Did you play the Beetlejuice NES video game? Let's take a trip down memory lane and see if the game lives up to the nostalgia.

Tim Burton's Beetlejuice was played on repeat in my house. Both of my parents are Michael Keaton fans, which in turn made me one as well. Not only does he hold the title of being my favorite Batman (with a very close second going to Robert Pattinson), Beetlejuice is one of my most watched Halloween movies. Ok, it may not be strictly Halloween, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

Beetlejuice takes over!

The movie might not have gotten an official sequel (yet), but it did get a rather popular cartoon series. As a result, there were age-appropriate toys, costumes, and even video games. In 1990 we got Adventures of Beetlejuice: Skeletons in the Closet for MS-DOS, and in 1991 we got Beetlejuice for the Nintendo Entertainment System. As we didn't have an MD-DOS, I had to settle for the Nintendo version.

Developed by Rare and published by LJN, this game was directly tied into the movie. Featuring the classic movie poster on the box, this game lured me in. This side-scrolling platformer had real potential. The opening screen had a fairly good rendering of Michael Keaton's famous ghost with the most, but the music was not the Danny Elfman theme, the gameplay is horrible, and for a 7-year-old kid this game was nearly impossible to get through.

As a 36-year-old adult, it's not much better.

You fall through what you think are solid walls, you die from jumping on enemies too often, and everything and anything will kill you in this game. The music is annoying and monotonous -- the only good thing I can say is that the Beetlejuice avatar looks like Beetlejuice. The cut scenes and mini-games are arguably the best part of the game as they do tie in scenes and supporting characters from the movie. The controls in the game respond fine, but it helps that my controller is somewhat new.

The game is still a part of an iconic universe, so surely it must be a collector's item. Well, yes and no.

If you're looking to invest in this game, stay away. The year-long average for a WATA 9.2, the only grade currently on our site, is sitting at $288. A WATA complete in box 7.5 has a yearly average of $228. Right now, there is no real benefit to buying this game graded, or in high condition.

Thankfully, this game didn't kill Beetlejuice's fandom. A Broadway musical opened in 2018, and new collectibles, mini backpacks, and clothing is released all the time. Beetlejuice and Lydia are still very popular Halloween costumes. There's even an online push for a sequel. With Keaton reprising his role as Batman (someone leak Batgirl, please) I wouldn't count out a Beetlejuice sequel. But does it really need one? We did get a cartoon show, and Harvey Comics did put out a comic series based on the show.

Perhaps it's ok to let classic movies stand on their own without a sequel.

After all, Beetlejuice is a part of our popular culture and is a Halloween icon. The only thing I would like to see is a better video game -- one that truly explores the afterlife with today's technology!

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*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.