Customer Reviews

Friday the 13th

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What keeps Nintendo games popular is their charm. Friday the 13th on the NES is no exception. The idea of playing a Nintendo game where you battle the most iconic monster from the 80's is just plain awesome. If you read reviews elsewhere of this game, most people hate it. They say it is too frustrating and practically impossible to beat. But, if you stop and think about it, there are plenty of classic Nintendo games that are next to impossible to beat. (Ninja Gaiden, Contra and Super C come to mind.) But if you give Friday, the same patience as these classics, you'll find just how much fun the game is.

You start out with 6 counselors and one direction: "Light the fireplaces with the torch". The fireplaces are found in the large cabins. After you kill some zombies, (the rocks are effective as long as you duck when you throw) get the lighter and start lighting fireplaces, notes begin to appear. If you follow these notes and do what they say, you'll receive the most powerful weapon in the game.

However, during this time Jason constantly pops up and tries to attack everyone in the camp, counselors and children included. You must rush to their rescue otherwise Jason will kill them. Once your friends or the kids are dead, the game ends.

This game is sufficiently scary. The cabin explorations scenes are pretty creepy at night with spine tingling music added to up the scare factor. The first time I encountered Jason in a cabin, I actually jumped. But the attacks don't stop there. Jason will attack you on the path, in the woods, and on the lake. As a fan of the Friday movies, you'll realize just how close the game follows the movies.

At first glance the game may appear frustrating, but as you play it more, you realize just how strategic of a game it actually is. You must use all the counselors together to help defeat Jason. You need to have a plan to beat him. It's not just a hack and slash type game.

Friday the 13th is my favorite game for the NES. If you're a fan of the movies, you'll probably like it. If you hate the Friday's, then you probably won't like it. I think it's a classic NES game and would rank it right at the top.

it's so fun to play.I've never been able to beat Jason,but it's fun.Jason is as hard to kill in this game as he is in the films.You have to save the childern and your follow counselors before Jason does them in.Alot of people don't like this game,for the fact you can't beat it.Well I can't beat it and I still love it.

Throw the manual away on this one. This game has a lot of moving parts. confusing at first. Worst part about this game is that the good weapons are really hard to get, and sometimes not worth the time wasted trying to get them. And those pesky kids at the lake won't quit crying!! But you gotta take care of them or else a short game will end. Weapons: The rock and Torch are the only weapons that will hurt Jason in the water. The Torch is the hardest weapon to get. It can be obtained in the very first round if you work hard for it. Here's how you get it.....maybe next time I'll tell you. Ha! The Pitchfork is the best weapon hands down. You get it after defeating Jason's Mom in the cave, in the third round. Jason's Mom in the third round is very,very Violent=No push over!! Don't lose the pitchfork after you earn it, by jumping around carelessly in your travels. The pesky kids won't quit crying. Use counselor 'Mark' for his super boating skills to get to the kids when time is short. Items: The sweater you get after defeating Jason's Mom in the second round. It only lessens damage Jason inflicts on your armorless body, and of course it's a Neon sweater. Oh,forgot to tell you that Jason's Mom is tougher and faster in the second round. The flashlight is a usefull item to have as you navigate the Cave. It however does takes a lot of work to get it. Avoid the woods in the south as there is nothing of value to be had there. The endless challenges of this game make it a Favorite.

I remember when this game was brand new. It came out around the same time as Nightmare on Elm Street game, which truly sucked. I think Nintendo wanted to explore the gaming possibilities like perspective and battles with this game, because the player got a lot of difficult challenges.

Pros:
- Jason was very difficult to fight because of the differing perspectives. When he appeared on the side scrolling screen, all you could do is dodge his attacks and counter-attack till he runs away. And when he's in the cabins, it takes careful dodging and counter-attacks. Not that easy, but it is possible. It's a lot easier with the pitchfork, of course.
- Hidden enemies like Jason's mom
- A lot of areas to explore
- Actually getting lost in the forest and caves! I never got lost in a side-scrolling game before. Bravo to Nintendo for that one!
- Music wasn't that bad, for a Nintendo game
- Being able to transfer weapons to the weaker and slower counselors makes survival almost possible :-)

Cons
- The sudden shift from side-scrolling to a 3rd person perspective in the cabins, and fight against Jason's mom is very annoying. It takes awhile to get used to, and seems almost unnecessary at times.
- Jason's ability to jump from one side of the screen to another at will.


