That thing Rugrats How Rugrats has managed to survive in the public consciousness for so long is remarkable in its own right. Part of that is because Nickelodeon has continued to show it to younger generations, and the show ran for 13 years, spawning 172 episodes and two feature films. But the biggest reason for its longevity is its surprisingly broad appeal. Created by Hungarian-born Gábor Csupó and his wife, Arlene Klasky, Rugrats may seem like a show about babies for babies, but it’s actually a show about babies for kids and adults. Thanks to clever writing and a deeper maturity—something that’s often found in The Simpsons– 90s inspired — people who loved it 30 years ago will still love it today.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland‘s most important triumph, then, isn’t necessarily the stage design or the animation style, but the show’s clever exploitation of the show’s intelligence. It’s a shame that the original voice cast isn’t available, with the exchanges rendered in text instead, but you can still recall Tommy’s raspy voice in your head.
Like almost every episode of the show, the game’s plot revolves around the Rugrats gang’s wildly out-of-control imagination. After seeing a TV commercial for a new Reptar video game (a Reptar is a fictional dinosaur based on Godzilla), the kids then turn their limited world into a video game of their own. The levels are set in areas around the house: the attic, the backyard, the kitchen, the sandpit, the bedroom, and the living room. Of course, the mundane becomes something magical through the infant’s lens, the sandpit becomes a vast, trap-filled desert, the kitchen refrigerator becomes a mechanical maze of cables and electrical spikes, and the attic becomes a full-blown horror house. It’s all thoughtfully designed, conceptually speaking, to capture the spirit of the show.
You have four playable Rugrats to choose from: Tommy Pickles, siblings Phil and Lil, and nerdy, red-haired Chuckie. Mom and Dad appear around the house, crazy Angelica features in cutscenes, and those who know the show well will recognize the game’s bosses.
The goal is to collect special Reptar coins scattered throughout each level to unlock a door behind the living room TV, which leads to the final area of the game. You can play the first six levels in any order you like, and during gameplay, you can switch between any of the four Rugrats on the fly. All characters have a ground slam, and enemies are usually defeated by head-jumping. Babies can also lift certain objects, like blocks, and use them to build climbable structures. Some enemies will be stunned by a normal head slam, which can then be picked up and thrown – a technique that appears in some boss fights.
The level layout is built around exploration. Collecting Reptar coins is the main goal, but you’ll also need to find a screwdriver to unlock a boss door. Luckily, disassembly is well thought out and fun thanks to the different gameplay characteristics of Rugrats. Lil can float for a moment in the style of Princess Peach, Chuckie has Luigi’s long jump arc, Phil has a higher jump, and our hero Tommy is more reactive in classic Mario style. By getting to know the pros and cons of your baby squad, you can change them by pausing the game, and this function works the same in both single-player and two-player co-op. Ideally, we’d like to have the option to switch characters in-game more smoothly rather than going to the pause screen, which feels cumbersome but isn’t a huge deal.
While using different Rugrats for different levels of aerial movement is fun, it’s not as deep as other games that use this same structure. Still, those who enjoy platforming with a moderate level of challenge will find this game enjoyable, and keeping your team in the game by allocating health items definitely requires some strategy.
Since Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is based on a popular cartoon, the aesthetic here is actually pretty important. Luckily, the style is absolutely spot-on, with no missing a beat when it comes to characters, colors, or even linework. We tend to find Flash-style rendering—super-clean shadow puppetry—unappealing, but it does serve the show well here. A CRT filter wouldn’t be a bad thing, though, just to capture some of the graininess of ’90s Saturday morning TV.
What’s really impressive, however, is the ability to instantly switch the game to 8-bit mode. Now, we’re not even sure why this is necessary, as the effort involved in describing the game twice seems excessive – but man, are we thankful they did it. Switching the graphics mode brings everything back to an incredibly realistic NES gamecomplete with sprite flickering limits. In fact, it’s so realistic that Limited Run Games is releasing an 8-bit build on a physical NES cartridge for $60.
It’s up to the player which graphics mode they choose: a game that looks almost exactly like the cartoon, and in widescreen mode, or a game that evokes incredible nostalgia and works great as an 8-bit title. Personally, we think the 8-bit version seems more appropriate, not only because it’s reminiscent of the era when Rugrats first aired, but also because the process of assembling the game seems more streamlined. The music is also great, and comes in both modern and chiptune versions, and you can mix and match the soundtracks across both visual options.
Conclusion
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a well-made platformer that captures the essence of the TV show, and that’s probably its greatest achievement. The character-swapping system isn’t unique, but it works well thanks to some clever and occasionally challenging stage design; and, while it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, there’s a fun action game here with a good amount of exploration. Whether you’re drawn to the HD or retro aesthetic variations depends on which of your nostalgic feelings is stronger. Either way, the 8-bit presentation is so accurate to the era’s hardware that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t actually released three decades ago.
