382 · Gremlins 2: The New Batch

• Alright so welcome to the pitch meeting for Gremlins 2 the video game. Sean, what’s your idea for a Gremlins 2 video game?
• I did own a Gizmo doll that worked a lot like Furby, but I owned it in like 1999…guess Gremlins was having a resurgence
• Do graphics have any right to be this good? Those gizmo and gremlin cutscenes are gorgeous. And the wizard shopkeeper too (Mr. Wing)
• I knew this game was Sunsoft the second I started playing it. They have a look and sound to them now in a way I don’t think even Konami or Capcom do.
• Isometric Viewpoint:
  • Discussion of the unique isometric perspective and how it affects platforming precision and combat.
  • Comparison to other NES games that use similar angles (e.g., Snake Rattle 'n' Roll).
• Controls:
  • Gizmo’s movement and jump responsiveness.
    • Gizmo has a great jump and shadow for an isometric platformer
  • Use of projectile-based combat (starting with the matchstick shooter).
    • I hated this at first
  • How weapon upgrades are handled and how they change the gameplay pace.
• Level Design:
  • Breakdown of the 5 main areas (lobby, labs, TV studio, etc.).
  • Environmental hazards and puzzles (conveyor belts, lava, etc.).
    • Not really any rhyme or reason to the locations and the obstacles
  • Emphasis on verticality and traps.
• Difficulty Curve:
  • Starts manageable but ramps up quickly with more enemies and obstacles
  • Enemy placement and trap frequency can feel punishing.
  • Lack of mid-level checkpoints.
• 🔫 Weapons & Power-ups
• Weapon Evolution:
  • Starting with matches, upgrading to bow & arrow, and eventually to more powerful ranged weapons.
  • Time-limited power-ups like The Pogo Stick
• Collectibles:
  • Crystal balls (currency) and hearts for HP
  • Use of shops and what can be purchased from Mr. Wing.
• Inventory & Items:
  • Limited item system — some strategy involved in when to use healing items or power weapons.
• 👾 Enemies & Bosses
• Gremlin Variety:
  • Different types of Gremlins with unique attack patterns. Or just giant tomatoes
  • The crazy movie personalities (electric Gremlin, spider Gremlin, brainy Gremlin).
• Boss Battles:
  • Unique boss mechanics in each stage.
  • Final boss battle with Mohawk, you’re just thrown into it
• 🎨 Graphics & Sound
• Visual Style:
  • Detailed sprite work, especially for Gizmo and enemy Gremlins.
  • Creative use of the NES color palette, especially in the lab and TV studio levels.
• Music & Sound Design:
  • Composed by Naoki Kodaka — high-energy soundtrack with memorable themes.
  • Effective sound cues for pickups, damage, and enemies.
• 🎥 Faithfulness to the Film
• Tone & Setting:
  • Comparison between the game’s atmosphere and the movie’s satirical tone.
  • Use of movie locations: Clamp Center, labs, TV studio.
• Character Representation:
  • Gizmo as the main playable character instead of Billy.
  • No real cutscenes but still manages to reference key movie moments through boss design and level names.
• Sequels and Spinoffs
• Hi Tech Expressions also released a DOS game[4] in 1991, but it was poorly received.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6wxSCeBOeU
• You do play as Billy and man is it boring. You’re like pest control trying to clean up the gremlins

Auto-generated transcript. Each paragraph starts with its timestamp. Speakers are not identified.

00:00 Gremlins 2, the new batch.

00:19 And welcome to NEStalgia, a chronological exploration of every NES game released in North America. I'm Mike. I'm Sean. And I'm Joe. Is there no back of the box? Well, I think the new batch is like, you know, what are you going to do? Are you going to also then attach something to that?

00:40 Oh, I don't know. Well, did they not? I mean, come on, Mike. You don't have to do it. No, but I guess I'm saying like Gremlins 2, the new batch feels like the qualifier there. No, that's just the name of the movie. Well, it's also the name of the game. That's true. True. I use the back of the box as like some kind of exciting qualifier. Okay. No, it's okay. We don't need to do it anymore. I feel like the, I feel like it was covered, but if you want the real back of the box, it was Gremlins 2, the new batch. Can you stop the terrifying menace of the Gremlins? Gremlins? I kind of just wanted you to stop it at, you said the new batch differently.

