Retrogaming is back, but this time it turns to the world of cartoons with some of the best games based on these adventures
For many gamers today animation was the first step undertaken towards what is the great world of video games. After all, they were still animated adventures set in places and times, as well as with protagonists, who transcended reality in their own way. Alternative versions of human beings, talking anthropomorphic animals, reworking of old fairy tales and myths, in short, there really is something for everyone!
A childhood spent between cathode ray tube and controller
What we will try to do here will therefore be bring to mind the best cartoon-based games that you have surely seen, obviously in retrogaming style, and from which you have drawn inspiration. Maybe even now, while you’re waiting for the bus or watching the rain fall from the sky, those carefree afternoons come back to your mind with a snack and a fruit juice together with school friends.
The beauty of making this kind of “plank” is, in addition to feeling that wonderful sense of nostalgia for childhood mixed with a bit of melancholy, which one realizes how these titles have allowed fans of a series or a particular character to live a new adventure in a much more “active” way.
To begin with, we will therefore propose a dozen titles, then we will see when and how to add others because there are plenty of them, and of course tie – ins will be included (not as bad as Street Fighter’s), but we will try to leave educational games out (such as Disney’s Magical Artist) otherwise you wouldn’t really end up anymore. Equally obviously there it will be Disney, but not only that because, remember, there are not only mice in the world!
Astérix & Obelix – Retrogaming: the best games based on cartoons
Published in 1995 for MS – DOS, SNES and all the various declinations of the Game Boy of the time, Astérix & Obelix is the third title of Inforgames dedicated to the adventures of the toughest roosters in all of Gaul during the times of the Roman invasion. In this side scrolling title it will therefore be necessary to use the two roosters, each one will be automatically selected by the game depending on the level, to play them all right to legionaries, wild animals and various enemies. Everything is made even more beautiful for the settings inspired by various comics (like the Britons, the Helvetians, the Olympics and Cleopatra although the latter level is replaced with The Thousand and One Hour of Astérix for the Game Boy Advance version).
Disney’s Aladdin – Retrogaming: The best games based on cartoons
Released in 1993 for SNES and Sega Mega Drive, a year after its theatrical release, and in 1994 for Game Gear and Sega Master System as well as for PC, this title takes us back to the city of Agrabah and it does it in style. In this platformer we’re going to check out the good Aladdin that, between apples to be pulled and various objects, will have to extricate himself from enemies and obstacles for stop Jafar’s plansrescue Princess Jasmine and take a ride on the flying carpet!
This is practically the game that many people have started with and there is a very specific reason. The title was a success so much that, the only version for SNES, it turned out among the best-selling titles of that year with more than four million copies. In short, in the face of the “beggar”!
Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension – Retrogaming: The best games based on cartoons
Released in Japan in 1996 and then landed in Europe the following year, this title for SNES is a real gem for those who love fighting games and want to join them to the mythical saga created by Akira Toriyama. A man who, in addition to making his fortune with manga and anime based on these, has become a leading name in the world of video games thanks to his skilful hand that has illustrated the characters of legendary sagas such as Dragon Quest e Chrono Trigger just to name a couple.
Despite here there are only ten fighters available (Goku, Gohan, Cell, Piccolo, Majin Buu, Gotenks, Majin Vegeta, Vegetto, Freeza and Kid Buu) turn out to be more than enough for a good dose of fighting between Saiyans. And then, let’s face it, could a title dedicated to Dragon Ball be missing in this or other lists?
DuckTales – Retrogaming: The best games based on cartoons
From the series when the eighties are felt heavily, but well, with DuckTales (uh uh) you go back to the world of Most famous ducks ever experiencing incredible adventures in search of the most precious treasures scattered around the world. In this 1989 title for the NES and Game Boy we will wear the clothes, or rather the gaiters, of the good Uncle Scrooge wandering through forests and temples.
Nostalgic, pixelated and extraordinarily tough despite its “linearity”, this title is really ideal for all those who want to become the children they once were. That is when it took very little to have fun and continue to imagine for hours. A blockbuster for the era that gave the A for the sequel a few years later and for the remastered versions for Steam, PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360.
Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue – Retrogaming: the best games based on cartoons
Sequel of the first chapter, both as regards the film and its videogame transposition, this title developed by Traveller’s Tales, a house that then specialized in LEGO versions, is perhaps among the most interesting as regards the world of toys described in Toy Story. The protagonist will be the intrepid Buzz Lightyear who will have to save Sheriff Woody kidnapped by the collector Al, a bit like in the movie.
