The Rugrats were a popular cartoon for Nickelodeon that began airing in mid to late 1991 (!) and ended around that same time in 2004. Talk about longevity for a cartoon. The episodes told the adventures of toddlers in diapers facing various challenges in their day to day lives (heavy use of imagination was involved). Oddly enough, Rugrats Adventures in Gameland, via Limited Run Games, will be the first time the franchise is available for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
HD or 8-Bit, Your Choice
Offering HD and 8-Bit versions of a game is a newer trend that I like. It is a nice offering that can help fans of either make that decision to buy. The stark difference is interesting, especially in Adventures in Gameland where the HD graphics are stylized in a retro motif.
There are only two action buttons used in Rugrats Adventures in Gameland. A jump and action (dropping hard from a jump, digging, picking up items, etc). It is a simple control method that works great, and the action button is contextual. I did not run into any situations in the demo where I wanted to do one thing, but the action button did something else, that is a sign of good game design.
I do have a gripe though. I am not a fan of collision with background objects. It seemed like in the sand/beach level, I could walk through the shovel near the bucket. This happened in some instances while later in the level, I had to jump over the shovel as it was now a solid object.
Let’s Discuss that Elephant
Limited Run Games currently has pre-orders open for the collector’s, regular edition physical, and a third unique version of Rugrats Adventures in Gameland. No matter if you own a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox Series X, you can get physical copies. Sorry PC gamers, you get the shaft on the physical releases for some reason (a crappy trend in my opinion).
Regular edition is the same across the board except for the NES version. The modern platforms also get a variant “VHS Edition” that is not available for the NES. Head over to Limited Run Games for the full details on what is different between each version of the game (besides price).
Fans of 2D side scrolling action platform games, Rugrats Adventures in Gameland might not sound like it could be fun but based on the demo, it definitely is.
Rugrats Adventures in Gameland by The Mix Games
Developer – The Mix Games and Wallride
In App Purchases – None known at time of writing
Genre – 2D Side Scrolling Action Platform
Rated – Pending at time of writing
Platform – Nintendo Switch (NES version via Limited Run Games), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Steam for PC
Want a steal of a deal on past Rugrats games? Check out eBay, via my affiliate link, to catch up on past games.
This article was originally posted on Hive.blog by me