Task: Play The Goonies on an Atari 8-bit Computer
Needed: The Goonies disk or ATR file
Time: 30-60 minutes
Introduction
The Goonies is an American kids movie that was released in 1985 and written and produced by Steven Spielberg. I recall really enjoying the movie when it came out. It was fun and funny, even for a 17 year-old. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 71% with a 91% audience score. The Goonies video game was produced by Datasoft, Inc. and released in 1985. I recall playing the game around 1987 and 1988 and probably got it on sale at the local video game store. My brother and I played the game through and really enjoyed it. I still have my original disk. The graphics and music are solid and the play is really fun if you like puzzle games.
The back of the game box has the following description: “Intricate, Rube Goldberg style mazes provide the challenge in eight exciting screens inspired by scenes from the Steven Spielberg movie. Deadly bats, demonic flying skulls, and poisonous slime are just a few of the perils to avoid while figuring out to coordinate the movements of the characters to solve the puzzles and outwit their adversaries”. A neat aspect of the game is that there are two characters on the screen that the player can switch between. Both are required to beat the game.
Instructions
The ATR file for The Goonies is available for download on Atari Mania and Archive.org. The Atari Mania link also has a copy of the manual. I didn’t see any original disks for sale on eBay at the time of this posting. I would guess you would need to pay around $20 for the disk and perhaps as much as $50 or more for a boxed set. I don’t see these come up very often.
Comments
I had tons of fun with this game back in the day and have had fun playing it again now. It has definitely withstood the test of time. It is challenging and fun with good graphics and music. I definitely recommend seeing the movie first as it will greatly improve the enjoyment of the game.
Here is a play through of the game on YouTube.
Here is a post on the game from Vintage is the New Old.