Throwback Thursday – “Goonies II” Was the Sequel We Never Saw

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The Goonies II attempted to parlay the original success of the The Goonies, one of pop culture’s most recognizable films, into an 8 bit sequel of sorts.

Hey Mikey!

The Goonies is one of pop culture’s most recognizable films in an era that birthed countless classics (ET, The Breakfast Club, Ghostbusters, etc)… The 80’s.  While some of us imagined being a member of the Goonies crew; swashbuckling our way through the sewers of Astoria, Oregon, others of us got the video game and played with our toes crossed hoping for a sequel to one of our favorite movies. Unfortunately, the jury’s still out on that one.

We did, however, get the Goonies II, the 8-bit sequel to Richard Donner’s original film and Konami’s freshman release. With pretty much a copy of the original game’s plot, the object of The Goonies’ second arcade installment was to guide Mikey (once again) through a vast underworld map filled with ladders and warp zones.  

As you navigate through this non-linear side-scroller, you endeavor to save all of your pals, Annie, and a random mermaid that I’m sure a stoner programmer wedged into the game. The good thing is that you don’t have to do this empty-handed.

Although Mikey’s attacks on the first game were somewhat limited, Konamicleverly equipped him with a more powerful fear-striking badass yo-yo (yes yo-yo). You can still upgrade to slingshots, bombs, Molotov cocktails, and a boomerang (Zelda style) if you’re really trying to kick things up a notch.

The Goonies II, although received with largely mild reviews, was a solid play that unfortunately had the weight of the franchise’s prior success resting on its shoulders.

If you still got the N-box in the closet and The Goonies II on deck break ’em out in honor of this Throwback.

Interested in finding out about the cast? Click here.

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