The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckeroo$!

The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckeroo$!
If we could win money from playing this game, then we likely would had a reason to play this terrible cash grab.
Genre(s): Platform Action Platform(s): Nintendo Entertainment System Super Nintendo Entertainment System Release Date: NES: November 1993 SNES: April 1995 Developer(s): Imagineering Publisher(s): THQ Predecessor: The Ren & Stimpy Show: Veediots!

The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckeroo$! is a video game based on The Ren & Stimpy Show. It was first released by THQ for the Nintendo Entertainment System in November 1993, with a port on SNES being released in April 1995.

Story

The game's story starts with Stimpy making something in his laboratory. This new invention turns out to be the Gametron 5000 Moneymaker, a machine that gives you money for every video game you complete. Stimpy tells Ren of his new invention, and they both sit down and try to complete every game.

Why It Won't Win Any Money

NES

1. Poor controls that are really clunky and almost as terrible as the NES version of The Simpsons games trilogy by Acclaim, since when you don't run, the controls are extremely slow and much more clunky, and they also are a bit unresponsive; in fact, they are even worse than the SNES version and Veediots! on SNES (which was the prequel of this game, but Howewer Veediots! was still a decent game on SNES).
2. Awful checkpoint system, there aren't many checkpoints, and due to how bad the difficulty spike is in this game, that is going to be a big problem. The first level is already a victim of this.
3. There are fall damages in a platform game, which not only doesn't fit the platforming genre but also makes not only the speedrun hard to do but also the game harder than it is supposed to be. This is also extremely annoying since if you like to play a game really fast, then forget about this version of the game since for most of the levels, you will have to focus on not being too high to not die and get fall damages. In fact, this is why the NES version is ruined, but thankfully, the SNES version doesn't seem to have those.
4. While the graphics are somewhat fine, they can also look really subpar at times, such as in the space levels or the color palette, which is terrible even for THQ NES game standards; even Space Cadet Adventure on Game Boy had better graphics than this.
5. Horrible hit detection that is miles worse than the SNES version, which already had a terrible hit detection. This is especially true with Ren slap moves that are extremely difficult to do without taking damage or even hitting the enemies.
6. Awful level design that is much worse than Veediots or even Space Cadet Adventure, since there's many sections where the platforming is annoying, and of course, the level design isn't designed with the fall damage mechanics in mind, so you will have a lot of trouble with the levels that are full of platforming phases, and it will rely on luck.
7. The title screen is horrendous, despite being faithful to the show, since it looks unofficial and feels like it belongs in a bootleg game, such as a Hummer Team one, not to mention that it is similar to the one used in Space Cadet Adventure.
   • The color palette is also horrendous for that screen and looks like it was taken from the Mega Man DOS games, to the point of making the characters faces beyond recognition, such as Ren, who had pink skin, and Stimpy, who had orange skin.
   • The characters faces are not only ruined by the color palette but also by the lack of details, to the point that Space Cadet Adventure had much more detailed faces on Ren and Stimpy than this game.
     • Due to this, Ren face in the title screen look extremely disturbing even for the show standards and since the details are so poor in this screen, it make this even worse than it's already is.
   • Not to mention that the title screen doesn't even last 2 seconds, since after they showed the logo, it went immediately to the credits of the game. Speaking of that...
8. For some weird reasons, after they showed the title screen, after 1 second, it directly showed the game credits, much like the Home Alone 2 game.
9. The madness levels are terrible, but not as horrible as in the SNES version. In these levels, you need to guide Ren to the end of the level and protect him, but the problem is that it's frustrating and tedious, especially for the last ones.
   • Also, if Ren isn't in the exit, then you can't finish the level unless you bring him back, which makes it even more tedious when there are a lot of awful enemy placements or anything like that.
10. The game is extremely short, since it lasts only 40 minutes and then you beat the game, and this is not helped by the fact that the game features absolutely zero replay values after you beat it.
11. As expected from a Ren & Stimpy game, the game is extremely frustrating at times due to either the fall damages, the clunky controls, or even the horrible hit detection that makes the game a real nightmare to beat, especially if you go to collect everything.
12. Despite being way better than the SNES version, the soundtrack is very bland and generic, but this is to be expected from a NES THQ game.
    • It is also very forgettable due to how bland it is, such as the level music that can be forgotten very easily, likely because you have listened to better-sounding music than this game.

