Paramount has revealed the first new game dedicated to the Rugrats franchise in over 20 years, Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland.
The game is being developed by Wallride games, in partnership with Paramount and The MIX Games. It seems that this will be the first in a series of “neo-retro games with classic mechanics built for today’s gamers”.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is a puzzle platformer, that’s being programmed in such a way that Limited Run Games is making an authentic NES cart of the game, that can run on real NES consoles, as well as Famiclones. The modern version of the game will allow you to switch anytime between NES and modern graphics.
Wallride demonstrates a very good grasp of the spirit of the NES console, as the NES version of Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is bright, colorful, and features very accurate depictions of Tommy, Chucky, their friends, and their little world. In contrast, the modern graphics look practically like they come from the show itself, only with the camera set to eye level and a significant distance apart.
For people old enough to remember when retro games were the new games, actually both modes are very nostalgic to classic games. It’s easy to understand why Wallride thought NES would be a good platform to target. There’s an ongoing nostalgia cycle particularly for NES generation graphics, leading to games with NES aesthetics and even new NES games. On top of that, the NES was a famous platform for many decent, and even good, licensed platformers. This runs the gamut from obscurities like Felix the Cat and Little Nemo The Dream Master to system sellers like Ducktales.
On the other hand, the NES isn’t actually a fitting platform for Rugrats, and here’s why. The show debuted on Nickelodeon in 1991, but was overshadowed by other Nickelodeon shows like Ren & Stimpy. Reruns would make the show inescapable on the network, and eventually popular, by 1995.
So the first Rugrats video game didn’t actually arrive until 1998, with Rugrats: Search for Reptar on the PlayStation. As a late bloomer, Rugrats missed the tail end of the NES’s lifespan, as well as the SNES and Genesis after that.
Rugrats stuck around for two console generations, but it’s last game before this, Rugrats Munchin Land, released all the way back in 2002 for the PC.
So it feels like some strange revisionist history to see this faux retro game for Rugrats come to the NES. But I’m not really complaining, as it looks great and could be the start of some fun new games based on a few dormant Paramount owned franchises. Maybe they could make new NES games out of Top Gun and Mission Impossible next. That surely won’t be confusing and be really entertaining.
Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland is in development for PC and modern consoles. You can watch the announcement trailer below.
