The Great Gatsby NES Game "Discovered"

[Scott Bullock]

The Great Gatsby NES Game "Discovered"

A San Fransisco man, in a stroke of genius, has adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby to an NES-style 8-bit platformer.

It's often been said that there is a fine line between genius and lunacy, and I am fairly certain there is no better example of this than the 8-bit Great Gatsby, which has been making the internet rounds. The game's website [http://www.greatgatsbygame.com/about.html] claims that it is an unreleased localization of a Japanese Nintendo game for the NES called Doki Doki Toshokan: Gatsby no Monogatari that the website's creator, Charlie Hoey, purchased for 50 cents at a garage sale. To back this up, he provided a copy of a Nintendo Power advertisement from 1990 and a scanned page from the game's instruction manual.

In reality, Hoey created the game on a whim after creating an 8-bit tribute to the classic novel's cover. They simply couldn't stop, and eventually ended up with 4 levels of Gatsby-themed glory. The game includes several characters, places, and lines from the book, and even has a few short cut-scenes.

You play as Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel, as you traverse New York from the Valley of Ashes to the West Egg. To fight off the baddies (flappers, hobos, gangsters... ghosts?), you simply fling Nick's hat, Oddjob-style. Can you defeat the laser-shooting eyes of Dr. Eckleberg? Can you best the drunken tantrums of Tom Buchanan?

Play the game [http://www.greatgatsbygame.com/], and be borne back ceaselessly into the (gaming) past.

Sorry, it had to be said.

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[FredTheUndead]

This is the most amazing thing.

 

[Casimir_Effect]

Would only be worthwhile if you got to play as George Wilson. I fucking hated that book and killing Gatsby would be the only fun part of a game based on it.

And nom I didn't spoiler that because by now you should've had enough chance to read the book if you were ever going to.

 

[Something Amyss]

Just goes to show you could turn anything into a side scroller in the 80s. Or, in this case, if you're emulating the 80s.

 

[GiantRaven]

Man I suck. Couldn't get past the second level boss...

 

[standokan]

So much for my common sense, I don't know the great gatsby.

 

[The Human Torch]

Speaking as someone who is not from an native English country, I have no idea what this novel is and why the game is so weird.

 

[LightningBanks]

Never heard of gatsby, but I finished the game in 10 minutes

 

[SnipErlite]

Woah woah woah wait, what?

The Great Gasby has a game?!

Surely it's true to the novel in every way! (though that would make a bit of a shit game).

EDIT: That.....was surprisingly faithful to the novel.

 

[Pandaman1911]

Wahaha! That's amazing, throwing hats at drunken people, hobos, and socialites never gets old. The music was great, too.

 

[Stilkon]

My English teacher is going to get a kick out of this.

 

[The Rascal King]

That cover art is cool as hell. Charlie Hoey is a is pretty damn okay in my book for this.

 

[FoolKiller]

This is soooo cool
I love this idea.

 

[neoontime]

Wow, this is a surprisingly good tribute to Gatsby.

 

[Deacon Cole]

I rather like this game. It's the good kind of frustrating when you lose. Because the controls are tight and the enemies are well-designed, losing feels like it's your own fault rather than the game throwing you a cheap shot or the game not recognizing your button presses. It shows design choices that i wish more games exhibited.

 

[PrinceofPersia]

Dude that was so much fun, I read the book and just hated it but this is freaking cool! Just goes to show you that the old 8-bit Nintendo can make anything fun!

Addendum: If it is done right, brrr, had Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde flashbacks. Raise a glass boys and girls, this one is for the AVG Nerd!

 

[Weaver]

I've never read or even heard of the book.

 

[dex-dex]

I have not read the book but the game is AWESOME!
nicely done.