The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (ナイトメアービフォアクリスマス ブギーの逆襲) is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox platforms. The Xbox version is not compatible with Xbox 360. It is the sequel of the 1993 American stop motion musical fantasy film The Nightmare Before Christmas. A GameCube version was planned, but was cancelled.

This game was released at the same time in North America as The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King.

Plot
A year after the events of the movie, a town meeting announcing awards gives Jack Skellington an award "for most spines tingled by a non-corporeal being". After the curtains close Jack reveals that, once again, he feels disappointed with this year's Halloween. However, having learned his lesson from before, he talks with Dr. Finkelstein about a "new Halloween", with new scares and discoveries. The doctor gives Jack the "Soul Robber", a green, whip-like weapon. He then leaves Halloween Town and goes to look for new frights. After Jack leaves, Lock, Shock, and Barrel bring Oogie Boogie back to life by sewing him together again. He seizes control of Halloween Town, tricking its citizens into making traps, brainwashes Dr. Finkelstein, imprisons Sally in a crypt, and captures five of the seven Holiday World leaders. Oogie plans to become the "Seven-Holidays King" once he takes control of Christmas Town. But on December 23, Sally manages to send a magical paper airplane to find Jack to warn him of what has happened.

Jack returns to Halloween Town on Christmas Eve, just to find Oogie's shadow. After defeating the shadow, he is given the Halloween Holiday Door and finds everyone was deceived by Oogie into making dangerous traps.

Jack manages to defeat Oogie's minions created by Dr. Finklestein and goes to the graveyard to save Sally. Once inside a crypt, he finds Sally when a giant spider clings her to the ceiling and attacks Jack. Jack defeats the spider, saves Sally and receives the Valentine's Holiday Door. When Jack and Sally walk out of the crypt, she gives Jack an idea to use his Pumpkin King powers to defeat Oogie's monsters.

Sally then says she's worried about Dr. Finklestein and Jack goes to find him. Inside the doctor's laboratory, Jack finds the brainwashed doctor, who attacks him. Jack returns the doctor to normal by switching his brain back. Jack then goes to the Mayor's courtyard to save the Vampire Brothers. Each vampire gives Jack a key to the mayor's house. Jack finds the mayor and stops Lock, Shock, and Barrel; however, they drop him into a huge maze filled with booby traps. Jack escapes the maze and asks the mayor to release the holiday leaders.

Jack soon realizes Oogie wants to kill Santa, and travels to Christmas Town. Jack rescues Santa from a train-contraption, but Oogie, having become enraged by Jack constantly foiling his plans, leaves in Santa's sleigh full of Christmas presents. Luckily, Sally brings Jack's sleigh to help, and Jack and Santa chase after Oogie. Oogie falls out of the sleigh into a world of garbage after being frightened by one of Jack's jack-in-the-boxes that was dropped in the sleigh by an elf. There, he absorbs the waste and insects in the environment in a fit of rage and becomes a giant version of himself to beat Jack. Jack faces Oogie one-on-one. Everyone sees the battle through the fountain, except for Sally, not wanting to see the battle. Oogie spills out his bugs, becoming nothing more than an empty husk, ending his threat for good. Afterward, Jack apologizes to Santa for almost ruining Christmas again, but having a change of heart about the skeleton, Santa thanks him for saving his life.

Afterwards, Jack realizes that his home and loved ones are something more important than new discoveries. The story ends in much the same way as the film does, with Jack and Sally embracing on top of Spiral Hill.

Gameplay
Gameplay in the game is very similar to Hideki Kamiya's Devil May Cry, with the exception of it being easier for younger and less experienced players. Both titles were developed by Capcom. Jack can transform into Santa Jack and the Pumpkin King later in the game. Santa Jack can lay down three types of presents to thwart his enemies, while the Pumpkin King form can set them aflame or lay down a bomb. The gameplay consists of 24 Chapters (excluding two secret chapters). Players must fight numerous enemies, perform platforming tasks, and occasionally solve puzzles to progress through the story. The player's performance in each mission is given a letter grade of A, B, C or D, with an additional top grade of S. Grades are based on the time taken to complete the mission, the longest combo performed, the damage done to Jack, and the amount of enemies you surprised.

There are doors of the holiday worlds obtained when you complete a certain level. However, they are simply plot items and do not grant the player access to other Holiday themed towns. However, later Chapters allow the player to enter Christmas town.

Each of Jack Skellington's costumes have different abilities. For example, Santa Jack (which is obtained once Doctor Finklestein is defeated) can throw out presents to stun enemies or freeze enemies in ice, and the Pumpkin King (which you get after saving Sally from a large spider) can burn enemies, open doors by burning them etc.

Additionally, there are several unlockable costumes, however, they do not grant any additional abilities.

Reception
Reception to the game was mostly mixed. GameRankings gave The Nightmare Before Christmas: Boogie's Revenge a score of 66.46% for Xbox and 64.95% for PlayStation 2, while Metacritic gave it a score of 65 out of 100 for both console versions. IGN reviewed the game, saying, "Unpolished gameplay and poor pacing won't ever make for an outstanding product regardless of however endearing the source material may be" and gave the game a 6/10 rating overall. Gametrailers.com criticized the game for its camera and story, which they believed copied too much from the movie instead of coming up with something truly original. However, The Times gave it all five stars and said, "This adventure looks great, its landscape dominated by crooked buildings and brooding grey skies; navigating Jack is simple and the characters are all well realised. A perfect children’s game."