The rules were always simple: don't get them wet, don't feed them after midnight, and don't expose them to bright light. Easy, right? Yes, it can be... but the potential for everything to go to hell is always latent, waiting for a mistake. And that happened to Billy, the protagonist of the movies, not once, but twice. Two great works of the seventh art, which also had their adaptations to the world of video games. Let's discover the best ones here!
We keep unearthing fun movie-based games (like Home Alone), so you can play them from home and relive old times. In this case, we get into Gremlins 1 and 2, two of the best movies of all time, both directed by the genius Joe Dante.
With one of the most contagious soundtracks in cinema, the Gremlins movies were burned into the brains of entire generations. And, like every great success, adaptations to video games did not take long. Here are some of the best games under the license. There's something for every taste, and these are games you can play online with just a click of your mouse.
Gremlins (Apple II, Atari 5200, Commodore 64)
Developed by Atari for its second console with interchangeable cartridges (the Atari 5200), this adaptation of Joe Dante's movie even reached some personal computers of the time. It has a simple approach, but faithful to its source. Here you play as Billy, the movie's protagonist. Your mission is to eliminate all gremlins, saving all mogwai before they transform. You win when you kill all gremlins and/or all mogwai are in their cage. The action takes place on a single screen, with different types of items. Food, for example, makes a mogwai transform into a gremlin. The TV distracts nearby mogwai, preventing them from wandering around looking to fill their bellies. Water creates a copy of the creature that touches it. Fun, simple, and infinite: levels end only when you lose all lives. I once reached level 100 and it kept going. I tend to think it has no end. You can play the DOS version online here.
Gremlins 2 - The New Batch (NES)
Based on the second movie, the Nintendo NES game is possibly the best of all. It presents a world in top-down perspective, where Gizmo is released from the cage by his best friend Billy, minutes before the gremlins multiply and mutate into various terrifying forms. The levels have many jumps, many enemies, and too many traps. From time to time we can find a dimensional door to the Chinese Bazaar from the first movie, to buy all kinds of items, from hearts to lives. A very well-made game, with amazing 8-bit cinematics that tell the story and several final bosses straight from the film. You can play it online or download the ROM to emulate, here.
Gremlins 2 - The New Batch (Amiga, C64, DOS)
If, like me, you think the Gremlins music is one of the most "hummable" melodies in the universe, then this game will be viral to you. You won't get that damn little tune out of your brain for weeks! The game is a computer platformer, which generally were quite different from console ones. More cryptic and with less linear levels than, for example, Nintendo NES. This is the case with Gremlins 2, a game where you control Billy in his fight against the mutated little monsters that swarm throughout the TV channel. In each level you must find the elevator key. If you reach the end without the key, you can't move to the next level. So pay attention! You can play the DOS version here.
Gremlins - Stripe vs Gizmo (GBA)
Generic platformer where you can choose both Gizmo, the mogwai, and Stripe, the gremlin, each with their special abilities and different motivations to finish the adventure. Gizmo wants to destroy the gremlins invading the town; Stripe wants to turn the mogwai into gremlins. Gizmo uses jump and a flashlight as a weapon, while Stripe goes for the easy and eliminates enemies with a claw swipe. The game is fine, nothing too notable, though it's unforgivable that it doesn't use the official soundtrack of the movie, composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which is a luxury. Play it only as a last resort: it could well have been the Scooby Doo platformer and there would be no difference, beyond the graphics. In the same line, and the same development company, you can also play the GBC version called Gremlins Unleashed. Play online Gremlins - Stripe vs Gizmo (or download the ROM) and also Gremlins Unleashed.
Gremlins: The Adventure (DOS, C64, etc.)
A game for the few. A text adventure (with graphics) that was seen on most personal computers of the 80s (including Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and Commodore 64). Only brave people with a lot of patience and good command of English can fight this title from Adventure Soft. As in any text adventure, actions are performed with two types of commands: verbs and nouns (for example: TAKE THE KEY), though the game also accepts (and requires) complete sentences for some key actions (for example: GET THE MOGWAI FROM THE BOX). It's not simple at all, especially when there's a band of gremlins on your heels, advancing with every action you take. There are thousands of ways to die in this game, which follows step by step the movie it's based on. So if you get frustrated easily, avoid it like the plague. Download the C64 version from this link and use this emulator, if you dare.
These are not all the Gremlins games that exist, but they are the best. We omitted the Atari 2600 version (because it's kind of bad) and the other PC adaptation of Gremlins 2: The New Batch, which isn't great either (but you can play it online by clicking on the title). To make it complete, and just to pique your curiosity, let's also remember the fallen ones, the cancelled Gremlins games that were going to brighten our lives at some point but never did: Gremlins Revenge (a third-person 3D adventure for PS2 and GameCube) and the Atari arcade version. Meh.
