Completion Time: 7h:05m:00s
Rating: 7/10

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Battle Stations!

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More video games based on cartoons, as we'll never be shy of them! I've bounced back and forth between Cartoon Network, Disney, and Nickelodeon in this series, and it only makes sense that I would once more cycle my way back around to the CN side of things. Another instance of a show I occasionally would engage with in boredom, and a game that I owned when I was younger and would play. Well, at least I would try to play it. Scratched disc and all that, I could never get any farther than the 3rd level due to this, so much of this I got to experience for the first time around for this go. What fun!

Every game in existence should have a sequence where you destroy the credits!

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A Kid's World

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So, while I’ve been upfront and honest about not really liking the look of the show the game does a great job of emulating the design sensibilities. I think a lot of the Cartoon Network games that came out on consoles this generation have that feel, they really have the artistic sensibilities locked down. The extends to the voice acting as immersion as well, of course. These are actors that know how to deliver their lines, and the world does a good job getting across the feeling of inhabiting that world.

Mark Hamill screaming at me will never not be funny

The platforming is so-so. I find it hard to deliberate on the quality of being able to make jumps anymore because I’ve played some truly horrendous platformers at this point. But you aren’t floaty, there’s weight to your ability to navigate the world, and the camera cooperates with you (for the most part). My only real knock against how the title sets up the stages are the encounters. The combat overall is a little weak, and I don’t feel like the aiming or lock-on always works. This doesn’t impact the boss fights really, though. At least not for me. Perhaps it’s because the scale of them is so different than your other fights? Or maybe they’re inherently better designed.

Eww, get these disgusting things OUT of here!

Speaking of combat, I really appreciate the variety and scope of weapons here. Throughout the levels, you collect parts that can either upgrade a pre-existing weapon you have or even give you something new. These are standard kid concoctions that you might have seen in the show, things like a bubblegum machine gun or pieces of wood with a spring to propel the board, things like that. There’s a good amount of variety in the arsenal you can obtain, though they don’t move between stages and are used on a case-by-case basis. Little disappointing, as I liked some of these more than others. A “Ratchet & Clank” style weapon system might’ve benefited the game here.

Where's the unlockable where I can just wield peppermint sticks like these guys?

You also have different elements outside of combat, things like solving puzzles or dodging lasers. There’s one I’ve been thinking about, where you play as “Numbuh” 3 running around backyards with fireflies to light up a door and open it, avoiding bug zappers all the while. There are also stages that have a slightly different structure which keep things from getting stale. For example, two separate sections where you fly this supped-up bus that they built and fly around dodging projectiles and blowing up enemy ships. The final level might be my favorite, though. All the villains are merged into an unholy mess called the Amalgamation, and you have a no-holds barred boxing match on the surface of the moon. Little clunky, as you’ve had no experience up to this point that functions in this way, but it’s still a fun way to wrap up a game like this!

Robots in space are always cool, I don't make the rules

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Completing the Game

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Picking up spare parts as you make your way through the levels is the main "collectable" here that I can think of, with each one working towards giving you upgrades for the weapons and tools that you use to progress. These are usually relegated to specific sections and work as a mission to be accomplished for progression. Therefore, I wouldn't count those as collectables towards completion. I mean, you have to do it, right? So if you're working to finish the game, then you're gonna do it anyways. I'm not trying to split hairs here, but... yeah, I am, why hide it?

Heaven forbid we don't have the shield to defend against the... ugh... snot rockets

Most every mission DOES have rainbow monkeys lying around to grab (this game's equivalent of coins, perhaps), and a secret objective to complete that will lead to various unlockables! Most all of these are skins and cosmetics for characters, and they start to unfortunately peter out before the end of the game. But I'll give them credit where it's due, because those secret missions are off the wall and not just "Grab all of X to unlock Y". Things like shooting a tire swing and kicking rolls of toilet paper into a fireplace are what you need to do if you want to get these "sooper secrets" (yes, more misspellings), and they all amount to the playable characters in deformed and vampire variants. Not much there, but it's at least interesting.

Vampire costumes are fun, I'm not made of stone

I find myself looking back at what I wrote and the score I gave the game, and I do want to keep from being too hard on this one solely because of how well put together it is. And it's hard to come across things like that as I go through this little experiment of mine.

This is another entry in a series where I go through and complete every GameCube game, as it is the largest part of my video game collection. GameCube Games: 38/652