Hello friends. Dan Ryan here, you… there. Thank you so much for checking in and if you like what you see please comment and share. For this month’s 8-Bit Blockbusters, since I have apparently made this a monthly thing, we are traveling back… to the future. Well, no actually, the past. Specifically 40 years ago in 1985 when Back to the Future (BTTF) was released to theatres. There are very few movies that I consider perfect. This is one of them. And the game well… yeah, we’ll get to that. Submitted for your approval this is 8-Bit Blockbusters: Back to the Future.

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If you are reading this and have somehow never seen Back to the Future, one, weird, and two, it might come off as a little cliché on your first watch. And there’s a reason for that. As covered in my 8-Bit Blockbusters: Jaws post, Steven Spielberg basically invented the “Summer Blockbuster” in 1975. Robert Zemeckis, the director on Back to the Future, was mentored by Spielberg, working with him on several projects, none very successful, before BTTF. Most of what new viewers would consider old hat were actually done first in things like Back to the Future. However, it wouldn’t be until the Zemeckis directed Romancing the Stone became a surprise hit that he would have the cache needed to get Back to the Future made. BTTF had been written, shopped, and rejected by every major studio before Romancing the Stone became a hit. Afterwards, BTTF was suddenly business everyone wanted in on with production eventually landing at Spielberg’s own Amblin Entertainment. 

Filming began in November 1984 with Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly. For reasons too long to truly cover here, Stoltz was fired and replaced with Michael J. Fox, the original top choice for the role, in January 1985. A ton of the movie had already been shot and with them already being behind, Fox had to pull double duty. It really is a testament to just how good Michael J. Fox really is that his role in BTTF was as successful as it was. He was already one of the main stars on the hit TV comedy Family Ties and his agreement when taking the movie was that his TV role would remain his number 1. So, and this really is insane, Fox would get up and go to work on Family Ties during most of the day, longer on weekends when it was taped in front of a live studio audience, and then travel to the BTTF set at night. He got almost no sleep for months, famously being carried into bed by his drivers most nights. The film released on July 3rd 1985 and made a total of around $380 million. Not bad for a final budget of $19 million.

So the big question is then what makes this movie so damn special? One of the more obvious reasons is the cast. Fox and his co-star Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown are perfect in their roles. Fox is charmingly befuddled, in a way Hugh Grant could only dream of, while also being the main energy in the film. Lloyd nails the zany, over the top scientist like Fred MacMurray in The Absent Minded Professor while also delivering some of the more impactful scenes in the film. Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover play dual roles and do so convincingly. And Thomas F. Wilson gave us one of the most iconic bullies ever in Biff Tannen. But that cast would be nothing without its script, which is as good as it gets. Back to the Future is a movie with no wasted scenes. There is literally nothing to cut as every scene moves the story forward in some form or fashion. It is funny, sad, poignant, dark, hopeful, inspiring, and delivers a message all at the same time. Those scenes are beautifully directed by Zemeckis. Movies are simply not made like this anymore. There are very few cuts throughout most of the movie with the camera moves doing the heavy lifting. The score nails the tone wonderfully and that tone somehow shifts from serious tension to zany comedy and back multiple times without ever breaking from the story. It is, from all technical aspects, flawless.

Maybe the most interesting thing BTTF does though is take high concept story telling, directly changing the past to influence events in the future, and boils it down to an easily understandable meal. This movie gets dark; some of the themes could have seemed completely out of place in the hands of a less talented crew. But, it just works, without the need for tons of exposition. Even among the big action set pieces or quieter character moments, the movie remains balanced. It is a relatively straightforward, simple story done by very talented actors and one of the better directors of his generation. AND, it has a DeLorean, inarguably the coolest car ever made.

So the driving force behind these posts is the movie anniversaries. I’ve got a list I work from and pick out interesting flicks that I love and think you all do too. And so far the games that have tied to them have been, in my opinion at least, better than expected. Sadly, that is not the case this month. And I put that disclaimer there because I want you to know that I do not enjoy taking the piss just for the sake of it nor do I intentionally play/watch/engage with “bad” content on purpose. Kris and I went a little deeper on the subject in the SAG Bag podcast episode, here, but I find the pursuit of bad content for the sole purpose of bagging on it to be a gigantic waste of time. That said, Back to the Future for the NES is a terrible game with one good idea. Designed by Trevor Nuridin and Russell Conte and published by, no surprises here, LJN in 1989 BTTF for the NES is essentially an auto-scrolling shmup, that is after you get the bowling ball power-up. (Just like in the movie!) In each of the game's four sections Marty, at least I think it’s supposed to be Marty, runs from the bottom of the screen to the top collecting clocks and avoiding enemies. As time runs down your life bar runs out as well, depicted by a photograph at the bottom of the screen (the best idea in the game). At the end of each section, gameplay changes from the Paperboy-esque run ‘n gun to an absolutely absurd mini-game. Thrill! as you throw milkshakes at bullies entering the diner, Swoon! as you dodge kisses from Lorraine to, as the game says, break her heart, Rock! as you position your guitar just right to play along with the music. Each one suckier than the last. The only saving grace for the mini-games is the final level where you drive a DeLorean and dodge lightning bolts. It still sucks, sure, but at least you’re in the DeLorean. Couple this “gameplay” with a score comprising two tracks, supposedly sped up versions of Power of Love and Johnny B. Good, mediocre graphics, and frustrating controls and you have a recipe for an absolute disaster. This is one of the few NES games that has more than earned its reputation of being one of the worst games of all time. 

But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes... I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.