The Problem with Licensed Games: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has had quite a few great games; in fact, ''[[The Simpsons Arcade]]'' game is often regarded as a contender for "Best Licensed Game of All Time". Unfortunately, the franchise has also had quite a few stinkers:
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has had quite a few great games; in fact, ''[[The Simpsons Arcade]]'' game is often regarded as a contender for "Best Licensed Game of All Time". Unfortunately, the franchise has also had quite a few stinkers:
** ''Bart vs. the Space Mutants'' and ''The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World'' were [[Nintendo Hard]] platformers with annoying controls that lead to a lot of [[Fake Difficulty]] and mediocre graphics. To spare explanation, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKnl0CvfeLs check out the Angry Video Game Nerd's review of the games.]
** ''Bart vs. the Space Mutants'' and ''The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World'' were [[Nintendo Hard]] platformers with annoying controls that lead to a lot of [[Fake Difficulty]] and mediocre graphics. To spare explanation, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKnl0CvfeLs check out the Angry Video Game Nerd's review of the games.]
** ''The Simpsons Wrestling'', for [[Playstation]]; “Worst [[Fighting Game]] game ''ever''!” is what the Comic Book Guy would likely say if he played it. This is practically a documentary on how ''not'' to design a licensed game, it plays poorly, has little actual content, and an [[Excuse Plot]] that [[All There in the Manual| is only mentioned in the instruction book]] and has almost ''nothing'' to do with the source material. Basically, you just pick a character, and then fumble with ''really'' bad controls to fight another character, that's it. The controls are so bad that you have a better chance to win a match via [[Button Mashing]] than any actual strategy; there's not even a block option! (This game was made in 2001, long after game developers figured out blocking was an essential part of Fighting Games). It has the ''worst'' 3D animated models, ''and'' the worst flat 2D images! The one thing it had going for it was a few funny quotes made by the series' actual VAs, plus characters interacting differently depending on who the opponent is (a feature ahead of its time) but that wasn't nearly enough save this train wreck.
** ''The Simpsons Wrestling'', for [[Playstation]]; "Worst [[Fighting Game]] game ''ever''!" is what the Comic Book Guy would likely say if he played it. This is practically a documentary on how ''not'' to design a licensed game, it plays poorly, has little actual content, and an [[Excuse Plot]] that [[All There in the Manual| is only mentioned in the instruction book]] and has almost ''nothing'' to do with the source material. Basically, you just pick a character, and then fumble with ''really'' bad controls to fight another character, that's it. The controls are so bad that you have a better chance to win a match via [[Button Mashing]] than any actual strategy; there's not even a block option! (This game was made in 2001, long after game developers figured out blocking was an essential part of Fighting Games). It has the ''worst'' 3D animated models, ''and'' the worst flat 2D images! The one thing it had going for it was a few funny quotes made by the series' actual VAs, plus characters interacting differently depending on who the opponent is (a feature ahead of its time) but that wasn't nearly enough save this train wreck.
** ''[[Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly]]'' for [[Game Boy]]. The title of this game might suggest the show's season 4 episode “Kamp Krusty”, but the only real similarity is, both take place at summer camps run by villains (in fact, the game was released about a year before that episode). [[Excuse Plot| The “plot' of this game]] involves Bart and Lisa trapped at a camp run by Mr. Burns' sadistic nephew Ironfist Burns (and no, this guy is not in the actual show; exactly why they couldn't actually use Mr. Burns as the villain is anyone's guess) who [[For the Evulz| wants to kill them for… reasons]]. The game suffers from bad controls with input delay, and there's a lot of [[Artificial Difficulty]] and [[Trial and Error Gameplay]] involved; some enemies can OTK Bart, and there's no way of even knowing that until they actually hit him. The graphics are poor, even compared to other Game Boy titles released in 1991, and the scenery is very bland, without much to differentiate one level from the next. Sound effects are weak, and the only music is the cartoon's theme, playing over and over. Worst of all, if you actually make it to the ending, [[A Winner Is You| all you get is a picture of the family and the closed camp, that's it.]]