01:22 Gremlins 2, the new batch. Yeah. I just want, I feel like you're, you made it sound like it was a weird thing to request, but that is the thing you've done for the past- That's the thing you do. 400 episodes. Maybe I'm just forgetting how I do the show. That thing you do. What do I do after that? What do I do after the back of the box? I think it's the essential game list. Yeah. No. Oh, right. The and welcome. Did I do that? You did. That's okay. Huh.

01:49 All right. Nevermind. Instead, Gremlins 2, the video game, the pitch meeting. Sean, what's your idea for a Gremlins 2 video game? Um, I would be like, what should, maybe we should make a Gremlins 1 video game first. I love it. But I guess that's not a thing that we do around here, uh, vis-a-vis Goonies.

02:11 Um, but yeah, I mean, Gizmo's fun. We want to play as Gizmo. Hell yeah. Kids love Gizmo. I love it. It's in the game. Joe, what's your idea for a Gremlins 2 video game? It's hard now retroactively to come up with an idea now that I have this game in my head. What I hope I wouldn't do, which they didn't do, is like a bunch of weird mini games that are just specifically to get scenes exactly from the movie in it. So maybe it doesn't really answer your question, but I, I feel like that's what most people around this era would have pitched. And, uh, I would pitch this game. I'm glad that they didn't release Gremlins 2 games, you know? And it's just like, it's just caveman games, but with Gremlins instead of cavemen.

02:59 Uh, so when was the last time you guys saw Gremlins 2? Right before this episode. Oh, you did watch it. Right before this episode, baby. Had you seen it before? I had seen enough. Enough. I had seen enough to know that Gremlins 2 is, as it implies, the new batch is just like dialing up everything about Gremlins 1, except for saying, well, the only way to dial it up is by creating more Gremlins. Like, there's just, there's a lot of different types of Gremlins that we never, like, I don't think we ever needed an electricity Gremlin or a vegetable Gremlin, but like, there they are. They're in the movie. They are there. I haven't seen it, but I gotta say, electricity Gremlin sounds pretty badass.

03:47 Electricity Gremlin is in the game. Joe, did you see Gremlins? No, I saw the original Gremlins like when I was a kid. I remember almost nothing about it. It had a special place in my heart. I had a toy gizmo. I had the gizmo. Wait, did you have the gizmo that was also actually a Furby? Well, here's the thing.

04:08 I'm only repeating information that was given to me. My mom would be like, you had a baby gizmo. And I was like, I don't remember having that stuffed animal mom. She's like, you had it. And so I just have to take her word for it. That's how I feel like when I have kids, I think I'm just gonna, when they're like 20, I'll just tell them I got them all kinds of things for Christmas. Even if I didn't. Yeah. It's probably, it's probably gonna work.

04:33 I, I did own the gizmo that was actually a Furby. It did. It even had the ability to talk to the Furby. Yeah. It was not a Furby. Yeah. But it also, that also means that I got that gizmo in like 1999, like 2000. I guess. Yeah. That's weird. Was gremlins having a moment? Like they were like, oh, this is perfect. Yeah. I mean, I guess technically no one ever found out what happens when you get a Furby wet.

04:54 Oh. Is that true? No one's done it. Like, you know what I mean? Like, does it become a gremlin? Like maybe. Right. Like the gizmo, did, did my gizmo have the ability to turn into a gremlin if I said it past midnight? Like you definitely got your Furby wet. You like, you definitely spilled that into the pool or something. I don't like the way you said that the first time. I like the clarification.

05:17 Eh, that's okay. Let's let that hang there for a bit. Moving on to the game. Do the graphics have any right to be this good? Like, I know we've seen good graphics on the NES and we've talked about the cut scenes and certain things, but like the gizmo and the gremlin cut scenes and that wizard shopkeeper, his name is Mr. Wing, but whatever he looks like, he looks like a wizard. Like those scenes are like, I was like, did they expand the palette or the color palette or something for the NES? Like this is, those are really striking visuals.

05:51 Yeah. They look pretty good. I thought you meant like, uh, the, the actual like gameplay graphics, which are, which are, which are pretty good, but nothing crazy. I'd say as far as the gameplay graphics, they are as they are very, very good for what I'd expect a like licensed eighties movie video game to be, you know, based on our experience.

