Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a video game based on the Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II published by Atari. The game was released on June 16, 2009 in the U.S. for all but the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which was released the day before Halloween 2009 and June 19 in Europe for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and PlayStation 2 (PS2) (However, the rest of the versions were released around late autumn 2009). The Official Game Guide Paperback was also released on the 16th.
The Remastered Edition released on October 4, 2019 for Xbox One, Playstation 4 (PS4), Nintendo Switch, and PC (exclusive to Epic Games). On November 17, 2020, the exclusivity to Epic Games on PC ended and the Remastered Edition was offered on Steam.[3]
There are three major versions of the game released. One version uses a more realistic aesthetic while the other version uses a more stylized aesthetic. The third sporting a different all around gaming features including driving the Ecto-1. Both have the same basic story and same basic dialogue given by the actors. However, many ghosts are different, and the story reflects that in many spots.
The realistic version of the game by developers Terminal Reality was released for the following:
Windows PC
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
The Remastered edition of the realistic version of the game was released for the following:
Windows PC
Playstation 4
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
To read more on the Realistic Version of the game, go here. (Includes list of ghosts, level articles and other links related to the Realistic Version.)
The stylized version of the game by developers Red Fly Studio was released for the following:
Nintendo Wii
PlayStation 2
PlayStation Portable
To read more on the Stylized Version of the game, go here. (Includes list of ghosts, level articles and other links related to the Stylized Version.)
The stylized Nintendo DS version of the game was developed by Zen Studios and uses the same stylized aesthetic as the versions developed by Redfly Studios. It was released for the following:
Nintendo DS
To read more on the Stylized Nintendo DS Version of the game, go here. (Includes list of ghosts, level articles and other links related to the Stylized Portable Version.)
Comparing versions/gameplay[]
Each version of the game has its gameplay differences: Terminal Reality has the game play of their version as "Gears of War Light". Their version has a stricter emphasis on action than the version being developed by Redfly which makes use of puzzle elements. Another difference is that the Redfly version has optional local multiplayer for the entirety of the main game whereas the Terminal Reality version has included on-line multiplayer content separate from the main story. Both make use of Terminal Reality's proprietary "Infernal Engine" for advanced in-game physics that integral to game play. This is true especially in the Terminal Reality version because the amount of money earned for buying new equipment decreases the more the player makes use of the destructible environments. Conversely, special achievements, trophies, etc. will be awarded to players who take the time to destroy specific things and or all things.
Plot[]
The events of the game occur during Thanksgiving[4] 1991, two years after the events in Ghostbusters II and seven after Ghostbusters. Players portray a new recruit hired to test Egon Spengler and Ray Stantz's new equipment, during a recent rise of paranormal activity.
The game opens at the New York Natural History Museum. One of the museum's night guards is watching TV (where an ad for the Ghostbusters is running) rather than paying attention to the security monitors. His attention is suddenly gained however, when he notices a disturbance in the Gozer exhibit on one of the monitors. He notifies one of the guards on duty and orders him to investigate. As that guard checks the exhibit, a woman appears from the shadows and runs past him. Before he can stop her, he turns and is struck with a paranormal force which continues to spread throughout the city. The game then transitions to the firehouse where the player (as the Rookie) reports for their first day as a Ghostbuster. His introduction is cut short however, when that same paranormal force passes through the building and causes Slimer to escape from his visible containment unit. Knowing that Slimer would return to the Sedgewick Hotel, the Ghostbusters leave immediately to recapture him.
Upon their arrival, the Ghostbusters are confronted by the Manager of the Sedgewick who is naturally upset over the return of Slimer. The Ghostbusters proceed to capture him with the assurance that they are now bonded municipal employees, as well as that any damages will be paid for by the City of New York. Along the way they meet the mysterious woman from the Museum, but she is in no mood to chat. During their search for Slimer, the Ghostbusters discover that there are now multiple ghosts which are now inhabiting the Sedgewick Hotel and decide to investigate further. The amount of paranormal activity proves to be so great that they eventually call Dr. Winston Zeddemore in from his day off to aid them. When he finally arrives, however, he informs them that their troubles are far worse than anything the Ghostbusters had encountered before this.
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man had somehow returned to New York City. What's worse is that he is now capable of spawning small marshmallow creatures. The Ghostbusters fight their way past his "Marshmallow Minions" until they reach the top of a building where they discover that Stay Puft is attacking that same woman from the Museum and the Sedgewick. The Ghostbusters save her from any immediate harm, during which she reveals that her name is Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn. Selwyn is, apparently, an expert on Gozerian lore who was brought in to supervise the World of Gozer exhibit at the Museum. There isn't much time for conversation, however, because Stay-Puft is still laying waste to the city. The Rookie, along with Dr. Selwyn and the boys in grey head to the roof to distract Stay Puft while Drs. Spengler and Zeddemore ready a new type of trap attached to the Ecto-1. It turns out that the new trap isn't needed after all because the Rookie, Stantz and Venkman manage to defeat Stay Puft by knocking him to the ground and splattering across the block.
Back at the fire house, Dr. Spengler decides he would like to run some tests on Dr. Selwyn to determine why it was that Stay Puft (and presumably Gozer) were interested in her. However, they are soon visited by Mayor Jock Mulligan and Walter Peck. Mulligan explains that, due to pressure from City Council, he has assigned Peck to be the liaison between the City and the Ghostbusters as part of a new office called P.C.O.C. (pronounced peacock). Now, despite their animosity towards one another, Peck and the Ghostbusters are forced into a reciprocal relationship because they depend on one another for employment. Upon further discussion, the Ghostbusters agree that they should go investigate at the museum where the catalyst for the paranormal disturbance began. Before they can leave however, they receive a call from the New York Public Library and decide to stop there first on their way to the Museum.
At the New York Public Library, the Ghostbusters discover that the Grey Lady (a.k.a the first ghost the Ghostbusters ever encountered) is in possession of a Gozerian Codex and that it would be very useful should Gozer, in fact, be returning. Their investigation into the matter reveals that her name was once Eleanor Twitty and she was the Chief Librarian there at one time. The details of her life are few but it is revealed that she was romantically involved with a gentleman known as "the Collector" because of his acquisition of many rare books. He used Ms. Twitty to gain access to rare materials but when she found out she left him. Enraged, "The Collector" murdered her. Now her spirit is bound to the library to protect the Gozerian Codex from the Collector. The Ghostbusters eventually find Ms. Twitty and capture her- but not without the suspicion that it was far too easy to do so. Their suspicions are confirmed when a "Spirit Door" is revealed, leading into the ghost world. The Ghostbusters travel through the ghost world until they come across the spirit of the Collector, who has taken the form of a giant worm with tendrils protruding from it. After a fierce battle, the Ghostbusters are able to return to the real world. On arriving, they notice that there is some strange marking with 4 lights on the Door, but then one light goes out, indicating to them that whatever it was it must now be turned off. Knowing for certain that there must be something major occurring, the Ghostbusters then rush to the Museum to the get the answers they need to unravel this mystery.
At the Museum the Ghostbusters again find themselves embroiled in a full blown spiritual manifestation (possibly due to certain exhibits having been created by known Gozerian worshipper, doctor and architect, Ivo Shandor). They battle spirits of the various artifacts and spirits with new levels of power- namely, possessing the bodies of the living. Luckily the Ghostbusters have the Slime Blower Mk. II (loaded with the "mood slime" from Ghostbusters II) and are able to use it to dispel the spirits from their human hosts such as the one who had taken the body of Walter Peck. The Ghostbusters again noticed the strange symbol but with time with only two glowing lights on it. Their triumph is short lived, however, because Walter Peck, furious at the damage created and his being hosed down by slime, swears that he's going to revoke the Ghostbusters' license and shut down their containment grid. Again.
Back at the Firehouse the Ghostbusters know they don't have much time to solve the mystery of this phenomenon before Peck shuts them down. Dr. Selwyn mentions that she recognizes the symbol that the Ghostbusters had seen and explains that many of her colleagues believed it to be an old constellation. They soon figure out that it is, in fact, a map of points where the spirit realm converges with the real world. Also, the points correspond to locations in New York City. One light was the Library, one was the Museum and the next one is back at the Sedgewick Hotel. So there they must return to close that portal and further learn the truth behind these events.
The Sedgewick Hotel is closed for repairs after the last visit from the Ghostbusters but they force their way in anyway. While inside they notice a number of spiritual imprints of people who had once lived and worked there going about their business as they had in life. Some were harmless but others were malevolent, such as the Spider Witch. The spirit of the Spider Witch, a woman who had lived in the hotel many years ago had trapped the Manager there and he explains to the Ghosbusters that they are now imprisoned too. Knowing that the only way to escape is to confront the Spider Witch, the Ghostbusters proceed to search for her though she has laid many tricks and traps to stop them. They learn that she lived in room 1221 (the same floor Slimer inhabited) and that it held a spirit door to the secret 13th floor. Dr. Spengler and the Rookie eventually find the Spider Witch, defeat her and shut down the doorway she is guarding, causing yet another light on the symbol to go dark.
The next place on the map is the middle of the East River. Luckily Dr. Stantz restored an old tugboat and commissioned it as the Ecto-8 for just such an emergency. Going to the spot on the map, the Ghostbusters find themselves on an island, upon which is Shandor Castle, the home of the late Ivo Shandor which had disappeared beneath the water mysteriously after his death. Upon landing the Ghostbusters are ambushed by a number of spirits and a secret trap door opens, causing the Rookie to plummet below. He awakes soon after and realizes that he must find the other Ghostbusters. Working his way up from the depths of Shandor Castle, he discovers that this castle has been producing large quantities of slime and may in fact be the source of the rivers of slime which ran beneath the streets of New York during the resurrection of Vigo the Carpathian two years prior. He works his way up further to find the other Ghostbusters have been captured but soon frees them. They are forced to fight a young Sloar, a creature made entirely of the mysterious slime, who is the guardian of the last spirit door. This is not before they notice a painting on the wall of a woman who looks surprisingly like Dr. Selwyn. They quickly defeat the Sloar which causes the magic keeping Shandor Castle afloat to dissipate. The island begins to sink again, and the Ghostbusters make a run back to Ecto-8 and escape before Shandor Castle is again consumed by the waves.
Upon returning to the firehouse, the Ghostbusters learn that Dr. Selwyn has been kidnapped and the containment grid has been shut down. Knowing that Peck had threatened to do this, they reason that it was he who was behind this all along and that he has kidnapped Dr. Selwyn. Hearing that paranormal activity is increasing in Central Park, the Ghostbusters decide to go there to search for Dr. Selwyn and Walter Peck. Once the Ghostbusters arrive they are forced to deal with many different types of powerful spirits traveling through and under graveyards in their quest. They eventually release a portal into the ghost world and come upon a large castle. The Ghostbusters fight their way inside to confront Peck but discover that both Dr. Selwyn and Peck are restrained and that the mastermind behind it all was none other than Mayor Jock Mulligan, who was possessed by the spirit of Ivo Shandor. Shandor had decided that Gozer was unfit for his worship and that he himself shall be the destroyer. However, he failed to merge the real world and the ghost world through the power of the spirit doors. There was another way for him to claim godhood, however. Through enough spiritual turbulence and the blood of his own line (Ilyssa), Ivo Shandor could ascend the levels of being a mere mortal's spirit to that of a god. But before he could perform his sacrifice he was weakened by the Ghostbusters and thrown back into a deep ghost world, with the Ghostbusters taken along for the ride. Atop the steps of an otherworldly temple, the Ghosbusters are now again faced with the need to cross their proton streams and seal Shandor away permanently. The force of doing so throws them back into the real world where they revive Dr. Selwyn and Mayor Mulligan and release Walter Peck.
