Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (GEN)
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- This page is for the Sega Genesis version. For other games in the series, see Moonwalker.
Based on the 1988 namesake film, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is a cross between sidescroller and beat-em-up emphasizing exploration. It is notable for being one of the first games to star a celebrity and have a direct endorsement from one. Each stage involves checking inside doors, windows, bushes, dumpsters and car trunks in search for children captured by Mr. Big. At the same time, the player has to be careful not to find unwanted objects like cats or bombs. Occasional enemies also appear that can be defeated by either kicking them, throwing Michael's fedora or performing a dance, although the last two methods need to be used only in tight situations, as they drain the colored meter at the bottom representing both Michael's health and energy.
The game is a port of the Sega Master System version. However, the level designs have been completely modified, and the final boss is different. In addition, the Genesis version has an interesting feature; when all the kids in a level are rescued, Michael's pet chimpanzee Bubbles hops on his shoulder and points toward the area in which the boss is located. In the Master System original, the game simply goes to the boss fight. The boss fights usually consist in several waves of enemies which Michael must dispatch. The Genesis version also has a feature where if the kids are collected in a certain order, a shooting star will fall from the sky. Catching it will turn Michael Jackson into a giant robot like in the movie, in which he is invulnerable and can throw bombs and shoot lasers. However, while in this mode, the kids cannot be rescued.
The game received positive reviews from critics and players, citing the fluid controls and fun gameplay, as well as the graphics and animation, not to mention the faithful renditions of popular Michael Jackson tunes.
Screenshots
Music
This wouldn't be a Michael Jackson game if it didn't feature his compositions. The player gets to hear Smooth Criminal and Beat It, among other iconic 80's hits. The music was programmed on a PC-9801 computer in assembly, then converted to the SMPS 68000 sound engine. Because Jackson used a lot of FM synthesizers in his music, and the Genesis also uses a similar sound chip (albeit inferior), the music holds up very well to the original studio versions. According to the game's arranger, Hitoshi Kubota, it was a painstaking process, as he had to learn Jackson's music by ear, as there was no sheet music available. According to Takayuki Nakamura on a Facebook post of Kubota's, he wrote the boss music. The two boss themes in this game are originals from the Master System version. Nakamura did the audio for that version of the game.
A prototype was discovered on September 2017, which contains an additional tune — Thriller — not present in the retail versions. According to Kubota, the developers were informed by Sega of America as their deadlines approached that the song was not written by Jackson, but rather by Rod Temperton, and as such had to be replaced with Another Part of Me to avoid copyright issues. Deliberately or not, three short riffs still made it into the earliest American releases.
Recording
Credits
- Ripper: 2ch-H
- Recorder: Жукороп
- Game Credits:
- Sound Composer: Hiroshi Kubota credited as Jimita
- Sound Assistant: Takayuki Nakamura credited as Middle Village
- Sound Assistant: Kazuhiko Nagai credited as Iagan
- Sound Adviser: Tokuhiko Uwabo credited as Bo
- Not Credited Composer: Michael Jackson
- Not Credited Composer: Rod Temperton
(Source)
The game's credits are displayed after the game's completion. The prototype and final version's audio credits are the same.
Middle Village is a translation of Nakamura's surname. Iagan is simply Nagai backwards, and Bo is a known alias of Tokuhiko Uwabo. Although Nagai has stated he has no memory working on the game, and so it's possible he only contributed sound effects or something minor.
Game Rip
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This rip is missing songs. |
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The last three dance attack themes are yet to be ripped.
Releases
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| Moonwalker | |
| Michael Jackson`s Moonwalker Arcade | 
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| Michael Jackson`s Moonwalker |  • 
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| Moonwalker |  •  •  •  •  •  • 
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| Notable Personnel | Tohru Nakabayashi • Takayuki Nakamura • Hiroshi Kubota |
| Notable Companies | Sega • U.S. Gold |
Links
- mobygames.com/game/michael-jacksons-moonwalker - MobyGames
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/genesis/586315-michael-jacksons-moonwalker - GameFAQs
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson's_Moonwalker#Sega_console_versions - Wikipedia
- w.atwiki.jp/gamemusicbest100/pages/4229.html - Atwiki.jp (Japanese).
- Genesis Games
- Games Released In 1990
- Games Developed By Sega
- Games
- Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (GEN)
- Games By Hiroshi Kubota
- Games By Takayuki Nakamura
- Games By Kazuhiko Nagai
- Games By Tokuhiko Uwabo
- Games By Michael Jackson
- Games By Rod Temperton
- Incomplete Rips
- Games That Use VGM
- Games Released In USA
- Games Published By Sega
- Games Released In Japan
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- Games Released In Canada
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