Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context VideoGame / FridayThe13th

Go To

1%% Image changed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1590605618001360500
2%% Please do not change or remove the pic without starting a new discussion.
3%%
4[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fri13nes.png]]
5%%
6->''You and your friends are dead.''
7-->-- '''The [[MemeticMutation infamous]], but [[NarmCharm slightly cool]], GameOver screen'''
8
9Released in 1989, ''Friday the 13th'' is a {{licensed|Game}} [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] game published by Creator/LJNToys and developed by Creator/{{Atlus}}, based on the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' films.
10
11This game puts you into the role of one of six camp counselors, who must protect themselves and the kids from the wrath of the AxCrazy Jason Voorhees. The gameplay consists of wandering from cabin to cabin, waiting for Jason to enter one so you can fight him. The game takes place within three days and Jason grows stronger with each passing day. Your ultimate goal is to survive and defeat Jason.
12
13Your main weapon is a bunch of rocks which have a tough time hitting anything. The map screen makes getting lost and confused very easy. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And Jason's mask is light blue for no reason.]][[note]]Okay, technically there ''is'' a reason. It's speculated that the design was based on [[https://images.app.goo.gl/urX2MpQFCarEPgZb9 this poster]] for ''Film/FridayThe13thPartIII'', which, partially due to lighting and partially due to the poster being in 3D and thus overcompensating for the viewer seeing it with red and blue glasses, gives Jason the appearance of having a purple outfit and cyan mask[[/note]]
14
15An [[http://i.imgur.com/vDyy8h8.jpg action figure]] based on Jason's appearance in the game has been made.
16
17For the 2017 ''Friday the 13th'' game, go [[VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame here]]. Incidentally, this game's version of Jason was added to it as free downloadable content on June 20, 2017.
18
19----
20!! This game provides examples of:
21
22* ActionBar: Appears when you search the cabins.
23* AfterBossRecovery: Each time you defeat Jason, your surviving counselors are all brought back up to full health.
24* BatOutOfHell: Regular bats act as enemies.
25* BlackoutBasement: The cave. In a subversion, it's still easily navigable if you don't have the flashlight.[[note]]Just look for chips in the background rocks lining the path. That is where doors are located.[[/note]]
26* TheBlank: The characters in-game are depicted without faces.
27* BottomlessPits: Found everywhere in the caverns. It's instant death if a counselor falls in one, and [[{{Permadeath}} characters that die do not come back]].
28* CompetitiveBalance: The counselors have specific strengths and weaknesses each. Running speed, jumping height, projectile speed, and [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway rowing speed]] are affected.
29* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: One of the in-game hints tells you to light the fireplaces with the torch. You're actually supposed to light the fireplaces with the lighter in order to get the flashlight.
30* CreepyCrows: There are [[RedEyesTakeWarning red-eyed]] crows as enemies.
31* CriticalAnnoyance: When Jason enters one of the cabins, an alarm starts ringing.
32* CutAndPasteEnvironments: Each cabin is mapped out exactly the same between small and large varieties; only any items located inside are different.
33* DiscOneNuke: The torch, the second strongest weapon in the game, is terribly easy to find right from the start.
34* EverythingsDeaderWithZombies: Zombies are common enemies. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual,]] they are Jason's past victims given new life in undeath.
35* EventFlag: Finding notes in cabins would start a chain of finding other notes or possibly weapons if you go to the areas (vaguely) described.
36* EyesAlwaysShut: Crissy in her CharacterPortrait.
37* GenderEqualEnsemble: Six counselors total, three men (George, Mark and Paul) and three women (Laura, Debbie and Crissy). It even remains equal if you include the villains Jason and Pamela.
38* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The famous game over screen is in direct violation of Nintendo's NeverSayDie company policy that existed at the time, and slipped through the censors.
39* GuideDangIt: As an adventure game that initially looks like a platformer, the game's mechanics are deceptively complex and poorly explained, which is the primary reason for the game's infamy. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcq9YGG6vVA A good video guide can be found here.]]
40* ImprovisedArmor: Pamela's sweater halves any damage to the counselor wearing it, ostensibly because Jason is reminded of his mother and [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas can't bring himself to use his full strength]].