The game then ends with Dr. Venkman finally having won the affection of Dr. Selwyn and saved the world from destruction. But with the spirit realm pushed back there just isn't enough work to support five Ghostbusters. In light of this, Dr. Venkman offers the Rookie a franchise opportunity in another city such as Chicago, Cincinnati, or Los Angeles. Slimer escapes again and flies into the screen as the Ghostbusters theme starts to play and the credits begin.
Sony was looking for a developer of their own to create a Ghostbusters game. Vivendi Universal took on the project with developer Terminal Reality. Around 2005-2006, a prototype demo was created in the style of Resident Evil game play. It was a hotel level where the player had to track Slimer with a P.K.E. Meter. Slimer would zoom past, a woman would scream, and Slimer would reappear with a towel on. The demo didn't test well because people wanted to shoot.[5] Terminal began working on the first build but were not allowed to talk about the game at all until October 2008. Development on the game was kept secret. A few months later, coincidentally, Zootfly tried to get Sony to green light their Ghostbusters game. Sony declined and Zootfly, without permission, released the demo on January 10, 2007. Sony quickly had them take the demo down.[6] Ultimately, ZootFly will be instead developing a similar game named TimeO based on their Ghostbusters prototype.
In an interview on a television show, Ghostbusters creator Dan Aykroyd confirmed that the game is essentially Ghostbusters III. The previously mentioned "Ghostbusters In Hell" plotline often associated with a third movie is not being used for the game, although Aykroyd previously announced the possibility of a computer-generated film based on that script. However, Aykroyd also claimed this game will feature elements of that script while being treated as a computer-generated film.
Texas based Redfly Studios was approached to create a version for the Nintendo Wii, although they were currently under way with another Wii project called "Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars", They knew it was too great an opportunity to pass on. Once having accepted the task, Redfly decided that doing a direct port of Terminal Reality's version would be infeasible due to the relative lack of processing power of the Wii. Instead they chose to create a new game from the ground up using a more stylized cartoon aesthetic. The game itself however will share the same story, plot points, music and voice acting as the version being developed by Terminal Reality.
In November 2007, Game Informer magazine revealed its December cover, which sported the Ghostbusters logo, announcing a "world exclusive premiere" of the game. The first actual gameplay video (taken from the Xbox 360 build)
was shown on G4TV's X-Play, featuring a level where the player (partnered with Egon Spengler and Ray Stantz) chases Slimer around the Sedgewick Hotel. Other characters who have been confirmed to appear in the game in the magazine from the first film are the librarian ghost and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and from the second film, Vigo and the Scoleri Brothers.
On May 9, 2008, Spike TV aired an episode of GameTrailers featuring a story on the game. They confirmed features such as the Slime Tether device and an appearance by Gozer.
Around the beginning of July 2008, Bill Murray recorded lines after numerous cancellations. Up until that point, it wasn't known if he was going to be part of the game. Ernie Hudson and Dan Aykroyd recorded some of the lines he didn't. The development team had several back-up plans such as Peter moving to Paris with Dana Barrett.[7][8]
On July 28, 2008 Activision Blizzard (the publisher of Vivendi's and Sierra's titles) announced that only five franchises would be released through Activision. Ghostbusters was not one of them and was put in developmental limbo following the announcement. The Sierra PR team later confirmed that the game was not and would not be canceled.
In October 2008, Variety reported that Atari had purchased the rights to publish the game. Ending months of speculation, Infogames announced on November 7, 2008 that Atari would be releasing the game in June 2009 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the first film's theatrical release.
In April 2009, it was revealed that the game in Europe would be released by Sony instead of by Atari (for PS3 and PS2) and that the others system versions would be delayed till fall.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game also has exclusive bonus content available which will differ depending on which store the game is purchased at. Xbox's DLC and Add-On screen revealed there are Walter Peck and Zombie skins but they were never released.
Issues and Conflicts[]
The two styles "realistic version" and "stylized version" have many differences in appearances, characters, and gameplay mechanics that stand to argue what is Canon and what is not.
The painting of Vigo in the basement should not be there as it was destroyed at the end of Ghostbusters II and replaced by the Guardian Angel Painting featuring the four Ghostbusters in it.
Cutting Room Floor[]
The game creators wanted to use Janosz Poha but abandoned the idea after they could not get Peter MacNicol to reprise the role.[9]
After John Belushi, they thought of using Louis Tully as the fifth Ghostbuster in the game.[10]
Before Bill Murray signed on to the game, Peter was written out of the story. Several ideas were devised.
One entailed Peter having moved to Paris with Dana Barrett.[11]
Peter was in Los Angeles working on opening a new Ghostbusters franchise.[12]
Two other actors were considered to voice Peter in the game:
Vince Vaughn was the first choice when recasting Peter was considered. It got as far as John Melchior speaking with Vaughn's agent and agreeing on a price.[13]
After Murray blew off a voice recording session in South Carolina in May 2008, his brother Joel Murray was considered.[14]
Several things were omitted from the game, known omissions are:
Janine had a couple more outfits but they didn't make the final cut [15]
Cartoon colored flight suits as unlockables were in the game at one point [16]
Jesse Sosa had ethereal GB models straight from "Citizen Ghost" [17][18]
Custom character designs, such as choosing ethnicity and hair. [19]
There were plans for a large number of playable unlockable characters, including Ilyssa Selwyn and Jesse Sosa, but they were never implemented. [20][21]
Incorporating more references to fanmade projects. There wasn't enough production time left, along with possible legal ramifications. One idea was to put up target dummies based on fan comic characters in the Firehouse sub-basement in the first mission.[22]
A Multiplayer option to play as a ghost like Slimer going through walls and playing 'tag' with the Ghostbusters.[23]
Jesse Sosa wrote up a level pitch that used the Manhattan Bridge and a couple of nearby buildings to contain actuators for a 'Mega Trap' to contain Stay Puft according to the first Stay Puft level Terminal Reality was designing at the time. Sosa had it where Egon planned ahead after 1984 in case they ever needed to catch something that large again and took inspiration the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Ghostbusters in Paris" where Eiffel Tower was a Containment Unit.[24]
A total of six to seven levels with dialogue recorded was cut.[25]
A Halloween level in upstate New York at a rave. Players had to use their Ecto-Goggles and P.K.E. Meter to find ghosts in the crowd and capture without causing a commotion. [26]
The main idea for a sequel to Ghostbusters: The Video Game was to transition to a new team in a new city with Ray Stantz acting in a kind of mentor capacity. The sequel happening was more or less linked to if a new movie was going to get made at the time.[33] There were many concepts and a few levels were scripted.[34] Expanding on the first game was a key component and driving around in Ecto-1 was going to be an option. There were plans to create a more sand box city where players could drive around in.[35]
One idea was Rookie going back to his hometown of Chicago and starting a new franchise there. Winston was going to be his business contact and Ray would help with lore.[36] Another idea was various franchise teams, including one from Los Angeles, came to New York to save the original team. Dan Aykroyd made a list of new characters, descriptions, and actors he wanted to play them.[37] A design document and synopsis was compeleted for the sequel and a synopsis was completed for a third game.[38] Ultimately, Atari had no interest in making any sequels.[39]
Remastered[]
On May 13, 2019, a Taiwan game rating site named Game Rating had a listing for "Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered" slated for a September 13, 2019 release on Xbox One through Mad Dog LLC.[40]
On May 17, 2019, a Korean game rating site named Game Rating and Administration Committee of Korea had a listing for a PC version of "Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered" exclusive to Epic Games.[41]
On May 29, 2019, an Australian game rating board database evaluated the remaster for the PAL market. It was reported it would be offered on Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4.[42]
On May 30, 2019, Playstation Europe released a minute video confirming the Remastered and the PS4 version and advertising a social media hashtag #JoinTheGhostbusters.[43] Nintendo Switch and XBox One were confirmed in another video.[44] Matt McKnight, the biz dev director and producer on Remastered, revealed all of the in-game videos and cutscenes were found on a hard drive in storage from one of the original creators and remastered in 4K. Textures and lighting were also enhanced.[45]
On June 7, 2019, a press release for the Ghostbusters Fan Fest confirmed the Remastered will release later this year.[46]
On June 8, 2019, it was reported the multiplayer mode will be added at a later time through a patch because it is being rebuilt from the ground up.[47]
On June 28, 2019, a listed had the retail release for $29.99 US and $39.99 CDN.[48]
On June 29, 2019, there was an indication the retail release might be a Gamestop exclusive.[49]
On July 1, 2019, the Gamestop pre-orders for Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch versions went live.[50]
On July 4, 2019, box art for the Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch versions were revealed.[51]
On July 31, 2019, the release date was revealed to be October 4, 2019.[52]
On August 1, 2019, a 31 second clip of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man battle was posted.[53]
On August 20, 2019, a 53 second clip featuring Dan Aykroyd was posted.[54]
On September 5, 2019, a montage of gameplay from the Nintendo Switch version was posted.[55]
On October 4, 2019, it was confirmed beating the game on Normal earns the Ghostbusters II flight suit and beating it on Difficult earns the Golden Proton Pack.[56]
On October 9, 2019, Matt McKnight, Saber VP of Business Development, was interviewed about development of the remaster. The easiest part was getting Sony on board, Saber assembled a team of 25, they had to get Atari's permission to access the game's programming code, they had to seek out ex-employees of the defunct Terminal Reality to get the rights to using their Infernal Engine, and it turned out Sony nor Atari had the original art for the cutscenes so they had to seek out the lead animator who luckily still had it saved on a hard drive and it was accessible. Gameplay was left alone other than tweaking details like shadows, lighting, and hair. Remastering the multiplayer had issues since it was done by another company based on code of an unfinished version of the original game and there were six different copies of the code. There are no firm plans to rebuild co-op but that is still being evaluated.[57]
On October 10, 2019, a patch was released to fix a black screen observed during the game, scroll locking in the menu of controls while in the game, a softlock occurring after pressing Alt+F4, the game crashing during launching, the skip button malfunctioning, video and sound sync issues on computers with OS Windows 8/8.1, game failing to launch, and background video on extras menu lagging.[58][59]
On October 30, 2019, a patch for the Playstation 4, XBox One, and PC versions was released.[60][61]
On November 6, 2019, a patch for the Nintendo Switch was released.[62]
On November 9, 2020, it was reported the Remastered version will release on Steam on November 17.[63]
On November 24, 2021, Tim Willits, Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer explained plans for the multiplayer were abandoned because the state of the original multiplayer code didn't cooperate so the team had to just focus on recreating the single player experience.[64]
For information on differences in the Remastered version, see Trivia section
IDW Comics[]
In the continuity of IDW Comics, the events of Ghostbusters: The Video Game happened. Similar aspects and events of The Video Game happened in the IDW canon but there are also several differences exclusive to the IDW canon.
