Ghostbusters (1986). Play online

Summary

Ghostbusters on the NES sticks you between a top‑down Manhattan traffic jam and frantic side‑view ghost hunts. From the headquarters screen you watch a blinking map for alarm zones, plot a route, and then pilot the Ghostmobile, snaring wayward spooks for extra cash. That money lets you stock new vehicles and tweak upgrades, turning each capture into a tiny business simulation.

What’s wild is how the game rushed to market: Activision only had six weeks to turn David Crane’s in‑development "Car Wars" into a licensed tie‑in after Columbia Pictures hand‑off the rights. The final team added Hilary Mills’s character art, Russell Lieblich’s sound effects, and a Ray Parker Jr. theme that even borrowed a crowd chant straight from the movie.

The NES version earned a notorious reputation for its primitive graphics—a fact critics at *Edge* weren’t shy about, calling the visual chaos hard to follow. Yet despite the visual quibble, the title shipped over two million copies and became a hallmark of early licensed gaming.

For me, the blend of mapping Manhattan traffic and slinging proton traps feels oddly charming, a reminder of how fast‑tracked creativity can still produce something memorable.

Storyline

Based on the 1984 film, Ghostbusters for the NES lets you build a Ghostbusters franchise in a haunted New York City. You start with a cash grant, buy a vehicle and proton‑pack gear, then navigate a city grid where flashing red blocks mark ghost hotspots. When you drive to a hotspot the view shifts overhead; if your car has a vacuum you can suck up stray spirits before the capture phase.

At each site you control two Ghostbusters to herd a Slimer ghost into a trap, earning money for success while failures raise the city’s PK (psychokinetic) level and knock out one of your three team members. You must periodically return to headquarters to empty traps and revive teammates. Free‑roaming ghosts try to reach the Temple of Zuul, and occasional merges create the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, whose defeat grants a bonus.

If the PK meter hits 9,999 before you’ve spent less than you earned, the game ends. Otherwise you guide at least two Ghostbusters past Mr. Stay Puft to destroy the temple, receive a reward, and can use an account number for a New Game Plus with retained cash.