As Bob as my witless!
If you grew up in the 90s, it is hard not to hear that iconic jingle in your head every time someone mentions the Rugrats. The cartoon was a phenomenon during its nine-season run time, and even though I was a little bit older during its run, I still watched more than a fair share of episodes. With any good cartoon of the time, it came with a host of video games over the years. Much like everything else these days, people that grew up then are now adults making new video games and thus also gripping onto that nostalgia like it owes them money. The latest retro collection from Limited Run Games is a collection of consoles and portable titles featuring those lovable babies.
This particular collection includes six titles in the series, eight if you count multiple versions, and they focus on Nintendo’s handhelds and the original PlayStation. Most of them are mediocre platform games or mini-game collections with some questionable controls and muddy visuals. These games are from a time where licensed games didn’t get nearly as much love and attention as they currently do. Sadly, revisiting these has not been the infusion of nostalgia I was hoping for.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: PlayStation (reviewed), Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $14.99
Starting with the PlayStation games reminds me of why this era is fondly remembered and rarely replicated. The transition into the 3D realm had a lot of growing pains. Revisiting these games is tough simply because of the awkward camera movement and clunky controls. You can get used to it after a while, but even at that point the mission design leaves a lot to be desired. The premise of these games can be interesting, but ideas feel half-baked. Like I said licensed games just needed the trimmings of its subject matter, everything else was less important.
Moving on to the portable titles, these age a little more gracefully. This is mostly due to the fact that they are 2D efforts. In that era there were some portable games developed by talented teams who took that opportunity to really flex their muscles and create some surprisingly fun games. Nothing here though stands out for anything other than being competent. These portable games are the antithesis of ‘fine’ and I had a decent time blasting through them. Most are no longer than a couple hours and contain a nice mix of puzzle platforming and somewhat interesting mini games.
As has been the case lately with Limited Run Games, the extras are a bit thin. We have the standard rewind and save state function, which is always nice, but also expected. There are some CRT filters to inject a bit more nostalgia for those heavy TV sets as well as some sharpening to clean up those grotesque PS1 polygons. As for extras, it is kind of embarrassing.
There is a museum section which includes some soundtracks to listen to and some box scans. Even the box scans are lacking as the PS1 boxes are just the images from inside the case you see behind the disc. This collection feels really light in the extras department, which has become par for the course lately with Limited Run Games.
The Rugrats Retro Rewind Collection is a novelty at best. The games included are nothing special and the extras are disappointing to say the least. I was really hoping for more with this one. I cannot recommend this to anyone outside the die-hard Rugrats fans who can look past its mediocrity and just enjoy it as a sort of time capsule.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