Very interesting platform experience between enemies, mini games, collectibles and environments that follow the atmosphere of the film and that we highly recommend. Released between 1999 and 2000, this title was made available for Nintendo 64, the first PlayStation, the Dreamcast and also the Game Boy Color (with a version of its own to meet the limits of the machine).
Disney’s Hercules – Retrogaming: The best games based on cartoons
Known to most simply as Hercules, this title was released in the same year as the animated feature film (ie in 1997) for PC, the first PlayStation and also for the Game Boy Color. The title will therefore go to propose to the player an experience in an elegant 2D where, between sound blows, obstacles to overcome and enemies to be defeated, the strong Greek hero will guide you through the levels that trace and expand the scenes seen in the animated film.
The final result? A truly colorful and diverse title that will snatch more than a smile as well as a tear of nostalgia. Pay us a visit if it happens to you and above all pay attention because it is certainly not as easy as it might seem at first superficial glance.
The Simpsons: Hit & Run – Retrogaming: The best games based on cartoons
Come already mentioned in the special concerning some prestigious titles of the Nintento GameCube (which you can see from here) this 2003 title, also released on PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox, represents another videogame gem dedicated to one of the most famous television families ever!
Here we will take on the role of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and even Apu, personalizing them with objects and costumes, and we will have to understand why curious robot wasps and mysterious black vans are spreading in Springfield. So green light for exploration starting from 742 Evergreen Terrace! Then, if you want to deepen the even more goliardic and fighting game, then, do not miss the dedicated arcade.
Donald: Operation Duck ?! – Retrogaming: the best games based on cartoons
Published by Ubisoft in 2000, yes the same manufacturer of Assassin’s Creed to be clear, for Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, PC, Nintendo 64 and GameCube (2002), this title sees as the protagonist a Donald Duck in constant competition with the all too lucky Gastone to save Daisy Duck.
The beautiful duck was indeed captured by Merlock (the villain of the animated feature film Uncle Scrooge in search of the lost lamp) and it will be up to our feathered hero to save it. There will be quotes, characters like the faithful grandchildren Qui, Quo and Qua and even travel through time thanks to an invention of the brilliant Archimedes Pythagorean. Travel between different eras and platforming experience, mmm, does that remind you of anything? Maybe it didn’t offer too much challenge, that’s true, but the fun was everything!
Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Holy Demon War – Retrogaming: the best games based on cartoons
It was the May 6, 2021 when, at just over 50, the cartoonist Kentarō Miura, famous all over the world for having created the Berserk saga, passed away. Leaving an unbridgeable void in the world of paper and ink, we want to remember him too for being the inspiration behind this 2004 PlayStation 2 video game.
In this title rather faithful to the original work, even if not free from some additional elements like little Charles, we’ll take good Guts around his violent world to exterminate monsters and demons of all kinds thanks to the mammoth Dragon Slayer and a whole host of others weapons like the arm cannon, the throwing daggers, the crossbow, the spiked bombs and of course its destructive fury. One thing, get ready, because in this hack ‘n’ slash action and combat will never be lacking!
Mickey Mania – Retrogaming: The best games based on cartoons
We close with an authentic blast from the past given that, on this hilarious and extraordinarily complex mickey mania (published between 1994 and 1996)), we start from the legendary Steamboat Willie of 1928 which marks the third appearance of the most famous mouse ever. The subsequent levels will then see the succession of other films now entered into the legend where, our mouse, will have to try to save the trusty four-legged friend Pluto. To find out more we leave you the link to our in-depth special here and we remind you that the title was made available for SNES, Sega Mega Drive and also for the first PlayStation, each with its “versions”.
Turning off the television
In conclusion, now we can put down the remote control and the controller for a moment and turn off the screen. These were some of the best cartoon games that marked our childhood and adolescence, but obviously only ten titles were certainly not enough and therefore it is very likely that there will be a second part (sooner or later) or more.
What unites them it is their not being banal tie – insbut of the stories that, although they largely take up what has been imprinted on film, they take the experience to a whole other level making the spectator a more active player in deciding the fate of the story.
Have you tried them? Was there anyone you didn’t know yet? Well now you have a few more names anyway! If you then want you too can relive these splendid …