After nearly a decade, Stranger Things is in its fifth and final season, and the Netflix series about kids fighting evil monsters is still dripping with ‘80s nostalgia. This includes a scene where a kid is playing Ghost ‘n Goblins, the classic NES platformer from 1985, on his NES. To most, this scene probably didn’t raise any red flags, but for eagle-eyed retro fans, this is a pretty glaring error from Stranger Things, whose whole shtick has been ‘80s references since the first season aired when Barack Obama was still president.
While Derek Turnbow, a new character in season five, seems to be playing Ghost ‘n Goblins on an NES, the game that appears on his television is actually the arcade version. Retro-focused outlet Time Extension points out the details that reveal this, like the big black borders shown on the screen. On the console, these black bars were nowhere to be seen. The arcade version uses these bars to show text overlays with the player’s score. The console version, meanwhile, just puts this information on top of the gameplay.
The error is all the more baffling because the set dressing has everything Stranger Things needs to just play the NES version. There’s an actual Nintendo Entertainment System plugged into a TV, with the original Ghost ‘n Goblins cartridge inside, and yet, someone at Netflix used footage of the arcade version in the final episode. Retro fans are feeling some type of way about it.
“I wasn’t born during this decade and didn’t play it until years after I was born, […] but even I know what the game looks like on there,” PrivateLiker7625 wrote on Reddit. “Talk about an insult to the intelligence of those that grew up on this!”
“Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder,” dropthefunk wrote in another thread.
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
While the call for someone to lose their job is a bit extreme, it is an odd oversight considering all the ingredients for an accurate shot are seemingly in the room. Though the show is usually pretty consistent with its nostalgic callbacks, Stranger Things isn’t immune to continuity errors, with most of them typically being in using imagery and products that wouldn’t have existed in the show’s ‘80s setting.
