Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (home console)

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Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (home console)
Gotta blast... this game into pieces, that is!"
Genre(s): Action-adventure
Platform
Platform(s): Nintendo GameCube
PlayStation 2
Release Date: NA: September 25, 2002
PAL: March 7, 2003
Developer(s): BigSky Interactive
Publisher(s): THQ
Country: United States
Series: Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Successor: Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron

Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius is a tie-in to the movie of the same name published by THQ and released for Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and PlayStation 2. The home console adaptation was developed by BigSky Interactive.

Gameplay

The game is a 3D adventure starring a boy named James Isaac Neutron (or Jimmy Neutron for short) and his robot dog Goddard. In the game, the evil King Goobot has abducted some of Jimmy's friends, so Jimmy must begin an intergalactic quest to save them.

Why It Needs to Be Blasted into Pieces

  1. Horrible graphics that almost veer into Bubsy 3D levels of outdated. Games featuring Jimmy Neutron hardly ever get the model right, and this may be the worst offender. Not to mention that the characters mouths don’t move when they talk.
  2. The title screen consists of nothing more than the Jimmy Neutron logo and a black background, making it looking generic.
  3. There are only six levels and given that this is a linear adventure game with nothing more to do beyond completing the missions, you'd have little to no reason to go back to it.
  4. The game is extremely short for a GameCube/PS2 game, you can beat it in only 1 hour, similar to Curious George.
    • You do the same thing on all levels: wander around and collect items.
  5. You can only carry weapons for a limited time. Worst yet, you lose them when you enter a new room.
  6. The voice acting is horrible. While some of the cast from the original movie returned to voice their respective characters, they have varying degrees of quality. The characters with replacement actors sound worse, especially Wally Wingert as Carl.
    • Weirdly, the manual lists Carl's original voice actor, Rob Paulsen, in the cast; in-game, however, Wally Wingert is credited as Carl's voice.
  7. On the second level, there is a very tight jump you have to make. There is waste dripping from the ceiling, a puddle of waste below your jump arc, and an enemy ant waiting for you. Since you have a predetermined jump arc, you have to be very precise to make it and contend with the hazards, otherwise, you'll die and have to do the whole thing over again.
  8. Subpar controls, which is noticeable when you ride Goddard, especially when he turns into a scooter.
  9. A fixed camera angle, which makes it harder for you to see pitfalls. You can't control the camera, either.
    • Due to this, you get cheap deaths. Doesn't help that no matter how far you get in a section, you get sent right back to the start.
  10. A premise with a very small connection to that of the movies.
  11. The GameCube version has a glitch where the pause menu flickers in and out when selecting an option.
  12. Interestingly enough, according to info found on The Cutting Room Floor, the game was started back when BigSky still went under the American branch for Kalisto Entertainment, in 2000. Given the wide gap between that and when the game was released, you'd have to wonder what went on during that time. You could conceivably release a good game within the course of a few months, but this feels like it was just scrounged together within less than a month. Why even bother with this if you wouldn't be able to make the deadline in the first place?
  13. A cringeworthy 40-second making-of segment.
  14. The sidescrolling shooter of Retroville is almost like a bullet hell type of game, as the boss ship's lasers instantly depletes your "pie" wedge, and worst of all, you cannot win.
  15. The final boss, Goobot, is ridiculously easy, as all you do is attack him from behind and he won't turn around to retaliate. It's as terrible as Dracula from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
  16. The American release of the PlayStation 2 version has a crash that causes the game to freeze when entering a new or old area. The GameCube version does not have such a bug.
  17. Somewhat minor, but the options use the same free-roaming menu system as the main menu. As a result, the buttons for options such as volume have to be jumped on multiple times, which can be a little tedious.

Redeeming Qualities

  1. The music, while repetitive, is decent.
  2. Retroland is a pretty fun looking level.
  3. The game revealed the names of Rose, Nissa, and Zachary, who are characters that appear in the film and in the show.
  4. Despite the terrible voice acting, some of the voice actors from the film do reprise their roles in the game.

Videos

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