The Ren & Stimpy Show: Space Cadet Adventures

"A game for Veeediots!"

Remember Ren and Stimpy? Good times, and I say that with complete sincerity. I was seven when Ren and Stimpy first premiered (1991), and as an eccentric little kid with a flair for the absurd and vulgar, the show was COMPLETELY up my alley, so I remember it fondly. The video games, not so much. As with any popular and enjoyable television show, terrible video game spin-offs will plague the market. This little gem for gameboy is no exception.

So the entire game, as you might have guessed, centers around Ren and Stimpy as space cadets. And, like any episode of Ren and Stimpy (particularly space cadet episodes), everything that can goes straight to Hell. Each level builds off the tragedy of the previous (this game is a tragedy! Oh yeah, I went there, sista!). I won't bother with plot, you can tell where it goes.

So! Let's talk about levels, baby! Let's talk about it! (you know what else was popular in the early 90's? Salt-n-Pepa!). There are, like, four levels in the game. Four very slow, very long levels. All levels involve jumping across large gaps while dodging bouncing hazards, shooting hazards, falling hazards, I think you get the idea. Yah, sure, the object changes from level to level, but whether you're dodging meteors or falling 8-balls, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. Each level becomes an exercise in exact timing – the kind that gnaws at your soul. Luckily, the designers did something right and threw in lotsa powdered toast for health (and if you don't get that, why are you playing this game?) So, in conclusion, we have a few overly long, overly difficult levels that tax your timing and your sanity. As a concession you occasionally will stumble on TV sets where you can watch the muddy mudskipper show and, if you call 2 of 3 coin tosses, get invincibility!

Ren or Stimpy (our hero changes with the level) moves slowly, like he's very medicated (or maybe gravity is just weaker – except this is a video game based off of a cartoon, so physics don't mean a thing!) Both are particularly lame heroes, but Ren is the worst. Stimpy can vomit a projectile furball across the screen, but Ren can only slap his foes.What's worse is that Ren's hand is a weapon, but his arm is part of his body, so if you are too close when you hit the monster, you hurt yourself. Thankfully, monsters are rare, but to make up for it, there are more natural hazards in each level than the state of California (where the seasons are earthquake, fire, mudslide and wrath of an angry God).

Graphically, the game has a lot of detail, but on a 4-bit gameboy, that just looks crowded and gaudy. Cut scenes are pulled off with much greater simplicity and success. Music is the biggest culprit in this game. It is the same very poor rendition of the TV show theme song playing throughout the entire game, and it gets old after the first ten seconds. You don't want to listen to that for the next four levels.

Too hard, bad music, lame heroes, and hackneyed levels. Yup, this sounds like EVERY video game based off of a TV show.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 05/12/05