{"id":6279,"date":"2011-07-09T00:01:31","date_gmt":"2011-07-09T06:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamesanityblog.com\/?p=6279"},"modified":"2011-07-09T00:01:31","modified_gmt":"2011-07-09T06:01:31","slug":"the-characters-of-cartoon-network-punch-time-explosion-3ds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/09\/the-characters-of-cartoon-network-punch-time-explosion-3ds\/","title":{"rendered":"The Characters of Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion (3DS)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I hate giving games a bad review. I really do. Anyone who\u2019s read my reviews can tell. Even if a game is mediocre, as long as it\u2019s playable I\u2019ll try and look at the good in the game as much as I can. That\u2019s why it pains me to say that Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion for 3DS is the worst game I\u2019ve played this year so far. But since I still like a lot of the characters in the game, I\u2019m going to write a blog about them anyway.<\/p>\n

First of all, I imagine you want to know WHY I hate this game so much. Mainly because it\u2019s an unplayable mess. I now understand why the makers of this game didn\u2019t want to send me a review copy. They KNEW it was bad! Punch Time Explosion is a Super Smash Bros. clone with popular toons from various Cartoon Network shows. It could\u2019ve been a really good game, but I don\u2019t think the makers of it play tested it at all.<\/p>\n

First of all, the controls are too floaty and I\u2019m not talking about only the jumping controls. Everything from punching to blocking and whatnot feels off. Sometimes you can send an enemy flying in one punch, other times it takes 40 hits to do any damage to the same opponent. There\u2019s your standard Battle Mode and a Story Mode that has some 2-D platforming sections that still retain the SSB style of play. There are mini-games you must play in between each stage, and those are not fun at all. Right off the bat you do a broken mine cart level. Who really likes those?<\/p>\n

Worst of all, the game froze up on me three times in different places in the first fifteen minutes of play. And it\u2019s not that my cartridge was faulty, I read on the Internet that a lot of others have had this problem with their copy, too. I kind of feel bad for buying it now. I wanted to play through the game and unlock all the characters so I can talk about them better for this blog, but I\u2019m sorry, that\u2019s not going to happen. I\u2019ll just have to rely on my knowledge from what I\u2019ve seen on TV. So let\u2019s look at the characters in this horrid game (might be some spoilers, but I bet it doesn\u2019t really matter).<\/p>\n

Ben 10<\/strong><\/p>\n

I should\u2019ve known this game was doomed from the start when the only character I could pick in Story Mode initially was this guy. I never really was interested in the cartoon so I don\u2019t know anything about him. I do know he\u2019s a kid who can turn into different monsters, as he does that in the game for his attacks. I guess it\u2019s good that Cartoon Network does have some action shows, and I hear Ben 10 is a pretty popular one.<\/p>\n

Like Smash Bros., there are item pickups in the stages and some are like the assist trophies from Brawl. They feature other characters from the cartoons and usually help you attack opponents. Three of these are from the Ben 10 cartoon, but I don\u2019t know who they are: Gwen Tennyson, Kevin Levin, and Vreedle Brothers.<\/p>\n

Vilgax<\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing I learned from this game is that this guy is a villain from the Ben 10 show. And he\u2019s a playable character here, apparently. He causes a lot of trouble in the Story Mode, too.<\/p>\n

Chowder & Kimchi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ugh. I tried to watch Chowder once. I found it very annoying. Looks as if they were trying to imitate the irrelevant humor featured in the popular SpongeBob cartoon on a competing network, and failed miserably. To add insult to injury, Chowder is the second playable character in Story Mode. I don\u2019t know who Kimchi is, but there is a floating cloud thing always following him, so maybe that\u2019s it. In the game, Chowder attacks with a frying pan, burps, and sucks in enemies. But Kirby he is not. Assist characters from the Chowder cartoon include Gazpacho and Shnitzel.<\/p>\n

Buttercup, Blossom, Bubbles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yay! Finally a cartoon I know and really like! All three PowerPuff Girls are separate, playable characters, but I bet they play all the same here. Although I wouldn\u2019t know, Buttercup was the only one I managed to unlock before getting totally disgusted with this game. It took me a while to warm up to the PowerPuff cartoon, though, because at first all I saw was yet another superhero show. But after a while I started to really like it. My favorite characters are Bubbles, Mojo Jojo, and the Mayor. I especially like the episode where the three girls are telling the Mayor their sides of a story, and Bubbles\u2019 is all in crayon! And there\u2019s another where the girls try to imitate their favorite comic book superheroes. Blossom tried to be like Wonder Woman, Buttercup tried to be like a Spawn spoof called Spore. And Bubbles was imitating her favorite cutesy manga hero!<\/p>\n

