If you kept up with the “Friday the !3th” film series and its overall reception, it will not surprise you that the critics savaged a video game adaptation. Developed by Atlus and published by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989, “Friday the 13th” was an early attempt to bring horror to gaming. While something of a cult item today, it was as well-loved by game magazines as the movies were by Siskel & Ebert. In 1997, Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it the eighth-worst console video game of all time. That very same year, Nintendo Power rated Friday the 13th the sixth-worst game ever made. The writer stated, “After playing a few minutes of this aardvark, you wanted Jason to slaughter all the counselors and then you. Anything so it would just end.”
As a child, I very much enjoyed “Friday the 13th” while accepting that it just wasn’t very good. We bought a second-hand copy of it, so we didn’t have the game manual. Considering that most games from the 8-bit era consist of jumping on bad guys and beating the big boss, “Friday the 13th” seemed like pure chaos. Paths were interminable, enemies spawned constantly, and big boss Jason stalked you throughout. Armed with a feeble rock to throw, each attack on Jason would equal the damage you might receive from a papercut. None of it really made any sense to me, but I was drawn to the eerie atmosphere and unique mechanics.
Instead of one Italian plumber with three lives, you were given six camp counselors with one life each. Their health bars seem plentiful until you see how quickly Jason can knock them down. Mr. Voorhees could show up at any moment, forcing you into a duel to the death. In most cases, Jason just slices through you like a knife through butter. Your current faceless counselor dies, and you pick the next one. When all of your counselors have met their end, you see possibly the most brutal “game over” screen in video game history: “You and your friends are dead. Game over.” Ice cold.
You are also responsible for 15 children. If you fail to save them, you get the less common but still brutal message, “Jason has wiped out the kids. Game over.” Considering that “Friday the 13th” was released on the same console as “Ice Climber” and “Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom,” this was pretty strong stuff. Games didn’t have ratings back then, so Jason occupied the same shelf space as Mario.
I suspect the main reason for “Friday the 13th’s” less-than-stellar reputation is that it’s wicked hard. Going in blind without a manual is near impossible. Unfortunately, that’s how most players are introduced to the game. Whether you bought it second-hand, like we did, or rented the game, it’s very unlikely you had instructions when you started. For an NES game based on a movie, “Friday the 13th” is surprisingly complex. Once you understand how it all works, it’s actually a pretty effective and (for the 8-bit era) kinda scary game.
The game takes place over the course of three days. You survive each one by defeating Jason. When he returns the following day, he will be even deadlier than before. You take control of one counselor at a time, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. When they are not in action, the other five counselors will be in one of the small cabins. Inside a small cabin, you can switch to a different Counselor anywhere on the Map by pressing START. As you travel, Jason will go along his own route. If he discovers you or the children (always at the cabin on the lake), he’ll do what a good slasher does: slash. If confronted inside one of the cabins, you must fight Jason in a system similar to “Punch-Out!!!” To avoid Jason’s attacks, press and hold the Down button on the D-Pad, then press either Left or Right. If you encounter him outside, just start hurling your weapon at him. Try to obtain the torch, which will melt away Jason’s health. It can be obtained by lighting all the fireplaces in the large cabins, or in a niftier way by using a hidden cabin in the woods.
Even that little bit of info would’ve been a literal game-changer to me as an 8-year-old. With that knowledge, the game goes from an impossible mess to a fun challenge. All aspects of the game make sense once you have a basic understanding. Once the timer starts on either the counselor or children counter at the top of the screen, that’s when it’s time to go to them and fight the masked menace. An in-game map will show where to go, so long as you understand that the right side of the screen travels counterclockwise on the current road and moving to the left travels clockwise. There are many paths to take, and items will begin to spawn after you defeat a number of enemies (that varies from counselor to counselor). You can even confront the floating, disembodied head of Mrs. Voorhees hidden within a cave.
Decades of poor reviews and that (admittedly amusing) video from the Angry Nintendo Nerd convinced me that “Friday the 13th” is a bad game. Well, as a grown-up with a deeper understanding of the mechanics, I firmly believe that “Friday the 13th” is actually pretty darn great. Jason’s sporadic appearances perfectly recreate the feel of a horror movie jump scare. Personally, I feel the 8-bit graphics are gorgeous, and the controls are smooth. Jason’s blue-and-purple design is goofy but endearingly so. The same game with just a few tweaks and perhaps an in-game tutorial on the Super Nintendo would probably be an all-timer. But even as it is, “Friday the 13th” is killer. (Pun intended.) Seek out the instructions and maybe watch a walk-through. With the right knowledge, you’ll be ready to destroy Jason… if you can.
- The Phibes Philes: Friday The 13th On The NES – The Misunderstood Video Game Classic - June 22, 2026
- The Phibes Philes: Wishmaster – Movie Review - June 12, 2026
- The Phibes Philes: The Eraser – Batman’s Forgotten Foe - May 27, 2026
