LJN was an infamous publisher that was notorious for releasing lousy licensed games on the NES and other systems. Among their most notorious games was Friday The 13th. I previously wrote about it here, but in that review I mentioned that I was fond of their much hated NES adaptation of A Nightmare on Elm Street. In fact, I will go so far as to say I consider this one a hidden gem for the system.
From the very start, the mood is set perfectly with an excellent soundtrack from David Wise and I must say that this is one of the best soundtracks on the NES. The overall gameplay gets a bad rap, as it is rather innovative. The game brilliantly blended being in the waking world and in the dream world, and I have to say that I much prefer the dream world segments as they were much more fun and went all out. Waking up from the dream segments didn’t feel like a relief but rather 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. Is it 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, 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. Do not listen to those who bash the game, A Nightmare on Elm Street is in fact a hidden gem on the NES!