** ''[[Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly]]'' for [[Game Boy]]. The title of this game might suggest the show's season 4 episode "Kamp Krusty", but the only real similarity is, both take place at summer camps run by villains (in fact, the game was released about a year before that episode). [[Excuse Plot| The "plot' of this game]] involves Bart and Lisa trapped at a camp run by Mr. Burns' sadistic nephew Ironfist Burns (and no, this guy is not in the actual show; exactly why they couldn't actually use Mr. Burns as the villain is anyone's guess) who [[For the Evulz| wants to kill them for… reasons]]. The game suffers from bad controls with input delay, and there's a lot of [[Artificial Difficulty]] and [[Trial and Error Gameplay]] involved; some enemies can OTK Bart, and there's no way of even knowing that until they actually hit him. The graphics are poor, even compared to other Game Boy titles released in 1991, and the scenery is very bland, without much to differentiate one level from the next. Sound effects are weak, and the only music is the cartoon's theme, playing over and over. Worst of all, if you actually make it to the ending, [[A Winner Is You| all you get is a picture of the family and the closed camp, that's it.]]
* The NES game based off ''[[Terminator|The Terminator]]'' deserves a more detailed description, awful sound, stiff controls, and ugly graphics. The first level is the ONLY level you have a gun and grenades (Unlike, well, EVERY other version.), as soon as you get to the past you have nothing but your fists (you can kick too, but whats the point?).
* The NES game based off ''[[Terminator|The Terminator]]'' deserves a more detailed description, awful sound, stiff controls, and ugly graphics. The first level is the ONLY level you have a gun and grenades (Unlike, well, EVERY other version.), as soon as you get to the past you have nothing but your fists (you can kick too, but whats the point?).
** The SNES ''Terminator'' game could use some mention too, the levels are brutally long (the 2nd level is INSANE) Sound Effects tend to drown out all two of the music tracks in the game, and it was just [[Nintendo Hard|cruelly difficult]].
** The SNES ''Terminator'' game could use some mention too, the levels are brutally long (the 2nd level is INSANE) Sound Effects tend to drown out all two of the music tracks in the game, and it was just [[Nintendo Hard|cruelly difficult]].
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* The 16-bit version of ''[[Wayne's World]]'' is possibly one of the most loathed, least playable 16-bit games ever. Bad collision detection, hideous sprites and atrociously digitized voices (especially in the Sega version) are just part of the problem with this. Mainly considered [[Snark Bait|only worthwhile to mock]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100102101013/http://sega-16.com/review_page.php?id=966&title=Wayne%27s%20World Read this review for more details.]
* The 16-bit version of ''[[Wayne's World]]'' is possibly one of the most loathed, least playable 16-bit games ever. Bad collision detection, hideous sprites and atrociously digitized voices (especially in the Sega version) are just part of the problem with this. Mainly considered [[Snark Bait|only worthwhile to mock]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100102101013/http://sega-16.com/review_page.php?id=966&title=Wayne%27s%20World Read this review for more details.]
* The NES ''[[Where's Waldo]]'' game (released by [[Acclaim]] in 1992), owing to the severe graphical limitations of the system, was barely playable (as all the people in the crowds are identical stick figures) and has none of the visual fun that made the books memorable.
* The NES ''[[Where's Waldo]]'' game (released by [[Acclaim]] in 1992), owing to the severe graphical limitations of the system, was barely playable (as all the people in the crowds are identical stick figures) and has none of the visual fun that made the books memorable.
* ''[[Fester's Quest]]'' was the first game to attempt to make an adaptation of ''[[The Addams Family]]'', but it failed miserably. It's even a mystery as to why this game was made; released in 1989, three years before [[The Addams Family (1991 film)|the movie]] came out, the franchise wasn't exactly popular at the time.<ref>In fact, that may have been the point. This was the first licensed game made by Sunsoft, they figured they'd need something recognizable, and while ''The Addams Family'' fit the bill, it wasn't popular, and thus the licensing rights would be easy to get.</ref> Notoriously [[Nintendo Hard]], ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKDOwzfRBwk the commercial for the game]] even warns you [[At Least I Admit It| that it's difficult]]) the gameplay and controls are pretty bad. Fester moves very slow, can't move diagonally; even the most basic enemies take a long time to kill, have a tendency to gang up and get in your way, and some of them use projectiles that make Fester even slower. The big problem is Fester's gun, which automatically upgrades (or downgrades) upon getting certain power-ups, but the erratic way it fires after upgrading makes it hard to hit anything with it, and there's no way to choose the setting. Worst of all, Fester has only one life and two units of health (you can get more later, but it takes a while). Adding to the frustration is [[Check Point Starvation|the complete lack of checkpoints]]; dying and using a continue sends you back to the starting point, although you do get to keep everything in your inventory. It's hard to even say, “if you're a diehard fan of ''The Addams Family'' it might be worth a look”, because for the record, the plot (or [[Excuse Plot|what passes for it]], with Fester fighting [[Alien Invasion|invading aliens]]) seems out of place for the Family, and [[In Name Only|the game barely references the source material at all.]] It even seems likely that a lot of the game's material was recycled from ''[[Blaster Master]]'', an earlier Sunsoft game. Still, the game does have some fans; when IGM posted their list of the top 100 NES games of all time, this one got a respectable spot at number 45.