Similarities[]
PCOC was an oversight group formed by the city to keep an eye on the Ghostbusters. Walter Peck was the head of PCOC and got possessed. Jock Mulligan was possessed by Ivo Shandor. The City dealt with the insurance payouts in relation to the damage caused by the Ghostbusters, who became bonded city contractors.
The Natural History Museum hosted a World of Gozer exhibit. Dr. Selwyn was involved.
Ivo Shandor, Black Slime, the Cult of Gozer, and the Gozerian Codex were involved in the paranormal event. Gozer's banishment and the Cult of Gozer and Cult of Tiamat's conflict in ancient times happened. Spider Witch, The Chairman, and Edmund Hoover were members of the cult. In 1924, Eleanor Twitty, the head librarian of the New York Public Library, went missing in the library itself.
Franchise applications were offered by the Ghostbusters. The portrait of Vigo resided in the Firehouse near Janine's desk. Some Cursed Artifacts remained in the Firehouse after Rookie collected them like the Skull of Ivo Shandor in Peter's office area. The second floor was set up like in the game. The Firehouse's ladder to the third floor and draped cloth were present. Slimer is kept in the Paranormal Containment Research Tank. Hohman's Black Low-Rise resided on the floor near the Aura Video Analyzer console. The doughnut was on the rack in the Firehouse's kitchen area. Summoner's Bell rested on the Firehouse kitchen counter. The Andres brand microwave was still in use. The x days since last incident sign and the Employee of the Month signs are posted up. On the Firehouse refrigerator are two bottles of Singing Slime. The lockers, punching bag and Anguished Stuffed Bear are where they are in the Firehouse sleeping quarters.
There was an experimental Proton Pack used by Rookie. The Slime Blower had the Slime Tether option. The Psychomagnotheric Slime was still self-replicating in nature. The Ecto 1-b had the Super Slammer Trap installed on its roof rack. Marine Ecto-8 was used. Crossing the Streams was used.
Winston has his apartment. Janine's drink of choice is Chamomile.
Rookie easily defeated Stay Puft in Times Square. Marshmallow Minis were encountered.
Ghostbusters were led to the secret catacombs of the New York Public Library and found Twitty's corpse. She manifested and attacked in her bestial form. The Ghostbusters finally captured her.
There was a remodeling project at the Sedgewick Hotel that stirred the spirit of Spider Witch.
Differences[]
Winston Zeddemore was given an honorary doctorate in parapsychology.
The Ghostbusters hired three people, Rookie from the Realistic version and the two Rookies from the Stylized version. The former is named Bryan Welsh. The latter are named Maddie Collins and Chad Fuller.
Rookie answered an ad placed by the Ghostbusters seeking a participant in the active development of new proprietary technologies. He started out as an intern with the Ghostbusters before being graduated to guinea pig for an experimental advanced Proton Pack. Rookie was only offered Chicago to start his franchise in.
The Ghostbusters are called in to deal with Pappy Sargassi at Sargassi's in the Sedgewick Hotel. They trap the Class 4 spectral shark chasing and devouring him then Sargassi disperses.
The Ghostbusters return to the Sedgewick Hotel in search of another node of the Mandala. Four Ghostbusters took around an hour to bring down the Spider Witch with three Proton Grenades in her former suite. Five of her most recent victims manifested and thanked them before dispersing.
Internally, the Terminal team wanted the game to be Ghostbusters III. Aykroyd and Ramis considered it to be the third film.[67] There was a logo made. Sony Pictures wouldn't allow it. At the time, they didn't want that tied to a game.[68]
The budget of the game was at least $30-40 million but it is unknown how much was paid to the voice talents total.[69]
The Rookie was the center of a massive internal fight between Terminal and Vivendi and later Atari. The belief was that players should play as the cast but Terminal fought for the Rookie on the basis that fans would want the original Ghostbusters to have the same chemistry as in the movies and playing as them would upset the timing.[70]
Peter suggests the Rookie test the prototype Proton Pack because the Firehouse's mortgage is still in Ray's name,[71] a nod to the first film.
Just before the Psi Energy Pulse hits, Peter mentions he doesn't want to know the Rookie's name as things didn't end so well for a previous hire.
Peter refers to the first case "I've seen this one before" but still ends up getting slimed by Slimer.
Ray refers to Slimer by his nicknames of "Onionhead" and "spud".
"Welcome to the Hotel Sedgewick" was the focal point of pre-production. The team believed if they could successfully re-create the ballroom scene, they would have the players' trust for the rest of the game.[72]
It may actually be seven because of the 5 years between Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II along with the 2 years between Ghostbusters II and Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Though it is possible that they revisited the Sedgewick after they were once again allowed to legally investigate and capture the paranormal during Ghostbusters II. The Mood Slime was able to rise ghosts in anything and anywhere where death had occurred. This would also link with the lines said to the discussion between Peter, Ray, and John O'Keefe, the hotel manager, regarding multiple invoices during the Ghostbusters Video Game.
Or they did do multiple busts at the Sedgewick up to 1986, evidenced by Ray mentioning "invoices" and the Sloth Ghost being held in the Containment Unit (in the Realistic Versions). An exact date is never stated in Ghostbusters II when the Ghostbusters were served the judicial restraining order. "5 Years Later" simply refers to the amount of time between films.
Egon reminds Peter of the "Ellis Island Incident" after the Manager refuses to allow Peter and the Rookie into the Alhambra Ballroom.
The team was told if they wanted to use the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, he need to have to be in the "Panic in Times Square" level.[74]
At the beginning of "Checking out the Library" (realistic versions) and between "Museum of (Super)Natural History" and "Return to the Sedgewick" (stylized versions), Egon reveals the reason he's had so much time to invent new equipment is due in part to an experiment he's conducting. He only sleeps an average of 14 minutes a day.
During a debate about the Natural History Museum level, John Melchior called up Harold Ramis for advice. At the time, Ramis was on the set of The Office directing an episode.[75]
During the Museum level the destruction of certain crates reveals purple lights similar to those seen after the Containment Unit is shut down in the first Ghostbusters film.
Winston tells Peter about Ray's possession and refers to his first possession by Vigo in Ghostbusters II, implicitly. In the stylized version, Winston mentions the "Vigo" incident further in the museum level, after gate 3487 is opened.
Marine Ecto-8 was originally an idea from early drafts of the first movie.[76]
There are early prototypes of Ecto-1b and Marine Ecto-8 being driven around.[77]
In the Realistic Version of "Lost Island Rising," Peter thinks the Black Slime and Imprisoned Juvenile Sloar smells like the Fulton Fish Market. In the Stylized Version, Peter makes the Fulton reference as several Black Slime Scuttlers rush towards him, Winston, and the Rookie.
In addition to the proton stream, the wand can be switched to the Plasm Distribution System's Slime Blower, the Dark Matter Generator's Stasis Stream, or the Composite Particle System's Meson Collider.
If the Intensify button is held down for 15 seconds during any stream mode, it will overheat and ring the alarm like in-game then turn off.
February 11, 2008 Draft[]
In the February 11, 2008 draft revision:
The two security guards in the opening cutscene were noted as Danny and Harold.
Harold warns Danny he better not be playing a prank on him again and dressing up as Attila the Hun somewhere on the museum floor.[81]
Between the initial battle with the Bellhop ghosts and the bust in the Alhambra Ballroom, the Manager is aghast at an 18th century Queen Anne replica and a Gainsborough being damaged.[82]
Peter refers to the Chef Ghost as "Chef Boyardee," after the line of American canned pasta.[83]
After Slimer is recaptured, Peter looks into the Trap's digital image and sees Slimer exhausted inside with his tongue out.[84]
Maid Ghosts were scripted in this draft but don't appear in the game. They would have been animators like the Bellhop Ghosts.[85]
The Chef Ghost, named as Chef DeMassey, destroys the staircase.[86]
Sargassi's is a coffee bar franchise from Seattle.[87]
Pappy Sargassi and the Kitchen Golem are two separate boss battles.[88][89]
After the laundromat in the Times Square level, a Traffic Cop Ghost was scripted to appear. The ghost blew his whistle to summon flying cars then whipped them at Rookie.[90]
Ray admits he and Egon were talking about making minions so they could get more work done in the lab and they would be domesticated like Slimer.[91]
Peter likens Ilyssa to Amelia Earhart for having grace under pressure.[92]
Egon tells Janine to misinform Peck they went to an occult book store in Poughkeepsie instead of the library.[93]
Ray and Egon allude to 550 Central Park West when they realize they can't hail Winston on the walkie-talkies.[94][95]
On page 109, the Plasm Distribution System is introduced after the level is completed.
Egon references the events of Ghostbusters II while he explains what the Plasm Distribution System is.[96][97]
On page 116, Ray informs the player about Black Slime in the museum level. In the final version of the game, the explanation takes place during the Times Square level at the theater.
The guards Danny and Harold the Ghostbusters about what they saw the other night when the pulse was set off.[98]
Peter alludes to when he saw the possessed Dana Barrett levitate above her bed.[99]
On page 127, the Slime Tether is introduced at the malfunctioning gate. In the final version of the game, it is introduced during the library level in Ghostworld.
The Ghostbusters were going to encounter suits of armor possessed by ghosts.[100]
The Ghostbusters were going to encounter ghost turrets that fired projectiles that could be slime tethered.[102]
The tunnels under the museum were going to be the start of the parade level.
Blinkers was set to be retired after the parade because he wasn't connecting with kids anymore.[103]
Ray reveals he owns all Blinkers episodes on Betamax tape.[104]
Ray and Peter allude to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and the events of Ghostbusters when the former laments about another childhood icon of his being ruined.[105][106]
The Broccoli Queen is one of the Parade Queen Possessor ghosts in the level.[107]
Ray kept the "Fettuccine" painting from the end of Ghostbusters II at Ray's Occult.[108]
On page 181, several Sloth Ghosts appear in the second Sedgewick level.
At the end of the level, Peter informs the others he only found out Walter Peck lives with his mother an aunt and is unloved by both.[109]
The Black Slime Boss at the end of the level resembles the Black Slime Behemoth but has four eyes instead of three.[115]
Peter jokingly mentions Tavern on the Green when he guesses where Shandor and Ilyssa are after the mausoleum rises out of the ground.[116]
Winston recalls when Dana Barrett turned into Zuul's Terror Dog form.[117]
Peter makes a joke about Death being the designated driver.[118]
Several cultist ghosts were to control a giant stone cylinder like a steamroller.[119]
After the Stone Cherubs, Peter suggests erasing "Be Prepared" from the Junior Ghostbusters Manual.[120]
Ivo Shandor mentions he was a ghost for 70 years.[121]
The cities Peter offers to the Rookie to open a franchise in are Chicago, Los Angeles, or Paris.[122]
The end credits were to feature a magazine cover montage of franchises opening all over the world while the last three minutes featured the Vigo painting commenting on all the credits.[123]
Realistic Versions[]
The two security guards in the opening cutscene were based on senior character artists, Ian McIntosh and Jesse Sosa.[124][125] Originally, the guards were going to be based on present-day Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis but the constraints of the production deadline led to Sosa and McIntosh's inclusion.[126]
Dan Aykroyd recorded around at least three takes of each of his total 2400 lines in under four studio hours.[127]
Hanging in the Firehouse is a crayon drawing of a Ghostbuster. Text on it reads "To Uncle Egon, from Ed."[128] This is a nod to the Denver Ghostbusters fan films.
