A big portion of ’90s youngsters look again on Rugrats with nice fondness. As one of many defining cartoons of each the last decade and the community of Nickelodeon, Rugrats spawned its justifiable share of licensed video video games, however final week’s announcement of a brand new one nonetheless got here as a shock. That sport, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland, would not simply characteristic retro sensibilities – it is an precise all-new retro sport inbuilt 2023. Though the primary Rugrats online game did not launch till the late ’90s, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland provides you the total retro expertise, paying homage to the period of gaming that Rugrats fully missed regardless of first airing in 1991.
However, whereas many video games pay homage to the late ’80s and early ’90s aesthetic (learn our preview of one other sport that includes the same aesthetic popping out of PAX West 2023, Mina the Hollower, right here), Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland takes it a step additional. Not content material with merely trying and enjoying like an NES sport, builders The Mix Games and Wallride really created the title for the NES, and with publishing dealt with by common bodily sport firm Limited Run Games, you’ll really have the ability to purchase a working NES cartridge model of the sport when it releases. If you are like me and haven’t got a working NES, do not fret: The sport is out there on all trendy platforms as properly.
My demo, which came about on an NES, spanned one stage of the sport. In Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland, you’ll be able to select between the core child group – Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil – every with distinct leaping stats. Stages could be performed in single-participant or two-participant co-op, with gamers capable of revive downed infants in the event that they take an excessive amount of injury. The story follows the infants after they see a industrial for a brand new Reptar online game, then think about themselves inside a sport. The six phases happen within the Pickles’ residence, however after an preliminary display screen, the stage transforms right into a extra fantastical setting.
In my demo, I’m first greeted by an 8-bit model of the title card from the cartoon, full with a chiptune model of the title card jingle. It’s a pleasant contact, significantly given the presentation model the builders went for. My stage begins within the yard at Tommy’s home, and after recognizing Tommy’s father, Stu, distracted by the grill, my character climbs up right into a tree and the world round them transforms right into a jungle setting.
I set out as Tommy, essentially the most properly-rounded jumper within the group. After dodging and leaping on high of varied jungle animals, I crack open a bud, which blossoms right into a bouncy flower to let me attain a better platform. Other sequences require me to select up blocks and stack them to achieve increased up. Probably essentially the most tough portion of my demo required me to leap from vine to vine whereas birds flew forwards and backwards, knocking me into the perilous pit under.
After a vertical climbing sequence, my playtime culminates in a boss battle in opposition to a gorilla, who climbs within the tree cover out of attain. The beast drops projectiles and enemies from above. My path to victory is to leap on high of the enemies to stun them, then toss them again on the gorilla, all whereas avoiding the hazards falling from above. It’s not a very tough encounter, however I might see how the battle would hassle some gamers.
While I benefit from the 8-bit aesthetic, I used to be pleased to study that the model on trendy platforms contains the flexibility to toggle to a widescreen HD model with the identical visible model because the Nickelodeon cartoon. Since my arms-on demo was the NES model, I did not get to see it in motion, however I can already inform that might be my most popular artwork model as soon as I get my arms on the ultimate model of the sport.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland was a giant shock announcement, however I used to be additionally pleasantly stunned by how a lot enjoyable I had with the sport. Though the Rugrats franchise missed the practice on the NES period of gaming, it is enjoyable to think about what might have been via Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland. Expect to play it someday in 2024 on trendy platforms and NES.
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