Not too many cons, I know. But I'm bias. It's a good game which I recommend.

I got this game when it was still on the shelf for $50. It was one of the best games ever. I was probably nine years old. I played it recently and it's still as fun as it was. I was able to beat the entire game when I was a kid, so I know for a fact it's not impossible to beat. It's the only game that would startle me enough to make me drop the controller. Even the box cover is creepy. You won't regret buying this classic.

I was like many other kids at the time when this game came out. Thought it'd be cool to play a Jason game. Well, like many kids did, I threw this game into the junk pile quickly after getting it, sad that I wasted money on such a piece of garbage.

-Graphics are what you'd expect from a NES game.
-Controls are stiff and thumb-numbing.
-Jason is stout and PURPLE!!
-After a while of running around you want to yank the game out because the sound effects of the alarm are so annoying!
-As many others have said, Jason is IMPOSSIBLE to beat!

You're better off playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Urban Champion, or Kung Fu. Unless you're looking to get this game to complete your collection of rotten games, DON'T GET IT!

Despite its disreputation for being one of the worst NES games made and also for the fact that it was made by LJN company, Friday the 13th is actually and surprisingly a good game. It wasn't more of a beat `em up one but rather a very deeply strategic game. I had to change my strategies many times during Day One, then Day Two and going back to Day One, and finally Day Three and back. I was trying to figure out the best way to approach Jason in each day given his increasingly super strength abilities. Eventually, I beat the game although I found it pretty annoying a lot of times. However, it is an ingeniously made game. Now, I am going to show you how to beat Friday the 13th as painlessly as possible. First of all, I forewarn you that the learning curve for this game is somewhat steep, but anyone who has played Mission: Impossible on NES will undoubtedly be familiar with the basic idea of Friday the 13th. Now, I strongly recommend to you to spend a couple of hours navigating through the trails and be familiar with the basic idea of switching around counselors and passing on weapons. This is the most important aspect of the game. You cannot win without mastering this part first.
Day 1: I read in a lot of strategy guides that every character ought to be equipped with a dagger. Forget that...that's rubbish. What you should do right now, make a map exactly what you see on the screen. Draw the trails, the houses, and whatever pertinent. Then, start killing the zombies and jumping over and over, especially through the trees. Anytime you see an item revealed, use a color code on the map you drew standing for something (i.e., pink for medicine, green for dagger, brown for key, and yellow for a lighter). Keep doing this as often as you can throughout the map. Now, about the forests, the bottom part, I never went to there and don't find it worth going there because it's too easy to get lost in there. However, the top forest, entering from the bottom, is quite important to master. There are goodies on the left side. Now, to reach the cabin inside of that forest is to go right as you entered from the bottom, push up as soon as you see a trail and then push up again to be inside of the cabin. This is a very, very important cabin. To get out of the forest is to get out of the cabin, go right, down as you see a trail, go right again, and then down again. Again, I stress the fact that this cabin is the most important of the game. As for the cave, you should always use Mark because of his awesome jumping ability. Go left, jump over the two gaps, and then push up just before the third gap. Now, this is another important cabin to be in because killing Jason's mother will give you two invaluable items necessary to win the game. Okay, we've covered the basic elements. Time to restart the game clean. Despite the strategy guide telling you that you should have Mark on the top left cabin around the lake, I don't find it all that necessary, but you should start with Mark first wherever he is. Now, Mark should kill three to four zombies and get a lighter. Then find the dagger and the key as you referenced their positions in the map you made. Now, go to the big cabin on the trail around the lake and which is right between the two big forests. Push Up and then turn right. There is a message that says, "GO INTO THE WOODS." Now, get out of the cabin and go into the forest from the bottom and find the cabin. Once in there, leave the cabin and come back to it again. Once inside there, turn left and get the message, "FIRE WILL DAMAGE JASON THE MOST." Now, leave the cabin and before the door, the machete should appear. Pick it up. Get out of the woods. Find a character (not Chrissy) that you can pass the machete down to. Go back to the same house where you got the first message. Push Up, Up, turn around, and Up. Finally, you got the blow torch. Go to the same character that you passed the machete down to and switch weapons. Mark should go to the cave where he will fight Jason's mother. Be sure to have Mark to collect as many medicine bottles as possible (at least six will be good). Kill the mother and you receive a blow torch for free. Now, you have two characters with a torch. Switch to Chrissy and do the same exact thing all over again (get the dagger, key, lighter, Woods message, and then Fire message). If Chrissy is able to get the machete (sometimes, it's there, and sometimes, it's not). If she got the machete, pass it to a character who doesn't have it. Then, Chrissy will go back to the same cabin on the trail to pick up a blow torch. Now you got three characters with a blow torch and one character with a machete. Do this one more time with another character. Eventually, you should have four characters with a blow torch and either one or two with a machete. Make sure that you take your time on Day One, collecting the required items, and most important of all, do not allow any of the characters to pick up an item s/he has already possessed. For example, if Mark has a dagger, do not pick up another one; reserve that for a different character who doesn't have it yet. Ditto for other items. The hardest to find