The Goonierne 2 NES Retrospective: Konami’s Bizarre, Brilliant Sequel

Remember blowing into a game cartridge as if your life depended on it? That frantic, hopeful breath was a ritual for any kid facing down a challenging NES game. And let me tell you, few games demanded that ritual—and a detailed hand-drawn map—quite like Goonies II.

Most sequels play it safe. They give you more of the same, just a little shinier. But Goonies II? This 1987 Konami release looked at the rulebook, shrugged, and tossed it out the window of the Fratelli family hideout. It wasn’t just a sequel to a video game; it was a bizarre, ambitious, and often confusing fusion of genres that has left a permanent, pixelated scar on the brains of anyone who played it.

Was it a flawed masterpiece ahead of its time, or a messy, misguided experiment? Well, strap on your truffle shuffle and grab a slingshot, because we’re going in.

1. What in the World is Goonies II? The Setup
2. A Game of Two Halves: Side-Scrolling Meets First-Person
   • The Platforming Sections: Whips, Jumps, and Octopi
   • The First-Person Maze: The Genius and the Frustration
3. The Goonies II Toolbox: Essential Items and Their Quirks
4. Goonies II vs. The Gaming Landscape: A Comparative Look
5. The Verdict: Hidden Treasure or Nostalgia-Fueled Fool’s Gold?
6. FAQs

Here’s the first curveball: the NES Goonies II isn’t actually a sequel to the NES Goonies game. Let that sink in for a second. The first Goonies game was only released in Japanese arcades and on the Famicom. For the West, Konami decided to create a brand new, more complex adventure and market it as a sequel, leaving most American kids completely unaware of the original game’s existence. Talk about a confusing childhood.

The plot is pure, unadulterated Goonies. The villainous Fratelli family is back (because of course they are), and this time they’ve kidnapped all six of your fellow Goonies. Oh, and a mermaid named Annie. Because why not? You play as Mikey, the de facto leader, and your quest is to scour a massive, interconnected world—comprising the Fratelli hideout, a creepy hotel, underground caves, and more—to rescue everyone.

It sounds straightforward, right? Oh, you sweet summer child.

This is where Goonies II truly separates itself from the pack. It’s not just one type of game; it’s two distinct experiences awkwardly, yet brilliantly, stitched together.

The side-scrolling parts will feel familiar to any fan of classic NES titles like Castlevania or Blaster Master. Mikey can run, jump, and use a slingshot (and later, a super-slingshot) to dispatch enemies like bats, rats, and the ever-annoying Fratelli goons. He also gets a nifty punch for close encounters.

The level design here is actually pretty solid. You’ll navigate underwater sections (thankfully, Mikey can hold his breath for an impressively long time), avoid falling stalactites, and fend off pesky octopi. The controls are tight, the challenge is fair, and the enemy placement feels deliberate. If the whole game was just this, it would be a competent, if forgettable, 8-bit platformer.

But it’s not.

This is the heart of Goonies II, the element that defines it. By pressing the A button, the game switches to a first-person view. You’re now staring at a static screen—a room, a corridor, a blank wall—and you can move forward, backward, left, or right.

Your mission in this mode? To find hidden characters and items. And I mean hidden. You have to bomb specific walls, use a hammer on seemingly innocuous sections of floor, or play a radio to charm a mermaid out of hiding. There are no quest markers, no objective lists, and very few hints.

This was the pre-internet era’s ultimate test of patience and communal knowledge. You either spent hours mapping every corridor on graph paper, called the Nintendo Power hotline, or traded secrets on the school playground. It was equal parts exhilarating and utterly, soul-crushingly confusing.

Honestly, this blend of action and adventure isn’t talked about enough. It was Konami trying to inject a Metroid or Zelda-level of exploration into a linear platformer. The ambition was through the roof.

Progress in Goonies II is gated by items, many of which are found in the first-person maze. This is a classic Konami trope, executed here with a delightful dose of weirdness.