06:14 Maybe I'm just like going to use this episode, just talk about how bad most other games based on movies are. Well, we played a lot of bad ones, but it's funny. You guys mentioned the, uh, actual gameplay graphics, because that was how I knew immediately. I didn't look at a manual or anything. Just the look of the game. I knew it was a sun soft game. They have a look and sound to them in a way that I don't even know if like Konami and Capcom have like the same. Yeah. I get that.

06:41 Um, well, I, one thing that I liked about what they did was they made it very obvious that you are a small, like a small animal. Um, because like you're walking through hallways and like the doors are giant. And, um, I, I get what you mean too. Just like with the way that they like color things, like the way that they do like gradients, like it kind of feels the same as like blaster master and stuff. Yeah. I, I get that. I get that. And they also did the, the Batman video game, which was, uh, you know, tied to the movie as well. So like they, you know, they've got this thing where like, uh, you know, I recall you guys liking Batman a lot. So they got this thing where like, they're, they're not phoning in their movie licenses.

07:27 Yeah, that's, that's for sure. And I didn't think that that stood out to me right away with this game. Even the, the way it looks, uh, first of all, while we're talking about being a small little creature, uh, is this the cutest walk cycle we've ever had? Like it's a waddle D movement, right? Yeah. Like the, he, he is very, especially when he's walking sideways, it's just like this very adorable little waddle.

07:51 Um, we haven't seen anything this cute since, um, our nostalgia bites episode, Antarctic Adventure with the penguin. Oh yeah. Ah, yes. The penguin was, uh, quite cute. But yeah. So the, the game, uh, doesn't do like a side scrolling platformer with gizmo. It does, uh, the isometric viewpoint, but not, not really. It's more like, it's kind of top. It's not isometric. Yeah. Well, you know what I mean, right? It gives like a Zelda.

08:17 Yeah. But it does give off a good sense of 3d, even though it's not with just the way that it has the shadow under your jump and stuff like that. So, you know, I think those things make or break these top down games. Cause there's a reason why in Zelda games outside of like maybe Link's Awakening or whatever, like you don't usually jump in those kinds of games. It's hard to track yourself, but this game, there's a lot of pitfalls and everything. So, you know, what do you guys think when it comes to making a, uh, top down platformer game, right? We usually experience platformers as side scrollers.

08:52 Sure. Yeah. Um, the, the platforming in this game, it, I'm of two minds about it. Like you, the controls are tight. It's one to one for sure. Like, and you can control yourself in midair and you can, if you like really mess up a jump, you have enough control to even just like, Oh, I'm going to jump back to where I came from. Now that said, like between a lot of the things that they're doing with the platforms, like

09:18 it's not just a solid ground and void. There's also like a conveyor belts and like rolling things. And so it can be, it can, it can be tough, especially when you're going sideways or, or, or sort of like diagonal. And I feel like when you go diagonal, you kind of go at double speed, but that might just be a me thing. Um, no, it's, it's there. It's, it's a little uneven, but it's, it's pretty good.

09:50 I mostly had overall like really positive feelings about the platforming in this. Cause I think I'm used to top down games. Like you said, either not having a jump or like being, being bad at their platforming. And this felt really good. I did notice a little bit. Yeah. There was a little bit of a, um, annoying feedback difference when I was trying to go diagonally. That was like the one part of the, of the controlling that like really sort of bugged me, but I was overall really impressed with how precise it all felt.

10:23 And, and the fact that they, they did this thing that a lot of companies, a lot of games don't do, which is like you said, allowing you to turn back in midair or to, to, to change direction in midair completely as easily as you would be able to, if you were, if you were on the ground. And I know that doesn't make any sense like in real life, but I think that it took a while for these game developers to realize that like to sacrifice it, making sense in real life in order to make it fun and feel good to play.

10:54 And I've, I felt that this, I was very impressed with how this felt as a platformer that is, yeah, basically letting you move through, you know, what is fundamentally 3d space, even if it's obviously not really 3d, but it's like, you can go in all directions. It's not just a side scroller. So it, I was, I was pleased with the platforming overall.

11:16 And Gizmo has a projectile as, as his main method of attacking or is really only method of attacking. I hated that at first. Uh, I, not that like a mad that Gizmo had, uh, like a gun. I, I, it's not really around. It's like, it's like, he starts with like a matchstick, right? Like, or whatever. That's the second thing. That's the first upgrade. Oh, okay. Was he throwing, like a ball or something? Or like, it's like a ball or something. Or something? Splurge of goop or something. He's spitting on the enemies. Something like that.

