Cartoon Capers on the GameBoy Advance
I've always loved watching cartoons as both a child and an adult. One thing that I began to realise when I started my love affair with retrogaming was that a lot of cartoons became computer games, but very few managed it successfully. I decided that there must be good conversions out there somewhere and where better to search for them than the hand held GameBoy Advance. Do the characters look like the cartoons? Is there any game play to be had at all? I've actually been pleasantly surprised!
So here are my exploits so far, concentrating mainly on the first level/tutorial of the games.
So here are my exploits so far, concentrating mainly on the first level/tutorial of the games.
From N - Z
Noddy: A Day in Toyland - This is actually a really good game for the young gamer. It's really quite hard to fail a level, the music is lovely, it's a game that respects the original Noddy idea. The only downside is that jumping to get the coins needs the front of Noddy's head to hit them and not just the back of his hat. It's part platformer , part driving game. Is some reading involved , but big bright text. Great little game!
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Open Season- This is an utter joy, even if you haven't seen the film the game gives you enough plot to make it fun. The music is jolly , the introduction levels are fun and the graphics are beautiful. The characters match the film perfectly and controls are very smooth. This is among one of my favourite cartoon tie-in games.
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Over The Hedge - a great little exploration, find the sweets and avoid the humans game, lots of characters to control. Graphics are great on this one. It is very wordy though, which is great if you haven't seen the film for a while. Starts off nice and easy perfect for younger gamers. Really do like this game !
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Peter Pan: Return to Neverland - Arrgggh! The jumping / flying on this is horrible, I'm sorry, but it really is. Trying to stay with the children to fly on the second part of the level seems impossible. Shame as the graphics are nice and atmospheric, but I feel it is really let down by that horrible floaty jump.
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Disney's Piglet's Big Game - A bit lost for words on this one, it's not very good. Piglet deserves better, collect cookies to get Piglet a new 'brave face' so Piglet can help friends through bad dreams. Sorry , but the graphics are yuck, the game play is poor and the way Piglet walks is just wrong! Better Pooh games are available !
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The Pink Panther Pinkadelic Pursuit - it looks like the Pink Panther, the game play is manic, prepare to be turned upside down. For me the colours are far too bright and migraine inducing. But perhaps it's aimed at a younger market who don't remember the classic cartoons. One for the young 'uns.
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Popeye Rush For Spinach - pleasantly surprised , the characters look recognisable, it plays well, there has been an attempt to modernise the characters into skateboarding in places , but, yes, this one works!
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Postman Pat and the Greendale Rocket - This game is an utter joy to play, even as an adult it just seems to have been created with so much love for the character. Pat is animated beautifully ( Jess the cat , not so much!) . The music and graphics are beautiful , the first stage is certainly easy enough for the younger gamer, perhaps with a few hints. Lovely game!
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Ratatouille - quite a fun little platformer coupled with a strange cooking simulator. The platformer is nice large chunky graphics with a time limit , lots of things to climb and slide and balance on. The cooking simulator is ...well let's just concentrate on the platformer game shall we! Graphics aren't them most breath taking but they do the job. Think it will only really appeal to those that liked the film.
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Rugrats: Castle Capers - The graphics and the theme tune are here, but gameplay? You can pick your character and pick which land you play but controls are just not quite right, levels are too tricky for the young player and it just wouldn't appeal to an older player. Needs a little bit more finesse I think!
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Rugrats: I Gotta Go Party- A hide and seek game with a mini game each time a character is found. In principle a great idea, but some of the mini games are a little tricky for the age range the game is aimed at. Graphics are very much of the cartoon style and the theme music is there as well.
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Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase - Ever wanted to see Daphne ride a jet-ski? Then this is the game for you! Seriously though, a nice little adventure with plenty to do. As one character is captured you swap to the next in line so lots of time to play. Nice graphics, nice music, great controls. Great fun.
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Scooby-Doo Mystery Mayhem - Another great little game ( other than the laugh track on certain scenes) , it is a bit wordy, which can detract from the action, the graphics are recognisable and well animated , controls well, lots of puzzles to solve and one I will be going back to!