is the key. Also, make sure that Mark has enough medicine potions, and the rest should be picked up by Chrissy. Those two are the most important characters of the game. Treat George as the first expendable character, and he should possess the worst weapon (dagger or rock) available. If you are lucky enough to find all machetes and torches, then George should have the machete. Every bit of damaging hits on Jason helps a lot. Now, when you have equipped every character as possible, go and defeat Jason while having at least five characters alive for the second day. It's not hard to defeat Jason on Day One with all of the six characters alive. Fighting Jason in the cabin is like playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! all over again. Same strategy over and over...Jason makes a left side and comes to you. You dodge left, he pulls back, and you throw the weapon at him twice. Repeat. Sometimes, Jason does the two hit movement. Eventually, you'll get used to it. Sometimes, when Jason alarm goes off and it turns out to be a counselor, it is a very good idea to find the nearest small cabin and push START and switch to the counselor being in the same cabin as Jason. Then, you get out of the cabin ASAP and you fight Jason on the trail and keep following him as much as possible. This strategy should be heavily used the entire game. It is worse when Jason alarm goes off, and the children are being attacked. You have to go to the cabins in the middle of the lake and take some hits from flying zombies, a crow, and/or occasional floating Jason. I hate going to there, especially on Day Three.
Day Two: After you have defeated Jason on Day One, start as Mark first, and switch his weapon with another character who has the machete. With Mark, go to the cave again and fight Jason's mother one more time. Defeat her, and you will receive an all-important flashing sweater. This is the most important item needed to finally defeat Jason in Day Three. Make sure to switch weapons for Mark, so he can have the blow torch back. Now, pretty much after that, same strategy as before, and go defeat Jason. It is not as hard as the other day, and it feels like Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (more like facing Piston Honda twice) again. Be sure to learn his moves as he will make a rapid double hit movement where you need to make a rapid two dodge movement.
Day Three: After you have defeated Jason on Day Two, this is the last one. What I am going to say is: NEVER EVER GO TO ANY OF THE CABINS AND TRY TO TAKE ON JASON. YOU WILL NOT WIN PERIOD! ANYBODY WHO SAYS THAT HE CAN TAKE ON JASON IN THERE IS 100% PURE LIAR. But, one time, you will have to use Mark to take on Jason in the cabin in the middle of the lake. Ok...to start off the day, pick Mark again, and make him to go right in the center of the opening to the lake on the left side. Stay there at all times, do not move to anywhere. Keep killing the zombies to pass the time. Jason should come after you, or Jason will attack a counselor. Whenever either happens, attack him on trail or go to the nearest small house and switch counselors (then leave the cabin ASAP) and start fighting with Jason on trail. Switch back to Mark and go back to the same original position. When Jason alarm begins again (more likely, he will attack the children), go to the middle of the lake and take on Jason. This time, do not dodge anymore. Attack him rapidly as you can with the blow torch. Hit him, hit him, hit him...as hard as you and as fast as you can. You will win, and then get out of the cabin, and go to the right side. Finally, you will take on Jason on the trail and defeat him for good.
During the entire time, make sure to attend to Jason alarm; it is okay to sacrifice some children if you don't feel like going to the middle of the lake. But always be sure to attack him whenever one of the counselors is being threatened. It's your best time to expose Jason's weakness. Be sure to always use the character with the most health points as possible to take on Jason. Whoever has very low health points should be avoided until the next day where everybody is automatically given full health points.
My strategy is the best and perfectly refined right now, although it will take time to accomplish the goals required. The point of the machetes and the blow torches for nearly all of the characters is due to pretty good damage points they inflict on Jason. A rock (please...this is the most worthless weapon in NES history) or a dagger on Jason is not going to do a damn thing. Every blow on Jason inflicted by a machete or a blow torch wielded by all of the counselors counts and will save you for good. The flashing sweater will significantly reduce the damage dealt by Jason, and it is the most important item to have. Finally, Mark should have the most medicine bottles because he is the most important counselor and the only one (I haven't tested Chrissy much, but I think she can also do it) who can handle Jason's worst. Whatever you do, DO NOT FIGHT JASON IN THE CABIN ON DAY THREE. IT'S SUICIDE, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Only use Mark with the flashing sweater in the middle of the lake. Other notes about the game for myself: I try to stay away from most of the forests and the cave; it's too much of a maze to navigate through. I never found a pitchfork or an axe. Since I beat the game without them, I can do without them. Forget about lighting up the fireplaces. There is no frigging point to that, and it's NOT A TORCH BUT A LIGHTER. GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT.
All in all, I am very surprised that LJN finally made a game that was worth playing. The people who don't understand how to play Friday the 13th will find it as one of the worst games ever, but the people that actually understood it will appreciate the gameplay a lot and find it a very underrated game. Friday the 13th, simply put, is a purely strategy game. Interestingly, I am very surprised that Nintendo actually gave a seal of approval for Friday the 13th. The game is a rarity under these circumstances back then because Nintendo strived to release appropriately made, family-type games. However, Friday the 13th was rather a scary game to play. Notice the bizarre endings: "YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD. GAME OVER." and "JASON WIPED OUT THE KIDS. GAME OVER."

