Did you know that Limited Run Games recently released the Ren & Stimpy: Happy Happy Joy Joy Collection? Of course you did, because it came out in February. But I've been extremely busy and am only now getting around to talk about the games featured in the package, including Veediots, Space Cadet Adventures, Fire Dogs, Time Warp and both the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES versions of Buckeroo$. Yeah, that's a lot of Ren & Stimpy, but are any of these games worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Next Generation, Nintendo Power and more classic magazines that reviewed these games when they first came out. Go and tell the Powdered Toast Man, Mr. Horse and everybody you know that it's time for Ren & Stimpy Review Crew. No sir, I don't like it.


When the Ren & Stimpy Show first debuted on August 11, 1991, nobody knew just how big of a moment this unconventional duo was going to have. With its offbeat writing and unique animation style, John K's bizarre little show about the friendship between a psychotic chihuahua and a dim-witted cat managed to stand out in a sea of normalcy. Compared to Rugrats and Doug, Ren & Stimpy might as well have been the counter-culture. One year later, THQ brought Space Cadet Adventures to the Game Boy. This is the very first Ren & Stimy game to come out, released only fifteen months after the show first debuted on Nickelodeon. This is a silly adventure that involves the animated duo going on a 9,999 day mission into outer space. That's one of those great set-ups that is rife with possibilities. Let's see if THQ was able to deliver on Ren & Stimpy's potential.

Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of magazines that covered this first Ren & Stimpy game, and the ones that did weren't that impressed. We'll start with Electronic Gaming Monthly, which ended up giving Space Cadet Adventures an average score of 6 out of 10. Sushi-X ended up being the harshest critic, arguing that “Ren & Stimpy are a lot of laughs, but on the Game Boy, the intensity just isn't there. Many of the humorous antics of the terrible twosome are present, but the game itself isn't anything to shout about. This game is only for younger kids who don't crave hot, intense action like the pros. Unhappy, unhappy, cry, cry.” Ed liked the game a bit more, going with a slightly better 7 out of 10: “The dynamic duo of the ‘90s has moved from their cable TV show into the game systems. The Game Boy version is quite good as the characters remain faithful to the show. Although the graphics are OK, the gameplay is what makes the game. Fans of the show will really go for this cart, but I think the Super NES version is the one to wait for.”

When we look beyond EGM, you'll find that most of the other magazines were in agreement. Video Games & Computer Entertainment ended up giving the game a 6 out of 10, while GamePro went a bit higher, giving the game a 3.5 out of 5. “With grating sound and frustrating gameplay, this Game Boy show's much more fun to watch than it is to play. If you're a Ren & Stimpy fan, you should whip up some powdered toast and switch on your TV.”

When it comes to Ren & Stimpy's first video game, the critics were somewhere in the middle – it was neither great nor terrible. It was just extremely mid. Not that you need it for this one, but overall average was just 63%. It won't be the highest average we give out today, but at least it's not the worst.

While THQ flirted with the Ren & Stimpy license with their Game Boy release, it would take an additional year for the unlikely friends to make their home console debut. 1993 was a big year for Ren & Stimpy, as you not only had Sega tinkering away at Stimpy's Invention for the Genesis, but THQ followed-up Space Cadet Adventures with Buckeroo$ on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Based on actual episodes from the cartoon series, this is the first and last time the duo appeared on the 8-Bit NES. It was also executive produced by former Nintendo gamemaster Howard Philips. We'll talk about the Super NES version a little bit later, but first we need to see what the critics thought of the NES original.

Much like the Game Boy game, Electronic Gaming Monthly wasn't impressed. They gave the game a mere 6.5 out of 10, with Ed being on the lower side: “If you're a big Ren & Stimpy fan, and still a hardcore NES player, then Ren & Stimpy might appeal to you, but otherwise, the overall gameplay is just average, and isn't anything that is going to knock your socks off. The sound is okay but gets repetitive after a while. One of the major drawbacks to the game is that it is only a one-player game.” Sushi-X liked it enough to give it a 7, confused at what genre to label it: “It's an action game. No, it's a shooter. No, it's Ren & Stimpy on the NES. I know it's only 8-bit, but what the heck. The graphics are excellent and the gameplay is awesome. You can pick up weapons and other icons, too. This is a great game for everyone who is still clinging to their old NES. The level of difficulty may be a bit too easy for a lot of gamers, though.”