Mojo Jojo<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m glad that he\u2019s playable; too bad I didn\u2019t unlock him. Other PowerPuff villains show up as assist characters, like Fuzzy Lumpkins and Him.<\/p>\n

Flapjack<\/strong><\/p>\n

I never even bothered watching this show. It looked like more of a SpongeBob imitator than Chowder. So I really can\u2019t tell you much about Flapjack, or the assist characters Peppermint Larry and Candy Wife.<\/p>\n

Captain K’nuckles<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s a playable character and also from The Misadventures of Flapjack, so I can\u2019t tell you much about him either.<\/p>\n

Numbah 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

He\u2019s the bald-headed, sunglasses wearing kid leader from Codename: Kids Next Door. I never really got into this cartoon, but I bet if I were a kid, I would love it. It is very creative and empowering to young viewers. What kid wouldn\u2019t love a show about other kids using cool gadgets to overcome crazy evil grown-up oppressors? So yeah, while I don\u2019t really care much for the cartoon, I do have respect for it. Assist trophies from this cartoon include Numbah 2 (wasn\u2019t he the fat one with the goggles, and man I\u2019d hate to be called number 2), and Stickybeard, the candy loving pirate.<\/p>\n

Father<\/strong><\/p>\n

I always thought this Kids Next Door antagonist was like an unseen figure, like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget. But he\u2019s a playable character here so I guess he isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Mac & Bloo<\/strong><\/p>\n

These two characters are one of the main reasons why I bought this game. I was a little disappointed that most of their attacks just involve Mac throwing Bloo around. Anyway, Foster\u2019s Home for Imaginary Friends is one of my favorite Cartoon Network shows (though I never had an imaginary friend as a kid). Foster\u2019s is such a well-written show, with great characters and humor. It\u2019s a shame there hasn\u2019t been anything like it since. Assist trophies from this show include Coco, Cheese, and Eduardo. I just adore those last two characters from the cartoon. Cheese is so annoying that you gotta love him, and Eduardo is too adorable.<\/p>\n

Dexter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dexter\u2019s Laboratory is another brilliant show, and one of the best ever to be on CN. Well, except for when they made new episodes with a different art style, then it sucked. But the ones Genndy Tartakovsky was involved in, those were good. Dexter of course, uses his giant robots and other inventions for attacks in this game, and he\u2019s a strong opponent. Assist characters from this show include Dee Dee and Mandark.<\/p>\n

Monkey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kind of a weird choice to put this Dexter spin-off character in here, since I\u2019d rather have someone from the Justice Friends. But oh well. Don\u2019t know how he plays, since I never unlocked him.<\/p>\n

Grim<\/strong><\/p>\n

I never liked The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It seems the only purpose of that show was to see how much they could get away with. And it was an annoying show anyway, so I can\u2019t say much about it. Assist characters include Dracula and Fred Fredburger.<\/p>\n

Billy & Mandy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yup, they\u2019re playable, too. As if having one Grim character wasn\u2019t annoying enough.<\/p>\n

Samurai Jack<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can chalk him up as another favorite Cartoon Network show of mine. It was so unique and artistic. And a great action show, too. It\u2019s too bad they never finished the story. Now we\u2019ll never know if Jack defeated Aku. Speaking of which, Aku is an assist character. You\u2019d think he\u2019d be a boss or something. I also like the bits of humor they threw in the cartoon every now and then. It\u2019s a shame the show never caught on. I liked how they made fun of Samurai Jack in that one episode of the new Duck Dodgers cartoon.<\/p>\n

Captain Planet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now this is a surprise! The last secret unlockable character is this guy! I always hated that show. I think it was on even before Cartoon Network existed! I never liked all those \u2018save the environment\u2019 cartoons from the 90\u2019s. They always made me want to destroy the environment instead. Oh yeah, there is one last assist character but he doesn\u2019t belong in any other cartoon so I\u2019ll just list him here: Johnny Bravo. I think he should\u2019ve been a playable character, too. His cartoon was pretty funny, albeit stupid.<\/p>\n

And those are all the characters! There are other references to Cartoon Network shows in the game, too. There are stages based on the cartoons, like Chowder\u2019s town and an outer space Ben 10 level. Plus the enemies in Story Mode are from the cartoons. I saw the broccoli monsters from The PowerPuff Girls, for instance. Heck, even the narrator is the same one from the PowerPuff show. So at least they TRIED to cram as much Cartoon Network stuff in there. It\u2019s too bad the game still sucks.<\/p>\n