11:47 Yeah. In like a weird arc-ing motion. In like a leftover wetness. But like. That created the Grims. It's not great at first. I think that the base weapon, um, feels a little frustrating to connect with enemies. Uh, and maybe it was just because those, uh, those tomatoes and spiders in the first level, like, have kind of sporadic movement, um, and can hop around and stuff. So it's not particularly helpful with a projectile, uh, weapon.

12:14 But it did grow on me later on as you continue to, to, um. You get a better weapon. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You get the spread. Yeah, you know, but like, you know, once you have like more range with it, it feels better. But do you think that was the right call? Like, should that have been like a bonus power-up? Like a quick projectile thing? And he should have been a melee? Like, is that the right call for Gizmo? I don't think Gizmo, uh, it makes sense for him to be in much of a combat role at all. So if you're gonna make a game like this, I think like, you have carte blanche. Do whatever you need to do. Give him a gun. Give him an ammo count.

12:50 Yeah, as someone that doesn't know really anything about Gremlins or has no attachment to this character, I thought it worked fine. But yeah, I don't know if it makes any sense at all. Yeah, he's like helpless, like in the movies. Yeah, but I do want to circle back to this first projectile. I'm pretty sure that is the reason it feels harder to hit is because it goes in an arcing, lobbing motion. Which I'm assuming was intentional because they wanted to feel like you're powering up and they succeeded in that. Uh, I do wonder if they succeeded in that by making your next gun feel better or just like maybe a little bit artificially making your first gun feel really bad.

13:34 Yeah, I think I agree with both, Joe. I think like, it feels like it's, it feels like it's not the right way to handle combat in this game at the beginning. And then by the end of the game, it's like, it's fine, right? It's like, cool, this is what you do. And it's very easy. And you've got plenty of different ranges of attack. And so whatever. And plus there's fun other like, you know, little power ups you can have for like a hot second, like the pogo stick. I think that's cute. I don't recall gizmo on a pogo stick, but sure.

14:03 Put him on one. Yeah. If his name's gizmo, he can be on a pogo stick and it makes sense. But Sean touched on something that I wanted to get to maybe later, but now feels like a good time too. Um, yeah, they made gizmo the main, uh, character of the game. Should they have done that? Or should it have been Billy? Like, should you know, it should have been gizmo. But like, you don't think you should be playing as like the scientist trying to stop the grimmons? Nobody remembers the guy. Everyone remembers gizmo in the grims.

14:33 So, uh, I think like having a nondescript, uh, actor who, cause I don't even remember who, who it was, uh, as the main character. It's just going to feel like a lot of other games that we play with nondescript main character. But this is, you get to play as gizmo. If maybe not for like a, uh, like a gameplay reason, at least for marketing, like it makes a lot more sense.

14:56 I'm going to bring in my gremlins expert opinion again as someone who hasn't seen this movie. And, well, first let me ask, I mean, there are other gremlins that are like good, right? No. No, the gremlins are the bad ones. Oh, gizmo is a mogwai. So gizmo's a mogwai. All right. And if you were to put, if you mistreat a mogwai or let it get rambunctious, it then spawns gremlins from its body. Oh, okay. I thought they turned into a gremlin or like, you know, whatever.

15:27 So, so there's not other mogwai? I mean, there might've been in, uh, like the deep lore, uh, in the, in the past, but gizmo's the only one. Well, well then maybe my, my, I'll have to amend what my, uh, solution was going to be that if they wanted to have the, the human, the main character, I was going to say like, maybe you're collecting mogwai that are giving you like different abilities, but okay. If you want, if you really wanted to have a human as a main character, maybe you are like, you have to, you have to like, you have like a little Pokemon, yellow Pikachu mogwai following you that can like do little things or you can switch between them or something.

16:07 Well, you know, they're also like the humans are experimenting on the gremlins in this, uh, in this movie now and kind of create a lot of the, uh, the new gremlins that we didn't know existed in the, in the gremlins universe. Uh, like the big brain gremlin, uh, who gets so smart that, uh, he can speak English. Um, all the, all that to say like, yeah, maybe it could have been, uh, you know, you play as the, um, the Christopher Lee character and you're doing like a Pokemon style, catching gremlins, battling other gremlins, making your way to the gremlin world championships.

