Rugrats, Search for Reptar is a gem among all the other PS1 games of its time. If you love the television show or watched one of the films then I’m sure you’re familiar with the characters; this game brings back all that childhood charm into a well formulated little puzzle game with three great game modes and numerous storylines that will keep you entranced. Ok so the camera is a little odd and it doesn’t recognize the analog sticks on my PS2 controller but who needs forward facing vision and working fingers anyway? Years of retro gaming have deformed my hands to that of extreme double jointed-ness and partial muscle damage anyway so I barely feel the strain of mashing on the D-pad to navigate difficult terrains in this incredibly clever game.
Gameplay and plot
So the game starts out with Tommy, chief baby guy, losing all his Reptar puzzle pieces out of his Reptar shaped puzzle holder. Oh no! You have to find all the puzzle pieces by completing a series of mini-games and earning them back. There are other game modes though and the puzzle piece main storyline makes up a large chunk of gameplay. The main game includes the storyline, side storylines and the occasional mini-game type activity. This is the game mode you want to play because, let’s face it, you just can’t wait to play so you don’t want to waste time on the mini-games. The other two game modes include a training level which is a mish-mash of some of the episodes along with advice on dealing with things like ice and lobsters, essential information as the game is really difficult in some parts and you need all the help you can get. The final game mode is the mini-games which I mentioned above, these are four bonus levels that are technically available in the main game and includes modes like an Easter egg hunt, a race against Angelica and two types of game that’s like playing piggy in the middle with chocolate milk or cookies.
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| Incredibly realistic Pickles house makes you feel as though you're a part of the episode. |
You start the main game in your play pen in the Pickles house and from that point on you have free run of the house and garden. You can only open the doors to the garden but any closed doors only like that temporarily and open up when the side stories are taking place. All around the house are some sparkling items and by interacting with them you can start an episode which is what the side stories are called. There’s quite a few of them, one for every room of the hosue so approximately 12 episodes to play through as that’s how many puzzle pieces you need. After the puzzle is complete you get a special level where you play Reptar himself, destroying a city in a Godzilla type fashion. During the episodes you will control different characters including the dog, at one point you’re able to ride Spike like some kind of stubby horse and, in another episode, you will float through a space station so the variety is good and I like how you’re not restricted to just playing Tommy.
The game takes a decidedly weird twist when you’re in the episodes as they are very surreal. At one point I had been transported into an upside down version of the house and had to traverse the ceiling and climb up the stairs to go to the ground floor. The episodes vary in difficulty and some of the harder ones include floating about through a space station with creepy talking aliens, chasing down a goose that’s stolen Grandpa’s teeth in a weird hedge maze as Tommy and trying to avoid a creepy robot doll who wants to be your friend. Easier episodes includes a game of hide and seek, playing Chuckie who had his glasses stolen and a golf course that is toy and sweet themed, aptly named ‘Ice Cream Mountain' because when you win the gold tournament you win an actual geological wonder, I never knew people took Crazy Golf so seriously until this game!
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| It looks as though they're trying to decide which mount is more efficient. |
The interactivity in the game is brilliant! You can pick up and throw a variety of items and all of them make an appropriate noise like the guitar or the ball bouncing. If you’re not feeling so agile you can also just put stuff down again without throwing it, essential skills for a baby to learn. If you’re feeling particularly creative you can play a miniature piano or if you feel quite athletic play fetch with Spike in the back garden. There’s a couple of curious things in the Pickles’ house like an overactive popcorn machine and a weird bubble maker in the garden. Wandering around the place Tommy usually has a fair bit to say about his surroundings but the Pickles house is just kind of the menu in between the games. Just like the television series the missions of the game are pleasantly set from a child’s point of view where you, as an adult, can see what’s really going on that makes the game so enjoyable. Any game can string together a few mini-games and call it a game but this one has such a weird perspective and series of storylines that it’s pretty intriguing, if not plain trippy. The ghosts in the house are just Tommy being afraid of the dark and, as he desperately searches for the light in the fridge, his kiddies flashlight is the only thing that will make them disappear. Fail to get rid of them and your health will deplete until Tommy gets too scared and starts crying; forcing you to restart the level.
Graphics and environment
This game is for the PS1 and though the Rugrats doesn’t exactly stretch it to its capabilities it’s still amazing to look at. The areas are all designed in perfect correlation with the original 1991 – 1999 television show, even the starting cutscene is the same, and the house is as close as you’re going to get to being in the actual TV series. The colours are great; playful, fun and accurate and all the characters look just like the real thing so the transition between watching the show to playing this game is absolutely seamless. It's basically as though they made the TV program interactive with a controller it's so realistic.
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| I never thought I'd see a flying fish, this game makes fantasy reality! |
The game takes place in several different areas depending on which side storyline you’re playing. Whilst a lot of the game is set in the Pickles house and garden you’ll also visit the supermarket, a toy shop, the park, a space station, an upside down version of Tommy’s house after going into ‘mirror land’, a golf course and a sort of sewage plant where you play Spike, the dog. The environments are pretty varied and even though several side quests are set in the Pickles house they’re all under completely different circumstances. In one instance you’ll be exploring the house at night whilst ghosts roam the hallways, in another you’re confined to the basement where Tommy’s inventor father has accidentally created lots and lots of Mr Friend toys who just want to befriend Tommy.
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| For some reason, Tommy doesn't seem keen on the idea. |
The game sounds great; the theme music is the same and the voice actors are the same as the television series and the films so everything will be just the way you remembered it; only with edges so sharp you could cut yourself on them. All in all though it’s a fun, silly and weird game that will give you many, many hours of entertainment and frankly I’m still working on it because some of the levels are too hard for me to get past! Even though it’s really frustrating trying to kill those ghosts I keep playing because the storyline is so appealing to me and quite complicated that, by skipping a level, I’m sure I’d lose track of what was happening. This game deserves much more attention than it’s been getting and for that reason, I highly recommend you play this right now.
Score: 4/10
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