The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge

As far as action games go, the Devil May Cry series is easily one of the best. While certainly challenging for the most part, the games are rewarding to finish and have had a lasting influence on the genre in games like the Bayonetta series. I can even recall a period of time where licensed games copied either God of War or Devil May Cry, though usually not as good. Few games inspired by Devil May Cry, however, have the distinct honor of being made by Capcom themselves. In this case, it’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge, a 2004 sequel to the original 1993 stop motion film. While not a perfect game, what truly makes this licensed game stand out is not only its strong use of the license, but also its seeming influence on later Devil May Cry games, as it predates Devil May Cry 3 by one year.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Note: This review contains spoilers for The Nightmare Before Christmas.

If you’ve been to Disneyland, looked at Disney’s Halloween offerings or even stepped foot in a Hot Topic in the last several years, chances are you’ve at least heard of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Originally released in 1993 under Disney’s Touchstone label, the film remains one of Tim Burton’s best-known works, though Henry Selick (Coraline) was the actual director due to Burton being too busy with Batman Returns at the time. Though it initially underperformed on release, in the nearly 30 years since, the film has become a Halloween cult classic, to the point where Disney has since moved it under their own label and increased its presence at Disney parks, including an annual crossover event with the Haunted Mansion ride known as Haunted Mansion Holiday. Having grown up with the film and looking back on it now, it’s not hard to see how it managed to attain such a following.