I was a kid in the 80s, and because of that, there are a lot of movies around then that really shaped my childhood.  These include trilogies like the original Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Back to the Future films, as well as others like Gremlins and Ghostbusters.  But one 80s movie that I wasn’t as big a fan of was The Goonies.  I think it’s because in the summers, my best friend’s cousin would come over to visit and always bring her videotape of The Goonies and want to watch it with us every day!  I got so tired of it!  But like most other movies at the time, The Goonies got a few video games.  The most popular were the NES games from Konami.  The first one wasn’t really released in the US outside of arcades, but the second one was pretty popular, at least in my group of friends anyway.  So if you liked the gameplay of those classics, you may want to check out The Good Old Days.  It’s a 2D Metroidvania style platformer where you play as a group of kids called The Noogies.  They’re tasked with finding treasure in underground caverns to make enough money to keep their parents’ house, but they only have one day to do it and they must compete with a gang of thieves!  Only thing it’s missing is that catchy Cyndi Lauper song!  The Good Old Days is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

When you start the game, you can only play as one character.  He can run and jump, and lay bombs which are used to open doors in the background with skulls on them, just like the original Goonies game.  But the maze-like corridors are more Metroidvania-like, similar to the second game.  Lucky there are no confusing first person parts!  Anyway, you are tasked with looking around every nook and cranny to find treasure, as well as the rest of your group.  When you find one of them, you’ll be able to play as them and use their skills.  For instance, a larger kid is capable of pushing bigger blocks that the first kid cannot.

My main problem with this game is really more of a personal preference.  You are given one day to find enough treasure and you are really timed, and there are multiple endings that encourage replay value.  And if you run out of energy and lose, the game will take three minutes off the clock and send you back near where you lost.  When I play these type of exploration games, I really prefer to take my time, especially since this one gets rather challenging pretty quickly.  But if you don’t mind the anxiety inducing timer and enjoyed the classic NES Goonies games, you might think it’s “Good Enough.”  It makes me think of what would’ve happened if Konami made a Goonies 3 on the SNES.

Kid Factor:

The Good Old Days is rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Simulated Gambling.  Enemies can attack you and make you flash, but when you run out of energy the screen just fades out and you start over.  I didn’t notice any bad language in the text, so it must be used sparingly.  You can play the lottery in the game.  Reading skill is a must, and younger gamers may find it too difficult.  If your kids are old enough to enjoy The Goonies movie, they’ll be old enough for this game.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children