Stranger Things Made A Mistake With An Old School Game... Or Did It?

"Stranger Things returned for Season 5 Vol. 1 last month, and the series is taking one last bow in the '80s before concluding later in December. Usually, the show is pretty sharp about not making major mistakes in the time period or anachronisms that shouldn't be there. But this time, the show made an apparent goof with an old-school Nintendo game. As spotted on Time Extension, Hawkins' latest home-grown bully, Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly), was playing the notoriously difficult Ghosts 'n Goblins on his NES."

"However, the version of the game playing on the screen was actually the original arcade game that was released by Capcom in 1985. I love Stranger Things, but Season 5 just committed a cardinal sin. They show a kid playing 'Nintendo' in his room... but the TV is clearly running the arcade version of Ghosts 'n Goblins, NOT the NES port. My retro heart can't take it! 😫 pic.twitter.com/LRZJOOjCTM - My Retro Life (@myretrolifeshow) November 29, 2025"

"On the face of it, this seems like an easy mistake to make for anyone who didn't grow up in the '80s. That said, it's also possible that this isn't a mistake and the arcade version of Ghosts 'n Goblins was used on-screen because it's simply a better looking version of the game. To demonstrate, this is what the NES port looks like: The original Nintendo was a good home console for its era, but it couldn't make the game look as good as it did in the arcade. This version also had better music and sound effects."

Season 5 Vol. 1 of Stranger Things returns and remains set in the 1980s. A scene depicts Derek Turnbow appearing to play Ghosts 'n Goblins on an NES, but the footage shows the original 1985 Capcom arcade version. The arcade presentation displays superior visuals and audio compared with the NES port, which had weaker graphics and sound. The discrepancy could be an inadvertent production goof or an intentional choice to use the better-looking arcade footage. The mix-up is characterized as a minor anachronism compared with more glaring on-set mistakes in other productions. Related merchandising includes a D&D/Stranger Things TTRPG and a Fortnite crossover.

Read at GameSpot