My Played Video Games Review: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker for the Sega Genesis

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Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is a Sega developed platform video game released in 1990 for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It is based on the 1988 Michael Jackson film Moonwalker.

Michael Jackson was a great musician with a bit of a weird pedo streak in him (there's enough internet research to confirm that). I was surprised that he cooperated in the making of this game during that time. And it is not bad at all.

The Story

"Michael!" a little girl's voice calls out. Thank heavens, you found her! But more little girls are still lost! Can you stop that damn psycho, kidnapping lord Mr. Big and his gang before they kidnap all those kids? You can, because you are Michael Jackson!

Moonwalk over those punks! Outfight and outdance! Move like only Michael can, to the beat of his pop hits! No baddie can last through his Star Magic! Dance your moves through them all! Experience the coolest video game ever. Defy physics with Michael's groovy dancing! You never lose your cool. Play it and be it - Michael Jackson's Moonwalker!

Sega Genesis box, manual and cartridge of the game (image source)

The Graphics and Sound

This game has some of the good graphics and sound available for a game on the console. The game developers have re-created most of Michael Jackson's major MTV videos in the game and made them fun to play. Nobody has made a video game based on a pop music star before, making this a very innovative game of its time.

The quality of sound on this cart was amazing. Moonwalker was no exception to this, bringing high scores for music production. It damn sucks that great Thriller song was not included in the graveyard level for some copyright reason.

Gameplay sample of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker on the Sega Genesis

The Gameplay

You gotta search for the missing little girls. They are hidden behind doors, bushes, cars, and tombstones. There are five levels to beat. You can destroy enemies with your hat or dance kick them with your pop star magic. You can even force everyone on the screen to dance with you at the same time. Once the dance is over, everyone, except our hero, drops dead.

Every level is the same thing to do; rescue children and then beat the end boss. You can catch a shooting star to change Michael into a robot as some sort of special secret move.

The controls are damn simple. Hold the "A" button until Michael dances to throw his hat. Press the "B" button for a dance kick attack. Hold "B" and walk to do the moonwalk. Press the "C" button to jump.

Replay value is kind of mediocre. There is no reason to play it again unless you like Michael Jackson's music and making people dance to its beat.

My Verdict

Moonwalker is unique. There are few games that make gamers control their pop idols that do dance magic while rescuing little girls. The game’s focus on finding kids rather than a standard setup of only fighting enemies and progressing through obstacles is an interesting idea. Being a fantasy extension of Michael Jackson's music videos only adds to the fun as does the great soundtrack.

Unfortunately, the combination of easy combat with a poor special attack system and short game length hampers it.

Go and play Moonwalker on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive or play it on emulators if you wanna have great tunes in your gaming.

Let's keep on gaming in the free world!