Licensed video games get a bad rap from most of the gaming population. With a few exceptions such as Lego video games, and the Arkham series, almost all of them are met with mediocre to hateful reviews and general disgust. I often question why some publishers will choose to create games based off licenses that could potentially function really well, but that ultimately end up being a poorly-made cash grab. However, looking back at the games I enjoyed as a kid, it's easy to see why they're made; they can actually be a lot of fun for some kids. I don't know how many off the top of my head, but I spent at least thirty hours playing the Game Boy Advance version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Yes, I'm sure of that. I really loved that game (...I still do), and now I've decided to take a look at some similar titles from my childhood.
FLIPENDO!
While the title may make it seem like I don't like these games anymore, that's actually not true. Given the opportunity, I'd love to dive into these games again and see how my new gaming skills make them feel compared to before. There were some normal games I did play during my childhood, but the majority were comprised of licensed titles, so that's what I'm focusing on with this blog.
Blue's Clues Treasure Hunt
Blue's Clues was the best kid's show ever. Despite the fact that Steve turned out to be...er, well, not the best guy in the world, I still look back fondly at the show. Whenever I went to mom's parents' house, I played this game on their computer. It was actually pretty well designed, if memory serves. It was based on the special episode where Blue and Steve went through this little door and found this world that was some treasure utopia, or something. The game could take different directions, because starting the game randomly generated one of the three possible playthroughs you could do, with each having different puzzles and characters. It was probably the first point-and-click game I played, too, because gameplay was walking around, finding the three clues, and picking up items to use. Agh, I'd love to go back and try this game again.
I Spy Treasure Hunt
Another point-and-click game, this title is based off the I Spy book of the same name, but what's interesting about is how you actually follow one of three original plot lines. Like the Blue's Clues game, you randomly start off with one of three stories, and in this case, each focuses on a different pirate that left behind a wealth of treasure somewhere in town. While some areas are reused between playthroughs, each contain different I Spy games, which made them feel unique and different from the last. I probably played through each story at least five times over several years, because I enjoyed the simple but mysterious narrative the games had going. It was especially fun to discover the treasure in the end, usually in some natural part of the world that would otherwise seem unimportant.
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius-Rescue Jet Fusion
It's weird to think my brother is the same age as Jimmy Neutron...but bleh, it was still one of the best shows on Nickelodeon. Believe it or not, but this was the very first video game I ever played, when I received it and a Game Boy Advance SP at Christmas in 2003. The game is a platformer, with little collective Purple Flurp cans to increased your health, and other things for your various weapons. It's funny, because I actually didn't beat this game until a few months after I first received it; it employs a password system, and they're about fifteen characters each...and little me didn't have the patience for that. So, I just replayed the first level for a long time or so, but then I finally got past the first world, and had a lot of fun. The game's premise is that one of Jimmy's inventions malfunctions, causing him, Sheen, Carl, and Cindy to be placed inside a video game of Jet Fusion, the James Bond-like character from the show. You needed to defeat each of Jimmy's friends, because the game had turned them into brainwashed monsters and stuff...it was weird, but cool for a kid. Plus, Goddard, Jimmy's robot dog, could be upgraded to have a hover ability, and other cool things. I wonder what happened to my password list...
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
When I first "got into" PC gaming...well, this was it. This was the first game I played on a computer (besides like, solitaire)...well, I think it was. It adds in a lot of things that didn't exist in the book, or movie for that matter. It was pretty much entirely linear, as you went through various parts of Hogwarts in different levels, but there were secrets EVERYWHERE. I never managed to get all of the Wizard Cards, which bums me even now. Gameplay basically was "aim at this thing and case the spell", because you didn't need to choose the spell from a hotkey list or anything; it was automatic. For several years, though, I actually didn't beat this game; it was only in...I believe 2007 or 2008, when I finally finished the game. The cause of this was when little nine-year old me was playing the level where you must sneak past Filch, Hogwarts' caretaker. Even though you're invisible, you have to most slowly and wait till he's not looking to cast spells. At one point, you have to run across a bridge, and when I did so, I thought he wouldn't hear me...but he did. The game made the camera automatically turn around so I saw Filch's four-polygon face bobbing up and down and filling the screen saying "WELL WELL AREN'T WE IN TROUBLE?". I was terrified. Screw what you people say; this game scared me more than Dead Space EVER did. Also, SCREW THOSE LITTLE GNOMES.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
It's entirely possible that this game is the reason I love role-playing games today. I don't remember when I first played it, but I remember loving the hell out of it. It plays exactly like a JRPG, surprisingly; turn-based combat, leveling up, potions, items...it had it all. Like the Jimmy Neutron game, though, I ended up playing the beginning for awhile, which was because of a certain boss. The Whomping Willow...the infamous tree that attacks anything that gets too close. Fighting it, I always got very scared, and this resulted in me dying every time I tried to fight it. Then, like with Jimmy Neutron, I finally managed to get past the boss, and completed the game. Then, I played the game again in New Game +. Yes, this licensed game had a New Game +. It was the same thing, but you retained your level in the second playthrough, so you could wipe the floor with earlier enemies. I actually just went back and played the game over and over again, finally getting Harry, Ron, and Hermione all to level 100. Yup...I did that. I even went through it again several times when they were level 100, because it was just fun. It's still weird how Malfoy is the final boss...he's just standing on the tower and says "WHOA WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE", and then drops a Wizarding Card of Harry, which lets you learn all spells. That was freaking awesome.
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Yes, another Harry Potter game, and why not? They were all awesome until we got to the Order of the Phoenix era of trashy games (well, the DS game wasn't THAT bad, but the console version was meh...even though I dropped at least forty hours in it...)! In any case, this game is all just Quidditch, and it's actually quite a bit of fun. You start off just playing at Hogwarts, but then join an international team and compete for the World Cup. The gameplay was mostly just "pass pass shoot"...okay, that's actually all it is pretty much. Well, you could use power ups to call in Beaters, and also switch to play as the Keeper, but mostly you spent time just tossing the Quaffle into the hoops. Playing as the Seeker in the final part was cool, but it was a bit difficult if memory serves correctly. This definitely wasn't my favorite game, but I spent a lot of time having fun with it and playing against the Quidditch ghost and stuff.
Disney's ToonTown Online
It should be illegal that this game got taken down, in reality. I must have spent over two-hundred hours in this MMORPG aimed at kids. You ran around as a "Toon", who could be a rabbit, dog, cat, mouse, or some other animal, and interacted with characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. You fought against the Cogs, who were machines with names like Robber Baron and The Big Cheese, and this was done with props like pies, dynamite, hoses, and of course, foghorns. Combat was turn-based, and over the few years I played the game, I had a lot of fun exploring, and also exploiting geometry issues and getting outside the map, which was just a long, gray plane. What was cool was that over the years, more Toons were added, new areas, gags (weapons), and also pets called Doodles. You could design your house, buy clothing, play mini-games, mini-golf, and tons of other stuff. It's sad that ToonTown Online was shut down...but I'll never forget my time with it. R.I.P. ToonTown, and your wonderful craziness.
Man, this has been actually nice trip down memory lane...I want to play all of these games a lot now...oh well, I still have my Prisoner of Azkaban cartridge, so I might be able to play it again someday if I get a new Game Boy Advance. If you've had the pleasure of playing any of these games, or have any licensed games you liked as a kid, leave those thoughts below in the comments.
Peace.