The Goonies II

The Goonies II

NES - USA - 1st edition.

Developer Konami Publisher Konami Published 1987-03-18 Platforms NES Genres Action, Action adventure, Exploration, Licensed, Metroidvania, Platformer Themes Adventure, Cartoon Series The Goonies Distribution Commercial

The Goonies II is a Metroidvania video game developed and published by Konami for the NES in 1987-03-18. As a Goonies title, it uses similar elements from the first game, but uses a more Metroidvania approach. In the game, you play Mikie, and the Fratellis have kidnapped your friend Annie the mermaid and taken her to their hideout. All of the other members of The Goonies have been captured and you're the only one left to rescue them.

Personal

Own?	Yes. Loose cartridge.
Won?	Yes. With 100% completion, though, with a lot of hints from The Official Nintendo Players Guide.
Finished	2010-03-29.

I first saw the original The Goonies in an arcade on a PlayChoice-10 system and thought it looked really cool, but never played it. Later, I saw The Goonies II in the The Official Nintendo Player's Guide and thought the game looked really cool. I rented it and, thanks to guide, got all the way to end, but didn't know how to open Annie's sealed cage before having to return the game. Years later, I played the game again got all the way to the end, and discovered all I needed to do was find one more key to unlock the cage!

Although I prefer this style of game with more adventure and usability from the gear and gadgets, overall I think the first game is stronger because it doesn't have the agonizing 3D tunnels. However, I love the style of this game, and would like to see more like it, just with its rough edges smoothed over.

Review

6	7	5	5	6

Best Version: NES

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• The graphics and music are both pretty good for the time.
• The controls are pretty responsive and easy to work with. Jumping isn't as comfortable as the physics defying Contra, but certainly not as bad as Castlevania.
• The game is very large and offers a wonderful adventure in various environments like damp caves, stuffy buildings, ice caverns, underwater, etc. And each has its own unique monsters to fight.
• There is a wide variety of items and weapons. While practically nothing from the movie is used in the game, it still captures the spirit of running from the Fratellis, discovering treasure, and playing with fun gear. The differing shoes are especially fun to get.

Bad

• The 3D tunnels offer a respite from the action, and the unique facing-direction mechanic was an interesting idea, but, it's difficult to understand and ultimately hurts the game because of it.
• I understand why the Fratelli's hideout contains a massive subterranean cave complex full of old men and women, super heroes, Eskimos, polar bears, dragons, and fish monsters, but what's the deal with kidnapping a mermaid?
• Speaking of the mermaid, she is hidden behind a metal wall, without a key hole, and, to open it, you have to use a key. This was bad game design.

Ugly

• In order to find necessary hidden items in the tunnels, you must pound the walls, ceiling, and floor with your hammer, then again with your fists, and finally use the glasses in every room. This is an obnoxious chore considering the slow user input, and it seriously hurts the game.
• Some of the items in the rooms are hidden in a completely non-intuitive manner, like when you have to hit an old lady several times with no change in her response before she gives you an item. However, if you do this same thing to other characters, like Konami Man, he will stop healing you.

Media

Documentation

• 

  Manual - USA.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 1.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 2.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 3.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 4.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 5.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 6.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 7.

• 

  The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb.

• 

  Advertisement - Japan.

Maps

• 

  Front side map.

• 

  Back side map.

Screenshots

• 

  Shameless self-promotion.

Videos

Review - NES Works.

Review.

Review - Metroidvania Works.

Angry Video Game Nerd.

Commercial - Japan.

Longplay - Japan.

Longplay - USA.

Play Online

Famicom, NES (Europe), NES (USA)

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	All of the women other than Mama Fratelli are damsels in distress and one is a reward.
Bechdel test?	Fail	No women talk to each other.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Data is depicted as being just as white as the other Goonies.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
English	The Goonies II
Japanese	グーニーズ2 フラッテリー最後の挑戦	Gunizu 2: Furatteri Saigo no Chosen	The Goonies II: The Fratellis' Last Stand

Links

             

• nintendoplayer.com/goonies/protos.htm - Nintendo Player - Prototype cartridge.