Play Friday the 13th Online

Summary

Friday the 13th on the NES drops you into a 2‑D action‑horror playground where you control one of six camp counselors—three girls and three boys—tasked with protecting the children scattered across cabins around Camp Crystal Lake. The core loop is frantic: cabins are periodically besieged, a timed alarm sounds, and you must sprint to the threatened site before Jason slaughters the kids or a counselor.

Each counselor has a unique blend of speed, jump, rowing and throwing stats, letting you swap characters in a small cabin for a quick dash across the map. As you explore woods, caves and the lake you’ll find new weapons, light fireplaces to unlock flashlights and torches, and collect notes that point toward hidden items. Jason appears on paths, in the water, or in a cabin in a Punch‑Out!!‑style showdown, and you must defeat him three times—each encounter faster and tougher than the last. A secret locked cave even houses Jason’s mother, a floating Medusa‑like head that attacks unexpectedly.

The game was built by Atlus and published by LJN for a February 1989 North‑American release, a period when many licensed NES titles were deliberately brutal. Junior Atlus planner Ryutaro Ito recalled the difficulty as “by design,” noting the publisher’s trend of cranking up challenge for US audiences. Despite its horror pedigree, the title earned a reputation for being unforgiving and has been repeatedly cited on worst‑game lists, though some retro fans still celebrate its odd charm.

Critical reception was harsh: Game Informer called it one of the toughest horror games ever, GamePro and EGM placed it among the worst film‑based titles, and Nintendo Power ranked it the sixth worst game in its 1997 issue. Oddly, the Daily News of Los Angeles called it a hit, and the game’s legacy lives on in collectibles like the 2013 NECA Jason figurine and a “Retro Jason” skin in the 2017 Friday the 13th: The Game.

Storyline

Friday the 13th on the NES puts you in the shoes of the camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. Your mission is to survive three days and three nights while hunting down the infamous Jason Voorhees. Periodically an alarm sounds, forcing you to locate Jason before he slaughters any of the children or fellow counselors. Failure to answer the alarm means Jason will finish the job, killing the remaining victims. A hidden locked room in the cave also houses Jason’s mother, a floating Medusa‑like head that can swoop down and attack the player.