Goonies II review by Tyson
Overall
Rental
I found Goonies 2 to be worth a rental since the giant world approach is neat but it can also be very frustrating. This is another rent before you buy situation.
Gameplay
Annie the Mermaid and the rest of the Goonies have been kidnaped and its up to Mickey to rescue them. Goonies
2 has a pretty unique gameplay setup. Instead of having single individual stages there is one giant connected world similar to
the world in games like Metroid. This makes the world feel big and it's begging you to explore every nook and cranny
of it. This exploration aspect also has a negative side to it as well. The game does a terrible job at letting you know
where to go and the ingame map isn't very helpful at all.
Scattered along the world are rooms you can go into and these take a first person-esque approach.
Many of the games puzzles will be in these maze like rooms. Certian items or doors can only be found by using
various items that you collect throughout the game. This makes the gameplay unique in that you will want to try your hammer
on every wall to find a door but it also means you will need to try the hammer on every wall to find a door. Many items
needed to beat the game are hidden in these rooms and its annoying. It means missing an item means a lot of
backtracking throughout the game. I did like how some rooms will warp you around the world but I wish the game
would mark these rooms on the map.
Despite not knowing where to go at times or having to kill tons of enemies to collect keys, I did
have fun with the game. This game is definetly one you will need to get a strategy guide for.
Control
I liked the controls in Goonies 2. You move with the Directional Pad and use the A and B buttons to jump and use your weapon. Up and B will toss out a bomb. I also noticed the jump control is very smooth and I really liked it. I never really felt like the control was bad and it would cause me to die while playing the game.
Graphics
I came away pretty impressed with the graphics. Character animations look gooded and every area in the game had its own look or color pallete. I found it easy to distinguish what area of the game I was in. Overall the game makes some good use of the NES hardware.
Sound
The best part of the music is the 8-bit tune of Cyndi Lauper's The Goonies 'R' Good Enough song. Other songs are okay. I found the games sound effects to good as well. Each item makes its own sound and they sound well made. Still you have to play this game just to hear the Goonies 'R" Good Enough theme redone in 8-bit.