Classic Cartoons That Should Get (GOOD) Video Games

[Jason Wynn]

The Pirates of Dark Water had two games, one a ho-hum beat ‘em up on the SNES and the other a pretty mediocre adventure/platformer on the Genesis. I think you could get a pretty good action RPG out of it. The world building was pretty creative for an early 90s kids cartoon and there’s a lot to work with.

 

[Product Placement]

Play Looney Tunes Sheep Raider

But that is Ralph Wolf and nothing like Pain

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Ren & Stimpy deserve a new game. It had a few but they were all shitty or mediocre at best.

 

[Snakebottom]

They should really do a game based on that Pokémon anime, maybe like a top down RTS?

 

[AlmightyMagichan]

I'd love an open world Invader Zim or Powerpuff game too, not sure how the gameplay would be in either.

The closest thing we ever got to Zim game was Destroy All Humans, but an actual Zim game would be sweet. Maybe something along the lines of a more tame GTA clone like Simpsons Hit and Run. Going around the city causing mayhem while keeping it within the shows boundaries where Zim can turn people into hot dogs or sic an angry beaver on them. And when you get caught by the police or paranormal investigators, they can't figure out Zim is an alien so they let you go.

Not sure how a PPG game would work. They're essentially Superman and he doesn't have the best track record when it comes to games.

 

[Broseph]

A brand new Simpsons game that uses retro 2D pixel artwork, as in it looks like a "lost" game from the early 90's at the height of SimpsonsMania. I guess it could work as a beat-'em-up like the old Simpsons arcade game or a action/adventure game or maybe a point and click adventure game like Virtual Springfield.

 

[BrunoMattei]

A brand new Simpsons game that uses retro 2D pixel artwork, as in it looks like a "lost" game from the early 90's at the height of SimpsonsMania. I guess it could work as a beat-'em-up like the old Simpsons arcade game or a action/adventure game or maybe a point and click adventure game like Virtual Springfield.

I'd just take a good remake of the arcade game with new 2D art and more (I hate to say "references" but) things from the classic seasons including new levels, bosses, and enemies. Make Poochie the final boss. Sure. Fuck it.

Bonus: the minigames are replaced with games from the show. So you get to play My Dinner with Andre the arcade game, Larry the Looter, etc. And they're at least one level. So not exactly a full game but something that can be played for a little bit.

As beat em ups are back in fashion, Batman the Animated Series would fit one well.

I'm sure you're aware but there's 2 games. Not counting Game Boy/Game Gear downgraded ports. The SNES version is closer to what you're asking and is a fine game. The Genesis version is a game I love to gush over whenever I see an opportunity and it truly is a hidden gem on the system.

It's a supremely good Run 'N Gun, the sprites are great and were drawn by the BTAS staff, levels are varied, the soundtrack is fucking insane and makes you want to drop acid and pull out your glowsticks (no homo) and it pulls off some really technically impressive shit on the Genesis and you can see that 54:06 with the Mad Hatter boss fight. I think it might be a masterpiece despite a really mediocre overhead SHMUP level that the devs admitted that they added just to pad out the game.

Blah blah blah yes, I know about the Sega CD game. It's a mediocre car racer (?) notable only for the cutscenes made by the BTAS staff and fully voice acted.

 

[skykiii]

Not sure how a PPG game would work. They're essentially Superman and he doesn't have the best track record when it comes to games.

My first thought is maybe compartmentalize the different powers. Some stages would be based on super-speeding through the city (gotta have those colored light streaks) and those would play I guess like the mine cart section in Super Mario RPG, or they could be like a flight-based racing game. Fighting could suddenly go into Marvel vs Capcom style except the PPG are hella overpowered and every fight is like fighting Onslaught in MVC1 (who was basically a side-scroller boss fight but inside a fighting game engine). Melee battles against anyone equal to the PPG (like say, Him) could be a sort of rhythm game and you land/dodge successfully if you keep to the beat, but get hurt if you miss. I guess that last bit sounds like a basically more exciting Dragon's Lair.

I don't know if an Open-World PPG game would work. That was my second thought but there are issues, mainly the one that always comes with open world--how do you stop the game from feeling bland and repetitive, and keep the game feeling like you're playing an episode of the show.

 

[X Prime]

The world building was pretty creative for an early 90s kids cartoon and there’s a lot to work with.

Don't even think about it. They would fag up Ren in Current Year +7.

You know I'm probably right.

 

[skykiii]

I'm sure you're aware but there's 2 games. Not counting Game Boy/Game Gear downgraded ports.

I can't speak for the Game Gear but the Game Boy Batman TAS game was NOT a "port." It was a case of "same title but completely different game." Just like Return of the Joker NES vs Game Boy weren't the same game.

Main thing I remember about the Game Boy one was it actually did a pixel art recreation of the B:TAS intro, which I found pretty impressive.

 

[skykiii]

You know what would be absolutely KINO? Scooby-Doo as a first-person horror game. I wanna run around old decrepit mansions and hide from the spooky ghost that turns out to be just Old Man Jenkins in disguise

I agree with this in a weird way. I've bitched a lot about horror games and shitty twists, but I actually really like the concept of the Scooby Doo hoax and paranormal stuff being cleverly faked.

And one genius point of Scooby in particular is that its a setting where its shown a lot of times that paranormal stuff is in fact real. Which in my mind, always A) explained why people would be cautious until the culprit is unmasked and B) actually makes the hoax itself more believable--its easier to think "this might be a real monster" if you know for a fact monsters CAN be real, after all.

Also, if done right, it can add a detective story aspect to what would normally be just a shitty horror game. In fact its something I often do--look for ways that this whole thing could be fake. And detective stories are interesting in that they're the one genre where trying to outsmart the author is the entire appeal of the story. If you figure it out, you're smart. In other genres, figuring out where its going ahead of time just means the story is lame and predictable.

