The Goonies II

Released for the NES in 1987, The Goonies II is a surprisingly ambitious action-adventure from Konami. Rather than simply recreating the movie, the game creates its own story around Mikey, who must rescue his kidnapped Goonie friends and Annie the Mermaid from the Fratelli family. It is also the sequel to Konami’s earlier The Goonies game, which was not released commercially for the NES in North America.

The game mixes side-scrolling platforming with exploration and first-person-style room sections. Outside, Mikey moves through the Fratelli hideout, jumping over obstacles, climbing ladders, fighting enemies, and searching for useful items. Inside rooms, the perspective changes and you interact with objects, search for hidden passages, talk to characters, and discover equipment that can help you reach new areas.

Mikey starts with a simple yo-yo, but his equipment gradually expands. Players can find weapons and tools such as a slingshot, boomerang, bombs, hammer, and scuba gear. Some objects are essential for progression, while others make exploring the maze-like hideout considerably easier.

What really makes The Goonies II memorable is its strange sense of exploration. The hideout has front and back sections connected through doors, and the game rarely tells you exactly where you should go next. The map helps, but you still need to remember locations, experiment with items, and sometimes revisit areas after discovering new equipment. That can be frustrating, but it also gives the adventure a genuine feeling of discovery.

With its catchy music, unusual structure, charming graphics, and maze-like world, The Goonies II remains one of Konami’s more distinctive NES adventures.