The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge

Tim Burton’s *The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge* is a 2004 action-adventure game from Capcom for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It takes place a year after the 1993 film, with Jack Skellington trying to stop a revived Oogie Boogie and take back Halloween Town. Capcom handled publishing in Japan and Europe, while Buena Vista Games released it in North America.

The gameplay borrows from the *Devil May Cry* series but is tuned to be simpler for younger or less experienced players—both games came from Capcom. Later in the story, Jack can transform into Santa Jack, who uses three kinds of presents against enemies, and the Pumpkin King, who can set foes on fire or drop a bomb. There are 24 main chapters plus two secret ones. Players fight enemies, do platforming, and solve puzzles. Each mission gets a letter grade from A to D, with an S for top performance, based on completion time, longest combo, damage taken, and how many enemies were surprised.

The holiday-world doors are unlocked after certain levels but only serve as plot items—they don’t let you visit other holiday towns. Later chapters do allow entry to Christmas Town. Santa Jack (earned by defeating Doctor Finkelstein) can stun or freeze enemies with presents, and the Pumpkin King (gained after saving Sally from a giant spider) can burn enemies and open doors. Several unlockable costumes exist but give no special abilities.

A year after the film, Jack Skellington finds Halloween boring and repetitive. He talks to Dr. Finkelstein about making the next Halloween scarier. The doctor gives him a green whip-like weapon called the Soul Robber. Jack leaves town to find new frights, leaving the doctor in charge. Lock, Shock, and Barrel, also bored, revive Oogie Boogie, who plots revenge. On December 23, Sally—trapped in Dr. Finkelstein’s lab—sends a magical paper airplane to warn Jack.

Jack returns to Halloween Town on Christmas Eve afternoon and is attacked by monsters. He fights them off with the Soul Robber and learns Oogie is back and that Dr. Finkelstein booby-trapped the whole town. In the town hall, Jack fights and defeats Oogie’s shadow, then finds the Halloween Holiday Door.

After securing the town square, Jack learns Oogie’s monsters kidnapped Sally and took her to the cemetery.