16:41 Of course not. The only other, the only other way that this game would work. Now, I don't even just mean like a Pokemon. I mean, just like playing as a human being. The only other thing that would make a game called gremlins to work would be as if you played as gremlins and were terrorizing humans. That would be fun. I just wanted to mention that Christopher Lee was in the movie. That's true. Uh, Count Dooku is in the movie.

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17:43 Thank you. Thank you.

18:41 Yes, I agree. Fine. Gizmo will concede. He's the right choice for a Gremlins 2 video game where it's a top-down action platformer and you have to fight other Gremlins. Sure. You're in the lobby, then you're in the labs, eventually making your way to the TV studio. The weird thing is that obviously being in a laboratory doesn't really open itself to any exciting gameplay for Gizmo. So the environmental hazards and obstacles that they kind of like put in your way don't really like they don't really work with the environment.

19:51 What do you mean like lava? Yeah, you know what I mean? It's like, it's just, why is there lava here? Or an office building with a bunch of spikes. Yeah, conveyor belts. Yeah. Yeah, conveyor belts and all that. It's like, I get it. It needs to be done to gamify the whole thing. And I'm not asking for them to tone it down.

20:10 Just pointing out that that, you know, did feel, it did feel like a weird stretch for like what it could have just been, you know, like fully embraced the zaniness. Which I guess they did in some ways, because they're in the movie, they make a really strong tomatoes that like you can bounce like tennis balls. And of course, one of the gremlins eats the or drinks the tomato serum, and then becomes a vegetable gremlin. That was the one I mentioned earlier.

20:38 So now there's big tomatoes that you have to fight in the first level. And they put their best foot forward, because it's like one of the first enemies you see in the game. Yeah, so they're letting you know that they also did their homework and watch. See, we watched the movie. We watched the movie. The tomatoes are core element and theme to the movie.

20:58 But yeah, there is an emphasis in the game besides like fighting enemies. There is a lot. It's almost more platformer than action, right? There's a lot of, again, I'm going to say verticality, even though it's not side scrolling. It's, there's a lot of traps, pitfalls, Joe mentioned the lava, conveyor belts. It is really a movement based game more than a action game. Yeah, especially later in the game, when almost every surface that you're on turns into some kind of movement puzzle. That's a strong word. Puzzle is a strong word. But it seems like you can't let your guard down in these lighter levels, because you're always on a conveyor belt, or you're always dodging like a swinging mace. Or, so, it's kind of overwhelming.

21:51 Like, I was very bad at these. I was also pretty bad at these, but compared to most other games that try to do this kind of thing, I feel like I wasn't as bad. You know, like, I feel like this felt fair, and I felt like I could learn it. And I felt like I did to a decent point. I only got to, like, stage four, the very beginning of it, and that's when I really started to, like, lose my mind and die. But, like, I feel like, given more time, like, this feels much more, beating this game feels more attainable than a lot of other NES platformers to me.

22:24 Especially, like, enemy, like, enemy-ridden platformers. Yes. I mean, part of that is because it is a very short game, too. Yeah, right. Right. I agree with that, Joe. Also, because, like, the bosses aren't cheap or anything. In fact, even most of the enemies are not something that, like, they're not cheaply designed or they don't rush at you in a way that makes you lose health often. It's more like, you know, you have to just be cautious with Gizmo. You know, like, you almost have to play a little more defensive and not rush through. Or, I guess, like, if you're good at the game, just rush through these things as we don't have to deal with fighting them.

23:01 But, like, the bosses are also, like, I don't know, they're fun. I like these, you know, these gremlin boss battles and they just, yeah, they kind of just take place in a space with just you and the gremlin and that gremlin's specific abilities. But it's not, I don't know, I didn't need, like, some big epic battle. I feel like it does feel kind of cool, this one-on-one fight with the gremlins when they finally arrive.

23:25 They all have great art. There isn't, there just isn't really that much, like, mechanically happening, aside from kind of the electric one, which I found more annoying than fun because you can't really, I mean, you can kind of, in general, know where his projectiles are going to go. But it kind of gets random feeling and I didn't appreciate that.

