Michael Jackson is somewhat of a titanic figure of modern pop, between memorable songs and controversies linked to his figure. He remains one of the most beloved artists of all time, as well as the most popular of the 80s and 90s, so much so that he deserves a coin op developed by SEGA, based on its film Moonwalkerwhich hit theaters in 1988. A former employee of the Japanese publisher, Roppyaku Tsurumi (also known as Masahito Shimizu), told some curiosities about the development of that game to the Japanese magazine Shueisha Online, in particular how Jackson did not want the enemies to be killed, but purified. during gameplay.
A respectful person
For those who don’t know, SEGA’s Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker was a isometric action in which the pop star clashed with criminals and robots while saving children. Find the long play below which shows the entire game.
Tsurumi said that the project was presented in a very concise manner on an A4 sheet of paper and that initially it had not aroused his interest. “I had only listened to ‘Thriller’ and seen its music videoand I wasn’t very interested in Michael’s music, so I answered ambiguously,” he explained to Shueisha Online. “We incorporated elements of ‘SHINOBI’ (a hugely successful SEGA coin op) into the proposal and started developing the game. However, since we were all new to the game, we had a lot of doubts about whether it would be any good. But halfway through development, veteran developers joined us, and the game gradually took shape.”
Tsurumi revealed that Jackson followed the development very closely, ensuring that it proceeded as planned. The artist often sent letters to the team to give guidance and opinions. However, the developer wanted to highlight how he was always extremely kind and respectful, despite being an international star, so much so that he became a fan of him and has wonderful memories of him going to try the coin op without having too many problems.
Then he remembered the Jackson’s most memorable comment during the game’s development: “Do not kill your enemies, purify them. He was a man full of love.”
The Moonwalker coin op is not often mentioned among Michael Jackson’s video game collaborations, probably because the console version of Moonwalker, released on Mega Drive and Master System, was completely different and had a greater success, becoming one of the iconic games of the console.
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