I actually once had an idea or a Scooby fangame... problem is I have no idea how to make fangames. But the basic concept would be an exploration of most of the "eras" of Scooby (so one chapter would be Where Are You, one would be Pup, one would be What's New Scooby Doo, etc) where they solve different mysteries that are normal, but each time they notice a bizarre connection, and then the final episode would have a real paranormal menace. I also want to do a thing where Scooby and Shaggy get less overtly cowardly over time and more comfortable around ghosts (since in my head the events of the Boo Brothers movie is canon). They're still cautious but they're not ruled by fear.

(And no, I wouldn't have anything bad happen to Scrappy or have him become a villain--I honestly hate how those are the default treatment for unpopular characters. I'd rather try to find a way to make him work).

.................. Currently, the best Scooby game I know of is on the Sega Genesis, though I only know the SNES and Genesis ones (which both have the same title but are completely different games, the SNES one being a weird platformer with inventory puzzles).

 

[moocow]

I'm so disappointed nobody has nominated Tom & Jerry for a proper game treatment. And I'm talking the old school stuff, with the nigger cook and guttural screams of pain when a tail catches fire or toes get pounded by hammers.

C'mon, they can dream up countless gory fatalities for the myriad Mortal Kombat incarnations. Surely they can come up with a good number of gags for a T&J game.

 

[skykiii]

I'm so disappointed nobody has nominated Tom & Jerry for a proper game treatment. And I'm talking the old school stuff, with the nigger cook and guttural screams of pain when a tail catches fire or toes get pounded by hammers.

C'mon, they can dream up countless gory fatalities for the myriad Mortal Kombat incarnations. Surely they can come up with a good number of gags for a T&J game.

There actually was once a Tom and Jerry fighting game. I've heard mixed feelings on it--its apparently one of those "some people think its garbage, other an unsung classic" things. It was for PC and N64 IIRC.

Either way, someone should do another crack at it, with destructable (and weaponizable) environments and some gimmick where you can pull weapons out of hammerspace like they do in the cartoon.

The Story Mode should include a retelling of the infamous Tom and Jerry movie (the one that was actually about a little girl looking for her dad, Indiana Jones) except in this version the girl, the villains, and all their shit keeps getting hijacked by Tom, Jerry, and their cast causing all sorts of chaos.

 

[Basic Blond Boy]

I would love a King of the Hill point and click adventure game. Or a David Cage style game.

It already exists:

 

[ShitLurker]

Right of the bat I have two. Swat Cats, there was only a very shitty snes game that I'm aware of with meh platforming segments and horrible flight sections on Mode 7. An Ace Combat style game with some puzzle elements on when to use the more esoteric missiles could be fun.

The other is Gargoyles. I believe there was a SNES/Genesis action platformer that was also meh at best. Not so sure what genre I'd dump this in, but would definitely enjoy something that allowed the Gargoyles to flex their mobility. Maybe even go with one of the sidestories that were trapped in the concept stage like Brooklyn getting trapped by the Phoenix Gate travelling through multiple periods and forming his hown family/clan.

 

[Basic Blond Boy]

May as well do a check list of games that do exist:

I'd love an open world Invader Zim or Powerpuff game too, not sure how the gameplay would be in either.

Powerpuff Girls technically has 2 open world games. The first is Relish Rampage which made it onto PS2 and GC.

The second is connected to a larger game. As a conclusion to LEGO Dimensions, the Powerpuff Girls were added and thus given the standard open world like every IP in that title. Only caveat is that it is 2016 PPG.

There is also FusionFall, which technically has open-world PPG, but it is small areas between the City and suburbs of the game.

As for Zim, the closest thing is Globs of Doom.

Codename: Kids Next door or Code Lyoko

KND had a platformer beat-‘em-up for PS2 and GC:

Code Lyoko did have console games as well.

They should really do a game based on that Pokémon anime, maybe like a top down RTS?

Technically Pokémon Puzzle League on N64 is.

Ren & Stimpy deserve a new game. It had a few but they were all shitty or mediocre at best.

If you don’t mind Nickelodeon, the duo is still in all the recent games be it Nick Kart Racers 2&3 or Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 1&2

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

I'd love an open world Invader Zim or Powerpuff game too

LOL that's literally just Destroy All Humans, your boss alien Orthopox is even voiced by Zim's voice actor.

I want this but as an actual real game and not a meme game.

 

[Drain Todger]

The Secret of NIMH, but as a stealth-platformer like Styx.

 

[xXx: State of the Union]

I was going to say Street Sharks, but then I wondered if they made a game and did a search and found this.

lmao

 

[Basic Blond Boy]

As a personal one for me, I would really want an open-world Adventure Time game that isn’t tied to LEGO or has Ooo flooded so the devs can be lazy. Adventure Time is a massive fever dream that feels liked drugged up Zelda, it was practically begging for this type of game. Give me BOTW with a tube boy and his stretchy dog.

I guess I can at least be thankful that AT does have good games. LEGO Dimensions is the closest to what I want, and Hey Ice King Why’d You Steal our Garbage is a great retro throwback to Zelda 2.

---

Also, we need another Cartoon Network Smash Bros.. Punch Time Explosion was genuinely a great clone and I am dying for a new Subspace-like experience, to which the first offered. I know Multiversus exists and I love the AT representation, but it isn’t a true CN title and will likely take forever to get to more moderate CN shows such as Billy & Mandy. If I can just get XL’s roster with the additions of Courage, Cow & Chicken, Ed Edd n’ Eddy, Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Gumball, I would be content.