Customer Reviews

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The film 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' caused me to look at the world in a different way. I'd never seen anything like it (and, despite 'the Corpse Bride's' best efforts, I still haven't). The film came out in the days when Capcom was still cranking out their first-rate Disney games. I held my breath and hoped that they would make a 'Nightmare' game...something like their 'Disney's Aladdin' which, though lacking the hand-drawn animation of the Sega version, took you faithfully through every scene in the film and then some. But the years rolled by with no 'Nightmare' game in sight. I decided it was probably for the best, as a video game would probably never do the landmark film justice.

Well, the game has finally come, albeit nearly fifteen years late. And I, still a rabid 'Nightmare Before Christmas' fan, am sorry to say that the wait has not been worth it. The game feels just as old as the movie.

When I first saw the early screen shots of the game, I thought, "Oooh. That's not very pretty. It actually looks...terrible." This is one of those cases where judging the game by its graphics actually works. The whole thing is a mediocre mess that you hope will aim higher but never does.

Instead of going for a Mario-esque style adventure or something along the lines of the aforementioned Capcom 'Aladdin', what we have here is sort of a 'Castleroid' prequel to the film. The game takes place years before the events in the film and tells the story of how Jack first met Oogie Boogie and Sally.

Sounds promising. I can just see the developers now: "Castlevania is kind of a Halloween-themed game. Let's make it like Castlevania!"

Too bad the execution is so poor.

Armed with a can of frog's breath ("Frog's breath will overpower any odor"), you hop, climb, and shoot your way through an expansive world map that you'll cover many times over as you aquire new abilities that open the way to new areas. But where 'Metroid' and 'Castlevania' reward the player by giving them new things to see, new weapons to try, and a continual sense of accomplishment and moving forward, 'Nightmare' gives you no compelling reason to keep playing. After the Mayor sent me on my fourth fetch quest, I completely lost interest. The game is utterly tedious.

All this would be moot if, by exploring the world map, you were constantly being given new things to see and do. Sadly, with the exception of some colorful backdrops from the film, the game looks depressingly like a GameBoy Color game (why does Jack have a blue outline around him at all times??). Sure, the levels are packed with references to the film, but, for example, why does the Halloweentown you explore in the game look NOTHING like what you see in the background? You'll find yourself wishing you could go into the backdrops and explore the Burton-esque buildings you see there rather than endure the floating platforms and winding levels that remind one of 'Earthworm Jim'.

An attempt to give the sprites a wide variety of animations is evident, but the animation is so choppy it makes the stop-motion of the original film look smooth as butter.

The sound doesn't fare much better--the game uses several sound effects that have been around since 'Super Mario Land' (the 'explosion' sound effect comes immediately to mind). Several Danny Elfman compositions are featured as background music that fans of the film will recognize immediately, but they're only about 20-30 seconds long and loop over and over. Hearing 'Jack's Lament' and its variations again and again is enough to make you realize just how unlucky the Guy from Kentucky really was.

Play control is solid enough and before the game is half over you'll have picked up all the weapons and special moves the game has to offer. But the special moves aren't all that special and, aside from the clever use of Frog's Breath as Jack's main weapon, the pumpkin bombs and bat-boomerangs feel bland by comparison.

It's very difficult to recommend this game. I'm the biggest 'NBX' fan I know, having a collection of posters, figures, books, DVDs...you name it. But even my love of the film couldn't cover over the multitude of weaknesses in this game. My recommendation? Save your money and buy 'Castlevania DS', the OTHER Halloween game.

I like this game very much... of course im a fan of the movie so i was interested in the game... im a grownup with a game boy so, for me it has been hard to play :P the grafics are great and the music too. i recommend it.

Not a bad GBA game and great for gaming on the go. Nice graphics and sound from the Nightmare Before Christmas movie. Gameplay was easy to pickup - does get a bit repetitive but still enjoyed the game.

I LOVE anything Nightmare Before Christmas-related. That having been said, this game, overall, was a blast! It is actually one of the best and most challenging GBA games I have ever played! The graphics (especially) are detailed - I especially love the victory dance Jack does after completing each enemy boss!
Probably the only thing this game lacks is more of a victory movie at the end.
This is the prequel to the movie storyline, in which Jack meets Oogie-Boogie, Sally, and others for the very first time. The story pictures are nicely rendered, and the storyline is great. I highly recommend this to any Nightmare Before Christmas fan!

PS- If you wait without moving Jack for a few seconds, he makes cute gestures, like glancing at his watch :)

Graphics - 4
Sound - 4
Replay-ability - 5

Overall - 4

I have been a fan of nightmare ever since I saw the movie years ago, And I waited patiently for a nightmare game. So this game came out and I got it for christmas. I started playing immeadiatley. It's fun at the begining but then I got to the noise gnat part and I was driven crazy because it was really hard and time limited. It's a lot like a Gameboy color game And it doesn't have the feel of the movie. Tim Burton's influence on the game is no where to be seen. So if you know a nightmare fan get them anything nightmare other than this game.

This game is really fun and its not really that short its pretty long unlike shrek 3 and other games like that so i totally recomend this game plus its Nightmare Before Christmas!!!!

I own this Gameboy Advance prequel to the classic film, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" as well as the Playstation2 sequel game, and I have to say that this is actually the better one of the two. I can't seem to rate this game 3 1/2 stars rather than 4, but I'll let that seemingly great rating slide and explain why I like this game.

First off, the graphics are pretty good for Gameboy Advance. It would have been nice to have a few more cutscenes than the game had, but overall I was satisfied. Though the characters look very different in this style than in the original film, I got used to the exaggerated look after a while. Also, some of the levels are downright challenging here. There's one level where, if you encounter poison gas, the controls are all set backwards, and the final battle is genuinely difficult.

I also like how the game stays true to the atmosphere and world of Halloween Town in both dialog and gameplay. Jack's weapons consist of a frog gun (as in the "frog's breath" Sally uses), bat boomerangs, pumpkin bombs, and using his Pumpkin King powers. Some of the dialog (albeit only in text rather than speaking) and scenarios are cute too, especially when Jack and Sally first meet in the end of the game. :)

The only problem with this game really is the limited plot. Contrary to the very idea of the game, it DOES NOT explain how Jack became the Pumpkin King, it rather explains how Jack and Oogie Boogie became enemies. Furthermore, Oogie apparently came from a dead holiday world known as "Bug World," but this unknown place is never explained to us, and since the only people who will play this game are hardcore fans, it's a plot hole that needs some filling.

Altogether, for fans of the original movie with a DS or a GBA that they're itching to take out, this is totally worth your money. You'll look past all the flaws and enjoy every thumb-blistering minute of this game. But for the parents looking to buy their kids a game based on a family movie, this is just an okay game. If you want to live through "The Nightmare Before Christmas" via game, I'd recommend playing the "Kingdom Hearts" series instead, where you get to interact Jack, Sally, Oogie, and many other Disney characters.

My gf at the time was a HUGE NBC fan so she wanted this game for her game boy. All she ever did was complain about it, so I'm assuming it was not very fun and not very good. Although what can you expect from an old GBA game.

Good game, my daughter will love it. She loves anything that has to do with The Nightmare Before Christmas movie and this will just add to the collection that I started for her a few years ago. Packaging was good, and it was shipped out very promptly after purchasing. All in all it was a very good transaction!

I was extremely pleased with the game that I purchased for my grandson for Christmas. He's spent hours playing and giggling. The game was delivered in a timely manner and was brand new as promised. Thanks for a great transaction!