2 stars (What's this? What's this? A true Nightmare of a prequel) - The film 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' caused me to look at the world in a different way. I'd never seen anything like it (and, despite 'the Corpse Bride's' best efforts, I still haven't). The film came out in the days when Capcom was still cranking out their first-rate Disney games. I held my breath and hoped that they would make a 'Nightmare' game...something like their 'Disney's Aladdin' which, though lacking the hand-drawn animation of the Sega version, took you faithfully through every scene in the film and then some. But the years rolled by with no 'Nightmare' game in sight. I decided it was probably for the best, as a video game would probably never do the landmark film justice.
Well, the game has finally come, albeit nearly fifteen years late. And I, still a rabid 'Nightmare Before Christmas' fan, am sorry to say that the wait has not been worth it. The game feels just as old as the movie.
When I first saw the early screen shots of the game, I thought, "Oooh. That's not very pretty. It actually looks...terrible." This is one of those cases where judging the game by its graphics actually works. The whole thing is a mediocre mess that you hope will aim higher but never does.
Instead of going for a Mario-esque style adventure or something along the lines of the aforementioned Capcom 'Aladdin', what we have here is sort of a 'Castleroid' prequel to the film. The game takes place years before the events in the film and tells the story of how Jack first met Oogie Boogie and Sally.
Sounds promising. I can just see the developers now: "Castlevania is kind of a Halloween-themed game. Let's make it like Castlevania!"
Too bad the execution is so poor.
Armed with a can of frog's breath ("Frog's breath will overpower any odor"), you hop, climb, and shoot your way through an expansive world map that you'll cover many times over as you aquire new abilities that open the way to new areas. But where 'Metroid' and 'Castlevania' reward the player by giving them new things to see, new weapons to try, and a continual sense of accomplishment and moving forward, 'Nightmare' gives you no compelling reason to keep playing. After the Mayor sent me on my fourth fetch quest, I completely lost interest. The game is utterly tedious.
All this would be moot if, by exploring the world map, you were constantly being given new things to see and do. Sadly, with the exception of some colorful backdrops from the film, the game looks depressingly like a GameBoy Color game (why does Jack have a blue outline around him at all times??). Sure, the levels are packed with references to the film, but, for example, why does the Halloweentown you explore in the game look NOTHING like what you see in the background? You'll find yourself wishing you could go into the backdrops and explore the Burton-esque buildings you see there rather than endure the floating platforms and winding levels that remind one of 'Earthworm Jim'.
An attempt to give the sprites a wide variety of animations is evident, but the animation is so choppy it makes the stop-motion of the original film look smooth as butter.
The sound doesn't fare much better--the game uses several sound effects that have been around since 'Super Mario Land' (the 'explosion' sound effect comes immediately to mind). Several Danny Elfman compositions are featured as background music that fans of the film will recognize immediately, but they're only about 20-30 seconds long and loop over and over. Hearing 'Jack's Lament' and its variations again and again is enough to make you realize just how unlucky the Guy from Kentucky really was.
Play control is solid enough and before the game is half over you'll have picked up all the weapons and special moves the game has to offer. But the special moves aren't all that special and, aside from the clever use of Frog's Breath as Jack's main weapon, the pumpkin bombs and bat-boomerangs feel bland by comparison.
It's very difficult to recommend this game. I'm the biggest 'NBX' fan I know, having a collection of posters, figures, books, DVDs...you name it. But even my love of the film couldn't cover over the multitude of weaknesses in this game. My recommendation? Save your money and buy 'Castlevania DS', the OTHER Halloween game.
4 stars (My RaTiNg...My WaY) - i suppose that this game will be big. The Nightmare Before Cristmas popularity is so large right now that this game is going to sell fast. i know that this will be on my list!
5 stars (A Game Larger Than Life Itself) - I have no doubt in my mind that this game is going to be huge. The popularity rate for Tim Birton's The Nightmare Before Christmas has indeed gone up so much that so many people are anxious for there to be something released, and what better a way to do so than to release a PS2 game of it, by Disney Interactive. A salute for the great idea to release a game like this. -Zakattack |
