If high school or F. Scott Fitzgerald’s subject matter and constant use of symbolism, both obvious and subtle, never encouraged you to read a copy of The Great Gatsby, now is the time to truly realize the scope of the American Dream and play “The Great Gatsby – For NES.”
Designed by Barbarian Group developer Charlie Hoey after he apparently found some form of the 1990 Nintendo version at a yard sale with very little information attached to it (not really), you control the book’s narrator Nick Carraway through four levels of Long Island wealth and Manhattan chaos. Find Jay Gatsby at his mansion, throw your hat at butlers and mobsters, journey through the New York City Sewer and follow that green light to videogame glory as you uncover the mystery of Gatsby’s wealth and relationship to your second cousin, Daisy.
Okay, the game pretty much skips most of the book’s plot save a few cut-scenes. But, if you’re a bigger fan of 8-bit side-scrollers than classic American literature (who isn’t?), then enjoy this game that ends all too soon. Hopefully Hoey can now start working on a game based on For Whom the Bell Tolls.