Ghostbusters - Sega Genesis

Ghostbusters for the Sega Genesis is an original side-scrolling run-and-gun developed by Compile and published by Sega — completely unrelated to the notorious 1984 Activision game of the same name, and widely considered the best Ghostbusters video game of the entire 8-bit and 16-bit era. The game takes place after the events of the first film, with the Ghostbusters down on their luck following the defeat of Gozer — paranormal activity has nearly ceased, business has dried up, and their bank accounts are running low. When a sudden wave of earthquakes triggers a massive new ghost outbreak across New York City, Peter, Ray, and Egon strap their proton packs back on and head out on six cases spanning a haunted manor, a building engulfed in supernatural fire, a frozen apartment complex, and a corporate high-rise — each one leading toward the discovery of a mysterious stone tablet whose assembled pieces reveal a terrifying new threat. The mid-boss Siren bears a striking resemblance to the Dream Ghost from the first movie, and iconic franchise figures including Slimer and a new incarnation of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man make memorable appearances throughout.

Players choose one of three Ghost busters — Peter, Ray, or Egon — each with different speed and stamina stats, and must commit to that choice for the entire run. Four cases are available from the start and can be tackled in any order via a stage select similar to Mega Man, with a fifth hidden level set in a medieval castle unlocking after all four are completed, followed by a climactic sixth final battle. Each level contains mid-bosses called "middle ghosts" that must be defeated before the stage's main boss will reveal themselves — and after a middle ghost is defeated, it transforms into a small green ghost that can be lured over a ghost trap for bonus money. Between levels, money earned from busting ghosts is spent at an item shop on weapon upgrades, including a 3-way shot and various recovery items, with 22 selectable musical scores available including Ray Parker Jr.'s iconic "Ghostbusters" theme song. Smart bombs clear the screen in emergencies, and Slimer himself appears as a collectible mid-boss encounter scattered across multiple stages.

Developed by Compile — the Japanese studio behind Blazing Lazers, Aleste, and the Puyo Puyo series — Ghostbusters was released for the Sega Genesis in the United States in August 1990 as one of the console's earlier titles. Mega Play's four reviewers gave unanimously positive reviews, praising the graphics, diverse gameplay, variety of enemies, and boss fights — with one reviewer calling it one of the best games ever made for the Genesis. Ken Horowitz of Sega-16 called it one of the better movie-licensed games of its time, and Robert Workman of Shacknews ranked it among the top three best Ghostbusters games ever made. In 2023 a fan-made Special Edition mod added new difficulty settings, cheat codes, and Winston Zeddemore as a playable character — a fix for the game's most criticized omission. The original Genesis cartridge remains the definitive physical collector's version of the best Ghostbusters game of its era.

Language: English
Rating: N/A (pre-ESRB release)
Platform: Sega Genesis
Genre: Run-and-Gun / Action Platformer
Players: 1 player
Developer: Compile
Publisher: Sega
Release Year: 1990