In 1991, Nickelodeon wanted to start adding more original content to their network, particularly that in terms of animation. Thus, they created Nicktoons, The original three were Doug, Rugrats, and my personal favorite, The Ren and Stimpy Show. Focusing on the wacky adventures of a idiotic cat and a psychotic chihuahua, it could easily be described as "Baby's first dark comedy". It would revel in booger and hairball humor, but also give you some of the most disturbing stuff ever. Who can forget that whimsical moment where Ren contemplated murdering Stimpy in his sleep?
With the show's success would see a visit paid by the merch man. Ren and Stimpy had everything from toys to comic books to board games, and video games. A lot of video games. A lot of really bad video games. On the Super Nintendo alone there were four, all published by THQ. And while they tried to capture the feel of the show, they lacked in any real fun factor. Sega, however, didn't need to worry about giving THQ another license to bungle. Much like Jurassic Park and others, they got the rights to their own exclusive games. And speaking of Jurassic Park, Sega would have BlueSky Software develop their Genesis game Stimpy's Invention, the name based on the episode that gave us the classic "Happy Happy Joy Joy" song.
However, despite the similar title, this game has its own story. Stimpy invents the Mutate-O-Matic, a device that will turn garbage into food. However, when he turns his device on, it blows up. It's up to Ren and Stimpy to collect the scattered pieces. So, not the most heavily story driven plot, but for a Ren and Stimpy game, it works.
Stimpy's Invention is a one to two player action platformer. You control the titular eediots through six levels as you work to collect pieces of the broken Mutate-O-Matic. You move your character with the D-Pad. One of the things that makes the game so great and unique is the many combinations you can do with both characters. Pressing A with Ren will have him ride Stimpy like a horse, while as Stimpy, he uses Ren like a pole vault. Down and A uses either Ren like a shovel, or Stimpy like a jackhammer. B is your offensive button, which can do things like Throw Stimpy's nose in the air, use Ren as a boomerang, or fire projectile hairballs with Stimpy. C is jump, but you can also use Stimpy's farts to propel you higher, or Ren as a helicopter. You can even slap Stimpy around for kicks with Up and A as Ren. In single player mode, you can switch between characters by pausing the game.
You'll travel through many absurd areas. From the neighborhood to the inside of Mr. Horse's fridge (complete with Eye Scream and fridge walruses). Then to a zoo complete with hippos to hop, a monkey cage, and finally a level where you're filled with helium and have to traverse through a tricky maze with your wits and farts. You'll go through the streets, to the pound, try to survive a wrestling match against Lump and Loaf, head to the weird outdoors, and finally to the enormous Mutate-O-Matic to shut it off.
The strength of Stimpy's Invention is how much variety there is in the game's levels. While most levels are basic left-to-right stages, you'll have levels where you fart through a maze, drive a bike and avoid a crazed dogcatcher, and even a stage where you have to just avoid being squashed by wrestlers for about a minute or so. All good stuff. And the game is filled with many references to the cartoon. For example, if you fall in a pit, or your partner is off screen, Powdered Toast Man will show up and bring you back to solid land. There's Stinky Whizzleteats Albums, cans of powdered toast, Mr. Horse is seen multiple times. There are even bags of Gritty Kitty cat litter. Now, I may not be the president, I may not be the pope, but as long as I have Gritty Kitty, I shall never mope!
While the gameplay for the most part is solid, I do have some gripes. The fact that your health doesn't replenish after completing a level is always a sticking point with me and this game does it as well. Difficulty for the most part is easy, but there are some annoying easy death areas. For example, the bike area is the biggest pain in the game (Next to some of the painful parts of the Mutate-O-Matic level), as even if you survive jumping cars and pedaling away from the dogcatcher truck, you have to go down a sharp slope and avoid potholes. Only issue is the potholes are hard to time as they come so fast. You get four lives and two continues, and while the game isn't too hard and you'll likely beat it in a half hour if you're good, there are areas like this that can suddenly get you a game over before you know it.
Graphically the game looks excellent. Lots of detail in the sprites and it looks and feels like a 16-bit representation of the cartoon. A lot of that is thanks in part to Doug Tennapel's (Earthworm Jim, The Neverhood) work on the game. It definitely helps to make this game feel like more than just a cheap cash-in like THQ's fare. On the sound scheme, this is one of the more faithful soundtracks I've ever heard for a licensed game. Sam Powell is the composer for this one, and he did a great job recreating many of the classic themes from the show. From the intro, to the Log jingle, to the Muddy Mud Skipper theme song. There are also plenty of soundbites from Ren and Stimpy themselves, which even adds a better touch.
Stimpy's Invention is far from perfect, but is a solid effort in a recreation of a cartoon to a video game format. The graphics are solid and the sound is spot on. It is a tad on the short side, and like I said prior there are some issues with annoying spots. But for what it is, it's a pretty fun play and easily the best route to go for Ren and Stimpy fans looking for a video game representation. It goes for pretty cheap, and is definitely worth the buy.
RATING: B-
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