermission styled levels but two of them are pretty short including the last level in the game. Make sure you get each family member before stage 6 or it’ll reset back to stage 1. Though once you know this, you’d have to purposefully do it to let this happen.

There’s a lot of traps and hazards but you can find hidden items and personally I don’t like this design choice. They’re not only hidden but you need to hold certain directions to find them sometimes which can be a pain and feel cryptic for the sake of being cryptic. They do make the fifth stage pretty easy so maybe that’s why. It’s also really hard to find the cameos like Twinbee because I only saw them via a guide. I wouldn’t use one if you don’t care about the items but I don’t blame you if you did use them for those items.

Regardless of that however, this is a fun short game. Nice condensed explorative levels with nice music, good controls, and enjoyment throughout. I didn't even care to see the movie and I still enjoyed my time. This game would only come out here in the states via the Playchoice 10 arcade cabinets. Wait then why did I review this? Oops, forgot this wasn’t Japan only technically. Oh well. Still, give it a try as it’s a great reminder of what Konami used to be, a wonderful game developer. Sure do miss when they were good…

In the early decades of video game, film hits would usually be the subject of game adaptations and The Goonies (1985) is no exception. In a rather peculiar way, the title was not localised on the NES in the United States, which seemed to be the core target of the adaptation. Indeed, the game also follows the formula of Spelunker (1983), but in a more flexible way, so that the gameplay experience is greatly improved.

The player controls Mikey and follows a storyline that differs somewhat from the eponymous film. The goal is to free the various Goonies, captured by the Fratelli, while progressing through the various cavernous bowels in order to reach Willy's boat. Not unlike Spelunker, the objective is once again to find a finite number of keys – hidden behind doors the player must bomb – to move on to the next level, while avoiding or eliminating the various enemies. The game can be quite difficult, at first glance, as the player is assailed by various projectiles. The levels are filled with stalactites, deadly water drops or other burning vapours, which will cause substantial damage. It is however possible to be completely immune to them, by picking up items that are revealed by a unique input in each level (a button on the D-Pad, the B button or a more complex combination): these items greatly reduce the difficulty of the game and it is highly recommended to search for them, especially since the first inputs are easy enough to discover without even thinking about it, provided the player explores the various environments. Coincidentally, this approach is quite similar to Mighty Bomb Jack (1986) which seems to point to diachronic continuities in the platformer's history.

Unlike Tecmo's title, however, The Goonies remains rather simplistic, lacking in courage in its game design, despite a pleasant and not overly rigid gameplay. The repetition of assets on large horizontal levels even fails to emulate the sense of exploration that Spelunker somewhat provided and the title is quite short compared to Mighty Bomb Jack. Yet, the foundations of the game were solid enough to offer something more interesting: this explains the new approach of its sequel, The Goonies II (1987), which opts for a less linear approach. Nonetheless, The Goonies is far from being a bad experience, but it is hardly remarkable.