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Shark Tale - It's street wise, it's funky. It's graphically fairly true to the film and the game music fits the bill. But...for me..the controls have a bit too much inertia going on. The game play is collect tokens and carry out tasks and if you liked the film then this could prove an interesting distraction. It just feels like something is lacking in the wow factor for me.
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Shrek - Nice graphics, nice character audio, nice graphics and nice controls , in fact just like the movies, there's a lot of good in this game. The tutorial isn't boring , the instructions are clear , yep, this is a good one!
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Shrek 2 Beg For Mercy - A nice little platformer with lots of characters to control, but worth playing alone for seeing the animated swagger on Puss In Boots! Plays very similar to the first game, but if you love the film franchise you would be on to a winner with this one. Nicely designed characters and interesting backgrounds as well.
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Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway - Oh dear, stick to Mario Kart, glitchy controls, not the best graphics, can control all of your favourite characters but do yourself a favour and play the other two Shrek games above!
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The Revenge of the Smurfs - You can certainly see from the graphics these are Smurfs, the music is bouncy and jolly , limited tutorial . Jumping is tricky in this one, lining up where you land seems to be a tad tricky, especially when you jump off the top of the screen , perhaps the Smurfs have different gravity?
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SpongeBob-Squarepants-Supersponge - I really tried to like this game, it's bright and colourful, full of the Spongebob sense of humour , gives you lots of energy before you lose a life. But, it just doesn't work for me. I couldn't even get off the first level, that may just be me, but it just felt there was some game play lacking on this particular version.
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SpongeBob SquarePants - Battle for Bikini Bottom - This is my own personal opinion , others may not feel the same, but the controls on this are so confusing, jumping is infuriating. I really want to like this one, the characters are beautifully rendered, it has that SpongeBob humour, but for me the controls spoil the game.
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Tarzan - Return to the Jungle - I really want to like this, the graphics are beautiful, the music is lovely. But...I find the tutorial a little confusing, and the controls confusing. Plus the tutorial misses out skills you will need on the first level. But extra points for not just scrolling right on the levels, don't forget to explore left as well on this game.
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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King - Too much text, far too much text, nice animation, doesn't really catch the vibe of the film, but did I mention the amount of text?
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Tiny Toon Adventures - Scary Dreams - This game I think could be quite clever if you've got kids with nightmare issues , playing your way through levels of scary stuff and defeating each thing with the help of your favourite characters. Even as one player the computer controls the second character, each character has different skills. Lovely graphics , jolly tune and I think lots of game play as it is quite challenging.
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TMNT- I was expecting big things from this game , I wasn't disappointed. This plays so well, it's a hack and slash , but it is graphically brilliant, great soundtrack, just enough of a storyline to keep it interesting. A little bit of tactics involved as well, great game.
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Tom and Jerry Tales - I'm a little confused, this is a game for younger gamers I am presuming, let's hope they have lightning reflexes then! Very quick controls on this, imaginative ( if you like the cartoon violence associated with Tom and Jerry ) , but that is it's problem, you have to enjoy that type of 'let's beat the cat up ' style of cartoon. Modern gamers may not find it sits too well on that account. Not too impressed with this one on account of those far too responsive controls.
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Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring - oh dear, it's rather like Golden Axe with Tom and Jerry, controls seems way too fast, game play is pretty much beat up the other character with various implements . There just doesn't seem to be much in the way of game play here, either for a child or an adult.
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Tom and Jerry in Infurnal Escape - Tom has been killed by a falling piano and is in the underworld, it's a platform game, this time beating up dogs. It's not really very much in the spirit of Tom & Jerry. This one I think comes under the heading of annoying, the controls seem a little sluggish and that music soon becomes annoying.
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Winnie The Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure - It's Pooh and he stumps along so beautifully in this game for much younger players, but saying that , there is a lot of reading in this game. My feeling is the game is a little confused at just what age group it's appealing to. Puzzle solving and game play seems to indicate an older player than I feel the game theme would appeal to, but that's just me! Graphics are beautiful , text is in the style of the books and there's lots of honey to find.
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Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5 - What a great little game, music is great , the idea is simple but very addictive, controls are fantastic, gentle learning curve, challenging but not too challenging. A very, very nice , find the keys type game.
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