Growing up, one of the most-played games of my childhood was The Goonies on the NES. At the time, I had no idea it was connected to a movie. To me, it was just this mysterious little game with unforgettable music and fun gameplay. Even now, whenever I hear that chiptune intro theme, I’m instantly brought back to being seven or eight years old, sitting in my living room with my cousins, taking turns until we finally beat it.
Konami developed and released the game in 1986, based on the 1985 movie. The strange part is that while the game came out on the Famicom in Japan, it never got a normal NES release in North America. Instead, many players only ever discovered the sequel, The Goonies II. But for me, this first game was the one that left a mark.
Controls and Objectives
The beauty of The Goonies is how simple it is to pick up and play. You move Mikey with the D-pad, jump with A, and attack or place bombs with B. Each level has a clear goal:
- Collect three keys to unlock the exit.
- Rescue a captured Goonie hidden somewhere in the stage.
- Survive enemies like bats, skeletons, rats, and of course the Fratellis.
That’s it — no long cutscenes, no walls of text, just pure action.
This is also why it feels perfect on the Miyoo Mini’s 2.8-inch screen. The game doesn’t rely on lots of text, so there’s nothing tedious to read. The NES’s simple A and B button layout matches the Miyoo Mini perfectly, making the game feel like it was made for handheld play.
The Nostalgia Factor
When I was a kid, I used to think the rats in this game were actually the size of children. They looked so huge and scary to me on the TV screen. Looking back, the graphics are pretty basic, but the way the game combined its music, enemies, and level design made it feel larger than life.
The difficulty also felt enormous at that age. What seems like a simple loop today — jump, bomb, collect, rescue — was one of the hardest games I had ever played as a kid. But that’s part of what made it so special.
And of course, what I remember most isn’t just the game itself but the feeling around it: the old TV buzzing in the living room, my cousins sitting beside me, all of us determined to beat the game together. That memory is what makes The Goonies stand out among all the other NES platformers.
Final Thoughts
Although there are many NES platformers that are just as good, or even better, The Goonies will always be one of my personal favorites. Not because it’s the most polished, but because it carries so many of my childhood memories.
I haven’t played The Goonies II, but for me, this first game feels just right. And playing it today on my Miyoo Mini is enough to keep that nostalgic spark alive. The Goonies is just one of many great platformers on the NES — but for me, it’s one of the most unforgettable.
EZRetro Plays 