Based on Tim Burton and Deane Taylor's film The Nightmare Before Christmas, you control Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King in this sequel to the original film. As Jack you must fight to claim back Halloweentown after the towns folk put back together Oogie Boogie while Jack was away. Now Oogie is controlling the town and it's up to Jack to claim back his crown and save the town.

Using different costumes grants Jack different abilities and attacks including fighting as Jack Skellington, breathing fire as the Pumpkin King or throwing explosive presents as Santa Jack. Using the power of dancing gives Jack the upper hand when fighting Oogie and his henchmen in a timed button pressing sequence, which lets Jack strut his stuff or get beaten badly with poorly timed button presses.