Here is a game that has an unfair stigma. People dub it as "one of the hardest NES games" which is simply not true. Many people hate this game. Personally, I love it. You just need to know what youre doing in order to succeed. Its actually not hard.

Day 1. Pick Mark as your star counselor. Get the lighter after killing a couple zombies. Jumping makes other items appear. Get a dagger, the key, and as much medicine as you can. Light the big cabins fireplaces in this pattern : NorthWest going all the way south, then all the way east, then northeast, then get the two lakehouse cabins. A torch will appear on the floor of one of the lake cabins. After lighting the last fireplace, a flashlight will appear. Make sure to keep Jason from killing your children and co counselors. An axe is in one of the woods cabins now. A machete or axe will be in the cave cabins when you kill jasons moms head. just use the torch to kill jason.

Day 2. All you want to do is go to the cave, kill his moms head to get the sweater (it reduces the damage you take). Then hunt Jason and kill him with the torch. His attacks are faster. Time your leans, learn his pattern. His pattern is easy to master, hes so repetitive. A few fights where you burn him with the torch and Day 3 comes. I can usually kill him before sunset.

Day 3. Same as day 2. Go to the cave and kill Jasons mom's head. Now you get the pitchfork. This weapon rules. Its as powerful as the torch but flies fast and straight, and goes through all enemies rather than arching like the torch. Hunt Jason. He is fast, but the pattern is the same. A couple fights and hes dead.

The fights against Mrs. Voorhees are optional, but i like the prizes you get when you beat her. All you need is the torch.

Medicine is key. If you have over 9 jars of medicine, the game will recognize it but not display it. It will only show 9. If you lose all your life but have medicine, your character automatically uses it to get a little bit of life back.

This is not a hard game, just requires patience. As long as YOU LEAN to avoid his attacks, you will be fine.

I haven't played this game in many years, as I no longer have an NES system but I remember that I was good at it. I know alot of people have trouble beating Jason, but I could do it in my sleep. I give this game four stars instead of five becuase the one annoying thing was when Jason would attack those children. I understand the concept, as a counselor it is neccessary to protect them, but it was annoying still the same.

I think the graphics were not bad for an NES game and the music was great!

Weapons:

Alot of people rave about the pitchfork as being the best weapon. I disagree, the pitchfork was great on zombies, and effective on Jason, but you don't get it until the third and final stage, and since you had to fight the head of Pamela Vorhees to get the pitchfork, many times you would not have much life left to even use it. The torch was the best weapon overall because it is much more attainable. TIP: If you get the torch in the first level, since your strength returns to 100% at the second level then again at the third level, you could actually seek Jason out and destroy him quickly.

I remember playing this YEARS ago. I wonder why they won't put out a similar game for xbox or ps2....you know it would sell if they put a lil effort into it. Anyway, creepy game, used to scare the hell outta me; and definitely nostalgic playing it now.