The Classics of the Cowabunga Collection
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Posted on January 13th, 2023 by
Konami recently came out with a collection of their licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games they released back in the late 80s and early 90s, during the first round of the Turtles’ heyday. Since a lot of people grew up with and enjoyed these titles, this collection is a pretty big deal. Especially since for a long time, it would’ve been hard to get the rights to all these games again! But I guess since Nickelodeon has all the rights to TMNT stuff now, maybe that part was easier to do? Anyway, of course I got this collection so grab a slice of pizza and let’s take a look at the games on here as well as my personal history with each title.
Smurfs Kart (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S)
Posted on January 2nd, 2023 by
In the distant past, long before streaming services and 24-hour cartoon channels, there was a thing called Saturday Morning Cartoons. Kids back then, me included, looked forward to this time because it was one of the only times TV was made just for kids. And as a child of the 80s, one of the most popular of these cartoons I remember was The Smurfs. Originally a European comic strip, The Smurfs gained popularity in the US from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. I was never a super big fan of it, but I watched it anyway because, one, kids will watch pretty much anything. And two, it came on right before the Pac-Man cartoon. In recent years, The Smurfs have had a bit of a resurgence with a handful of computer animated movies and specials, and a new series on Nickelodeon. Last year we even got a Smurfs 3-D platformer which I reviewed. And this year we get a kart racer. I actually remember playing a Smurfs kart racer on the original PlayStation and it was one of the worst games I ever played. Let’s hope this one is better. Smurfs Kart is available for all current consoles but reviewed on Switch here.
Garfield Lasagna Party (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 30th, 2022 by
Many of you regular readers may know I was a child of the 80s and enjoyed many things as a kid from that time. You probably know I was really into Pac-Man (still am), as well as other franchises like Star Wars, Transformers, Ghostbusters, etc. One other thing I was really into back then was Garfield. Back then, most people read newspapers and the comics strips therein were very popular with kids and adults. I think those comic strips are one of the things I miss most about print newspapers (that and me getting paid to write for them). I read the comics, bought all the books, watched the Garfield TV specials and Saturday morning cartoons, and even ate the fruit snacks and Garfield ravioli. Yes, Garfield was very popular back then. So I was really excited to review Garfield Lasagna Party, a board game title with mini-games similar to Mario Party. It’s available on all current systems and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 23rd, 2022 by
Miraculous is a cartoon show that I’ve never heard of before until now. Apparently you can watch it on Disney+. The show stars a high school girl named Marianette, who lives in Paris. But she can also turn into the superhero Ladybug and fights super villains with her partner Cat Noir. With her polka-dot outfit, acrobatic martial arts skills and weird yo-yo thing, Ladybug will also save the day in this new video game based on the cartoon. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Them’s Fightin’ Herds (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on December 2nd, 2022 by
About ten or so years ago, there was a My Little Pony cartoon based on the toy line with the subtitle “Friendship is Magic.” The cartoon was directed by Lauren Faust, who also worked on such cartoons like The PowerPuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. So because of this, the My Little Pony cartoon was surprisingly good and developed a fan base of all ages and genders. Some fans even made a fighting game based on the My Little Pony characters. Hasbro shut that down, understandably, since they didn’t want their toy line associated with fighting. But people liked that idea so much that Lauren Faust created some new characters for a fighting game, and that’s how we got Them’s Fightin’ Herds! It’s a cartoony one-on-one fighter featuring all manner of hooved animals, and it’s available for all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on November 18th, 2022 by
For several generations, youngsters have enjoyed watching shows on the Nickelodeon cable channel for kids. Heck, even when I was a little kid back in the 80’s, I enjoyed watching Nick shows such as You Can’t Do that on Television, Danger Mouse, and Double Dare. Even more recently I’ve been known to watch shows on that channel like Invader ZIM and The Penguins of Madagascar. My younger brothers would watch shows on Nickelodeon, too, such as Rugrats and SpongeBob Squarepants. And now kart racing and Nickelodeon fans can have fun together with Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway. It’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here. They’ve added a few characters and tracks, but most of it is the same as before. But there is one new improvement the other Nick kart games lacked: ACTUAL VOICES! Really gives the series the much-needed personality this type of licensed game requires.
LEGO Brawls (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC, Mobile)
Posted on October 12th, 2022 by
Customize your LEGO Minifigures with hundreds of options and pit them against others in fights with LEGO Brawls. It’s a Smash Bros. style fighting game available for all current consoles, PC, and mobile, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Burst Forth!! Choro-gon Breath (PS4, Switch)
Posted on October 5th, 2022 by
Wow, now that’s a mouthful of a title! But what does all that mean? Well, “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid” is a popular Japanese comic book manga series and anime cartoon. It’s about an ordinary office lady who one day stumbles on a dragon from another world. This dragon magically transforms into a maid lady and offers to clean her house in return for room and board. But when you’ve got a dragon in your house, nothing is ever ordinary and Miss Kobayashi and her dragon girl friends have lots of adventures and escapades together. And now they’re in their own video game! Here they are trapped inside a computer and the only way to get out is to play a 2-D vertically scrolling bullet hell shooter! It’s available on PS4 and Switch, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Posted on September 26th, 2022 by
Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? is a TV quiz game show where adults try and answer questions that an elementary school kid might learn. But since it’s been a long time since we were in grade school, and may not remember all those facts, that may be harder than it seems! Luckily contestants on this show can get limited help from a panel of real life elementary school kids! And now you can play a video game based on this show for current game consoles (reviewed on Switch here). But wow, is this TV show even still on? I reviewed a 3DS version of this game show WAY back in 2015!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC)
Posted on July 8th, 2022 by
When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out in the late 80s, I was a little too old by then to get into it fully. I didn’t get any of the toys, and I only watched the cartoon casually, and in secret, or else I wouldn’t look cool in front of the other guys. Of course I still probably wasn’t cool so it wouldn’t have mattered. Glad those days are over. But there was one aspect of TMNT that I could really get into and not have to hide it. And that was the video games, especially the four player arcade ones. EVERYONE was playing them, and aside from Pac-Man, I probably put more quarters into the TMNT arcade game than anything else. Years later when my little brothers were born, they got into the TMNT games, too. In fact, my brother Ben owns one of those TMNT Arcade1up cabinets. And my brother Jeff and I still joke about how when he was little and would whine to our mom every time I accidentally got the pizza in Turtles in Time. That story is also how we named our podcast. So with all those great memories of the TMNT games with me, I was super excited to have the opportunity to review TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge. Over the years, many have tried to emulate the feel of the classic arcade games and failed. But does Shredder’s Revenge do it right? SPOILER ALERT: HECK YEAH IT DOES!!! It’s available on most current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