* ''[[Fester's Quest]]'' was the first game to attempt to make an adaptation of ''[[The Addams Family]]'', but it failed miserably. It's even a mystery as to why this game was made; released in 1989, three years before [[The Addams Family (1991 film)|the movie]] came out, the franchise wasn't exactly popular at the time.<ref>In fact, that may have been the point. This was the first licensed game made by Sunsoft, they figured they'd need something recognizable, and while ''The Addams Family'' fit the bill, it wasn't popular, and thus the licensing rights would be easy to get.</ref> Notoriously [[Nintendo Hard]], ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKDOwzfRBwk the commercial for the game]] even warns you [[At Least I Admit It| that it's difficult]]) the gameplay and controls are pretty bad. Fester moves very slow, can't move diagonally; even the most basic enemies take a long time to kill, have a tendency to gang up and get in your way, and some of them use projectiles that make Fester even slower. The big problem is Fester's gun, which automatically upgrades (or downgrades) upon getting certain power-ups, but the erratic way it fires after upgrading makes it hard to hit anything with it, and there's no way to choose the setting. Worst of all, Fester has only one life and two units of health (you can get more later, but it takes a while). Adding to the frustration is [[Check Point Starvation|the complete lack of checkpoints]]; dying and using a continue sends you back to the starting point, although you do get to keep everything in your inventory. It's hard to even say, "if you're a diehard fan of ''The Addams Family'' it might be worth a look", because for the record, the plot (or [[Excuse Plot|what passes for it]], with Fester fighting [[Alien Invasion|invading aliens]]) seems out of place for the Family, and [[In Name Only|the game barely references the source material at all.]] It even seems likely that a lot of the game's material was recycled from ''[[Blaster Master]]'', an earlier Sunsoft game. Still, the game does have some fans; when IGM posted their list of the top 100 NES games of all time, this one got a respectable spot at number 45.


== Fifth Generation (1995-2000) ==
== Fifth Generation (1995-2000) ==
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*** Very few reviews exist for the third game, ''[[The Powerpuff Girls: Battle HIM!]]'' (which as the title implies, has Bubbles go up against HIM) possibly because nobody wanted to play it after playing the first two. Any masochist who ''does'' will feel the urge to throw their Game Boy Color away. Bubbles is a lot stronger and faster than Blossom or Buttercup was in the previous games, but the controls are still bad. This game also has bad level design and [[Trial and Error Gameplay]]; you never know whether the pit you're flying over has an item below that you need to fly down and take or whether it's a bottomless pit that will kill you if you try. The Boss Battle with the Boogie Man is even glitchier than the one with Fuzzy in the previous game; sometimes Bubbles' punches simply don't harm him at all even when the stun attack works.
*** Very few reviews exist for the third game, ''[[The Powerpuff Girls: Battle HIM!]]'' (which as the title implies, has Bubbles go up against HIM) possibly because nobody wanted to play it after playing the first two. Any masochist who ''does'' will feel the urge to throw their Game Boy Color away. Bubbles is a lot stronger and faster than Blossom or Buttercup was in the previous games, but the controls are still bad. This game also has bad level design and [[Trial and Error Gameplay]]; you never know whether the pit you're flying over has an item below that you need to fly down and take or whether it's a bottomless pit that will kill you if you try. The Boss Battle with the Boogie Man is even glitchier than the one with Fuzzy in the previous game; sometimes Bubbles' punches simply don't harm him at all even when the stun attack works.
*** In the end, these three games were pretty much three versions of the same game, and all were bad. More than likely it was a shameless cash grab done to exploit a popular series.
*** In the end, these three games were pretty much three versions of the same game, and all were bad. More than likely it was a shameless cash grab done to exploit a popular series.