There's a computer on the second floor of the Firehouse that shows the infamous end screen of the original NES Ghostbusters game that says "CONGLATURATION !!! YOU HAVE COMPLETED A GREAT GAME. AND PROOVED THE JUSTICE OF OUR CULTURE. NOW GO AND REST OUR HEROES !"
On the wall by the doorway to the sleeping quarters is an Employee of the Month board.
January
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters
Chapter Four
Around the 13:36 mark
When Dean Yeager explains their grant was terminated
February
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters
Chapter Seven
Around the 18:49 mark
In the first commercial that Dana sees on her TV
March
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters
Chapter 26
Around the 1:27:30 mark
When the Ghostbusters prepare to shoot Gozer
April
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters
Chapter 12
Around the 33:42 mark
When Peter and Ray talk over their radios about Slimer
May
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters
Chapter 3
Around the 10:17 mark
When Peter asks 'So what do we do?'
June
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters
Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" music video
Around the 3:49 mark
When they are dancing towards the screen in Times Square
July
Employee of the Month: Winston
Stock photo used by Ernie Hudson at convention appearances
August
Employee of the Month: Peter
From: Ghostbusters II
Chapter Five
When Peter is standing in front of Dana's bookshelves
Jesse Sosa, Senior Character Artist at Terminal Reality, slipped in a cardboard box with dirty jumpsuits sitting in a puddle of residue to the left of the Containment Unit referencing the Real Ghostbusters episode "Citizen Ghost". Another artist accidentally put boxes over it just before the game was shipped out.[131][132]
Egon Spengler added a viewer to the Containment Unit, which Slimer is fascinated with. The viewer concept first came up in early drafts of the first movie.
Louis Tully's desk is seen with a note on his computer that states he is "going home early." His jumpsuit and gear from Ghostbusters II is seen hanging up by his desk, as well. During the end credits, Peter mentions Louis is out on vacation and they can't fire the Rookie anyway.
The Ghostbusters II No Ghost sign, miniature satellite dish, and Ecto 1-a doors are in an area of the Firehouse on the main floor. Make the Rookie stand behind the Ecto 1-b, then look towards Janine. To the left is a door by the basement stairwell, you can't open this door but if you look through the window of the door you can see these items.
There is a set of keys to the city in Peter's office. There are three keys. One is dated for the first movie the next for the second movie and there is a third. The 1990 key to the city could explain the absence of the Twin Towers in the opening sequence and in the 1991 continuity of the game.
Ultimately, the exploits that led to the 1990 key are left to open to interpretation.[133][134][135]
Also left open to interpretation is what is under the blue tarp on the main floor. The artists used the museum prop for the shape.[136]
According to Grant Gusler, the experimental Proton Pack was an advanced version Egon kinda worked on between movies.[137]
The Proton Pack's sounds were created in foley. Sound Designer Brian Fieser recorded a replica prop Proton Pack and jumpsuit for the Ghostbusters' movements in game. The recording was then layered with recordings of a backpack filled with random junk. The overheat sound was a combination of glass tubes, metal clangs, processed latches and steam hisses. The charging sound was remote control car servos layered with various sweeteners tuned to whatever the player is charging at the moment. Proton Stream variations and the turbo/slam sounds were created using various software synths.[138]
According to Creative Director Drew Haworth, there were discussions of Traps that players could plant like trip mines. Once set, it was like a 'super bomb' that pulled everything in the room including physical objects.[139]
The destruction counter was inspired by a Burnout video game played by John Melchior and Drew Haworth.[140]
At the start of the "Welcome to the Sedgewick," if you don't follow the team, you can get the patrons in the hotel to say some familiar lines.
Walk over to the left there are two people sitting in the waiting area. The man will first ask you if "you are some sort of exterminator." If you keep walking up to him, he'll ask if "you are some sort of cosmonaut." Then the woman will say, "Hey you're a Ghostbuster...my kids love the Stay Puft cartoon."
Walk into the other room where the guys are headed there are more people in there. They will talk to you to. One of the men says he's going to see Stay Puft on ice tonight.
If you stand outside Room 1204 for a minute or so during "Welcome to the Sedgewick," you can hear the dialogue of the Ghostbusters commercial from the first movie playing inside.
According to producer John Melchior, Bill Murray ad libbed the Rodriguez bar mitzvah line.[141]
John O'Keefe eventually relents and lets the Ghostbusters finish up in the Sedgewick but asks them to be discreet, just as the Hotel manager from the first film asked of them.
In the cinematic between the "Welcome to the Sedgewick" and "Panic in Times Square" missions, it is revealed the opera Winston went to was Aida, a famous opera about an Ethiopian princess who is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt but falls in love with one of the Pharoah's military officers.
During "Panic in Times Square," Winston mentions the FDA or the Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Winston was absent in the first mission because he was a back-up lead. If Bill Murray hadn't signed off to be in the game, Winston would have taken Peter's place in the mission.[142]
During "Panic in Times Square," Winston refers to Free Roaming Vapors by their acronym, "FRV." This acronym was used in early drafts of the first film.
The news reporter seen late into the Panic in Times Square Level is based on the likeness of Hunter Woodlee, who is now CEO of Controlled Chaos.[143]
The two businessmen that share an elevator with Ray and the Rookie in the Panic in Times Square Level is based on the likeness of two Sony executives, Mark Caplan and Keith Hargrove, who wanted to be in the game. Originally, the incidental characters were going to be based on the two leads from the reality television show "Ghost Hunters" but legal rights fell through and the executives were used instead.[144][145]
In the Firehouse, by the entrance to the sleeping quarters, there is an Employee of the Month Board. From January to June and August to October 1991, Peter Venkman has the commendation. Winston was the Employee of the Month for July 1991.
In the children's section on the Library level the children's puppets show is by Austin Cline. Austin Cline is the Senior artist at Terminal Reality.
If the player goes to the basement, where the Containment Unit is, the painting of Vigo the Carpathian can be seen.
Ray reminds Egon of his "Print is dead" statement from the first film, while they battled Paper Constructs in the "Checking out the Library" level.
Part of the library level was at one point planned to take place on the back of a Sloar as it was flying.[146]
The Slime Blower sounds were recorded by Sound Designer Brian Fieser and Audio Director Kyle Richards. It was a combinations of yogurt and plungers in various bowls, over cans of whipped cream being sprayed.[147]
The Slime Tether mechanic was pioneered by Emilia Schatz then Glenn Gamble ran with it.[148]
Before the Ghostbusters go after the Chairman, they inform Mayor Mulligan about an impending apocalypse in a similar fashion from the scene with Mayor Lenny in the first film.
Near the end of production, it was realized one of the levels had to be cut but the level chosen had a large part of the story's exposition in it. This led to a redesign to scope down, with the sewers at the end of the museum level. In order to solve the issue of getting the Ghostbusters from the museum down to the Mandala node, Glenn Gamble made the secret stairwell that comes out of the pattern on the museum's floor.[150]
There are six World of Gozer audio recordings throughout the Egyptian section of the Museum of (Super)Natural History Level that expand on Gozer and the Cult of Gozer's back stories and adds Tiamat to the mythology as their enemy.
After going down the hidden stairwell at the end of the Museum of (Super)Natural History Level, on the ceiling above the first gate Rookie can open is a sign reading "Fetterman No.4" It is a nod to Terminal Reality Inc. Lead Producer Michael Fetterman.
Above the last gate, before the boss battle with the Chairman, is a sign reading "St. Aubin No. 3" It is a nod to Terminal Reality Inc. Concept Artist Bobby St. Aubin.
After the Museum of (Super)Natural History Level, the 10th message left on the answering machine is from a "Prof. Jones" is looking for the Vigo painting, stating that it is a historical artifact, and that it belongs in a Museum, which refers to Indiana Jones.
After the Museum of (Super)Natural History Level, the 9th messages left on the Ghostbusters' answering machine is from a female customer of Ray's Occult who is a member of the Westchester Coven. She called the Ghostbusters because the phone number for Ray's Occult Books is out of service and asks about some party favors she had on order. The party is for a visitor from the "Deep South."
The 11th and last message from after the Museum level is left by Winston's Uncle Raymond who is coming to visit soon.
According to Drew Haworth, there was some debate about whether using a Sloar or a Torb.[151]
Marine Ecto-8 was originally an idea from early drafts of the first movie.[152]
In the cinematic between the "Lost Island Rising" and "Central Park Cemetery" levels, Janine mentions she loves chamomile tea from Lester's.
During the scene when they go into the graveyard, 550 Central Park West is mistaken by fans for making a cameo appearance. It is really the Paramount Building. An asset of the Paramount was used from the Panic in Times Square Level.
The development team planned on an ending where the Ghostbusters get another the key to the city but time ran out. The decision was made to overlay the audio over the credits at the end of the game. [153][154]
The ideas for an ending also included a scene like the end of the other two movies, where they're packing up and driving off, and a scene with Peter Venkman addressing a crowd. [155]
The budget of the game was at least $30-40 million but it is unknown how much was paid to the voice talents total. [156]
Rick Moranis came around towards the end of production and was okay with being involved with the game. It so happened that his head was modeled and ready to go but there wasn't any manpower left to rig him in animation because everyone was working on finishing the cinematics. [157]
There was an idea of putting Louis in a fully body cast
There was an idea of making the area where the Ghostbusters II No Ghost sign, miniature satellite dish, and Ecto 1-a doors are stored Louis' office and just have Louis stick his hand out and play some recorded lines.
At one point, Jesse Sosa pushed hard for John Candy to be the Rookie. [158][159]
There was another character that was supposed to portray the Rookie but Terminal couldn't make it work for "political reasons." [160]
At one point, Sarah Silverman was considered for a female Rookie and Andy Samberg for a male Rookie. [161]
Originally, Ecto-1 was based off references of the model from Universal Studios. Towards the end of production, Jesse Sosa spent 3-4 20 hour work days on redoing Ecto-1. There was a lot of fighting to get the Cadillac symbol and a period accurate license plate due to various legal reasons. [162]
The Wanted! Achievements No Ghost logo is a possible reference to fans constant rumors of a third movie as noted by the fact the Ghost has 3 fingers up.
