Insert 8-Bit "duh dums" here

Dan Ryan here with the first installment of 8-Bit Blockbusters, the column where I look back on a movie and its 8-Bit tie-in release. For this first installment I can think of no better example than the movie that scared me more than any other before or since, and the game that gets more hate than it deserves, Jaws.

In an effort to not bury the lead here, Jaws is a very, very good movie. There are a number of examples in history where something comes out, a movie, a television show, a video game, and things are different afterwards. Jaws is one of those properties. The impact that this film continues to have on the entire movie industry cannot be understated. Before Jaws there were no summer blockbusters. After Jaws every studio had to find their summer tent pole film, the one that was going to drive everybody to the theaters and make them a ton of money. For Better or worse, Jaws was the blueprint for modern Hollywood; simple high concept films with big action and big advertising.

Originally released on June 20th, 1975 Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Roy Schneider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. The story itself was relatively simple. A young girl is killed while skinny dipping in the resort town of Amity. The police chief, Brody wants to shut the beaches down and protect the people. But the mayor, being more concerned about both the optics and politics of the situation, wants to keep the beaches open as shutting the beaches down during the summer would ruin the town's economy and his career. As expected, there are more attacks and Brody along with marine biologist Hooper and professional shark hunter Quint go out to find and kill the shark. It's man versus nature simplified.

I first saw Jaws at the way too young age of five. Having a cinephile as a grandfather meant that I saw everything, even things I shouldn’t. Jaws terrified me. After the release of the film beaches across the country reported a significant decrease in attendance. You can count me among those people not going to the beach after having seen Jaws. Even though I saw it ten years after it was released, it still affected me in a profound way. I was convinced that, if I went into the ocean, a shark was going to get me. Nobody could tell me otherwise, which living in New Jersey, is kind of a bummer. The Jersey Shore is a big deal for us and having a young child absolutely terrified of going to one of the most popular summer vacation destinations well, my parents weren't exactly happy with my grandfather. Thankfully the Jersey Shore was home to a number of really outstanding rides and incredible arcades on its Boardwalk so, even though I was hesitant, I found a way to have fun. Watching the film all these years later it holds up surprisingly well. The performances from the cast are some of the best of their careers. The score, by the phenomenal John Williams, is legendary. The direction by Spielberg grounds the film and makes it “real”. It has become one of my very favorite films. It's scary in an organic way much the same way that The Exorcist is scary. Jaws is a bit more fun though in the giant monster sort of way that movies are so good at. If you've never seen it, you should. If you have seen it, you should watch it again. It is the 50th anniversary of that wonderful shark after all and what better present for Bruce than rewatching his starring role?

In an effort to not bury the lead here either, Jaws the video game is… not a great video game. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad video game, but it's not really a good video game either. It’s an 8-Bit LJN game… so yeah. Released on the NES in November 1987, Jaws the video game is loosely based on Jaws the film franchise. This game is most closely associated with Jaws 4: The Revenge even though the box art is clearly the original Jaws. The game starts with the player taking control of a boat on a very nice looking top down over-world map of an 8-Bit ocean. As you traverse the waters you will randomly hit “something.” After you hit “something”, you switch to a side view where the player takes control of a scuba diver armed with a harpoon gun. It’s the goal of said scuba diver to relentlessly murder seemingly innocent starfish and stingrays to collect stars and crabs for various amounts of points and conch shells sometimes dropped by the enemies. Every now and again you are treated to a bonus scene where you take control of an airplane flying left to right across the top of the screen as you drop bombs on, again, seemingly innocent jellyfish. I'm not sure why but this game makes it obvious that developers Atlas and Westone really, REALLY hate jellyfish. Eventually you make your way to a dock where you are given a tracker that can track Jaws. From that point on the game becomes a loop of hitting something in the water, collecting conch shells, then traveling from dock to dock to power up your ship. Once your ship is a high enough power level you can then take on Jaws. This boss fight, consists of two parts. In the first part, you attack Jaws from the now familiar side view, dropping bombs from your ship until he eventually hits you, at which point you take control of a submersible and fire missiles at the shark underwater. Once you've drained enough of Jaws' life the game then switches to an up close 3rd person view of the boat. Think over the shoulder if boats had a shoulder. As Jaws gets closer to you, you hit him with a strobe light which makes him jump out of the water and spin. Once he spins and you see the white of his belly you stab him with your ship and he sinks to the bottom of the ocean. A plane flies away, some music plays, and The End appears on the bottom right of your screen. All told it's an incredibly short experience if you're any good at the game. The game plays out almost like a natural, 8-Bit evolution of an Atari 2600 game. The premise itself is simple, the gameplay loop is fun enough and the ending, while a bit disappointing, still leaves you with a feeling of satisfaction for having taken down the monster shark. I played this game a ton as a kid and always had a good time when I played it. It never blew me away, but I never felt disappointed after either. The game is certainly not as bad as the LJN branding would have you believe and is worth a playthrough, using a JAB controller maybe?, if you’ve got an hour or so to kill.

JAB Controller for NES, PC, and Mac - Retro Fighters

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JAB Next-Gen Nintendo NES, PC & Mac Controller - Retro Fighters Not compatible with the NES Classic Edition – (NES Pro Adapter required) NTSC region...… read more

That wraps up the first 8-Bit Blockbuster. I hope you enjoyed reading about Jaws the film and Jaws the video game. 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. See you in two weeks.