41* ImprovisedWeapon: [[ScrappyMechanic Infamously]], each counselor's starting weapon are rocks that were lying on the path. Since they arc over almost everything, ducking when throwing them is must.
42* InfiniteFlashlight: The reward for lighting all the fireplaces. Only the counselor who lights the fireplaces gets it, so if Jason kills the counselor holding it, you'll have to light them all over again as someone else to get another.
43* InfinityPlusOneSword: The pitchfork, the best weapon in the game, is obtained by conquering the "Jason's Mom's Head" sidequest three times. Not only does it do as much damage as the Torch to Jason, it can kill any other enemy in its path with one shot.
44* ItsAWonderfulFailure: You and your friends are dead. Game Over.
45* JumpScare: As with the movies that inspired this game, Jason, accompanied with a ScareChord, will sometimes attack you in the paths and disappear quickly.
46* LastChanceHitPoint: Any vitamins you're carrying become this if an enemy depletes all your health; they kick in automatically, letting you go a little further.
47* LifeMeter: Each player character has one, as does Jason when he acts as a BossBattle inside cabins.
48* TheLostWoods: The forest, which leads to the cave where one can find the remains of Jason's mother Pamela.[[note]]Who was actually the main antagonist of the original movie. Jason would become the main antagonist starting with the second movie, but wouldn't start wearing the hockey mask until the third movie.[[/note]]
49* MacheteMayhem: Jason's trademark weapon from the movies is his first weapon in the game. It is also one of the more powerful acquirable weapons, and one will drop for every 60 zombies you kill.
50* TheMaze: The forests and the cave, as you can't pinpoint your location on the map within them like in the regular campgrounds.
51* NeverSayDie: Zigzagged, depending on the lose condition. The game states the campers were "wiped out", but it has no problem declaring the counselors "dead".
52* NintendoHard: After you're managed to take Jason out a couple of times, he's really hard to hit and even harder to dodge. And so is his mom.
53* NonStandardGameOver: Aside from the infamous "You and your friends are dead", there's an alternate GameOver sequence that occurs if Jason kills all the kids. You will get a screen saying, "Jason wiped out the kids. GameOver."
54* NotQuiteDead: You'll be told this if you manage to kill Jason before the third day.
55* OptionalBoss: Pamela Voorhees' [[FlyingFace floating head]] is an optional boss in the caves. She can kill you instantly, but she'll give up an item each time you defeat her: first a superior weapon, then her sweater, and finally the pitchfork.
56* {{Permadeath}}: If one character dies, they're not coming back.
57* PermanentlyMissableContent:
58** The sweater, if you decide to skip fighting Pamela Voorhees on Day 2.
59** The pitchfork, if you collect a weapon to override the pitchfork. A knife can randomly pop out and you can accidentally collect it, much to frustration.
60* RealTimeWeaponChange: The "Pass" command allows you to swap weapons with another counselor in the same cabin.
61* SavageWolves: Wolves dwell in the forest areas. There are also [[PaletteSwap blue ones]] inhabiting the cave.
62* SecretPath: There are some in the cave. You need the flashlight to see them, but you can enter them without it; just look for the crooked rocks along the path.
63* StarterEquipment: Your first weapon upgrade is a knife. Just the fact it flies straight makes it a huge improvement over the rocks, which you often have to duck in order to hit zombies with.
64* StartScreen: ''[[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter The Final Chapter]]'''s [[CoverDrop poster cover is dropped]] before it.
65* SummerCampy: The game is set in a summer camp besieged by zombies, Jason Voorhees and various other horrors.
66* SurvivalHorror: This game was released in February of 1989, ten months before ''VideoGame/{{Sweet Home|1989}}'', the other TropeMaker of the genre, was released in December of the same year, which makes this game one of the very first Survival Horror games, and definitely the first one that has you keeping track of multiple party members. It's easy to get lost, you have a pile of pitiful weapons to work with, and you have to track down and defeat TheJuggernaut before he kills everyone. [[RuleOfThree Three times.]]
67* TokenMinority: Paul is the sole black guy in the game, as seen [[http://i.imgur.com/Px9iWdt.jpg here.]]
68* TurnsRed: Jason gets gradually tougher as you fight him. So does his mother.
69* VideoGameLives: You have one life per character.
70* WouldHurtAChild: Jason, just like in the movies. In this game, you have to protect the kids from Jason. If you don't show up quickly enough to his location, he starts killing them.
71* ZipMode: Is Jason attacking someone all the way across the map from you? Sprint into the nearest small cabin and hit Start so you can take command of a counselor closer to the threat. You can even have the victim him/herself fend off Jason this way.
72

Top