Jesse Sosa attempts to put his penguin in every game he works on. It is under a Ray's bed in the Firehouse. [163]
Several members of the development team provided the voices of the answering machine messages and the Black Slime. [164]
A band named PumPs made a new song titled "Ghostbusters III" which re-purposed a song they had done earlier and added "Ghostbusters are waitin'" to it. They made essentially an unsolicited fan submission to Terminal Reality. The crew loved it. Kyle Richard helped with the mix and added official Ghostbusters: The Video Game sounds into it. Jesse Sosa wanted to use it in a montage during the game, but there wasn't time to properly create one. Sony didn't approve of the song and the reason why was never revealed. One theory was PumPs was not signed to Sony. [165][166]
Several things were omitted from the game, known omissions are:
Janine had a couple more outfits but they didn't make the final cut [167]
Cartoon colored flight suits as unlockables were in the game at one point [168]
Jesse Sosa had ethereal GB models straight from "Citizen Ghost" [169][170]
Custom character designs, such as choosing ethnicity and hair. [171]
There plans for a large number of playable unlock-able characters, including Ilyssa Selwyn and Jesse Sosa but they were never implemented. [172][173]
Incorporating more fan project references but there wasn't enough production time left and possible legal ramifications. One idea was to put up target dummies based on fan comic characters in the Firehouse sub-basement in the first mission. [174]
A Multiplayer option to play as a ghost like Slimer going through walls and playing 'tag' with Ghostbusters. [175]
Jesse Sosa wrote up a level pitch that used the Manhattan Bridge and a couple nearby buildings to contain actuators for a 'Mega Trap' to contain Stay Puft according to the first Stay Puft level Terminal Reality was designing at the time. Sosa had it where Egon planned ahead after 1984 in case they ever needed to catch something that large again and took inspiration the Real Ghostbusters episode "The Ghostbusters in Paris" where Eiffel Tower was a Containment Unit. [176]
A total of six to seven levels with dialogue recorded was cut.[177]
A Halloween level in upstate New York at a rave. Players had to use their Ecto-Goggles and P.K.E. Meter to find ghosts in the crowd and capture without causing a commotion. [178]
According to John Melchior, producer, he pitched the Stylized version as something more kid-friendly like The Real Ghostbusters to marketing and was kicked out of the room. Ultimately, the script was changed around but was an uphill battle even though Sony supported it because it was a different take for a different market. The actors made sure their features were still circa 1991 and they were given cartoon big bellies nor old looking. The approval process was a little more difficult overall. [185]
Artist Dan Schoening, later known for his work on the Ghostbusters IDW Publishing Comics had helped inspire the graphic style for the Styled versions of the game. However, he wasn't included in the credits for the versions of the game as claimed by Red Fly Studio CEO Dan Borth was because there wasn't enough room.[186]
Tobin's Spirit Guide has 109 entries listed in the data files on the video game disc, but there are only 93 entries in the actual game itself. The entries cut from the video game are:
Adhesive Memo Zombies
Avatars
Ghost Hunting Tome
Gozer
The Initiate
Inter-Dimensional Cross-Rip
Kitchen Conglomerate
Mannequin Wisps
Marshmallow Hoppers
Office Wisps
Phantom Matter
Protective Psychokinetic Barrier
Psychokinetic Manipulation Event: Museum Implements
Psychomagnatheric Ectoplasm
Unassuming Demons
Will O Wisps
On the back of the Ghostbusters: Afterlife Cereal box, the term "Psychokinetic Biological Inhabitation" is used. It was a formal term used for Possession in the Stylized Versions of Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
Differences in Stylized Version[]
The most immediately noticeable difference in game play between the Nintendo Wii and other versions of Ghostbusters: The Video Game is the ability to use the Wii Remote to aim a cursor on the screen to control the neutrona wand. Also, making a bowling motion with the Nunchuk is how ghost traps are released.
Aside from control differences, Redfly Studios has stated that in their version there is a stronger emphasis on puzzle elements than the Terminal Reality versions.
Another difference between the Redfly Studios versions (Wii, PS2) and the Terminal Reality versions (PS3, 360, PC) is that in the Terminal Reality Versions, collateral damage will directly effect the amount of money earned on any given mission. The more damage is caused, the less money is earned which could otherwise be used to upgrade the Ghostbusters' equipment. The Redfly Studios version does keep track of the amount of collateral damage, however, the player is not accountable for paying it (Actually, it seems that indirectly encourages damaging the environment).
Some ghosts are replaced or added in. For example, in the Terminal Reality versions, the player gets to face ghosts based on jobs like Pappy Sargassi, and the main boss ghosts include The Chairman in the Museum, and the Imprisoned Juvenile Sloar. In the Redfly versions, all the job ghosts have been removed excepet Chef Deforrest Sargossa from the Return to the Sedgewick Hotel level, who gets moved to the Sedgewick Hotel level, filling in Pappy Sargassi's role. While Imprisoned Juvenile Slor and The Chairman are replaced by Black Slime Behemoth and the Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton
The Redly Studios versions allow for two player local cooperative play throughout the main story with both the male and female iterations of the Rookie. The Terminal Reality versions instead have separate multiplayer missions which can only be played online.
The PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions are ports of the Wii version. Aside from using the right analogue stick to aim the targeting reticule and button presses for throwing traps, its gameplay is identical to that on the Wii.
Stylized DS Version[]
While the Fat Boy only appears in the DS version, concept art for the Realistic and Stylized versions of the game feature him. The concept art in the Realistic versions shows that the Fat Boy was at one point going to be included in the cemetery level.
Ilyssa Selwin is named "Ilyssa Shepard" in this version.
The Rookie does not appear at all. Instead Egon, Ray, Peter, and Winston are playable.
Despite taking place in 1991, the streets of New York are full of modern ambulances and police cars.
The elevator can not be used by Dr. Rutherford, the Museum Curator in the Museum level. The Ghostbusters must take him and use the nonexistent stairs in the room south of where the curator was found. The stairs are found in the middle of the southernmost wall in said room.[187]
Differences in Remastered[]
The Remastered version is only the realistic versions from Playstation, XBox, and PC.
There is no multiplayer mode in both the physical disc and digital releases. As such, there are no multiplayer trophies and achievements. All of the single-player trophies and achievements are the same as the original game.[188][189]
Multiplayer was promised to be added at a later date via a patch, but that never happened.
The Ghostbusters II flight suit is unlocked in the remaster by finishing the game on the normal "Experienced" difficulty setting, and the Gold Proton Pack is unlocked by finishing it on the hard "Professional" difficulty setting. However, both can be earned for finishing on Professional first.[190]
The flight suit bears the classic logo instead of the Ghostbusters II logo.
The loading screen no longer has the rotating Proton Pack graphic and the "Ghostbusters" song does not play anymore.
The opening title cutscene starts silently.
In the opening title cutscene, the logos are different.
In the opening title cutscene, a dedication to the late Harold Ramis was added. It reads, "In Loving Memory of Harold Ramis".[191]
The Ecto-1b's design model has been changed in the real time cutscenes. The grill and Cadillac logo have been changed to an updated model. The license plate design was also changed. However, the Cadillac logo and proper grill are still present in the in-game pre-rendered cutscenes.
The "Ghostbusters" song is played once in the beginning of the game and once at the end.
A different blue Proton Stream animation used.[192]
The Dorito's product placement throughout the remastered was changed to a fictional brand named Crispy Snacks.[193][194]
Bonus videos from past Blu-ray releases are unlocked including the behind the scenes of the game, the Ecto-1 restoration featurette, the commercial footage from the first movie, the trailer of the first movie, and a Blu-ray commercial.
On Page 1, it is established Winston does not have his history doctorate like he does in the game.
On Page 19, as of the conclusion of The Video Game, Slimer was on the loose. It is unclear if he was recaptured and escaped again or was loose all these years between the events of the game and Issue #1.
On Page 19, When Peter and Winston battle Slimer at the end, Peter mentions a score to settle. This is a nod to when he was slimed in the first movie and on the first level of The Video Game, Welcome to the Sedgewick.
On Page 22, the back up story has a few references to The Video Game. PCOC was an oversight group formed by the city to keep an eye on the Ghostbusters during the events of the game. The officials mention Jock Mulligan, who was the mayor during the game and was possessed by the principal villain, Ivo Shandor, for months. They mention the insurance payouts the city had to pay in relation to the damage caused by the Ghostbusters, who are bonded city contractors as of the game. One of the photos shown was of Slimer inside the Paranormal Containment Research Tank. Walter Peck, who was the head of PCOC during the events the game, alludes to when he was possessed in the museum level.
On Page 3, as an easter egg, one of the room numbers by Winston at the start is 1221. Room 1221 is the room Spider Witch used at the Sedgewick Hotel.
On Page 5, from here and on in the comic book, the portrait of Vigo resides in the Firehouse near Janine's desk. In The Video Game, it first appeared in that spot.
On Page 9, Peter alludes to the Natural History Museum's World of Gozer exhibit from the game. It was a center point of the game, where Shandor manipulated events and a big paranormal shockwave erupted from the museum and jump started all the paranormal activity in the story.
On Page 16, when Ray and Egon investigate the kitchen in the Wandering Hills house, on the chalkboard there is a reference to Chef Sargossa from the stylized version of the game and Hotel de Gustav (an object from it could be collected) from the realistic. The Phantom Cakework, from the stylized version, is on the table.
On Page 2, when Ron Alexander shoots pool in the bar, he mentions he applied for a franchise but was rejected. At the start of The Video Game, a museum guard saw a new commercial which mentioned franchise applications were available and at the end of the game, the Rookie is offered the chance to lead up his own.
On Page 5, Egon refers to Stay Puft as "Marshmallow Avatar." The avatar term was coined in The Video Game.
On Page 10, one of the billboards in Times Square references "Stay Puft The Musical." This was mentioned by Sedgewick patrons at the first Sedgewick Hotel mission in realistic versions .
On Page 12, when the Ghostbusters fight the Gozerian Terror Bear, Peter makes light of all the options for the Proton Pack like the experimental version used in The Video Game. Egon reminds him the experimental Proton Pack shorted out in Las Vegas then states the Boson Pack needs venting like the experimental park. The Boson pack Egon uses in itself is a nod to the experimental pack. It was too unstable so not one to give up, Egon made the Boson dart option into a new pack used occasionally in the ongoing series.
On Page 22, in the PCOC section, Peter makes his own notes like he did with the Tobin's Spirit Guide entries in the Stylized Versions. The Further Notes clarifies what Egon's pack in the main story was and refers to Boson Darts from The Video Game.
On Page 5, Peter refers to the Rookie and his victory over Stay Puft in the Times Square level.
On Page 6, Jock Mulligan shows up on one of Peck's speed dial options on his phone.
On Page 22, the PCOC file is Video Game oriented. The article in the upper left mentions the Ghostbusters hiring three new hands - Maddie Collins, Chad Fuller, and Bryan Welsh. These are names created by the PCOC writer/artist Tristan Jones - Maddie for the Female Rookie, Chad for the Stylized version of Rookie, and Bryan for the Realistic version. A mix of versions of the game are established to be incorporated into this comic's canon. "The Architect" is mentioned and a photo and file on the Marshmallow Mini from realistic version is included.
On Page 1, two of the storefronts in Fantastic Land have nods to Ivo Shandor and Papa Sargassi.
On Page 12, a lot of Cursed Artifacts from the game show up in Ray's Occult from here on out in the comic. The bottom half of the Ritual Mask of Bad Advice, Portrait of G. Sedgewick, Spider Witch is on the store's calendar, Swiss Death Clock can be seen by the door, Featherwell's Stalking Chair is near Ray and the Cursed Musket of Cecil Starkey is also near Ray.