Believe it or not, EGM was the only magazine to cover Buckeroo$ on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This was early 1994, and there just wasn't a lot of interest in NES coverage anymore. Far more outlets ended up reviewing the 1995 Super NES port, but we'll get there. We first need to get sucked into the television.

Six months after introducing Ren & Stimpy to the Nintendo Entertainment System, THQ brought the destructive duo to the Super NES with Veediots, a new platformer with a fun television theme. As crazy as it sounds, the concept of being stuck inside a television was having a moment, thanks in large part to the John Ritter movie Stay Tuned. In the exact same year, you saw both Ren & Stimpy and Gex borrowing that premise, with Garfield following close behind in 1995. Maybe one day we'll get to Gex and Garfield, but today is all about finding out what the critics thought of Ren & Stimpy.

After largely being ignored by the critics, Veediots is the first game in the franchise to get major media coverage. That's the good news. The bad news is that the reviews were all over the place. Let's start at the very bottom, with Super Play giving the game a miserable 47%. “Humor? Er, not really. At least, I never actually laughed as such. But I suppose there are one or two gently amusing ideas in it. But is this really a sensible way to spend 45 pounds? Of course not. When it comes down to it, all you're actually doing is running from left to right, or occasionally from right to left, and jumping over things. And, after doing this for about half an hour, you'll have finished the game.”

For what it's worth, Super Play was the outlier. You see that with the next score, where Nintendo Power gave the game a 3.2 out of 5, nearly a twenty-point jump over the lowest score. GamePro also wasn't that impressed, going with a so-so 3.5 out of 5. “You really have to be hard up to like this cart. As a ho-hum run ‘n jump game, it offers little challenge to the intermediate gamer. You'll probably suffer from boredom, not frustration. For Ren & Stimpy fanatics, until new episodes of the cartoon appear on TV, Veediots will have to do, you sick Leee-tle ... MONKIES!”

Moving up the scale, we see Game Players give the game a 75%, while Hyper went with a 78%. SNES Force went all the way up to a 79%, which turns out to be Veediots' highest marks. But instead of looking at SNES Force, let's check in with Die Hard Game Fan, who also get it a 79%. The Enquirer said that “Veediots has tons of laughs and all the funny jokes from the cartoon. While the game is super hilarious at times, it is still just above average in gameplay and sound. Overall, however, I am impressed and hopeful that THQ is attempting to make better and better games, this is a great start.” Sgt. Gamer liked it even more, shocked that “THQ made a decent game! The best part of Ren & Stimpy is that the game is drawn and animated just like the TV series and that the unique characters and disgusting situations that have made the show cool are in the game ... even Powdered Toast Man. It's not the best action/platform game ever conceived, but fans of the show will enjoy this title.”

You know, that's something you hear a lot back in the day. A game may be terrible, but the fans of the license will like it because it looks like something they like? Okay, maybe that works on Star Wars fans, but most of the time the fan of the license is just looking for a good game, the same thing as anybody else. While the critics were all over the place, Veediots managed to average a score of 70%, making it the best-reviewed game of this entire collection. Yeah, it's all downhill from here.

The first of two Ren & Stimpy games published by THQ in 1994, Fire Dogs is notable for being developed by Argonaut Games only a year after using the Super FX chip to make Star Fox. It's also worth mentioning that this fire-fighting Ren & Stimpy adventure was available exclusively as a rental through Blockbuster Video. As a result, this tends to be the one game most ignored and overlooked by the fans. Are they secretly missing out on the best game in the series ... or is there a reason THQ decided not to sell it through the usual retail channels. Let' find out.

Much like Buckeroo$ on the NES, Fire Dogs was only reviewed by one outlet – Nintendo Power. They liked it about as much as the other Ren & Stimpy games, which is to say that they gave it a 3.3 out of 5. They liked the good graphics, humor and sound, even noting that a password feature has been included. However, they argued that there's “not much variety. The time allotted for collecting items is very short. The two levels are repeated.”

Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of incentive for most magazines to cover a Blockbuster exclusive. As a result, Nintendo Power will just end up getting the first and last word. There's really no reason to continue talking about Fire Dogs.

Five months after releasing the rental-only Fire Dogs, Ren & Stimpy are back on the Super NES with a game you can actually buy. This time developed by Sculptured Software, Time Warp is an intriguing new installment that sends our bumbling heroes through time and space. With a killer set-up and a lot of experience over the last two years, this should have been THQ's best Ren & Stimpy game yet. Let's see if the critics agreed.

Electronic Gaming Monthly ended up liking Time Warp about as much as any other game in the Ren & Stimpy series, giving it an average score of 6.3 out of 10. The capsule review explains that “the first game left me cold, but this one caught me off guard. I don't think I have seen the cartridge duo look better on a game than this version. The animations are excellent, and their various attacks are characteristically disgusting. The control could be tweaked up a little more, but overall, it's an enjoyable title.”

As you might expect, there were scores a lot lower than that. GamePro went with a 3 out of 5. Super Play opted for a 51%, just four points higher than Veediots. But while that's bad, it's nothing compared to Next Generation, which gave the game its lowest score possible – 1 out of 5. “The graphics are OK, and Stimpy's Warf! As he attacks with hairballs is suitably nauseating, but through the game's 10 stages, the designers subscribe to the ‘throw lots of little stuff at em' school of gameplay. From the very first level, you spend half the time chasing down flies and such, making the action more frustrating than challenging. Character control is also just short of awful. Ick.”

On a more positive note, Hyper gave the game a 69%. Nice. Video Games: The Ultimate Gaming Magazine ended up going the highest, all the way up to an 8 out of 10. They genuinely liked it. “My conclusion: A tough but tasty game. The gameplay is original, and even though it might seem excessively difficult at first, you'll get the hang of it. One more thing. When Ren dies, sometimes just his eyeballs are left lying on the ground. The first time I saw that, I thought they were something else. I thought that was pretty funny.”

Okay, so maybe that's not a ringing endorsement, but an 8 out of 10 is just about the highest score we've seen today. Overall, Time Warp averaged a disappointing 57%, though you have to believe that a lot of that comes from that 1 out of 5 that Next Generation gave it. I'm starting to think that maybe the critics didn't like this franchise.

The end is the beginning is the end, or so they say. The final Ren & Stimpy game on the Super NES is actually a remake of the first Ren & Stimpy game on home consoles. That's right, it's Buckeroo$, this time in 16-bit. This was released in early 1995, a full two years after the 8-bit original. We know that the critics weren't overly excited about the first release, so let's see if they have come around to this 16-bit update.

As you might recall, Electronic Gaming Monthly was the one and only magazine that covered the first release back in 1993, giving it a 6.5 out of 10. Now, two years later, they liked this Super NES version even less, going with an average of 5.4 out of 10. We once again get a capsule review, concluding that “Ren & Stimpy had great expectation, and it lives up to some of them (very good graphics and voice, plus the clever idea of making each section based on a cartoon episode), yet the control could be improved greatly.”

The only other magazine to review Buckeroo$ was Nintendo Power, who was fairly consistent with their score, giving it a 3 out of 5. If you've been keeping track, Nintendo Power didn't give a single Ren & Stimy game anything higher than a 3.3, suggesting that they never really cared much for this series. They liked the “good story and cinema scenes,” arguing that it has “more gameplay than previous Ren & Stimpy titles.” However, they complained that the “graphics aren't very Ren & Stimpy-ish.”

This is yet another disappointing result for both THQ and the Ren & Stimpy brand. This wasn't like the Disney Afternoon or other franchises based on popular cartoon brands, because none of the Ren & Stimpy games stood out as being “the one” that justified the whole experiment. Maybe people have nostalgia for these games, but it's buyer beware when it comes to this collection. This one might only be for the die-hard fans, and even then, you might want to get your Ren & Stimpy kicks somewhere else.