23:51 But, yeah, the bosses at least look cool. And there is a reason to kill enemies outside of the bosses and that is, of course, the crystal balls that you collect in order to buy things at the shop from Mr. Wing. You know, there's two ways to design these kinds of games. We've often seen where, like, you shoot the enemies, take them down, and then they drop, like, said power-up or said, you know, like, one-up or a certain amount of points or whatever. And then those things help you. Is it better to handle it with the randomness that way and encourage you to, you know, try different enemies? Or is it better this way where it's like everybody just has a set currency amount and then you just take that to the shop and redeem exactly what you want?

24:42 I'm not sure which one is better. I guess it depends on what you want to design. But I do think that this game, you know, does the latter, but it does it in a weird way. Where it's not like, oh, okay, kill as many enemies so I can get enough currency to buy the things I want.

25:00 Because really, after, like, the first or maybe the second level, you're going to have all the money you need. Yeah, it's a broken economy. Yeah, when you go to the shop, you can only buy one thing no matter what. Unless I missed some way to reopen the shop. No, you're right. Every time you come across the shop, you can only buy one thing. So it's not really about money management. It's more about, like, you get basically, like, every time you come across the shop, you get, like, one ticket to buy one thing. So it's more about managing what you're buying.

25:29 Yeah, I just think, like, maybe they didn't intend it to be that way, but that's how it works out. Yeah, because having a, like, a price is moot if, you know, you're always going to have enough to buy the most expensive thing.

25:44 Um, so the priority is usually, like, you've got to get your spread shot, and then if you, the next time you see it, you're going to want to heal whenever you want. Uh, I guess you could buy balloons, too. I forgot what the balloons do.

25:56 Um, do you guys remember what the balloons do? Don't they stop you from, when you fall in a pit, they, like, give you one free, like, you're okay? Oh, yeah, that's true. Yeah, they act like the, um, the Yoshi baby mode on some of the Mario games now, where, like, Yoshi can't die if he falls in a pit. Uh, he just comes back. It's the same thing. Well, good, because Yoshi always got the shirt on that stick.

26:18 Yoshi cannot die, right? Yeah, it's canonically true. And also, speaking of the shop and everything, like, the things you buy from the shop are, like, you know, restoring your health and extra life. The cool stuff, like the, uh, pogo stick, you, you, you get those in the environment. So, you know, it's not like you can hold on to that kind of stuff, buy it now, and be like, oh, I'll save this for the boss fight or something. Like, that doesn't happen.

26:43 I think that the bosses, like, I know we kind of went over them, that there's, yeah, again, like, not, not too mechanically much going on. But I don't even think the bosses were that hard compared to just the knockback of getting hit by an enemy, especially in those later levels we were talking about, because there just is so much void. But I guess, yeah, now that we're talking about items, uh, that's where those balloons come into play. So, it's kind of balancing itself out there.

27:15 And those boss fights, uh, or even just, like, you know, uh, moments of you've arrived at your destination, uh, for whether you pick up a new item or enter a boss fight, for the most part, um, they just, they don't feel like you've reached the end of anything. The game just kind of, like, starts playing music and, uh, you know, like, you're just, you're just there now. And it's like, okay, that's fine. But what was really jarring is the final boss battle, uh, it's just like a, it's like a cut to black. And then you're just in the fight with, um, I don't know the, whatever, whoever the final gremlin dude is. Uh, but he's in, you know, he's in his, like, robot mech thing.

27:54 And I guess that took a lot of pixel work or whatever. So there's no background. So it's just like, you were doing one thing and then you just, like, automatically are transported into this, you know, black hole space. Fighting this other, you know, and we've seen that in shmups, but in shmups, I guess it's more like, well, at least I'm in space or whatever. You're in space, yeah. Yeah, you know, now it's just like, I've entered some weird gremlin void where the gremlins and I only exist and nothing else. Oh, there was no cut scene before that? No cut scene that leads into it. Yeah, it just cuts right to the fight.

28:26 Yeah, not even, like, there's not even, like, a door, right? No, yeah, well, there's never a door, I guess was what I was saying, right? Right, that's true. Like, they, they left out doors in this game. Yeah. But they didn't drop any, any balls on the music, though. The music is fantastic. And I know I said Sunsoft is known for having great tracks, but I did, this was one of those games where, like, I did want to keep getting by to see the new stage music.

28:54 Oh, I completely agree. Every, I mean, every stage had, like, had a banger, you know. I think it was either, it was one of the last ones I played, so it might be 4-1 or, like, 3-2 or something like that. But, like, one of those was just really playing on loop in my head afterwards. I'll have to look it up. And it's hard for an 8-bit game, but, like, you know, the movie, although we might not have made it sound like it to Joe, I just want to say, you know, the movie is a comedy.