On Page 15, during the airplane ride, The Church of Gozer Songbook, another collectible, is in the stack of books on the plane trip.
On Page 22, the PCOC file refers to the events of Ghostbusters: The Video Game and Black Slime.
On Page 1, Peter walks near the Painting of the Trustees.
On Page 6, on the mantle lies the Stone Angel Head and near it the Whistling Bust of Mausch.
On Page 8, on Egon's white board, there's photos from PCOC files of past issues and photos of Mandala nodes from the game.
On Page 8, Winston brings up how Egon hardly slept. This also came up in the library level of the game. Egon mentioned he's had time to make prototypes due to an ongoing experiment where he sleeps an average of 14 minutes a day.
On Page 9, Egon uses Belascu shaving cream referencing Unruly Beard of V. Belascu
On Page 23, in the Tobin story, it's revealed Tobin once met with Vladimir Belascu.
On Page 1, the Mayor seems to be visually based on version of Jock Mulligan from the Stylized version.
On Page 25, Peter mentions the Rookie from the Realistic Versions and the two Rookies from the Stylized Versions. Peter also brings up franchising for the Ghostbusters and asks why it hasn't become so widespread yet.
On Page 10, in the band's flashback, on the shelf behind the drummer is the Singing Slime - another collectible.
On Page 10, to the left of Peter in the DJ's room on the board is a photograph of the Possessed Bell-Bottom Jeans
On Page 23, Peter discovers the Slime Blower was stuck on the Slime Tether. To trap the ghost, Peter has Laura Parr activate the Super Slammer Trap on the roof.
On Page 1, the Ghost Shark is based on the unused character from Realistic Versions who killed Pappy Sargassi.
On Page 1, The Rookie makes his debut in the comic. It's revealed he's leading a franchise in Chicago. This was one of the locations offered to him at the end of The Video Game. Winston calls him by one of his nicknames "Youngblood" that came up during levels. He kept his defunct experimental pack as a souvenir but it only functions as a regular pack currently. He also kept his Rookie name patch to help deter angry clients.
On Page 19, on the tack board, there are photos of the Mandala.
Ghostbusters: Times Scare! was originally going to be a mini-comic included in Ghostbusters: The Video Game to explain why the Rookie was hired.[195] The comic was repurposed by IDW with all references to the game removed.[196]
On the subscription cover, on the newspaper back page, PCOC is mentioned. Rookie is among the photos.
On Page 2, on the far right is the Spider Witch with her victim from the Realistic Version of the "Return to the Sedgewick" level.
On Page 5, Winston was taken from his apartment, the first time it was seen in any medium and previously mentioned at start of the realistic versions of "Return to the Sedgewick" level.
On Page 7 to 9, the apartment has a couple Cursed Artifacts. Behind Special Agent Melanie Ortiz is the Foxhunt on Tiamat Island, the Anguished Stuffed Bear is on the table up above from Kylie Griffin, and in the lobby behind Kylie is part of the Ravishing Red Prince.
On Page 12, Peck's technical report on the Containment Unit has the addresses of the EPA and PCOC.
On Page 15, the Collectors' Limbo dimension is based on the Gozerian dimension designs from the first movie (seen in "Making Ghostbusters") and later utilized for the "Checking out the Library" level.
On Page 18, on the table in Peter's office next to the box is the Skull of Ivo Shandor as it appears after Rookie collected it.
On Page 5, the inside of the locker Janine looks in is based on the profile screen from the Stylized Versions complete with the Male Rookie's I.D. card. On a shelf in the locker is the P.K.E. Meter from the Stylized Versions.
On Page 19, Janine's drink is Chamomile, her favorite, as she mentioned in Realistic Versions in the cutscene before the last level.
On Page 1, behind Melanie Ortiz is the Skull of Ivo Shandor in Peter's office.
On Page 4, still on Janosz' wall are Gozerian letters
On Page 5, the Firehouse's ladder to the third floor and draped cloth seen in Realistic Versions is to the left of Janine.
On Page 15, when the Draguar returns, behind Melanie is a "Stay Puft the Musical" ad.
On Page 20, the Gozerian letters translate to the original Ghostbusters' names - Egon Spengler (upper left corner), Peter Venkman (above Kylie), Ray Stantz (left of Kylie), and Winston Zeddemore (right of Kylie).
On Page 6, in front of Ray is the Archangel's Gallbladder.
On Page 6, the fourth yellow Post-It Note, on the middle left of Gallon's Spectral Almanac, references the Gozerian Codex.
On Page 15, the third Firehouse arcade Ghost Captors is from Stylized Versions of the Panic in Times Square Level, during the "Going Up" section.
On Page 15, on Egon's white board, on the top left is the Photon Tempest Games logo from the "Going Up" section of Panic in Times Square Level.
On Page 16, Summoner's Bell appears on the Firehouse kitchen counter where it is in the game after it is collected.
On Page 16, the Employee of the Month signs from Realistic Versions debuts.
On Page 22, Tiamat is introduced. She was mentioned to be Gozer's adversary in the Realistic Versions museum level when you interact with audio displays.
On the regular cover, a bottle of Les Oiseaux Fine Wines is on the ground.
On Page 6, on the Firehouse refrigerator are two bottles of Singing Slime.
On Page 8, the Reluctant Reading Lamp is present in panel two on the table next to Ortiz.
On Page 9, in Times Square, on displays are references to Stay Puft and Friends, Saturdays at 8 am, the Hindenburg opera, Les Oiseaux Fine Wines, and Otto's Bar. Between the Caste and GM ads is a blue corporation logo. Except for Les Oiseaux, these are all from the Realistic Versions of Panic in Times Square level.
On Page 18, the World of Gozer exhibit is back and the events of The Video Game are noted.
On Page 19, Dr. Selwyn makes her debut in the comic.
On Page 19, Ron refers to Gozer and the events of The Video Game.
On Page 16, Ray talks about Gozer's banishment, which was revealed from audio displays in the Museum of (Super)Natural History level Realistic Versions.
On the regular cover, 2:00 mentions Chamomile tea. This is Janine's favorite.
On Page 8, Archangel's Gallbladder is still in Ray's occult.
On Page 8, Tiamat and Gozer's names are in Gozerian alphabet in Tobin's entry Kylie shows.
On Page 8, Kylie alludes to the Cult of Gozer and Cult of Tiamat's conflict as recounted during the Museum of (Super)Natural History level.
On Page 9, the pages of Tobin's Spirit Guide shown has the circle of Gozerian seen in the Library ghost's room in Realistic Versions of Checking Out the Library Level.
On Page 14, the New York City poster from Realistic Versions is up on the wall in Firehouse 2nd floor.
On Page 15, the Skull of Ivo Shandor is still at its place in Peter's office.
On Page 16, Ray mentions Crossing the Streams worked at least twice before. The Ghostbusters used it a second time to destroy Ivo Shandor's Supreme Destructor Form.
On Page 4, Gozer takes on the form of the Spider Witch from the Realistic Versions. Also present in the vision are the Spider Crawlers and Spectral Spawning Husks from Realistic Versions.
On Page 12, the daily special board references Chef Sargossa from the Stylized Versions. Inside the cafe, the portrait to the far right by the doors is of the Phantom Craftwork from Stylized Versions.
On Page 15, on the Firehouse 2nd floor is the 'Come Visit...' poster from the Realistic Versions, is (accurately) hanging up near the stairs. Also present is the ladder and towel seen. The chalkboard features the Proton Stream equations seen in Realistic Versions. Also on the board, a reference to Chicago and Ilyssa Selwyn.
On Page 17, once again, the Pin-Up Calendar of Doom! is in the tank with Slimer.
On Page 18, the thermometer used by Kylie is connected to a modified version of the P.K.E. Meter seen in Stylized Version as evidenced by the look and the words on screen like 'P.K.E.' but lacking the wings and handle.
On Page 6, behind Ray is the hatch and devices from the Containment Unit seen in Realistic Versions. Apparently, they repurposed some parts for the current version of the unit.
On Page 7, still on the side of the filing cabinet is Ed's drawing.
On Page 8, when the basement is transformed, above the Containment Unit is the portrait of Ivo Shandor's Mother seen in Stylized Versions.
On Page 7, on the Aura Video-Analyzer monitor is the city map from the DS version.
On Page 14 to 15, one of the portals the Cerberus entity goes past on the bottom of the page, to the right, are Winston, Egon, Ray, Peter from the Stylized Versions.
On Page 16, the Pin-Up Calendar of Doom! is in the tank with Slimer.
On Page 16, on the floor, right of Ray is Hohman's Black Low-Rise.
On Page 17, the Days Without Incident and Employee of the Month boards appear.
On Page 17, the Summoner Bell appears on the counter behind Winston, from The Real Ghostbusters, the bell is left of the maroon colored Andres brand microwave also from Realistic Versions.
On Page 18, on chalkboard, In the lower left corner are Gozerian letters, from Ghostbusters in alphabetic order. The M, N, and O are the first row and the X, Y, Z on the second row.
On Page 1 to 3, the third floor of the Firehouse resembles the layout of the second floor seen in the Stylized Versions. There is the console with six monitors, a panel above the console, the shelving, a table with various gear on it like the Stylized version of the Boson Dart attachment, the 4 column mustard drawer set and various objects atop it, the cork board with the map of New York City, the TV with the loading screen of the game, and the Ghost Capture arcade
On Page 16, left of Kylie is the Summoner Bell and behind her is the microwave n panel 4:
On Page 16, behind Jenny is the Mercury poster Realistic Versions
On Page 16, in panel 5, immediately right of Jenny is the Employee of the Month board and right of the Employee of the Month is the Pomegranate Fire Truck poster next to it.
On Page 17, in panel 1, the doughnut hanging above the sink appears. In panel 3, the # of days since last incident sign appears.
On Page 19, in panel 6, Janine has a mug with a tea bag in it, a nod to her love of chamomile.
On Page 7, in panel 2, the books in Winston's backpack are about Egyptology - a nod to his doctorate in that field in Realistic Versions.
On Page 25, Ron uses Rookie's "Rook" nickname.
On Page 39, the opening panel is a loose nod to the layout of the second floor of the Firehouse in Realistic Versions, with the vacuum cleaner, cart, ladder, boxes, and green rug. The Phoenician Plague Vase appears where it is after Rookie collects it. In panel 2, the Paranormal Containment Research Tank's roof sports features seen in the concept design included in the Realistic Versions disc. On the bottom left, between Egon's legs, the PCOC flier the Ghostbusters find on the doors of the Sedgewick Hotel when they return to it. The Pin-Up Calendar of Doom appears in the tank with Slimer.
On Page 40, in panel 4, on the far right is the human take on Chef Sargossa/Deforrest.
On Page 41, in panel 1, the Human Body poster appears.
On Page 41, Ray mentions Tobin's Spirit Guide, the Cult of Gozer, Gozer, and the cult's use of the Sedgewick Hotel.
On Page 41, Spider Witch (below left of Chairman), The Chairman, Ivo Shandor (green on robe), and Edmund Hoover (right of Shandor) make a cameo as cultists.
