The Goonies

The Goonies is the video game adaptation of the famous 1985 film written by Steven Spielberg and directed by Richard Donner. Developed by Datasoft for 8-bit platforms, the game was released in the same year as the film, initially for Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, and Apple II. The Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions arrived in 1986.

The game consists of eight screens, each representing a different scene from the film. Players control two of the protagonist kids from the movie who must work together to solve puzzles and clear the level. The game supports cooperative two-player mode, which is the best way to enjoy it. In addition to solving puzzles, players must try not to be hit by various enemies such as bats and flying demons, and of course, avoid the Fratelli family members (for those who don't recall, the kids' enemies are Italian criminals known as the "Fratelli" family). It's a platform game that requires some strategy and good reflexes. The difficulty level is not low; players need to become very skilled to complete the game. Only when both protagonists reach the exit point is the level achieved.

The animations are excellent, and there are numerous references to the film; whoever created the game was a fan of the movie, which is evident in many details (unfortunately, not the case with many 90s conversions). The only criticism is about the graphics: only four colors for the background and characters. The game was probably developed first for Apple II. When it came to porting it to the Commodore 64, not much was done to take advantage of the better graphical capabilities of this computer —a shame. However, the music is catchy (even though the SID chip can do much better).

If it weren't for the cooperative mode, we would be facing a game of medium quality, recommended mainly for fans of the film. But the ability to play together and collaborate on solving puzzles - something not so easy to find in the 80s - makes The Goonies an absolute must-have. Give it a try!

Press F3 from the main menu to start a 2-players game. Press F7 for single-player. Press F1 to restart.