29:20 It's, like, it has horror elements, but it's not scary in any particular way. Yeah. It's, you know, it's funny, maybe even, like, a little satirical towards scary film. It's very irreverent. Sure. But, like, the game doesn't achieve any of that. I'm not sure how it could.

29:40 Maybe with those amazing graphics and the cut scenes, it could have had a little moment here or there. Surprise, like, even in, like, the very beginning, like, the title screen, I mean. Like, you got the gremlin wearing, like, street clothes, and it's like, oh, they're gonna try and get that vibe, and then they don't really do that. Yeah. I guess it's hard to do. I don't have any ideas off the top of my head, but I just think even if the gremlins in the boss fights would have been a little more, like, cheeky at the player. I mean, like, you know, the movie breaks the fourth wall with Hulk Hogan, so why can't the game?

30:18 Where is Hulk Hogan in this game? Yeah, why wasn't Hulk Hogan? Yeah. Joe, were you expecting Hulk Hogan? I was expecting Hulk Hogan, yeah. I didn't know if he was in the movie in any way. I just was expecting. I was like, it's been 370 episodes, and we're gonna have Hulk Hogan soon.

30:34 On the sequels and spinoff side, there was another Gremlins 2 game. I'm sure there's another Gremlins game somewhere, but I only looked into Gremlins 2 games. Another Gremlins 2 game released for DOS. Was that just, like, Microsoft, right? Like, Windows? That is Microsoft DOS. Yeah, it just feels weird to call it DOS. It's like, it was released on PC.

30:57 And that was a year later, but it was poorly received, and do you know why? Because it wasn't Gizmo? Hell yeah, brother. You play as a Billy. See? No one wants to do that. It is so boring. You're like pest control, trying to, like, clean up and track down the Gremlins. There's, like, a map on the screen. You're in, like, the laboratory, and you can see a map where the Gremlins are, and you have to, like, go find them, like, while you're searching through office cubicles and shit. It's like, nobody wants that. But a game where you're catching Gremlins and having them battle each other eight years before Pokemon? Nobody wants that, Mike.

31:39 I'm surprised that there isn't, like, is there, like, a Pokemon Gremlin? There should be, like, you know, like, when he evolves, if you, like, if you treated him poorly, he evolves into, like, an ugly-looking creature, but if you treated him, I guess that does exist. That is what a Gremlin is. No, I know, but I guess I was saying, like, a Pokemon, right? Isn't Melodic kind of like that? Like, Gremlin Pokemon, you mean?

31:59 Yeah, what about, um, it's a newer one. I'm looking it up. Impodimp and Morgrem. Impodent? Impodimp. And Morgrem, they, like, are Gremlin-based. I don't know if they treat them poorly, but they're, like, little Gremlins. Sean, we're at, like, 1,000 Pokemon. You can just say a name, and it's probably a Pokemon. Impodimp is 859. How about Bunga Bunga? Bunga Bunga, yeah, who could forget? The Caveman Pokemon.

32:27 But Caveman didn't talk like that. I just, I want to get it on the screen again. How do we know? Caveman were actually probably smarter than us. I'm just going to throw it out there. They didn't waste their time making podcasts. That is true. We are an inferior being. Any other comments about Gremlins 2? The concept of Gremlins? I feel like I'm really surprised. Not that there weren't more video games or that we didn't get Gremlins 1 on the NES or anything. I just feel like it's kind of surprising Gremlins isn't still around. Like, getting killed to death in, like, the franchise reboot.

33:04 It's only a matter of time. I'm sure there will be, like, a 3D animated, like, Smurfs-esque Gremlins movie at some point soon. But I have a question about Gremlins. This is always something that, like, I'm not clear on because it's been so long since I've seen the movie. But you can't feed the Gremlin after midnight? You can't feed the Mogwai after midnight. The Mogwai. That's what I mean. Joe, Joe, you keep getting tripped up. The Gremlins are already, yeah. They're from the point of no return. This is decades of me believing this. I'm trying to undo right now that the Gremlins are these cute things.

