MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head scores 6/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
Beavis and Butt-head
by Simon Larocca·June 26, 2024
Di generation in generation, one witnesses the natural change of tastes, trends and ideas, conveyed to a greater or lesser extent by the media.
Se you are children of the Eighties like me, for example, you cannot not have grown up with television music, which had its golden age with MTV, a container of music videos, animated series, and a whole lot of unforgettable interesting stuff.
Tra the groundbreaking, irreverent, and totally off-the-wall programs, there was this animated series that told the misadventures of two young and troubled teenage friends, easily recognizable by a blond mop of hair accompanied by a prominent forehead and a guttural laugh that became iconic: Beavis and Butt-head arrived in 1993 and from then on divided audiences and critics, because of constant swearing, behaviors on the edge of ghetto-style criminality, and a sharp satire that didn’t mince words.
Albeit the quality of the TV series, many products were born from the success that resulted from it, and could a video game adaptation for our dear Sega MegaDrive obviously be missing? The answer, of course, is no.
Per the record, the official Beavis and Butt-head video game, released the following year in 1994, was conceived in three different versions as far as certain distinctive aspects of the gameplay were concerned, depending on the reference console: if for the Super Nintendo you had to cause as much damage as possible to the city’s infrastructure in order to “earn” the right to attend the Gwar concert (an American band famous for having no on-stage or lyrical filters in their songs and during concerts on the edge of decency), in the version released for MegaDrive the gameplay was a bit less chaotic and out of its mind: the ticket that the two heroes need to access the event has been torn into several pieces, their task will be to look for them around the city so as to put it back together and finally be able to go moshing!
Ovviamente the main quest is nothing more than a mere excuse exploited by the developers, the good bad guys of Radical Entertainment, to put the Terrible Duo in the condition of sowing panic among the people, destroying as many things as possible, and meeting iconic characters from the show in the guise of unusual NPCs (non-player characters): was it true glory, then?
As they say in these cases, for gamers hardcore is the verdict, given the difficulty of this title, which ranges from easy to “I need to figure out what to do at this point, but Butt-head’s laughter distracts me too much.”
Technically speaking, it is a beat 'em up with side-scrolling platform elements, strictly in 2D, in which we will venture into the city of Highland, hurling ourselves at overzealous police officers, jumping over shopping carts inside supermarkets, and leaping over disused tires inside filthy dumps.
When I first played, I was struck by the very un-political-correct gimmicks that permeated the game, like the obese hospital patients forced to run on infernal treadmills to lose weight. In short, we're talking about a crazy game, by now you've probably figured that out.
Beloved by fans, the official game of the animated series builds a solid foundation precisely thanks to the two disturbed protagonists, foul-mouthed and amoral, with that innocence of the last millennium where everything seemed possible. And acceptable.
6
Pro
The graphic style of the animated series and its irreverent verve, it's all very faithful
Impersonating Beavis and Butt-head without real consequences, the fans will love it, and the authorities too
Contro
Technically a bit lacking, with very linear gameplay despite some fun and well-judged ideas
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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