Ghostbusters (NES)
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- For other games in the series, see Ghostbusters.
Ghostbusters is an action game developed by Bits Laboratory and published by Activision, based on the film of the same name. It is loosely based off of the computer game for home computers such as the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, and MSX.
In this game, the player takes control of their own Ghostbusters franchise during the events of the movie. The player drives to various locations to catch ghosts to raise money, as well as upgrade their inventory at the shop. The main goal of the game is to earn enough money to enter Diana's apartment building (called the Zuul Building in the game) to defeat Gozer.
There are several gameplay styles, which was innovative for an NES game for its time. These segments include; the map screen, driving, catching ghosts, the staircase scene, and the final battle with Gozer. Below is a short description of each:
- Map Screen: You control the Ghostbusters logo and must move around until you touch a building that starts to glow red. However, first, you need to buy the Ghostbusters' equipment at the store or you can't do anything. You can hold up to four items simultaneously.
- Driving: You control the Ecto-1 and must get to your destination without running out of gas and avoiding other cars that will decrease your funds if you hit them. When you get the ghost vacuum from the store, you can suck up ghosts on the road for extra cash.
- Ghostbusting: You control two Ghostbusters members. You control both simultaneously and must catch as many ghosts on the screen as possible. When you're ready, lay down the trap and activate it, but make sure you don't cross the streams!
- Staircase: You must arduously walk up the staircase of the "Zuul Building" with all three Ghostbusters simultaneously. Meanwhile, there are a few ghosts floating around the screen that are invulnerable. If the Ghostbusters come in contact with the ghosts three times, they fall down. If they fall down three times, the game is over.
- Final Battle: This part plays similar to another Bits game released around the same time, King's Knight (NES). It plays like a vertical shooter where both demons Vinz Clortho and Zuul, as well as Gozer, fire projectiles at you. There are also other enemies floating around the screen. If you move backwards too much, you'll move to another screen where the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is climbing the building (it's Game Over if he reaches the top). Hit Gozer enough times and you've won!
The NES version of the game was heavily criticized by many. While it's cool that there are several gameplay elements, they are all executed poorly. The graphics, even for 1986, are very subpar, and most of the graphics are a dull grey color. In terms of story, since it's never mentioned in the game that the player uses their own characters, many criticized the game for not starring the main characters from the movie. But the worst part of the game is arguably the staircase scene near the end of the game; it's almost completely impossible to beat without cheats. The controls in the staircase are also egregious, in that the player must rapidly press the A or B buttons to slowly inch the Ghostbusters forward. If the player loses at any point in the game, then the game is over, and the player is forced to start from the beginning. However, the best known part of the game is the ending screen filled with bad English (see below).
In the original Japanese release, one of the items at the store sells for more than you pay for it, so you can easily accumulate money. Also, due to a bug in the Japanese version's code, the ending screens do not display.
Screenshots
Music
The game has the titular Ghostbusters Theme from the movie and it plays in its full length, complete with the fadeout. However, like the computer versions, it is the only song in the entire game and it loops after a few seconds of silence. The song never stops playing until the player either gets a Game Over or beats the game, and even then, the music starts playing from the beginning during those screens. There are two audio designers credited, so it's possible they both collaborated to make the Ghostbusters theme in full, as there are minimal sound effects.
The music was probably written in one of the to traditional ways of making NES music at the time; either a custom form of Music Macro Language or pure 6502 assembly machine code.
Recording
| # | Title | Composer | Arranger | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ghostbusters Theme | Ray Parker Jr. | Yoshiaki Tsuruoka, Tadashi Sou | 3:32 | Download |
Credits
- Ripper: Gil_Galad
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- Effects: Yoshiaki Tsuruoka credited as Yoshiaka.Private.Tsuruoka
- Effects: Tadashi Sou credited as Tadashi.Nil.Sou
- Not Credited Composer: Ray Parker Jr.
(Source)
The credits display after beating the game, and after viewing the infamous ending message. In the Japanese version, the ending and credits are supposed to be there, but due to the game's buggy programming, all you get is a black screen, and after a few seconds, りり (Riri) will appear on screen. This is due to the wrong CHR-ROM page being loaded into the game's memory, and the text Riri doesn't mean anything. However, the game can be hacked to show the proper ending and credits. The credits are the same in both versions.
Game Rip
Ripping NES music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.
Releases
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Links
- https://www.mobygames.com/game/nes/ghostbusters - MobyGames.
- https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587301-ghostbusters - GameFAQs.
- Nintendo Entertainment System Games
- Games Released In 1988
- Games Developed By Bits Laboratory
- Games
- Ghostbusters (NES)
- Games By Yoshiaki Tsuruoka
- Games By Tadashi Sou
- Games By Ray Parker Jr.
- Games That Use NSF
- Games Released In Japan
- Games Published By Tokuma Soft
- Games Released In USA
- Games Published By Activision