Cary\u2019s Other Favorite Cartoon Network Shows<\/strong><\/p>\n

So now you know some of my favorite Cartoon Network shows (Dexter, Foster\u2019s, PowerPuff, and Samurai Jack), but there many more that I like, or at least have respect for, that aren\u2019t featured in the game. So here\u2019s a short list of the other shows I\u2019ve enjoyed.<\/p>\n

2 Stupid Dogs<\/strong><\/p>\n

This cartoon and Swat Katz were the two shows that kind of started it all for a lot of the folks who would go on to make stuff like Dexter and PowerPuff Girls and Foster\u2019s and such. I guess it was Hanna Barbera trying to imitate Ren & Stimpy, and they really did a better job. You can still catch this cartoon on Boomerang, it\u2019s pretty hilarious. I\u2019m surprised they got away with what they did. 2 Stupid Dogs came on when Cartoon Network wasn\u2019t as commonplace of a cable channel as it is now, so I actually watched it on regular TV: Sunday mornings, right before the Mega Man cartoon. Yup.<\/p>\n

Courage the Cowardly Dog<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really like this show, but I do have respect for it. It was a really different kind of cartoon, and there were lots of fun references to horror films and whatnot. It was a pretty consistent show, too, always having spooky themes. My favorite was the one where his owner was trapped in a tornado and turned into a little girl. The bit where she asks for macaroni and cheese and the part where she\u2019s on the plane is hilarious.<\/p>\n

Ed, Edd, & Eddy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another show that I don\u2019t like very much, but I do have respect for it. It was a very consistent show with its themes and characters. And I did like how well they \u2018got\u2019 the theme of the show. I remember well the time in my life where I was old enough to stay home by myself in the summers, but not old enough to drive or get a job. That\u2019s what Ed, Edd, & Eddy is all about. Suburban pre-teens hanging out and getting into trouble. I remember doing a lot of the things they did in the show, but not as exaggerated, of course!<\/p>\n

Sheep in the Big City<\/strong><\/p>\n

This show wasn\u2019t on very long, but I did like the art style and humor that wanted to imitate Rocky & Bullwinkle.<\/p>\n

Megas XLR<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now I LOVED this show! A giant anime robot from the future crash lands on present day Earth. Two teens find it, rig their car to it, and get into all sorts of trouble. They made so many spoofs and parodies of anime and video games, and any cartoon that makes fun of anime is OK in my book.<\/p>\n

League of Super Evil<\/strong><\/p>\n

This cartoon wasn\u2019t on for very long, so don\u2019t feel bad if you never heard of it. It was about a group of super-villains who lived in a house together in the suburbs, and their evil plans would never work out (the acronym for their team was L.O.S.E.). It was like a cross between Strong Bad and Invader ZIM, and I\u2019ve seen better computer animation on the PS2. But it was still a funny show.<\/p>\n

Regular Show<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is my current favorite show on Cartoon Network right now. I think it\u2019s way better than Adventure Time. I\u2019m sorry, I just don\u2019t get that show, it\u2019s too weird. Only good thing about Adventure Time is the voice of the dog is the same as Bender from Futurama. I almost expect that dog to say \u201cBite my shiny metal\u2026\u201d The sad thing is that Regular Show really isn\u2019t that good of a cartoon either, especially in comparison to stuff CN has had in the past. But it\u2019s the best cartoon on CN right now currently. I love all the video game and old school references in the show. I hear they are making a console version of Punch Time Explosion, and if they do, the only way they\u2019ll get me to buy it is if Mordecai and Rigby are in it. My favorite episode is \u201cThis is My Jam.\u201d Not only is it a funny episode, but a great satire on today\u2019s music. I recommend watching it if you can (not going to refer you to YouTube, but you can watch it there). It\u2019s crazy to think that someone must\u2019ve watched \u201c2 in the AM PM\u201d and said, \u201cHey, let\u2019s make a Cartoon Network show on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

No Nicktoons?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So now you might be wondering why I didn\u2019t mention toons like SpongeBob or Invader ZIM. Well that\u2019s on another network, I just stayed with the CN stuff. But don\u2019t worry, next month, 2K Play is releasing a baseball game starring Nicktoons characters. And I\u2019ll probably write a similar blog about the Nicktoons in that game. So don\u2019t worry, Nickelodeon fans, you\u2019ll get a chance to profess your love to SpongeBob in about a month in that blog. And I didn\u2019t mention any Adult Swim characters because I\u2019m too sleepy by then (although The Brak Show was funny). So in the comments section, let me know YOUR favorite Cartoon Network shows! –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I hate giving games a bad review. I really do. Anyone who\u2019s read my reviews can tell. Even if a game is mediocre, as long as it\u2019s playable I\u2019ll try and look at the good in the game as much as I can. That\u2019s why it pains me to say that Cartoon Network: Punch Time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews","category-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6279\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}