Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

The premise runs through all five stages: children have been hidden by Mr. Big's henchmen in locations ranging from nightclub back rooms to car boots and rubbish bins, and Michael must find every last one before he can face the end-of-level confrontation. The number remaining is displayed on screen at all times. It is a simple idea that becomes a little repetitive by the later stages, but the variety in environments and enemy types keeps things moving. Stages take Michael through a nightclub, the streets, and a car park, a haunted cemetery, underground caves, and finally an enemy base that ends in a space shoot-em-up sequence against Mr. Big's flying craft.

What distinguishes Moonwalker entirely from any other action game of its era is how Michael fights. He does not punch or shoot. He dances. His movement is rendered with exceptional fluency for 1990 Genesis hardware — sliding kicks, spinning hats, pirouettes, theatrical poses — and every attack produces a shower of stars rather than blood or impact. The animation alone is worth attention; it rivals the character work seen in Disney's Aladdin, which arrived three years later and is still considered the benchmark for licensed game animation on the platform.

The special attack is what makes the game so fun. Holding the attack button long enough triggers a full dance sequence that pulls every enemy on screen into the choreography, regardless of type — gangsters, zombies, soldiers, dogs. Whatever is present starts dancing. The sequence varies by stage: in the cemetery, it recreates the Thriller choreography with arms raised; among the criminals, it becomes Smooth Criminal, complete with the impossible forward lean. Once the music stops, every enemy collapses. It is a brilliant idea executed with such commitment and craft that it works completely.

The soundtrack matches the spectacle. Sega's composers reproduced Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Billie Jean, Bad, and others. They are recognizable immediately, arranged with care. The music carries the game through its weaker moments more than anything else does.

Michael is accompanied throughout by Bubbles, his pet chimpanzee, who appears at the start of each stage to indicate the direction of the first hidden child. Mr. Big himself taunts Michael between sections before escaping, and the end-of-level sequences replace a traditional boss fight with waves of regular enemies on a fixed screen — probably the biggest disappointment of the game.