Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (GEN) text review: Don't Stop til You Get Enough

The game & movie have beautiful artwork

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is a bit of an oddity in video game history. The Genesis version is just one of the many versions of the game released on Sega platforms, in the arcades, and for home computers in 1989 and 1990. The game is inspired by the "Smooth Criminal" segment of the the strange, but fun, Moonwalker movie starring Michael Jackson and Joe Pesci. The game itself is quite simple, unique, odd, and...well, bizarre(a great thing).

Mr. Big(Pesci) and his organization have kidnapped a bunch of children and Michael is out to put an end to his dastardly plans. Hmm, simple enough. There really isn't a lot of plot or exposition in the game itself, though in the movie it is very clear what Mr. Big's ultimate goal is: to get the world addicted to drugs, starting with the children. The player will begin the game in a side-view 2D stage and begin to locate all of the kidnapped children in that stage. Throughout each level you have to deal with a limited selection of enemies, such as gangsters, zombies, dogs, and spiders. Once all of the children(who all look like Katie from the movie) in the stage are rescued, you have to find the section of the stage that triggers the boss fight for that level. Rinse and repeat. The idea behind the adventure, as well as what you are required to do, is simple and straightforward. This is part of what makes many games of this era so fun: just jump in and experience the game.

The AI of the enemies is nothing to write home about, as their attacks usually consist of their running straight into you or pausing noticeably before firing bullets at you. What your enemies lack in skill and cunning, they make up for in their numbers. As you progress through the game you will begin to find yourself overwhelmed by their constant attacks if you're not careful, as the difficulty slowly ratchets up through each of the levels. Taking care of the enemies is accomplished normally by a few simple attacks, namely Michael's trademark kick, and a very Michael-esque hand strike, both of which shoots some sort of stardust looking material a short distance forward. If you find yourself surround by too many enemies, you can trigger a special attack. While holding the button for the special Michael will do his famous spin maneuver, making him invincible and damaging the enemies he comes into contact with. When you release the button he will fling his fedora around to do additional damage. If you decide to continue to hold the special attack button(without releasing for the fedora throw), the music will change and Michael will begin to dance, which will force most of the enemies you encounter in the game to dance along with him(even the dogs!). Once the dance number is finished, all of the low level enemies in the playfield will be wiped out. How fun is that? It's a very cool way to wipe out a screenful of enemies with style and, like any special should, feels quite satisfying.

The final level is where the game developers decided to mix things up a bit. In this level you are an outerspace battle with Mr Big: he in his spaceship and the player with a cockpit view inside "Michael's Battle Plane". The interior of "Michael's Battle Plane" and the H.U.D. look pretty neat and

Image courtesy of shenmuer2001@gamefaqs

80's futuristic, if you know what I mean. Things are not so simple though, as you have to deal with multiple enemy spacecraft while assaulting Mr. Big's spaceship. As you do battle, you will be treated to seeing images of Mr. Big on a small monitor as he talks trash to you! This boss battle, while rather short, is hands-down the most challenging section of the game. There is a very simple way to CHEESE your way to victory, but that will not be covered here. This change of pace, scenery, and gameplay is a welcome one that gives the final battle a feeling of scope and importance.



Though Moonwalker is no masterpiece, there is a lot of fun to be had with the game. Occasionally you may see a shooting star(as in the movie) dart across the screen. Touching the shooting star will cause Michael to momentarily transform into the robo-Michael(kind of like in the movie). Although this looks pretty cool, and Michael can fire laser beams from his eyes and launch heat-seeking missiles, it's a bit useless as you cannot rescue any of the kidnapped children while in robo-mode. Still, it's worth grabbing the star just for the show and the havoc you can wreak. It's the details like this that are the most enjoyable part of the game, such as having Michael do some of his aforementioned famous moves while destroying enemies in the process. In addition to moves like the standard trademark kick, you can also slide down banisters, strike a famous Michael pose, and even do the Moonwalk, which doesn't really accomplish anything besides looking really cool. Another weird, and totally cool, aspect of the game is when Michael rescues all of the Katie's in the stage, Bubbles the chimp will appear and hop on Michael's shoulder, pointing the way to the spot where the boss fight will commence. Bubbles' directions aren't really much help at all, but it's just one of those quirky things that often put a smile on my face while playing.

And then there is the music! Not many games can boast of a soundtrack such as Moonwalker's. Each level plays nice, digital music from some of Michael's most well-known songs, including Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Another Part of Me, Billie Jean, and Bad. Apparently some early copies of the game include the Thriller song, rather than Another Part of Me, though later iterations had the song removed(probably due to Michael not writing the Thriller song). So, as you might expect, the music is one of the highlights of the game. Michael Jackson tunes ran through a 16 bit filter should be quite a treat for anyone who is a fan of the era. Don't be surprised if you find yourself singing along to the music, emphasizing certain lyrics as you kick another gangster into oblivion.

Though I found the game to be quite enjoyable, there are some bothersome flaws that do drag things down a bit. Michael looks great, both in human and robo form, yet the graphics can be rather bland at times. The stages don't really have any variation to them individually, so you will basically be looking at the same background and foreground from the beginning of one level until you reach the next. For instance, when you are battling the zombies in the graveyard, you are seeing the same ground, tombstones, and dark sky throughout. The only level that really looks interesting is the first level inside the old nightclub, while the other 2D levels are generic, by-the-numbers efforts(parking garage, graveyard, etc). Another hit to the aesthetics of the game is that in lieu of having a variety of enemies in each stage, you are usually dealing with a couple of palette-swapped enemies. It's too bad that this bit of blandness didn't stop with just the visuals, as some of that spills over into how the game plays out as well.

Thankfully, the controls function precisely and responsively, though the basic actions you perform do not always come together fluidly. Additionally, the layout of the stages are rather uninspired and simple. There really isn't any feeling of "flowing" through the levels: you move Michael when it's time to move him, attack when it's time to attack, and jump when you need to. The running and jumping can feel more like disconnected inputs, rather than the actual movements of the character. During the game you will be tasked with a fair amount of jumping, and often these jumps are of little consequence. There are not many sections of the game where a mis-timed jump will cause you to fall to your death. So you will often find yourself semi-awkwardly jumping onto a pool table or a rock just so you can move forward. You just don't get that feeling that you are navigating the terrain and picking apart enemies as you go. While this is unfortunate, it's certainly not a deal-breaker.

Another bother is that the game doesn't really give you any direction, and sometimes you will find yourself wandering around the level trying to find a well-hidden Katie. It's not exactly a thrill to sometimes retread an entire level, checking behind every door or tombstone to find her. Even after you have rescued all the Katies in a level, you may find yourself having to do yet more wandering around until you find the spot in the stage that triggers the boss fight. As mentioned before, Bubbles the chimp will come and point to the direction of the boss area, but I sometimes found his directions more confusing than helpful.

Regardles of the obvious flaws in the game, the positives really do outweigh the negatives. It's simply a blast to wipe out a legion of mobsters using Michael's famous dance moves to the beat of his catchy music. I had a lot of fun chaining together dance moves and poses(which do nothing besides look sweet) just for the heck of it, even after finishing the game. The sheer lunacy of the entire game make it an experience you won't soon forget. The excellent music really sets the stage in what is a very unique mashup of two supremely awesome things: Michael Jackson and 16 bit gaming. Your enjoyment of the game may hinge entirely on whether or not you are a MJ fan, as the nuts and bolts of the game itself are a bit bland. Then again, if you can appreciate quirky and crazy in your games, Moonwalker has them in spades. Give Moonwalker a whirl, and don't stop 'til you get enough!