The least exciting Anatomy of a Game to date is now complete! I know hardly anyone cares about Konami’s The Goonies, for obvious reasons – it’s a fairly forgettable game that was never released in the U.S. except in a limited optional arcade iteration – but I was surprised how much I had to say about it.
I’m still trying to figure out the ending. I thought Steph got snubbed, but after counting the figures on the beach here I think they just mistook her for a little boy. Man, Martha Plimpton can’t catch a break.
I don’t foresee having much blogging time for the next few weeks, but once I get my free time back under control I’ll likely delve into The Goonies II. Just in time for… The Goonies II (the movie).
I can’t speak for everyone, but I actually loved your write up of the Goonies. It had great insight (or speculation) about why the levels were created the way they were. And you also seemed to approach it more in the context of its era (or it seemed like more than you normally do), I hope you keep reaching out to games of this caliber from the same era and pick them apart just as thoroughly.
I couldn’t get The Goonies 1 working right on the emula…game-playing thing I wanted to use, but I’m looking forward to the write-up on the game’s sequel. It’s been too long since I played it, and I think it’ll be fun to play along with the LP.