** ''[[The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Straction]]''. This game was released in 2001, and the reason it's not under Sixth Generation titles is because it was released for [[Nintendo 64]] and [[Playstation]], meaning they released it when the superior [[Sega Dreamcast]] and ''[[PlayStation 2]]'' were already out and both [[GameCube]] and [[Xbox]] were only a few weeks away. But then, this game was little more than a shameless reskin of ''[[Tom and Jerry: Fists of Fury]]'' (a video game adaptation of a movie adaptation of a cartoon, made by the same company as this game) so at least they have that as an excuse. Again, the [[Excuse Plot]] of this game is pretty dumb; the Girls are baking pies, and Bubbles decides that, since the pies are made with sugar, spice, and everything nice (the three base ingredients the Girls themselves were made of) why not add some Chemical X (the accidental fourth ingredient) to make the pies “super”? Unfortunately, Mojo Jojo steals the pies, he and the other Townsville villains eat them, they gain superpowers, and the Girls have to go and beat them all up. The gameplay here is, well, if you've ever played ''[[Power Stone]]'', start with that, but give it bad controls, bad animation, a lot of input delay, and difficulty that's all over the place, and you have a general idea. The fights range from too easy to drawn out and frustrating, and ''all'' of them are boring. The game is incredibly short (you can finish it in about an hour) and while each Girl can unlock something by beating Mojo, the [[Final Boss]] it's impossible to unlock everything, as once you beat him with one Girl, you can't unlock anything else. Each Girl has a story mode, but all three are pretty much the same, although the “true” ending can only be achieved with Blossom. For some reason.
** ''[[The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Straction]]''. This game was released in 2001, and the reason it's not under Sixth Generation titles is because it was released for [[Nintendo 64]] and [[Playstation]], meaning they released it when the superior [[Sega Dreamcast]] and ''[[PlayStation 2]]'' were already out and both [[GameCube]] and [[Xbox]] were only a few weeks away. But then, this game was little more than a shameless reskin of ''[[Tom and Jerry: Fists of Fury]]'' (a video game adaptation of a movie adaptation of a cartoon, made by the same company as this game) so at least they have that as an excuse. Again, the [[Excuse Plot]] of this game is pretty dumb; the Girls are baking pies, and Bubbles decides that, since the pies are made with sugar, spice, and everything nice (the three base ingredients the Girls themselves were made of) why not add some Chemical X (the accidental fourth ingredient) to make the pies "super"? Unfortunately, Mojo Jojo steals the pies, he and the other Townsville villains eat them, they gain superpowers, and the Girls have to go and beat them all up. The gameplay here is, well, if you've ever played ''[[Power Stone]]'', start with that, but give it bad controls, bad animation, a lot of input delay, and difficulty that's all over the place, and you have a general idea. The fights range from too easy to drawn out and frustrating, and ''all'' of them are boring. The game is incredibly short (you can finish it in about an hour) and while each Girl can unlock something by beating Mojo, the [[Final Boss]] it's impossible to unlock everything, as once you beat him with one Girl, you can't unlock anything else. Each Girl has a story mode, but all three are pretty much the same, although the "true" ending can only be achieved with Blossom. For some reason.
*** Now, if you're playing it on Playstation, the problems end there, but the Nintendo 64 version is much, much worse. First of all, it's way too easy. Each Girl has an “explosion attack” which is practically a [[One-Hit Kill]] attack because it depletes the enemies' health quickly when used in succession. The limited memory of the N64 cartridge causes many of the better content in the Playstation version to be omitted. There's no voice acting, the cutscenes have no animation (just pictures with lines of dialogue) and only one piece of music (the cartoon's theme tune) plays throughout the whole game, [[Ear Worm| on a continuous loop!]] Even fans of the show are going to find that annoying sooner or later.
*** Now, if you're playing it on Playstation, the problems end there, but the Nintendo 64 version is much, much worse. First of all, it's way too easy. Each Girl has an "explosion attack" which is practically a [[One-Hit Kill]] attack because it depletes the enemies' health quickly when used in succession. The limited memory of the N64 cartridge causes many of the better content in the Playstation version to be omitted. There's no voice acting, the cutscenes have no animation (just pictures with lines of dialogue) and only one piece of music (the cartoon's theme tune) plays throughout the whole game, [[Ear Worm| on a continuous loop!]] Even fans of the show are going to find that annoying sooner or later.
* As mentioned above, BAM! also released a ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' adaptation on ''[[Game Boy Color]]'' on the same day it launched the first of three Powerpuff Girls titles, and this was also the first of three. Were they any better? Sadly, no. ''[[Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage]]'', was, in fact, nothing but a reskin of ''[[Elevator Action EX]]'', another game from BAM! for the Game Boy Color. The objective was to move Dexter up and down floors in his mecha-suit, avoiding enemies, and opening as many doors as possible, something that may have reminded a lot of fans of ''[[Hotel Mario]]''. It had generic music, generic enemies (basically all were the same robot, but different colors) and Mandark as the main antagonist, which might have been cool if he didn't also act like nothing more than a generic bad guy.
