Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 34
  2. Negative: 1 out of 34
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  1. 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.
  2. Play Magazine
    85
    One of the most alluring hub-based adventures I've ever had the pleasure of playing. [Oct 2005, p.62]
  3. AceGamez
    80
    It's like a work of musical art, with plenty of eventful gaming moments.
  4. The Nightmare Before Christmas isn't going to score points on original gameplay, but it makes up for it with an excellent translation of the movie.
  5. The frequent backtracking gets annoying, but given that Oogie's Revenge is like Devil May Cry and was developed by Capcom, it still manages to provide a memorable experience.
  6. PSM Magazine
    75
    Boss battles are simple, yet well done, incorporating Jack's whip-like Soul Robber and a musical rhythm sub-game that's just very cool. [Nov 2005, p.76]
  7. 75
    The sound is superb, something about singing while you are in battle is enjoyable and at times you will find yourself singing along to the game.
  8. Pelit (Finland)
    74
    Excellent atmosphere and great characters straight from the fantastic movie. The game itself is an average 3D action-adventure. [Sept. 05]
  9. Weekly Famitsu
    73
    7 / 8 / 7 / 7 - 29 [Oct 2004]
  10. Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
    70
    Nightmare isn't a spectacular game, but the development team has done an excellent job of capturing the film's style and spirit (pardon the pun). [Nov 2005, p.96]
  11. 70
    This B-grade game isn't going to win any awards, but as far as movie-related video games go, it's one of the better entries.
  12. The gameplay is simply not good enough to compete with the production values. The developers were unable to match Burton's creativity.
  13. Fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas (the movie) will adore this game, mostly due to it staying true to the milieu and characters from the movie. Non fans will still get a kick out of the game, as it’s an enjoyable mix of platforming and music.
  14. The game features fun and innovative boss fights and your Soul Robber weapon is nice too. Those elements are solid, but Capcom didn’t perfect key aspects of the game including the terrible camera angles and repetitive fighting that causes the game to be irritating.
  15. I really wanted to enjoy Oogie's Revenge, I really did, but the game is just too little variety stretched over too much similarity in tasks. It's fun in bursts, but as a long haul action game, even I can't handle this much Halloween.
  16. Were it not for the part where you actually have to play it, fans of the film could have had a conceivably great time with Oogie's Revenge.
  17. It was fun at first, but got grindingly boring as I kept playing.
  18. Unless you really enjoyed watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, there are plenty of other action adventure games with much more value.
  19. Though a little repetitive, this game is a must for fans of the movie. [JPN Import]
  20. The film's style has been perfectly captured but the fighting action is shallow.
  21. 60
    Unpolished gameplay and poor pacing won't ever make for an outstanding product regardless of however endearing the source material may be.
  22. 60
    The fact that it was finished last year and released in Japan in 2004 and left until now, with no changes, is just one of god’s mysteries.
  23. 60
    The only problem is, it doesn't take long for combat to feel repetitive, because all non-boss enemies are dealt with in the same way -- whip, whip, whip, grab, swing, toss, repeat.
  24. I really wanted to like Oogie’s Revenge more than I did. The Soul Robber was fun to use, and the game did a great job of recreating Tim Burton’s vision. However, the constant backtracking, poor camera, and repetition make it hard to justify anything more than a rental.
  25. 60
    By the time you’ve whipped your way through a dozen or so levels, you’ll probably be getting a little bit tired of mashing the square button and twirling your analog stick. You’ll also notice that other aspects of the game are a bit sloppy.
  26. Long on style and short on substance.
  27. Looks like even Tim Burton can't help but succumb to the movie-game conversion curse. Decent action and gameplay, but nothing to write home about.
  28. Capcom, in trying to shoehorn one of their hack-and-slashers into this world, have produced something which is beautiful, but incoherent and ultimately rather average.
  29. Firstly, there's no manual camera control, which wouldn't be an issue if the game automatically chose the best positions for combat. Except it never does, meaning enemies appear from nowhere to attack you because it's too close in, or you can't really see what you're doing because it's so far away. [PSW]
  30. 50
    Oogie's Revenge isn't a particularly great action game, the story's hackneyed beyond belief, and there are plenty of reasons to be upset about the game's music, easily one of the reasons people are so crazy about the original film. In the end, though, it is a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas.
  31. Game Informer
    50
    Oogie's Revenge stacks up against the original about as well as "Devil May Cry 2" or "Blues Brothers 2000." [Nov 2005, p.149]
  32. As a fan of the movie, I really love the characters, but the uninspired and repetitive gameplay really hurts it in the long run.
  33. The ambience and Burton-esque feel of the game is present and well accounted for in the music, storyline, and character voices. In fact, it’d be good enough to make another film out of it all. Too bad you’re supposed to play it rather than watch it.
  34. While it captures the sweet essence of the film from so long ago, it fails to motivate with its stale gameplay.

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2005
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 29
  2. Negative: 2 out of 29
  1. Jan 4, 2017
    9
    Deutsche Review - Kritik

    Der folgende Test ist in 5 Kategorien zusammengefasst. Diese 5 Kartegorien ergeben die Gesamtpunktzahl von 0 - 100
    Deutsche Review - Kritik

    Der folgende Test ist in 5 Kategorien zusammengefasst. Diese 5 Kartegorien ergeben die Gesamtpunktzahl von 0 - 100 Punkten. Um einen passenden Userscore zu geben wird auf oder abgerundet. Bei 84 Punkten ergibt das einen User Score von 8. Bei 86 einen von Userscore von 9. Falls eine 85 kommt entscheide ich ob ich es eher positiv oder negativ nehme. Regeln verstanden?
    Dann sind hier meine Punkte.

    Mein persönlicher Score = 87/100
    Mein User Score = 9/10
    Full Review »
  2. JonR.
    Nov 14, 2005
    10
    The characters and settings remain pretty close to the movie. Graphics are sweet and the game play is pretty good. The only thing i dont like The characters and settings remain pretty close to the movie. Graphics are sweet and the game play is pretty good. The only thing i dont like about this game is not being able to control the view. Full Review »
  3. Jun 6, 2023
    10
    Amazing game, just like the original tim Burton's movie! the story is great! level design and characters are way too fun,wish it's remasteredAmazing game, just like the original tim Burton's movie! the story is great! level design and characters are way too fun,wish it's remastered for next gen Full Review »