On Page 42, in panel 3, the days without incident sign appears.
On Page 43, in panel 5, the punching bag from the sleeping quarters and the microwave appears.
On Page 7, in panel 2, still on the counter is the Archangel's Gallbladder cursed artifact from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions.
On Page 11, the third floor is still visually based on the second floor in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Stylized Versions and bears many references.
The loading screen on the TV
On the table on the left are some Stylized Versions of equipment: A Trap, Paragoggles, A Proton Pack with the Boson Dart attachment, Slime Mine, and a Slime Blower.
On the table on the right are more Stylized Versions of equipment: a Stasis Stream, Particle Thrower, and P.K.E. Meter
Aiming reticule on the floor
Interact logo prompt on the floor
Map on the brown board
On Page 12, in panel 3, on the top right monitor is still of the Male Rookie looking around the 2nd floor of the Firehouse in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Stylized Versions.
On Page 13, in panel 1, on the table is a Shock Blast.
On Page 11, the Ghostbusters do research on the second floor of the Firehouse from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Stylized versions evidenced by the computer monitor and yellow file.
On Page 1, in panel 4, on the far right is the tip of Marine Ecto-8. Cait's flightsuit name label is "Cadet" - a nod to one of Rookie's nicknames in Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
On Page 2, in panel 2, behind Zoe on the brown board are the papers posted up during Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions on the second floor by the kitchen area.
On Page 5, panel 4, the news ticker now mentions PCOC.
On Page 11, panel 3, left of Peter is the Phoenician Plague Vase where it appears after Rookie collects it in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions. The second floor is still laid out like it was in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions such as the green carpet, Periodic Table, and New York City poster.
On Page 15, Winston alludes to Egon's experiments on himself. In The Video Game, he tried sleeping an average of 14 minutes a day to get more work done.
On Page 24, Peter sneaked in a joke in the rarer varieties section. Peter also wrote in his own thoughts on the Tobin files the Rookies gained from scanning entities in Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
On the Regular Cover, the America Museum of Natural History is marked on the map.
The teams take Marine Ecto-8 to Ellis Island. The vehicle originated in the game and Ellis Island was mentioned by Egon in the Welcome to the Hotel Sedgewick Level.
On Page 7, in panel 4, to the right of Kevin Tanaka, is the Skull of Ivo Shandor.
On Page 10, in panel 4, on the ground on the right is Ali El-Baluu's Irksome Rug where it appears after Rookie collects it in Realistic Versions.
On Page 23, mentioned in the Tobin's Spirit Guide and Schoening Omnibi sections is the Cult of Gozer. Mentioned in The Book of Curses section is the Museum of Natural History.
Winston's bio in the Dramatis Personae reveals his honorary doctorate was in parapsychology. In the game, it was a doctorate in history.
On Page 7, in panel 4, on the kitchen counter the Summoner's Bell and microwave from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions. The vacuum cleaner is on the floor where it's located in-game.
On Page 8, in panel 1, on top of the refrigerator is the Singing Slime from Realistic Versions.
On Page 11, in panel 1, in the lower left corner is part of the Hohman's Low Black-Ruse cursed artifact from Realistic Versions.
On Page 18, in panel 1, on the table are equipment from stylized versions: a Slime Mine, Proton Pack with Boson Dart, and a Stasis Stream. Egon appears to be holding the Shock Blast as well. In panel 3, to the right of Egon is a still, from stylized versions, of Ray with the Aura Video Analyzer colander on in the cinematic after the player finds the team on the second floor at the beginning of gameplay.
On Page 19, in panel 4, also seen on the table are more equipment from stylized versions: Paragoggles, a Trap, and a P.K.E. Meter
On Page 20, in panel 1, Egon works at the console from stylized versions. In panel 4, on the right, the arcade is Ghost Capture from the Panic in Times Square level from stylized versions. In the middle is the Moonstrosity X arcade from the Firehouse second floor in realistic versions.
On Page 4 on the table are equipment from Stylized Versions: a disassembled Proton Pack and Boson Dart, P.K.E. Meter, Slime Mine, and a Trap.
On Page 18, in panel 5, on the right, the arcade is Ghost Capture from the Panic in Times Square level from stylized versions. In the middle is the Moonstrosity X arcade from the Firehouse second floor in realistic versions.
On Page 20, Janine's new look is based on her appearance in Stylized Versions.
On Page 9, in panel 1, the Firehouse's microwave and Days since last incident sign from Realistic Versions. In panel 2, the Mercury poster from Realistic Versions. In panel 5, on the floor is Hohman's Black Low-Rise from where it goes after Rookie collects it Realistic Versions.
On Page 10, in panel 2, on the billiards table is the Toaster of Sights Unseen after it's collected.
On Page 1, the first 2 panels recreate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #2 page 4 panel 3 with the equipment from the Stylized version: Trap, Slime Mine, P.K.E. Meter, Proton Pack, and Boson Dart.
On Page 2, once again, the third floor is modeled after the second floor in the Stylized Versions, including the map of New York City, the loading screen, and the Ghost Capture arcade and blue arcade next to it.
On Page 20, in the top right corner are Egon, Winston, Ray, and Peter from the Stylized Versions.
The events of the game are mentioned in Rookie's bio in the 30th Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card, released on May 31, 2018. [197]
On Page 11, Egon mentions a theoretical autopsy on Ectotron. Incidentally, in the realistic versions, it is revealed Egon used to be a coroner but now it's more of a hobby.
On Cover B and Page 5, The New York Times Monday classifieds references Sargassi's from Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions. The "We've Got Great Crabs" motto is from a billboard above the Hindenburg marquee in the Panic in Times Square level.
On Page 11, in panel 2, Egon notes a vibration function. Incidentally, that function was incorporated in Ghostbusters: The Video Game in which the player's controller vibrates.
On Cover B is Janine's mug has tea, Chamomile was her favorite flavor since Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
On Page 15, the Library ghost commands a swarm of books like she does with the Book Bats in Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
On Page 16, Ray calls out to the Library ghost by her real name, Eleanor Twitty. It was first revealed in Ghostbusters: The Video Game after Rookie, Ray, and Egon spot her upon blowing up the Book Golem in the reading room.
On Page 1, Janine drinks tea, Chamomile was her favorite flavor since Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
On Page 9, in panel 1, one of the signs advertises Featherwell's Unpainted Furniture, a nod to Featherwell's Stalking Chair, one of the Cursed Artifacts in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Realistic Versions.
↑Greene, James, Jr., (2022). A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever, p. 176. Lyons Press, Essex, CT USA, ISBN 9781493048243. John Zuur Platten says: "We wanted to use Janosz from Ghostbusters II, but we knew we wouldn't be able to get Peter MacNicol."
↑Greene, James, Jr., (2022). A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever, p. 176. Lyons Press, Essex, CT USA, ISBN 9781493048243. John Zuur Platten says: "Aykroyd and Ramis were worried that Belushi's estate wouldn’t approve this idea, so then they figured the playable character could be Rick Moranis's Louis Tully. Moranis was retired by this point, and as Melchior explained, "He wrote us a nice note saying if he was ever to come back to do anything, this would probably be it. But he made promises (when) he retired and he wanted to keep (them), which we respected." In the end, the new character wasn't based on anyone famous; his likeness was borrowed from one of the game's associate producers, Ryan French, and he was given no name beyond Rookie."
↑Greene, James, Jr., (2022). A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever, p. 177. Lyons Press, Essex, CT USA, ISBN 9781493048243. John Zuur Platten says: "We wrote it with Peter Venkman going to Los Angeles to open a new Ghostbusters franchise with new Ghostbusters. So literally, the first page of the script, he's out."
↑Greene, James, Jr., (2022). A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever, p. 178. Lyons Press, Essex, CT USA, ISBN 9781493048243. Line reads: "With time running out, the team considered recasting Peter Venkman. Their first choice was Vince Vaughn, a deadpan presence in many of that decade's motion picture comedies who was cut from the same cloth as Murray. Melchior spoke with Vaughn's agent and hashed out how much it would cost. At the end of the day, however, the producer felt there still had to be some way to snag Murray."
↑Greene, James, Jr., (2022). A Convenient Parallel Dimension: How Ghostbusters Slimed Us Forever, p. 180. Lyons Press, Essex, CT USA, ISBN 9781493048243. Line reads: "Melchior started leaning toward replacing Murray with his sibling Joel, who already did much of Bill's additional dialogue recording in movies."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16Drew Haworth says: "That's why we fight Stay Puft in Times Square, exorcise a mass possession in the Natural History Museum, find (and lose) a hidden island in the Hudson River, and have a cemetery erupt from Central Park. The Thanksgiving Day Parade level got cut (I hear it's in the new movie!), and we had another VERY cool one on Wall Street that didn't make it."
↑skankerzero reply Ghostbusters Fans 7/26/15skankerzero says: "We were going to transition to a new team in a new city if everything allowed us to. We were building this with expectations that there was going to be a new movie being made, so we were waiting to see what happened with that. I remember that Aykroyd was going to be the only carry over to the new stories. He was going to be some kind of mentor. I don't remember too many details that we were throwing around for a sequel, but I do remember all the stuff we threw out for the game we did release."
↑Wallace, Daniel (2015). Ghostbusters The Ultimate Visual History, p. 205. Insight Editions, San Rafael CA USA, ISBN 9781608875108. Mark Randel says: "We had lot's of concepts for a sequel and had a few levels scripted, but a sequel never materialized."
↑GamerGuy's Reviews YouTube "The Complete History of Ghostbusters: The Video Game | GamerGuy's Reviews" 48:20-48:50 7/6/2024Jesse Sosa says: "I believe one of the ideas we threw around was Chicago because Chicago is supposed to be a very haunted city. And I believe we were going to make it that the Rookie was from Chicago, so he was going to go there, start his own franchise, and we wouldn't need to tie ourselves to the actors so heavily. We could start building our own cast of characters, but we were going to keep Winston, which is cool that they're doing that in the new movies, but we were going to keep him as the business contact and Dan Aykroyd as the lore person if I recall correctly."
↑Spook Central "Ghostbusters Fan Fest - Ghostbusters: The Video Game Panel" 26:28-26:51 10/4/19Panelist says: "But, yeah, we had a sequel to be more of a sandbox. We had more competitive Ghostbuster teams and, uh, Dan had given us a list of characters and -- and styles and actors he wanted to play the special -- the franchise teams had to come -- New York is big enough a character than any of the characters. They had to come to New York to save them. There was a team from LA..."
↑Spook Central "Ghostbusters Fan Fest - Ghostbusters: The Video Game Panel" 25:17-25:38 10/4/19Panelist says: "Yeah. There was design doc and a story synopsis for a sequel. And a third one, uh, had a synopsis. But we worked with Harold at the end of this development cycle in Chicago and Dan to create the next game, where we would take it. So obviously if you played the game, you can't drive the Ecto-1 so we had to make sure you could drive Ecto-1 which is it's own fiasco. And do more things and expand--"
↑mp1st "Saber Explains What Happened to Ghostbusters The Video Game Remastered Multiplayer" 11/24/2021Tim Willits says: "This is something the team really wanted to include when working on that remaster a few years ago and had been attempting it, but the state of the original multiplayer code unfortunately just didn't cooperate. We did look into it but ultimately had to focus on recreating the single player experience fans were expecting from us."