• The Whip: Your primary tool for grabbing distant items. Not a weapon, just a handy… grabber.
• The Hammer: Used to break down certain walls and, crucially, to stun the Fratelli matriarch, Mama Fratelli. Because nothing says “rescue mission” like bonking a old lady with a hammer.
• Diving Gear: Allows for unlimited underwater exploration. A literal game-changer.
• Transceiver: You use this to communicate with your rescued friends, who sometimes offer vague, cryptic advice. Thanks, guys.
• Radio: You use this to play music for the mermaid, Annie. It’s a specific, easily missed item that is utterly essential to beating the game. Good luck figuring that out on your own.

Finding these items created moments of pure, unadulterated joy. That “Aha!” moment when you finally found the hammer after searching for what felt like an eternity is a core gaming memory for many.

To understand Goonies II‘s place in history, it helps to stack it up against its contemporaries. It was a weird hybrid, and this table shows just how unique it was.

See what I mean? Goonies II was trying to occupy a space all its own. It lacked the polish of Zelda but shared its spirit of discovery. It was as cryptic as Simon’s Quest but, in my opinion, a bit more fair once you understood its bizarre logic.

So, where does that leave us? Is Goonies II worth playing today?

Let’s be blunt: by modern standards, it’s often frustrating. The first-person sections are slow, the lack of direction is borderline hostile, and without a guide or a childhood’s worth of memorization, you will get lost. Frequently.

But.

If you view it as a historical artifact—a piece of gaming archaeology—it’s an absolute treasure. Goonies II represents a time when game designers were wildly experimenting, throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck. Its fusion of genres was ambitious, and the sheer satisfaction of conquering its labyrinthine world through sheer grit and determination is a feeling few modern hand-holding games can replicate.

It’s not a flawless masterpiece, but it’s far from fool’s gold. It’s a rough, unpolished diamond—a fascinating, unique, and ultimately lovable experiment that could only have been born in the wild west of the 8-bit era.

1. Do I need to play the first Goonies game to understand Goonies II?
Not at all. As mentioned, the first NES game wasn’t even widely released in the West. Goonies II is a completely standalone story that requires no prior knowledge, just a love for the movie and a high tolerance for confusion.

2. What’s the deal with the mermaid? Why do I need to rescue her?
Annie the mermaid is a damsel in distress, plain and simple. Her role is purely MacGuffin-esque; she’s one of the key objectives driving the plot. Rescuing her requires the specific “Radio” item, which you use to play music that lures her out.

3. What is the single most important tip for beating Goonies II?
Map everything. Seriously. If you’re playing on an original NES or via emulation without a guide, get yourself a notebook and graph paper. Document every room in the first-person view, noting which walls are bombable or breakable with the hammer. This is how we did it in the 80s, and it’s still the most rewarding way to play.

4. How long does it take to beat Goonies II?
For a first-time player without a guide? We’re talking 10+ hours of aimless wandering. With a modern walkthrough, you can probably finish it in under two hours. It’s a game where knowledge is literally power.

5. Was there ever a Goonies III?
No, there was not. The franchise largely faded from gaming after this sequel, which is a shame. One can only imagine what a Goonies III on the Super Nintendo might have looked like.

6. Is the game’s music any good?
Are you kidding me? It’s a Konami game from their golden age! The soundtrack, while limited, is incredibly catchy. The main theme is an upbeat, adventurous tune that’s permanently burned into my brain. The first-person exploration theme, on the other hand, is suitably mysterious and tense.

7. What’s the best way to play Goonies II today?
The most accessible way is likely through the Nintendo Switch Online library, which includes it as part of the NES collection. This gives you save states, which are a godsend for mitigating the frustration of the maze. Purists, of course, will demand the original cartridge and a CRT television.

So, what’s your take? Does Goonies II sound like a frustrating relic, or does its unique, ambitious blend of genres pique your interest? If you decide to take the plunge, just remember my final piece of advice: be patient, be curious, and for goodness’ sake, don’t forget to blow on the cartridge. Some traditions are worth keeping.

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