Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker is a beat 'em up platformer side scrolling game developed by Sega and released in 1990.

Plot
The evil mobster, Mr. Big is planning to kidnap all the children on Earth with hopes on getting them hooked on drugs and selling them into slavery.

Michael Jackson, dressed in a white fedora and suit sets out to rescue the children using the power of his Star Magic, the super power sent to him via a shooting star.

Gameplay
Players play as Michael Jackson in the game, with the goal to find all the children in a stage and rescue them.

Michael uses 'Star Magic' in this game which allow him to pull off his various moves. There is a star meter on the bottom half of the screen, and holding down the button allows Michael to perform stronger star magic abilities such as throwing his hat like a projectile, knocking enemies out with a spin dance or even forcing all enemies on stage to dance along with him.

There's also a standard shoot stars ability that allows Michael to fire a small projectile from his hands and feet without using too much of the meter up.

When Michael's Star Magic meter is low, his star shots will reduce in distance. If the meter turns red, Michael will be unable to use Star Magic and will instead fight with his fists at close range.

The star meter will also decrease if Michael is hurt, as it acts as a health bar of sorts. Finding and saving a child will restore a little of the Star Magic meter and increase Michael's health.

Upon rescuing all the children in a stage, in the Mega Drive version Bubbles, Michael's pet chimp will appear and help Michael by guiding him to where Mr. Big is located. In the Master System version, Michael will be transported directly to where Mr. Big was last seen.

Upon finding Mr. Big, he will flee leaving Michael to deal with a boss encounter or fight a horde of enemies.

When this fight is over Michael rescues the final child of the level before progressing forward to the next stage.

Near the end of the game, a shooting star allows Michael to become a robot that shoots lasers out of his eyes. The Mega Drive version has this remain in a platformer section, whilst the Master System version has it set up like a shooting gallery.

Upon defeating the last of Mr. Big's goons, Michael takes off in his spaceship(or possibly IS the spaceship) and enters a shooter style game against Mr. Big in space.

Trivia

 * This game was produced and designed by Michael Jackson himself.
 * The second player plays as Michael in a red suit. The two player in this is alternate turn play.
 * This was part of a marketing strategy in North America to help promote the games industry by using famous celebrities as the stars and names in their video games.
 * The Master System version showcases Michael turning into a robot and then transforming into a car in the opening.
 * The music consists of various Michael Jackson hits such as Smooth Criminal, Thriller and Billy Jean.
 * This isn't the only time Michael has worked with Sega:
 * He was such a big fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, that he requested to help on Sonic the Hedgehog 3's soundtrack, and was hired by Sega of America to do so. This has been speculated as the reason Sonic 3 rarely gets ported in it's completed form.
 * He appears as himself in Space Channel 5: Part 2 as Space Michael in an expanded role after being impressed with Space Channel 5's pre-release and requesting a cameo in the original title.
 * Whilst not strictly him, a Michael Jackson parody character called Miracle Johnson appears in Yakuza 0. He even moonwalks and references Michael's songs.