↑Spook Central "Ghostbusters: The Video Game - Game Informer's Dan Aykroyd Interview (December 2007)" 12/2007Dan Aykroyd says: "Well, practically and realistically, I've been telling people it's very doubtful that there's going to be a third movie. But now that I've seen the work on the video game, I've watched it progress, my rap now to people is, "This is essentially the third movie." And it's better than the third movie because it lasts longer, there's more development of the characters, there's more of a need for story layers. The guys have done a great job putting story layers in there that I can begin to embellish and work with. And I tell people this: "If you have an appetite for the third movie, then the video game is it." And I really do believe that at this point, from having seen what they've done there."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16John Melchior says: "We wanted this to be GB3, Dan and Harold considered this game to be the third film and mention it in the making of video. However, there was no way Sony Pictures was going to allow for that. They needed to not have that tied to a game, which I get. We pushed hard, but we get it. We had a BADASS logo for it tho..lol."
↑Playstation Blog "Inside the Development of Ghostbusters: The Video Game" 10/2/19John Melchior says: "The rookie (new recruit) was a massive fight internally at Vivendi and then even with Atari. They really wanted to "play as the cast." This was something I really fought for and eventually won. The reason why was simple. I felt people wanted the characters to have the same chemistry as they did in the films. A pillar of this was timing. So, by playing a character that had no lines, we were able to craft that timing."
↑Playstation Blog "Inside the Development of Ghostbusters: The Video Game" 10/2/19John Melchior says: "First and foremost, we wanted to take players back to the Sedgewick Hotel. This iconic location from the film is a fan favorite. We wanted to re-create the ballroom scene, in part to gain the player's trust. We felt strongly that if we can nail the look, feel, destruction, and rod-and-reel aspect of the game, we would have their trust for the rest of the game. That level was the focal point of our pre-production."
↑Playstation Blog "Inside the Development of Ghostbusters: The Video Game" 10/2/19John Melchior says: "We wanted to bring back Stay Puft, and we were told that in order to do that we'd really need to put him in Time Square. So, we crafted an introduction that put him in familiar territory at first, but led to a boss combat sequence that was narrower and more focused for the players than a space that wide open."
↑Playstation Blog "Inside the Development of Ghostbusters: The Video Game" 10/2/19John Melchior says: "One time, there was a debate about the museum location. I called Harold, who was on the set of The Office directing an episode, and he called me back from his break to weigh in and provide guidance about what would best fit the world. Dan was also always there. He would regularly see the game and review the levels we were creating to see how they played into the canon of their creation."
↑Playstation Blog "Inside the Development of Ghostbusters: The Video Game" 10/2/19John Melchior says: "The boat was something that Dan wanted. He always wanted a GB boat in the movies and really felt the game was the perfect place to introduce it. It was a great part of the story. We had early prototypes of driving the Ecto-1 and the boat but they did not end up in the game."
↑Michael C. Gross (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Take Two" (1986) Commentary (DVD ts. 10:31-10:35). Time Life Entertainment. Michael Gross says: "The way I hear, the game is being promoted -- they're promoting it as GB3."
↑Ghostbusters Fans skankerzero reply 6/5/16skankerzero says: "It did well enough but I remember one of our assistant producers telling me about a year and a half later that it finally made it's money back. Most hit games make their money back in the first month."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 4). Harold says: "If you're dressed up as Attila the Hun again, I'm gonna smack you."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 22). The Manager says: "Oh... Oh..., that table is an 18th century Queen Anne replica! Not the Gainsborough!"
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 25). Peter Venkman says: "Hello? Chef? Boy-R-Dee?"
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 30). Line reads: "Peter looks into traps digital image of Slimer confined inside. The ghost's tongue is hanging out, he is exhausted."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 30). Line reads: "The Ghostbusters all get into the action as they fight the Maid and Bellhop animated ghosts."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 31). Line reads: "Egon points up to the ceiling where yet another ghost, Chef DeMassey, comes down through the ceiling. It sneers at the Ghostbusters, throws some heavy spoons, cleavers, knives, and large cauldrons, and takes off towards a stairwell to the 2nd floor."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 33). Line reads: "The Lounge is Sargassi's Coffee Bar, a semi-swanky and popular (but haunted) new franchise from Seattle."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 33). Line reads: "The PKE signal leads the team into a small kitchen attached to the Lounge."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 34). Line reads: "A 10 foot tall golem forms out of the kitchen parts."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 46). Line reads: "The Traffic Cop ghost appears, blowing his whistle & summoning flying cars out of the ether and whipping them at the Player."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 58). Ray Stantz says: "Egon and I were talking about creating minions to get more work done in the lab. Maybe they could be domesticated, like Slimer."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 60). Peter Venkman says: "Grace under pressure... like Amelia Earhart... I like that in a person."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 78). Egon Spengler says: "Tell him we went shopping at an occult book store... in Poughkeepsie."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 97). Ray Stantz says: "Maybe there are materials here... which would cause interference... selenium... rare alloys..."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 97). Egon Spengler says: "Sounds like some place familiar."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 109). Line reads: "He gestures at photos on the wall: still from Ghostbusters II."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 109). Egon Spengler says: "It uses a base culture of ectoplasm developed from materials we discovered under the City a few years ago."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 124). Harold says: "No offense, sir, but I'm glad they're here. You didn't see what me and Danny saw the other night."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 124). Peter Venkman says: "What can I say? I've got a thing for levitating women."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 129). Line reads: "The player must spray the suits of armor with slime to exorcise the ghosts out of them."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 133). Peter Venkman says: "Nothing left to trap? Well, I'm still invoicing the city for it. Or Louis will, when he gets back."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 136). Line reads: "As soon as they get into the room, a turret mouth is introduced, appearing on the far side, shooting tetherable projectiles."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 150). Ray Stantz says: "This is his last year in the parade. They're retiring him. Kids just don't connect with him anymore."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 150). Ray Stantz says: "I still have all his shows on Beta."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 151). Ray Stantz says: "How many more beloved icons from my youth does the paranormal have to ruin for me?"
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 151). Peter Venkman says: "Now Ray, the last icon that tried to destroy New York was technically your fault."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 151). Ray Stantz says: "It's the Broccoli Queen, 1964! Ooh, she was something. Had a tragic death as I recall. Fell asleep in a sauna and died in '67."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 156). Line reads: "It is a cluttered dark space and on the wall furthest from the doorway, the Fettuccine painting from the second movie is in full view."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 197). Peter Venkman says: "Only that the poor sap lives with his mother and his aunt and is unloved by both... very sad."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 197). Line reads: "THE FOG thins and from out of nowhere, the ECTO-2, an ancient and dilapidated TUGBOAT with a crude Ghostbusters insignia on its hull, emerges."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 200). Winston Zeddemore says: "We're lucky it's in the middle of a river instead of Rockefeller Center."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 200). Egon Spengler says: "No Peter, this crane was manufactured in 1954."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 210). Line reads: "Of all the tanks of slime, there is an overabundance of pink slime that is attached to the only working pumps that pump it into the pipes. This is where the pink slime from Ghostbusters 2 originates from."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 210). Peter Venkman says: "You remember when the museum turned into a giant Jell-o mold and the Statue of Liberty went meandering through downtown?"
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 216). Line reads: "The Black Slime Boss is a giant horrific creature, who is stationary in the middle of the large room."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 224). Peter Venkman says: "Tavern on the Green?"
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 227). Winston Zeddemore says: "At Dana's apartment the night she turned into a dog."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 228). Peter Venkman says: "Death usually gets stuck being the designated driver."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 230). Line reads: "A number of cultist ghosts fly overheard and then fly down to control the stone cylinder."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 239). Peter Venkman says: "We're gonna need to scratch "Be Prepared" out of the Junior Ghostbusters Manual."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 245). Ivo Shandor says: "My blood. Which is hard to come by when you've been a ghost for seventy years."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 253). Peter Venkman says: "And I was thinking we could offer him a potentially lucrative Ghostbusters franchise opportunity in Chicago, Los Angeles, or Paris."
↑Dille, Flint & Platten, John Z. (2009). Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Draft Revision February 11, 2008) (Script p. 253). Line reads: "ROLL CREDITS-FIRST 2 minutes over a magazine cover montage of franchises opening all over the world. Last 3 minutes over black with the Vigo painting on the side, commenting on all the credits."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16Drew Haworth says: "The proton pack sounds were created in foley. Sound Designer Brian Fieser recorded an actual replica prop proton pack & jumpsuit for the Ghostbuster's movement. They layered that with recordings of a backpack filled with random junk. He knows at least an RC car was in there. The pack overheat was some glass tubes, metal clangs, processed latches, & steam hisses. The pack charging was some RC car servos layered with various sweeteners tuned to whatever you're charging at the time. The proton stream variations & turbo/slam were mostly created using various software synths."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16Drew Haworth says: "There was a lot of discussion about having traps that you could stick, like trip mines. You could stick them on ceilings or on walls. There was a trap that once you set it, it was like a super bomb. It would pull everything in, everything in the room, into it, including physical objects ."
↑Spook Central "Ghostbusters Fan Fest - Ghostbusters: The Video Game Panel" 47:37-48:00 10/4/19Panelist says: "Uh, that was the Creative Director at Terminal Reality, Drew Haworth. We were having -- I was busy having a bad day with Bill, uh, so... we had a fight over levels so we decided to take a break and we were playing Burnout on 360. And we were -- he saw the piling up of it and that's why Peck's character became deeper at that point."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16John Melchior says: "There's a bar mitzvah joke in there that he adlibbed. The Rodriguez bar mitzvah. He did a good job staying within the constrains of what we were asking him to do. To sit there and say [Bill], don't adlib would be ridiculous. Whatever he wanted to record, we recorded."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16Drew Haworth says: "That's why we fight Stay Puft in Times Square, exorcise a mass possession in the Natural History Museum, find (and lose) a hidden island in the Hudson River, and have a cemetery erupt from Central Park. The Thanksgiving Day Parade level got cut (I hear it's in the new movie!), and we had another VERY cool one on Wall Street that didn't make it."
↑Reddit AMA "AMA with the developers of 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game!" 7/16/16John Melchior says: "Everybody at that time in the industry had a 360 and Wii at that time for some reason. Those were the winners. I was thinking for a collector of Ghostbusters, if I made this one look more like the Real Ghostbusters, or a kid-focused version, would they buy both? I presented that to marketing and I got kicked out of the room. They thought it was the worst idea. There were some technical reasons why we were doing it for sure but I really felt like it was a different experience. If the Wii caters to families and kids, this is a softer side. It's not as hard edged and real. Ghostbusters fans and collectors of which there are a lot of will play - possibly buy and play both. We had to change the script and make it a bit different here and there. It turned out as a big win for the sales but it was an uphill battle. Sony was supportive of it because it's a different version, a different take, a different market. The actors wanted to make sure their features were still 1991 features and not cartoony big bellies and old guys. Their approval process was a little more difficult."