The Addams Family (video game)

Addams Family
Screenshot of Addams Family
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Arcade Game
Release	1992
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	4 player co-op
Arcade system	Nintendo Super System hardware

Addams Family is a platform arcade game released by Nintendo in 1992. It is based on the series of cartoons and movies of the same name. The characters bear resemblance to their movie counterparts.

Basic Premise

The game followed the Addams Family father and husband, Gomez Addams, as he attempts to save the members of his family who have been kidnapped. They have been stowed away in various locations in the mansion and are protected by a boss of some sort. The manservant Lurch and the severed hand Thing are the only characters not to be kidnapped. Thing will provide hints on gameplay whenever Gomez finds one of his red boxes marked with an 'A' for 'Addams'. Gomez starts outside the front door of the mansion. Inside the house, Gomez can move from level to level in basically any order. The Player will soon discover that the mansion is full of secrets, hidden passageways and side levels and bosses (for the purpose of increasing Gomez's health). Gomez dispatches enemies by simply jumping on their heads (like the Super Mario games). He can also find objects to throw at them, such as golf balls. The game did not have a save system but, instead, bore a password system. Through progression of the game, the player would recieve passwords, enabling him or her to start where they left off.

Levels

• The Family Mansion - Where the game begins. The house is the portal to most of the levels.
• The Kitchen - Grandmama's domain, patrolled by many fiendish culunary supplies. Unfortuantely, Granny has been stowed away inside the fiery cooker. Finding the 'on' switch allows access to the cooker level.
• The Playroom - Located in the attic. This is where the Addams children like to play with deadly guillotines and torture devices. This is where Pugsley Addams is trapped.
• The Study - A fiendish witch is holding Uncle Fester prisoner. Although of refined decor, the level features many devilish spike pits and traps. The polar bear rug, featured in the first movie, makes an appearance, belching up teddy bears.
• The Crypt - Just past the haunted graveyard, where the most respected members of the Addams clan are laid to rest. This is where Gomez will find his daughter, Wednesday Addams.
• The Dungeons - When the four family members are rescued and gathered in the music room where Lurch is tinkling away on the harpsicord, the door to the bowels of the mansion will be opened. Gomez must travels through the underground waterway on his gondela, avoid various snares of the dungeon and pass through the treasure chamber which holds the famed Addams Family fortune to defeat the final boss (an enraged jugde) and save his wife, Morticia Addams.

Side Levels and Secret Passageways

• Down the Chimney - There is nothing particularly special about this level, apart from the fact the walls shimmer with gold.
• Cupboard under the stairs - To the left of the front door is a passge way invisible to the naked eye. The player can obtain a lot of points from collecting vast sums of money here.
• The Tree - A tree bearing a frightening, leering face. Climbing to the top branches will bring Gomez to a giant bird's nest and an optional boss battle with the owner of the nest.
• The Freezer - Accessible from the Kitchen. It is the opposite of the level inside the furnace as it is a hazardous snow level. The player must avoid rolling snowballs, be careful of slippery floors and be aware that the ceilings are covered in sharp icicles. There is also a boss battle with an over-sized snowman.
• The Conservatory - One of two routes to the graveyard and crypt. It is a slighly confusing place with multiple doors and passage ways. It is crawling with over-grown vegetation and insect creatures.
• Underground Passageway - The second route to the graveyard. It is interconnecting with the outside the Addams Mansion and the mouth of the giant tree. Players must beware of killer bunny-rabbits.