I consider myself a pretty fortunate person. Especially as an animation fan, because I
got to grow up during the early nineties. That was a great time for animation. And it
was a great time for video games, too. But as a kid...I never understood why they didn't
always work together. Like, how can there even be such a thing as a bad Ren & Stimpy
game?
Ren & Stimpy is amazing. Video games are cool. How can you...like, it's math, right?
How can Aaahh!!! Real Monsters be such a lousy game?
Anyway, if you weren't around back then...you missed some pretty awesome cartoons. In the
prior decade, animation had sunk to an all-time low. But then, in the early nineties, Nickelodeon
had this crazy idea...to let cartoonists make cartoons. The result was the Nicktoons. Cartoons
that were daring, and innovative...yet also harkened back to the glory years.
The first three were Rugrats, Doug and of course, Ren & Stimpy. But next came Rocko's
Modern Life, another incredible cartoon...and then a year later, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.
I loved Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. I still do.
So I take no pleasure in saying...this is a lousy game.
So this thing was released in 1995, right around the tail end of the 16-bit era. And
if there's anything it does right, it's the graphics...in all their 16-bit glory. I mean,
it's not like this is the most gorgeous Genesis game ever released, or anything...but it really
captures the show's distinct, bizarre style. Great sprites, great color...and the animation
is even better.
Again, not really exceptional...but it does look good.
Just as a game based on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters should.
Unfortunately, the gameplay is so boring, it doesn't make much of a difference. This
is your typical, everyday, generic 16-bit platformer. Despite the fact that, at first,
it doesn't seem to be. You control all three of show's main characters, tagging in and
out as you need to, and each one has different abilities. Which sounds awesome, right? Yeah,
it's not that awesome.
See, the gameplay is so unrefined, the differences between the characters come across as underdeveloped.
It's not like Donkey Kong Country, for example, where the characters have clear and distinct
differences. With this one, it's more like...
"Oh, I guess she kind of jumps higher."
Each one has a special move, but...they're too specific to certain situations. Can't
reach a ledge? Switch to Oblina, done. You know? In other words, it's not like the special
moves are general enough to be useful in a lot of situations. They're useful in a situation.
Which also makes the character switching less interesting than it should be.
And you know, in terms of the gameplay itself...this just isn't a very good platformer. It's often
cheap...even more often, frustrating. That's one thing I don't miss about the nineties.
Like, game developers back then were just total dicks. At least in the arcades, it made
sense to have a tough game. But when you're making licensed console games this tough?
You're not a smart businessman. You're just an *sshole.
I mean, it's Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. Not Aaahh!!! Real *ssholes.
So the gameplay isn't that great, the controls are little wonky...you can really tell most
of the effort went into the game's presentation. Because it does look good...and it sounds
alright, too. But unfortunately, that doesn't really make the game worth playing. If you
want that nostalgia buzz, just watch the show. That's actually good, and worth your time.
That was the good part of the nineties.
This is the bad part.
It's, like...boy bands, Furbies, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters for the SEGA Genesis.
Big thanks to Joseph from Oak Forest, Illinois, for sending it to the show.