9. Animaniacs (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Animaniacs was a somewhat successor to Tiny Toons, only taking the theme in a completely different direction. The show itself ran from 93-98, following the madcap adventures of the Warner Bros (and sister) and their strange supporting cast of Pinky and the Brain, the Goodfeathers and more. Again, the series spawned more than one game, with both Super Nintendo and Genesis versions being completely different in execution. The Genesis version was released in 1994, with the storyline that the Animaniacs must collect four pieces of movie memorabilia across different movie themed levels in order to get closer to their favourite celebrities. Like Tiny Toons, it featured levels all themed around different movie genres, but instead of focusing on just one cast member, Animaniacs allowed the player to take control of all three. Each character boasted unique powers, which the user had to figure out how to best use to solve problems and advance in the game. Yakko could move crates and use a paddleball, Wakko had a mallet to break objects and hit switches and Dot could blow kisses, which would affect different characters in different ways. In a unique approach for the time, after completing the first level, the player could choose to tackle the rest of the levels in any order they desired. While the game was unique in the usage of its characters, it was still a traditional platforming experience. The Super Nintendo version however was different in that it was almost like a side scrolling beat em up. In that version, the brothers (and sister) are on a quest to find 24 missing pages of a script. The player still got to take control of all three characters but it didn't have the added unique ability mechanics that the Genesis version did. Also, the SNES version had no health bar, with the game only ending after all three characters were killed or captured. This made the game more difficult than the other, mostly due to one hit kills. Though both games came out around the same time, the inventiveness of the Genesis version makes it slightly better than its SNES counterpart, and another game that could make good use of a modern day remake.