Game: Gremlins
System: Atari 5200
Publisher: Atari
Year: 1986
Ranking: Two Quarters
Three simple rules:
- Never expose the Mogwai to bright light,
- Never get the Mogwai wet, and
- Never, ever feed the Mogwai after midnight.
What could possibly go wrong?
The Gremlins video game was the last official release for the short-lived Atari 5200 SuperSystem. The game was originally programmed in 1984 and was intended to coincide with the movie's release. Unfortunately, the floor had fallen out from underneath the video game market the year before, and Atari decided to double down on their computer business. This shift in focus lead to the delay and abandonment of many popular and high-profile titles. This included the unfortunately timed Gremlins tie-in. At one point in the long period of time after programming and before official release, Steven Spielberg, executive producer of the Gremlins movie, offered to pay Atari to release the game. His offer was rejected. Fortunately, Gremlins for the Atari 5200 was eventually saved. The reason for it's eventual release in 1986, long after the movie's premiere and the "heyday" of the 5200, remain a mystery.
Unlike many movie inspired console games of the era (i.e, Superman, ET, etc.), Gremlins is remarkably true to the movie. The story opens on Night One. You play the boy of the film, Billy Peltzer, and have just stumbled into a room to find your adorable Gizmo has multiplied and some of his buds have been munching after midnight. The room is littered with leftovers, and, even more concerning, puddles of water. Your goal is to round up the cuddly Mogwai and kill the vicious Gremlins. Thankfully, you have walked into the room with a backpack to carry the Mogwai and an ancient samurai sword to kill the Gremlins. Once everyone is taken care of or the sun come up, whichever comes first, the game moves on to the next night.
Gremlins is a pretty straightforward game. Save Mogwai, and kill Gremlins. Difficulty increases slowly, but grows with novel additions. For example, one night a popcorn machine appears and the Gremlins start popping popcorn, making just about every fuzzy friend turn into a foul fiend. Another night a refrigerator appears and starts spewing ice cubes that melt into puddles of water. These novel features add to the depth of the game, but fail to increase the challenge. With its cartoon graphics and campy music, Gremlins struck me more as a children's game. The primary challenge comes from not accidentally walking into a Gremlin. This mistake is an all too common occurrence given the rather short sword and mushy joystick. The upside? You are rewarded with an epic death. You instantly turn into a skeleton and collapse into dust on the floor.
Gremlins is a fun game. I wonder what would have happened if this, and other games like this, were released earlier for the 5200. Would Atari have been better positioned to retain some of the home market after Nintendo entered the scene, or would Atari have always been hampered by its early success?
Unlike many movie inspired console games of the era (i.e, Superman, ET, etc.), Gremlins is remarkably true to the movie. The story opens on Night One. You play the boy of the film, Billy Peltzer, and have just stumbled into a room to find your adorable Gizmo has multiplied and some of his buds have been munching after midnight. The room is littered with leftovers, and, even more concerning, puddles of water. Your goal is to round up the cuddly Mogwai and kill the vicious Gremlins. Thankfully, you have walked into the room with a backpack to carry the Mogwai and an ancient samurai sword to kill the Gremlins. Once everyone is taken care of or the sun come up, whichever comes first, the game moves on to the next night.
Gremlins is a pretty straightforward game. Save Mogwai, and kill Gremlins. Difficulty increases slowly, but grows with novel additions. For example, one night a popcorn machine appears and the Gremlins start popping popcorn, making just about every fuzzy friend turn into a foul fiend. Another night a refrigerator appears and starts spewing ice cubes that melt into puddles of water. These novel features add to the depth of the game, but fail to increase the challenge. With its cartoon graphics and campy music, Gremlins struck me more as a children's game. The primary challenge comes from not accidentally walking into a Gremlin. This mistake is an all too common occurrence given the rather short sword and mushy joystick. The upside? You are rewarded with an epic death. You instantly turn into a skeleton and collapse into dust on the floor.
Gremlins is a fun game. I wonder what would have happened if this, and other games like this, were released earlier for the 5200. Would Atari have been better positioned to retain some of the home market after Nintendo entered the scene, or would Atari have always been hampered by its early success?
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| Title screen for the Atari 5200 version of Gremlins. |
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| Gremlins for the Atari 5200. Picture was taken using Jum52, an Atari 5200 emulator for MacOS. I'm not sure why the main character is blue in this image. In the original equipment version of the game he doesn't look like a giant smurf in brown overalls. |
Retro Game Rankings: No Quarters to Four Quarters. It should be noted, that although the going price of an arcade game was a single quarter when many of these games first came out, I feel that true retro game fans would be willing to pay a little bit more to capture the glory of playing some of the truly great ones one more time.
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