Rugrats: Castle Capers
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: THQ Developer: Creations Media: Cart/1 Players: 1 Genre: Miscellaneous
Graphics & Sound: Okay, I'll admit it - I love the Rugrats cartoon. Maybe it's a side effect of my Peter Pan syndrome or something...I dunno...but anyway, on with the review. Rugrats: Castle Capers looks great. Personally, I think it's one of the best-looking GBA games I've played. The colors are very bright, vibrant and just pop right out at you. Everything reminded me of the old SNES games - you remember, the ones where they tried to squeeze every single color the machine could produce in the same screen. It may sound like a mess when I describe it - but seeing is believing. Each of the levels has something about them that just makes them feel alive, like the spinning gears in the Clock Work Babies level. Unfortunately, this doesn't carry over into every level. But for every bland level like Ali Baby and the 40 Fleas there's a great looking Sure Would Forest level. In the end, it all balances out nicely. All of the Rugrats are present and look great. While they don't use any of this new fangled cel shading to make them look more like a real cartoon, they still resemble their cartoon counterparts. Each is animated very nicely, and has their little nuances, such as Dil's walker spinning around as he walks, to bring a smile to kid's faces (and probably some grown-ups too). Anyone who has seen the show will instantly recognize the music. It can get repetitive, but it just has a fun feel to it that keeps it from getting annoying. Of course, the familiar Rugrats theme song is present, and if you listen closely, parts of it seem to echo through each of the levels. It's just really well done. The sound effects are a bit sparse though.
Gameplay: Stu Pickles has just invented a brand-new play castle in the backyard. After seeing this, Angelica decides to appoint herself queen. Of course, the babies want nothing to do with the game so Angelica decides to steal their favorite toys and hide them in the six areas of the playset. So, a baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do - rescue the toys! Okay, so the story isn't the deepest in the world, but considering the plot of a usual episode of the show and the target audience, it works fine. You start the game by choosing one of six Rugrats, but be careful whom you choose because you cannot switch between levels. This is mostly just preference, and the only difference between each is which two friends help them in different levels. You are then allowed to enter one of the five playsets (the sixth is locked until the end) to reclaim the toy hidden in the level. Everything is played in a straight forward side-scroller, although there are a few variations that make things interesting. The first is the lack of any type of weapons for the babies, instead they are given food to throw and stun enemies with. After stunning the enemy, you can them 'leap frog' over them. Another interesting variation is friends. In each level, you can find two friends who will help you out by letting you stand on them to reach higher places. Finding them isn't necessary to complete the levels, but in some cases they are your only chance of finding secret areas. Also scattered throughout each level are bonus items, such as rattles or cookies, that allow you to gain bonus points, extra tries, or in some cases complete the level. It would have been nice if some sort of reward other than points was given for finding all the secrets. Of course, at the end of each level you will have to square off with Angelica to get your toy back. This is the one area that I didn't like about the game. Except for one level, the fights with Angelica just feel pointless and hard to accomplish. There is really no set pattern for beating her and sometimes she just disappeared and that was the end of it. It would have been great to have some direction on how to get rid of Angelica. Also, I would have liked a little variation between each Rugrat. This would have added a little more replayablity to the game, and added a little depth.
Difficulty: I didn't find Rugrats hard at all and beat it within an hour with two different characters. But I'm also more than a few years ahead of the game's intended audience. Kids, however, should find it to be just easy enough that they don't get frustrated (except for maybe the boss fights), but hard enough that they won't ask for a new game two hours after getting it, unless of course they are some sort of video game prodigy. If things do get a little sticky, passwords are given at the end of each level, I just wish they had been shorter so I could memorize them.
Game Mechanics: Control is laid out very well, and is easy for anyone to pick up and play. I found the controls spot on perfect in response as well - it's a shame that some of the 'big name' games coming out cannot say the same thing. I did have a few problems with the 'leap frog'-ing enemies, but about halfway through the game it seemed pointless so I gave up on doing them. Bottom line, this is a fun game. It may not be the most mature or genre breaking game, but it's fun - even if you aren't a fan of the show. For me, it reminded me of what games used to be - when no one cared much about poly counts, framerates, or exclusivity - they just wanted to play a fun game. If you're a fan of the show, I recommend it. The 'hardcore' gamers may want to pass this one over. For people with young kids, this is the perfect game, especially if you're concerned with what they play. It's simple enough for them to enjoy while not dumbing itself down.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Robopon 2 Ring/Cross Version Salt Lake 2002