Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker: A Retrospective

Over the weekend I visited my brother, Aaron, and his girlfriend Lindsay in Williamsburg to play some GH:World Tour on XBox 360. He also has a Nintendo 64, Nintendo Wii, and a Sega Genesis (A hand-me-down from our brother).

After we got tired of rocking, Aaron popped in the classic 1990 Sega Genesis game Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker for some old(er)-school gaming. I remember playing this game in high school. I was 14 years old when the game game out; Aaron was 5.

In Moonwalker, a prototypical 16-bit platformer, you play Michael as he travels through a corrupt city defeating enemies with his sparkly dance magic, shouting his trademark, high-pitched “Woo!”, and rescuing children out of closets (and bushes, car trunks and graves among other things). The children are supposed be girls, but they could easily be mistaken for boys. In the arcade version of the game, there are both girls and boys. Upon rescuing a child, they exclaim “Michael!” When you rescue all the children on a level, Bubbles the chimp drops out of the sky to land on Jackson’s shoulder and direct you to the level’s boss. The game is actually fun to play and reminds gamers of Shinobi, which shouldn’t be surprising since the same team later developed that game. Even the bombs are the same in both games. Some of the sound effects were also used later in Sonic the Hedgehog, including the famous “ring” noise.

However, this is 2008 not 1990, and no matter how fun this game is, the nostalgia is completely overshadowed by the disturbing overtones of pedophilia and the allegations of child molestation filed against the self-proclaimed King of Pop. Playing this game again, I was struck by how creepy it is; Michael rescuing children from closets, the disturbing way the children are overly excited when they get rescued. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, children lined up to spend a weekend at Neverland Ranch, but 1993 changed that and many parents had their worst fears realized.

The arcade version of the video game is even more unsettling. When you reach the graveyard, the game’s boss taunts you with, “I love you Michael….to DEATH!” One of the enemies is a mech robot with what looks like a gigantic phallus between its legs - it attacks you by thrusting, which it does more energetically when you use your dance moves.(Fig 1.1)

Fig 1.1

Also, due to some unfortunate color choices, it appears that certain enemies are wearing jackets, but no pants.(Fig 1.2)

Fig 1.2

And Wikipedia mentions that at the conclusion of the game “more of the story is revealed, which is also highlighted by some as adding to the peculiarity of the title:

“Mr. Big’s orgasmic plot has been foiled with the destruction of his deadly doomsday weapon - a gigantic gaping hole in space suspended between two large hands. And with his massive fortress reduced to cinders, he is no longer a threat to mankind.”

I think this entry on Wikipedia has been edited incorrectly, but it just adds to the overall creepiness. Wikipedia also mentions a sequel was planned. However, after child molestation accusations were made against Michael Jackson, Sega halted these plans. I’d hate to see what the kids do in that one.

(Thanks to hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com for the great reference material.)

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Tags: Brooklyn, Dan Kellner, Guitar Hero, Michael Jackson, Moonwalker, Sega Genesis, self-employed, XBox 360

Category: Recreation & Relaxation.

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3 Comments on “Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker: A Retrospective”

1. AdamZP says:

   гляди! Я ржал - http://ibigdan.livejournal.com/4243319.html - тема дня :))
   Фото на тему кризиса..
   да, и спасибо за пост) добавил в избранное

   [Reply to This Comment]

   
   November 28th, 2008 at 5:38 am

2. Lindsay says:

   Hahaha, I thought the same thing when Aaron showed me this game. SO weird. Great post, though. I love your style.

   [Reply to This Comment]

   Dan says:
   December 6th, 2008 at 10:45 pm

   Thanks! It really creeps me out…

   [Reply to This Comment]

   
   December 6th, 2008 at 10:36 pm

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