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Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is the name of several video games created by Sega in 1990 that incorporate the personage of and were co-developed by Michael Jackson. The arcade version and home versions differ in terms of gameplay, but the story and concept remain constant. The story, which is taken from the Moonwalker film, follows Michael, using various music and dance related abilities, on a quest to save kidnapped children from the hands of the evil "Mr. Big". The games incorporated synthesized versions of the musician's hits, such as "Beat It" and "Smooth Criminal". The games have now achieved cult status and are remembered for being a memorable point in Jackson's change to a different stage persona from Thriller, to Bad.

Arcade version

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
European arcade flyer of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.
Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Michael Jackson
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release	1990 August 25, 1990
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up/Run and gun
Mode(s)	One to three players simultaneously
Arcade system	Sega System 18

Moonwalker was first developed into an arcade video game by Sega with the help of Jackson which was released on the Sega System 18 hardware. This game suffered from Sega's suicide battery on its arcade board (a battery that, accidentally or otherwise, renders the game unplayable at the end of its lifespan). The arcade has distinctively different gameplay from its console counterparts, focusing more on beat 'em up gameplay elements rather than platform.

Gameplay

The game is essentially a beat-em-up, although Jackson attacks with magic powers instead of physical contact, and has the ability to shoot magic power at enemies instead of getting close enough for a melee attack. A map of the stage is shown before it begins, and after which, Jackson must get from the start to the end without losing all his health, rescuing all the children and defeating all the enemies along the way.

The game can also be played multiplayer; if the cabinet supports it, up to three people can play simultaneously. All three players play as Jackson, dressed in his suit from the "Smooth Criminal" music video. The first player wears a white suit and hat, with a blue shirt; the second player's character dons a scarlet outfit with a black shirt; the third player's character is dressed in black, with a red shirt. The characters all have armbands: red for black outfit, black for red outfit, and blue for white outfit.

Dance Magic: Arguably the most memorable feature, Sega takes the concept of the "smart bomb" or "screen zapper" and changes it to the form of dancing, in a special attack termed "Dance Magic". Once activated, a heavenly spotlight shines on the player, and the player starts to dance several of the high-energy moves that have become Jackson's hallmarks. All of the standard enemies - henchmen, gangsters, guards, robots - start dancing with the player and are destroyed at the end of the dance routine (ostensibly because they cannot keep up with Jackson's dance moves). However, bosses do not dance, but do take a significant amount of damage. Any captive children on-screen at the time Dance Magic is activated are not harmed. There are three different dance routines that may be performed, and the player starts with one to three of these attacks per credit (depending on how the machine is set up).

Bubbles: Part of the peculiarity of this game comes from this unusual power-up. Bubbles the chimpanzee, Michael's real-life pet, appears in each level. Once collected or rescued, the chimp transforms Michael into a robotic version of the pop singer that has the ability to shoot laser bursts and absorb significantly more damage.

Levels

• 1. Cavern: This level resembles the subterranean hideout from the movie and consists of long corridors with blue doors periodically. It starts with Mr. Big taunting Michael. The enemies consist of suit-wearing henchmen and small robotic mobile gun emplacements. There is no boss.

Background music – "Bad"

• 2. Amusement Quarter: This level takes place in Club 30s, the nightclub from the movie, and highly resembles the first level from the console version. Additionally, half of the level takes place outside on a street during daytime. The enemies consist of suit-wearing mobsters, and soldiers. The bosses for this level are two mobile robotic gun emplacements.

Background music – "Smooth Criminal"

• 3. Night Street: This level is very similar to the outdoor half of the Amusement Quarter, but takes place at night. The gangsters and soldiers again make their appearance in this level, but are joined by many more robots. There are robots that hide under manholes, large conspicuous-looking AT-ST-like robots, and shirtless men who control armored dobermans. Mr. Big confronts Michael in this level, in the form of a laser-shooting hovercraft surrounded by eight floating laser pods.

Background music – "Beat It"

• 4. Graveyard: In an almost complete departure in theme, this level takes place and has all the common elements of a horror movie graveyard. Enemies consist mostly of zombies and ghosts. The boss is yet another Mr. Big contraption; a large stationary three-tubed ghost generator.

Background music – "Another Part of Me", although one would logically think that "Thriller" would be more appropriate given the setting of the level. However, Thriller is used as the music for the Dance Magic attack in that level.

• 5. Evil Fortress: This level takes place on Mr. Big's fortress on the moon, where he is preparing to fire a large laser cannon. Almost the entire level takes place on a rising elevator, where wave after wave of enemies appear. The last boss is Mr. Big piloting a large mechanical spider.

Background music – a reprise of "Bad"

The credits play "Billie Jean"

Console versions

Home versions of the game were released for Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive and Master System home video game systems, though the gameplay was completely different from the arcade version. The home console versions of the game were actually based on an evolved version of the home computer version of the game (with gameplay somewhat similar to the Shinobi series), in contrast to the arcade version which was a three-quarters view shooter/fighter type game. The game involved the player controlling the pop star in a quest to save all the kids that had been kidnapped by Mr. Big. In the home version, all of the children are young blond girls termed "Katies"; in the arcade version, Katie was one of three types of children who could be rescued.

The game's levels and music were borrowed from the film (though many of the music tracks were taken from Jackson's Thriller album as well) and the player had the ability to destroy enemies by making them dance. In the console game Michael could become a robot by rescuing a certain child first, and then grabbing a comet that fell from the sky. In the arcade version, Michael became a robot by rescuing his chimp pal Bubbles. The arcade version also had the novel feature of three simultaneous players (each controlling Jackson's character in a different-colored "Smooth Criminal" outfit).

