LJN was one of the most infamous publishers back in the 8-bit and 16- bit era and were notorious for releasing licensed games on the systems of the times that were often very subpar. One of their most lambasted games was Friday The 13th on the NES, which I previously wrote about here. In that review, I mentioned that I was fond of their much hated NES adaptation of A Nightmare on Elm Street and in fact, I will go so far as to say I consider this one a hidden gem for the NES.
From the very start of the game, the mood is set perfectly with an excellent soundtrack from David Wise that is one of the best on the NES, with great tunes and catchy melodies. The overall gameplay gets a bad rap and I feel the reputation is unearned as the gameplay is rather innovative. The game brilliantly blended being in the waking world and in the dream world and took cues from the movies, notably A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, in that the dream world can be interacted with more and even manipulated with new abilities. I have to say that I much prefer the dream world segments as they were much more fun and went all out, and rather than waking up from the dream segments feeling like a relief, they felt like a buzzkill.
There are some issues of course like collision issues and some boss fights, but overall I loved what I played. I cannot understand why the game is so hated. Yes its development was rushed, but the overall product is extremely competent. Perhaps it is just because the game was published by LJN? The platforming was fine, and the flaws in the game such as the enemy placements, do not make the game unbearable. It is hard yes, but then again so were many NES games that are considered classics. Frustrating enemy fights and occasional glitches are not unique here, and using the Dream Warrior powers in the game was a complete blast.
This was also one of the few NES games that allowed four player co-op and playing in multiplayer was a very fun experience. While many hate the game for what it is, I disagree and stand my my opinion that, A Nightmare on Elm Street is in fact a hidden gem on the NES.
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