OldMajorInc.Blogspot Retro Video Game Review!
"Kenny Loggins's Danger Zone" (Nintendo - 1986)
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We kick off our retro video game review feature here at OldMajorInc.blogspot with a look at a classic game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Rock superstar Kenny Loggins lent his likeness to this action-packed title released to great fanfare in the fall of 1986. Loggins had recently scored another chart-topping rocker with his high-powered "(Highway To The)Danger Zone" from the stellar "Top Gun" soundtrack album, but fans were not prepared for the video game classic he was about to unleash upon the world.

The original "Kenny Loggins's Danger Zone" began as a coin-operated gaming machine, available primarily in urban markets where Loggins has always found his greatest popularity. The large, bulky machine featured two AK-47's mounted on its front console as players fired at cops and military personnel in a story arc that involved Loggins (and partner Jim Messina for two-player games) in a bizarre mission to overthrow the government. Graphics were adequate at best, gameplay was erratic, and the story was somewhat confusing, but the real draw were the speakers that blasted out Loggins's "(Highway To The)Danger Zone" constantly. For most players, it was that fantastic song, and not the game, that kept them playing.

For the home version of "Kenny Loggins's Danger Zone," some redesigning was in order. Not being able to rely on the crutch of the greatness of the song itself to lure in players , Loggins's production team decided to focus on gameplay. The result is a video game classic that broke new ground in gaming and has since become a cult classic for gamers and rockers alike.

Once again, players can choose to play either solo or with a friend. Choices have been expanded to include not only Messina (once again wielding his trademark AK-47 from the original game), as well as Michael McDonald (armed with grenades and rocket launcher), Carly Simon (wielding a katana and a special ninja-based set of attacks), and David Crosby (sporting a flamethrower and special "super strength" potential triggered by brown bags hidden throughout the game.) Their mission is described in a series of cut-scenes: Colonel Gaddafi and his minions threaten the world from a jungle compound in the heart of Libya, and Ronald Reagen has appointed Loggins and his elite team to save the world from certain destruction. (In an interesting sidenote, Reagen actually added his own voice to the game, having long been a fan of Loggins and Messina's "Sittin 'In" LP.)

The game itself doesn't have quite the visceral impact of its coin-operated counterpart, but this could be due to the poor translation of the song on its soundtrack. "(Highway To The)Danger Zone" was meant to be played loud, repeatedly, in an urban area, not in the comforts of home while playing a video game. "Kenny Loggins's Danger Zone" has its share of violence and action, and some of the levels are ingeniously designed, but it simply cannot compare to the power of the man's music. We here at OldMajorInc.blogspot don't need a complicated plot of battling Libyan terrorists to rock out to Mr. Loggins. No sir, just give us the music. And crank it up.