* As mentioned above, BAM! also released a ''[[Dexter's Laboratory]]'' adaptation on ''[[Game Boy Color]]'' on the same day it launched the first of three Powerpuff Girls titles, and this was also the first of three. Were they any better? Sadly, no. ''[[Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage]]'', was, in fact, nothing but a reskin of ''[[Elevator Action EX]]'', another game from BAM! for the Game Boy Color. The objective was to move Dexter up and down floors in his mecha-suit, avoiding enemies, and opening as many doors as possible, something that may have reminded a lot of fans of ''[[Hotel Mario]]''. It had generic music, generic enemies (basically all were the same robot, but different colors) and Mandark as the main antagonist, which might have been cool if he didn't also act like nothing more than a generic bad guy.
* ''[[Addams Family Values (video game)|Addams Family Values]]'', released in 1995 for SNES. Slightly better than ''Fester's Quest'', but as this was a direct movie tie-in, and like most such games, was pretty bad. Moby Games described this as “an action-adventure game with slight RPG elements”. By “slight', that basically meant Fester (the protagonist) gained hp as he leveled up, but not much else. Unlike Fester's Quest, the game had a lot of humor that was indeed loyal to the franchise, but the graphics were bad, the game mechanics were almost broken, and the gameplay was just dull, consisting mostly of Fester going from point A to point B, getting an item, and back to point A. The save points were the worst part, requiring players to write down a ridiculously long passcode before turning the game off in order to save progress.
* ''[[Addams Family Values (video game)|Addams Family Values]]'', released in 1995 for SNES. Slightly better than ''Fester's Quest'', but as this was a direct movie tie-in, and like most such games, was pretty bad. Moby Games described this as "an action-adventure game with slight RPG elements". By "slight', that basically meant Fester (the protagonist) gained hp as he leveled up, but not much else. Unlike Fester's Quest, the game had a lot of humor that was indeed loyal to the franchise, but the graphics were bad, the game mechanics were almost broken, and the gameplay was just dull, consisting mostly of Fester going from point A to point B, getting an item, and back to point A. The save points were the worst part, requiring players to write down a ridiculously long passcode before turning the game off in order to save progress.


== Sixth Generation (2001-05) ==
== Sixth Generation (2001-05) ==
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** Worst of all, many very superior fan-made renditions were yanked off the internet by cease-and-desist orders so these abominations could be released. The fanbase, who had been consulted by Ludia about the ''PYL'' game and provided more than enough resources to let it surpass Curt King's unofficial PC rendition, became very disgusted at [[Fremantle Media]]...which didn't exactly have a good reputation with them as it was.
** Worst of all, many very superior fan-made renditions were yanked off the internet by cease-and-desist orders so these abominations could be released. The fanbase, who had been consulted by Ludia about the ''PYL'' game and provided more than enough resources to let it surpass Curt King's unofficial PC rendition, became very disgusted at [[Fremantle Media]]...which didn't exactly have a good reputation with them as it was.
* Just pick any film made between 1988 and 1993, and there's a good chance Ocean Software made a side scrolling platformer (possibly with extra top-down levels) out of it...regardless of how suitable the subject matter was.
* Just pick any film made between 1988 and 1993, and there's a good chance Ocean Software made a side scrolling platformer (possibly with extra top-down levels) out of it...regardless of how suitable the subject matter was.
* Pack-in-Video developed a good chunk of video games based on either movies or TV shows in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Some were either [[So Okay It's Average|otherwise average]] or just bad. Some of those games include ''Knight Rider'', ''[[Friday the 13th (video game)|Friday the 13th]]'', ''Predator'', ''Rambo'', and ''Die Hard''...all of which were released on the NES, published by either LJN or [[Acclaim]] (although ''Die Hard'' was published by Activision).
* Pack-in-Video developed a good chunk of video games based on either movies or TV shows in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Some were either [[So Okay It's Average|otherwise average]] or just bad. Some of those games include ''Knight Rider'', ''[[Friday the 13th (video game)|Friday the 13 th]]'', ''Predator'', ''Rambo'', and ''Die Hard''...all of which were released on the NES, published by either LJN or [[Acclaim]] (although ''Die Hard'' was published by Activision).
* Radical Entertainment was responsible for quite a number of bad licensed games in their early years; the aforementioned ''Terminator'' for the NES was their first game, no less. It makes one wonder how the hell they went from dreck like ''Bebe's Kids'' to great games like ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]''.
* Radical Entertainment was responsible for quite a number of bad licensed games in their early years; the aforementioned ''Terminator'' for the NES was their first game, no less. It makes one wonder how the hell they went from dreck like ''Bebe's Kids'' to great games like ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]''.


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