Haunted Halloween 86: The Curse of Possum Bottom

"Haunted Halloween 86: The Curse of Possum Bottom"

Reviewed by: Carless Yen

Platforms: NES, Xbox, PC

Developer/Publisher: Retrotainment Games

Every once in awhile a game comes along that really takes you back to your days on the NES. There isn't a lot of games that pull this off, even though a lot of them try. The NES days were very special for a lot of gamers myself being one of those people. Many times you see developers trying to emulate that period, and it just doesn't resonate over to this generation tech. Haunted Halloween is the exact opposite. Everything about it feels retro, and I really felt I was back on the Nintendo Entertainment System again. And considering they are selling this for the NES I might just be thinking about picking up a copy to do a unboxing video on, and to add to the collection.

Now a little about the game Haunted Halloween it really feels like a beautiful mash up of "River City Ransom" and "Monster Party" The graphics, colors, and sounds all nail the the time period to a tee. You can tell these guys either grew up in this era, or they are true fans of the games from this time and put a lot of time into playing them. It is obvious that they didn't just try to copy it, a lot of time went into playing or studying these retro classics. You play as two characters, and you can switch between them when your health is low. You can tell this by the changing color of your character. This is the one thing I wasn't really fond of though, would loved to seen health bar or hearts to have a better feel really. The two characters are Donny and Tami. I didn't play the original, but really plan to now to review, but i take it as Donny had to fight evil in 1985, and he survived to save the day and most do it all over again.This time he has help though from Tami. The story isn't super in depth being that it has that old Nintendo feel with the comic like cutscenes, but that just isn't the bread and butter to this title. What really makes it special is that it is a homebrew that actually gets everything perfect from the era. Even down to controlling the characters movement with the D-Pad instead of the sticks. The movesets are really easy to obtain, master and feel really good to use.

What I always try to answer with reviews, Is it worth picking up? In my opinion if your a fan of retro games, and the original Nintendo console with out a doubt. Its pure nostalgia gold. Everything about it will take you back. If your not I really see you probably still enjoying it. There is just something really special about this game, and its console release fits right into the season. Halloween is upon us, football, Horror films, and haunted houses are right around the corner. Many people get excited for this time of the year, and most of them will be excited by this game. Don't miss out on Haunted Halloween 86 it is unique, and is retro game developing perfection. Even down to entering a code for your save progress. I can't remember the last time I did this, and writing it down every time just really took me back. The level design, the awesome 8 but graphics, and bosses. I loved Haunted Halloween 86, and I feel you will to. And for you Achievement hunters I feel I should mention I had the full 1000 in a little as 15 minutes so this will make its way onto those top 10 easiest achievement lists as well as the best retro games of this generation lists.

Pros: Smooth controls and gameplay

Beautiful 8 bit levels

The sounds and music fit beautifully

Really cool characters and bosses

Emulates the 8 bit Era perfectly

Tons of replay value

Easy Achievements

Cons: Felt it could use a different health level design

A couple glitches,but not enough to hold it back

Overall: 9.2 Everything about Haunted Halloween 86 delivers when it comes to making you feel you are back on the original Nintendo consoles. If your looking to feel a little Nostalgia in the Xbox Marketplace, this in my opinion is the best representation, and last back to the time. Don't miss out on this one if you grew up in the Era.