33:39 It's like, you know, it was Dr. Frankenstein. That was Frankenstein's monster. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But is there something where you can't get them wet? Yeah, you can't spill water on them. So both of those things will cause them to spawn Gremlins? Yes, yes, exactly. Oh, it just seems like, just make it one of those things. No, no. Oh, okay. Just don't. Fair enough. Yeah. And if you spill water on any of us, it forms the Essential Games list.

34:13 All right, so I'm going to be honest here. I like Gremlins, mostly because I owned a gizmo doll that was kind of like a Furby. And I took good care of it. Never really got it to do anything. Would love to do a whole tangent thing on Furbies. Like, could you actually ever teach them English? That was like a rumor. I don't think that's true. But that's not like, you know, my affinity and nostalgia for Gremlins can't possibly play a role because that's not the point of this podcast. So I went in actually with low expectations because, as Joe alluded to throughout his many comments on the show, we've been having some pretty bad movie tie-ins. I should have known, though.

34:53 Sunsoft, you've done it again. You make good games. But mostly just play it. And I think that's where I'm winding up with Gremlins 2 here as well. I really enjoyed my time with it. But I'm not seeking to go back with it outside of reviewing it for this show. I guess I was just more surprised at how competent and pleasant it performed as a game. It was like, oh, Gizmo's fun to be. And the challenge is the right amount of like, it's hard, but it's achievable.

35:27 So these are things that are actually kind of low praise when you think about it. But at this point in the catalog, it becomes high praise because we play so many bad games. So I'm settling in at Gremlins 2 is a play it and a solid play it as that, but doesn't quite reach the threshold of essential. Sean? Yeah, I agree.

35:48 There's a lot of polish here. But it is still half-baked at its core. But, you know, you play as Gizmo. You fight the Gremlins. What's not to like? It's just not a lot to love. So, yeah, not essential. Joe? I also was very surprised at this. I mean, I guess you alluded to the fact that I alluded to this fact already. But I was very surprised that this was such a competent game. But I do think as I played it, you know, I recognized how polished it is and how well designed. I mean, not just the look of it is, but also the gameplay, the music is beautiful.

36:30 And there are so many games on the NES that even games that I love that I have to go into it with this. Like, I got to put, like, sort of the glasses on of, like, I'm going to see this through the lens of, like, remember, this is an NES game. It doesn't have all the, like, modern, you know, luxuries that we might have now. It might not feel as good as a modern game. And then I love it for that. This game, I don't feel like I had to do that as much. Maybe with a few things. But, like, this felt like a game that I would just sit down and play today. And I think I would revisit this.

37:01 I'm a little bummed because I can't really, I have no power here. But I am going to vote it essential. I really thought this was a hit for me. So I'm going to throw my feeble little vote towards essential. You've made your statement.

37:17 That's all I needed. You know what's funny? This is the second time that a Sunsoft movie-licensed game has gotten a last-ditch essential games list vote. Sean did the same for the Batman game, actually. He was last to speak and said he's also going to throw it essential. Hey, maybe we can make some deals offline when Mike's not around about the game. That's pretty corrupt. I take my position very serious. What are we if not corrupt? Corrupt. I was actually thinking, Joe, that you were going to suggest a Batman The New Batch game. Yeah. If we combine them, they're essential. It's kind of like a Pokemon game. But instead of Batman, you play as Gizmo in the Batman world. Everybody wants to play as Electricity Batman.

38:06 I want a Batman game where you just play as, what's his name, the butler. Alfred? Yeah, Alfred. And you just tell Batman where to go. Now, you said Alfred. Like Alfredo. That is his name. No, I know, but I said Alfred. You did. With like Ferderer. I don't know. I couldn't tell if that was on purpose or not. I think that was, I don't think I usually say that, but because I said it, now I'm unsure. Oh, so that wasn't on purpose? That like slipped out? Well, that's what I'm saying. Like, it's like kind of like Mario Mario. Like, I used to say it one way, now I say it the other way, and I'm just uncertain what made me cheat. Well, there is no universe where it's supposed to be Alfred.

38:51 That's true. Whereas I can understand. Whereas I can understand mispronouncing Mario and Mario differently, you know? Well, just as somebody who's famous for mispronouncing things, I just feel like maybe Alfred could catch on now. You know? If, what did I used to say? Mario, right? You did say Mario. Mario. Mario caught on for a while, and there are still people around me in my circles who say Mario. Why can't Alfred become a big thing? Mario.