It’s 1987. Beverly Hills Cop II is the highest grossing film. “Walk Like an Egyptian” is the most popular song. The Iran-Contra scandal dominates American political news, while Konami’s project Contra sucks up the coins in the arcades. But above them lies the decisive moment of Jaws coming to the NES. (“This time there’s no escape!” the cover warns.) Now, 38 years later, the 8-bit game returns in the form of a physical re-release from Limited Run Games.
The retro release coincides with the 50th anniversary of Spielberg’s film. From December 19 to January 18, you can pre-order a physical copy for Switch and PS5.
It will be available in two physical editions: a standard (“Retro Edition”) for $35 and a deluxe (“The Bigger Boat Edition”) for $100. The latter adds an NES-inspired box, a physical CD of the game’s soundtrack, a keychain and – best of all – a pixelated shark lamp. Both releases include original and “enhanced” versions of the 1987 game.
Promotional art for the Jaws NES re-release (Limited run games)
The game is primarily split between a bird’s eye view (where you pilot your boat around the map) and an underwater side view (where you spear the crap out of marine wildlife). Eventually you will encounter Jaws. After several of these encounters, gradually decreasing his life points, you will attempt to finish him off in a false 3D perspective on the surface of the water. If you think this sounds like a minor variation on what you found in a handful of other licensed NES games from this era, you’re not wrong.
You can pre-order the Jaws re-release on the Limited Run Games website, starting December 19 at 10 a.m. ET. In the meantime, you can refresh your memory of the 8-bit game with the video below.