Gameplay

The gameplay is focused on finding children, all of whom resemble Katie from the movie, which are scattered throughout the level, some behind certain objects such as doors. Most of the objects are empty or contain enemies. In contrast to the arcade version, Michael's moves more closely resemble his trademark dancing moves. For example, the standard attack is a stylized high kick that is commonly incorporated into his dance routines. The player has combination health/ability bar. One button will allow Michael to spin, being invulnerable in the process. However, this spin move will slowly lose health. If the spin is held for more than two seconds, Michael will throw his hat in a fashion of a boomerang which will destroy most enemies. The longer the spin move is held, the wider distance that the fedora will cover. If held down long enough, a dance magic scene similar to the arcade version would play, featuring dance moves taken from the film clips of whatever song is playing in the background. Michael can also use the magic to slide down banisters and eliminate multiple enemies in the process. Almost every stage has three levels, designated in Super Mario Bros. fashion as X-1, X-2, X-3. However, the final level of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version was a first person "flight sim" type battle between Michael (now transformed into a space ship) and Mr. Big's ship.

Levels

• Stage 1 – Club 30s

Background music – Smooth Criminal

Special perform: Smooth Criminal

• Stage 2 – Street

Background music – Beat It

Special perform: Beat It

• Stage 3 – Woods

Background music – Another Part of Me

Special perform: Another Part of Me or Thriller on 3-1 and 3-2. Billie Jean on 3-3.

• Stage 4 – Cavern

Background music – Billie Jean

Special perform: Bad

• Stage 5 – The Enemy Hideout

Background music – Bad

Special perform: Stage 1 Smooth Criminal.Stage 2 Beat It.Stage 3 Another Part of Me

Incorporation of Michael Jackson trademarks

• In the beginning of level 1-1, in mimicking the Moonwalker movie, the environment appears dark until Michael flips a quarter into a jukebox which starts playing Smooth Criminal.
• When performing each attack move Jackson will shout "Wooo!", a sound he commonly made during his performances.
• Occasionally, there is a brief cutscene between levels, in which Jackson shouts "Wooo!".
• The jumping attack shows Michael raising up his arms, mimicking another dance move.
• A Moonwalk can be performed if the player attacks and then suddenly pushes the directional pad in either horizontal direction.

Peculiarities

• After rescuing all the children on a level, Bubbles the chimpanzee will be magically carried to Michael where he will rest on his shoulders and point Michael in the direction of the level's boss battle.
• The ad suggests that the song "Thriller" was included in the game. The third stage - much of it set in a graveyard, with zombies as the main enemy - suggests that song was to be used, but "Another Part of Me" was used instead. However "Thriller" can be obtained when the B Button is held and the special move is performed. Note: For some reason, certain copies of this game do not include the "Thriller" music while performing the dance attack in the third stage. Instead, clips from the song "Another Part of Me" are used, possibly due to copyright issues. Thriller can only be found in the Japanese releases of the game for the Megadrive.
• The Moonwalk can be used to cross quickly over hard-to-overcome obstacles, such as the conveyor belts from Level 5 and the spider webs from Level 4.

Home computer versions

Versions of the game with completely different gameplay to both the arcade and console versions were released for the popular 8-bit and 16-bit home computers of the time. Unlike the arcade and console versions, Sega had absolutely no relation to these; instead, they were developed by two small softhouses, Irish Emerald Software Ltd and American Keypunch Software, and published by British company U.S. Gold; all of these have since gone out of business.

The games featured four different levels. The first was a top-down maze-style level based on the 'Speed Demon' short, involving wandering the studio to collect various items and costume pieces, with the final piece being the motorcycle, all whilst trying to avoid the crazed fans. The next level was similar gameplay, riding the motorcycle collecting tokens, upon which turning into a car in order to jump a barrier to the next part. The third level was a sort of side-scrolling level based on the "Smooth Criminal" clip, collecting ammunition and shooting at gangsters in openings above you. The final level involved morphing into a robot and shooting at soldiers in openings. This version of the game was noted to be the hardest version by far, indeed it was literally impossible to complete the first stage without losing at least one life due to the impossibility of collecting all pieces before time ran out.

Legacy

Jackson later would go on to have a cameo role in Sega's Space Channel 5 and Space Channel 5: Part 2 music/rhythm games for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. Jackson also appeared as a secret character in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2.

The Jackson sprite is also an iconic part of web-culture, appearing in several Newgrounds animations and flash games, mostly the Genesis/Mega Drive version. The arcade version was used in one of VH1's I Love the '90s then-and-now commercials, showing the arcade Jackson sprite standing in front of the girl sprite, while she runs off screaming and a cage drops on Jackson and imprisons him.

In the June 2007 issue of Game Informer magazine, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker was number 8 on the "Top 10 Worst Licensed Game Ideas (ever)" in the Connect section but Gamespot added Moonwalker into the Hall of Greatest Games of all time.

References

1. The Dead Battery Society

• Detailed overview of arcade version
• Moonwalker at the Killer List of Videogames

External links

• Michael Jackson's Moonwalker at MobyGames (console versions)
• Michael Jackson's Moonwalker at MobyGames (computer versions)
• ScrewAttack's Video Retrospective of the Arcade & Mega Drive Versions
• HonestGamers Arcade Review
• michael jackson moonwalker art
• X-entertainment article on the videogames
• Michael Jackson's Moonwalker at Games4Win (PC playable)
• Moonwalker at SpectrumComputing.co.uk

• Articles lacking sources from January 2009
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