Video game tie-ins can either be a really good idea or a really bad idea when marketing your movie. On the plus side, games that accurately reflect the world of a film without ruining the story can be a great way for the viewer to revisit their new favorite movie. However, the down side of it all has yielded some of the most unplayable, fun-killing games known to man - just ask anyone who was at the recent unearthing of the Atari tie in for E.T.. Luckily for us, this hypothetical Forrest Gump game doesn't exist, as it removes all the soul-crushing weight of the film's message and replaces it with the fun and whimsy of a Mario Bros. game. Unluckily for us, that just means I'll never get to play Temco Gump Bowl on the Nintendo Entertainment System I've kept since we first received it during my childhood. (Thanks, Zemeckis.)
The YouTube channel CineFix has taken yet another classic film and remade it the style of those 8-bit classics gamers used to play back in the 1980s and 90s. This time, they've taken the 1994 Best Picture winner and turned it into a running side-scroller, an old school Football title, and a shrimping simulator; all in one convenient, non-existent cartridge. And what would any Forrest Gump game be without some 8-bit chiptune remixes of your favorite classic tunes. "Fortunate Son", "Joy To The World", and, of course, Alan Silvestri's iconic theme to the film's score, are all represented here in the soothing synthetic medium they were destined to be a part of.
While this game looks like a fun time for us nostalgic gamers, it does contain some glaring omissions that should be included in Forrest Gump 2: Super Gump And Company. First off is a mini game where you control the "feather of fate", floating it up and down, across the winds of history and occasionally landing on the next level you're about to play. Second, is the quest to find Jenny across space and time. That alone could fill an entire game with such thrilling challenges as swimming through the reflecting pool in D.C., a boxing match between you and Jenny's various vengeful boyfriends, and a challenge that requires you to stop Jenny from jumping off of the hotel roof. Last, but not least, for all of you Carmen Sandiego fans out there, there has to be a "Where In Time Did Lieutenant Dan's Forefathers Die In Battle?" edutainment spin-off. It'll not only teach kids that history is important and tells us where we've been in life, but also that we do not have to die on that battlefield.
Forrest Gump will not be coming to a retro gaming console near you anytime soon, but you can always rent the movie or wait around for AMC to run it in their weekend rotation. Speaking of which, I hope there isn't a Shawshank Redemption adaptation in the works. I don't think I'd have the heart to help Andy fight off The Sisters, only to lose in the end.
