6. Ren And Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention (Mega Drive/Genesis)
Ren and Stimpy is the only Nickelodeon contingent on the list, as their cartoons surprisingly didn't put out many good video games. I had thought about including "Aah! Real Monsters," but decided it was too similar (and not as good) as the Animaniacs game already featured. The Ren and Stimpy show ran from 1991-1996 and was unlike anything else of its time. It paired up a Chihuahua and a dim witted cat as best friends, in a somewhat controversial show with off colour humour, innuendo, violence and sometimes disgusting extreme close up animations. The video game adaptations took that established style and ran with it, trying to capture the lunacy of the source material. As expected, the SNES and Genesis versions were once again completely separate entities, with the Genesis game being the more interesting of the two. In "Stimpy's Invention," you took control as both main characters, fighting your way through quirky versions of levels based on the TV show. This also allowed for cameos from some of the shows recurring characters like Powdered Toast Man and a battle against wrestlers "Meat" and "Loaf," where Ren and Stimpy must survive for a set amount of time. The most fun thing about the game was the attacks, which allowed for the titular characters to use each other as weapons and to proceed in the game. In all, this meant that there were 14 unique moves that could be used, which was a lot for a game of its type. Similar to World of Illusion, as well as switching between characters in single player, this also meant that the game could be played in a co op mode. It was by no means a great game and ultimately very short when you got the hang of it. However, there was plenty of fun to be had, and numerous references to the show for fans, including the chance to sing along to, "Happy Happy Joy Joy" should you make it all the way to the end. While not perfect, a modern day release could no doubt iron out the problems and give this game a fitting remake to honour the cult following that the series has gained over the years.