SNES

1. The soundtrack is even worse than the NES version since it consists of butchered songs from the show that either sound mediocre or downright awful, such as the Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy song that plays for almost the entire game, which might make you go insane.
   • In fact, it is so bad and repetitive that you might want to stop playing this game or even want to turn off your sound from the TV. It also doesn't help that the game is extremely long for such a short music like this. It is also so bad to the point that after finishing this game, you might hate the Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy song due to how much it got repeated.
   • Not to mention that it also had one of, if not the absolute worst rendition of the theme song, in which it is a massive downgrade from Veediots and especially Time Warp, in which these games had awesome renditions, but here it is incredibly bad; even the Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy song is better in Time Warp.
2. While they are responsive, the controls have one fatal flaw that keeps them from being decent, which is that they are extremely slow to control and can make some of the platforming extremely frustrating, especially with the moving platforms that are extremely annoying here.
3. Awful level design that is slightly worse than the NES version since it contains many awful platform placements and even some sections of the game that are extremely frustrating, annoying, and tedious to the point of making The Simpsons games on Game Boy look easier by comparison.
4. Awful enemy placements that are even worse than in Veediots, since they are sometimes placed near the place you need to jump on, for example, which is incredibly annoying and frustrating. It is also the main reason why the level design stinks and how frustrating it is.
5. Absolutely horrible ending: Ren and Stimpy won 47 millions of dollars, which is fine from here, but after that when Ren tell Stimpy that they will be back soon for another adventure, he cry and instead of trying to make him happy again, he say what he could do to before the next game adventure, in which it almost look like Ren make fun of Stimpy, also after this part, Stimpy give most of it to another peoples for a horrible reason, in which Ren say to Stimpy You Eediot!, meaning that the whole game was pointless to complete.
6. The madness levels are horrible and even worse than the NES version, as they are extremely long, had padding and fillers in them, had many awful platforms and enemy placements, and even had hazards in them, making them incredibly tedious.
   • Also, they are the main reason why this game is this long and has a pointlessly long length, since some of them last 10 minutes! We wish we weren't kidding.
   • For the platform placements, it is miles worse than the one in the NES version since sometimes if you fail, you might have to restart a lot of the level parts, to the point of making them even more annoying and painful and also making them longer than they already are. It's so bad that it's even ruining the entire game (not that this game was good though).
7. For some weird reasons, this port was released in 1995, 2 years after the NES version was released, which is a bit too late to make a port of a game that existed 2 years before. It also doesn't help that the SNES was already out in 1993.
   • Also, one of the folders of the game says that the game was completed in 1994, which means that they must have delayed the game for no reason other than making it come out later than it should have been.
8. Poor framerate that feels like it's in 25 fps and even 20 at times, which is downright unnaceptable for a 1995 SNES game since the other Ren & Stimpy games had way faster framerates than this; even Time Warp had slightly better framerates than this game, and it came out in 1994.
9. While the graphics are good, they aren't very faithful to the show art style, which makes it the weakest-looking Ren & Stimpy game on the SNES (along with Veediots! but that game still looks good too), since it isn't as detailed as the other three games, but, as said before, it still manages to look appealing.
10. The camera is absolutely horrible for a SNES platformer since when you fall, it doesn't really follow your character, meaning that you might fall in a pit without knowing or even that it will make you have a hard time playing the game, meaning that this game is even more annoying to play than it actually is. For example, Mega Man X3 was released in the same year, and the camera was great and actually followed your character, unlike this game.
11. No passwords nor save feature, which means that you had to beat the game in one setting. This is a big problem considering how long this game is, and because of this, you might never beat the game at all.
12. The cutscenes art style is awful since the color palette is very washed out and makes the main duo have different colors on their design, especially Ren, who is pink, and Stimpy, who had a dark gray color instead of white; even the NES version doesn't have this problem (that version uses the sprites though).
    • The animation in these is extremely awful and lauchable too, even for a SNES game. For example,  in the ending scene where Stimpy is crying, his animation is very terrible and looks like it wasn't complete. Ren in that scene doesn't even have animation at all.
13. The game is extremely long for no reason other than to pad out the length of it. This is because of the Madness levels that are the absolute worst for that issue. Due to this, the game can last 1h30m to 2 hours. Even Time Warp is long for something; here it is just because of the fillers.
14. Once again, there is limited continue, which make the situation of frustrating difficulty and long length even worse , and this could actually make the game harder since when you lose all your lifes, you need to restart the entire level, which became annoying really quickly since the levels are extremely long too.

Redeeming Qualities

In General

1. The concept of the game was pretty good but awfully executed, due to how bad the game design is.

Nintendo Entertainment System

1. The soundtrack is somewhat catchy despite how bland it is, and there's more variety than in the SNES version, something the NES version wins over the SNES version.
2. At least it doesn't have padding compared to the SNES version, specifically for the Madness levels.
3. The space levels in the madness levels are kind of decent since the controls are responsive, and these sections are way better than in the madness levels.
4. As mentioned above in WIW'tWAM #4, the graphics are at least somewhat fine, especially when compared to a lot of the other Ren & Stimpy games.
5. While the game is still bad, it is still much better than the other THQ NES games, which means a lot considering how atrocious most of them are.

SNES

1. Decent graphics that are very detailed and colorful, but they aren't faithful to the show's art style.
2. The controls are responsive, at least, but they are ruined by being extremely slow to use.
3. At least, despite how bad this game is, it is still much better than Time Warp, which is saying a lot considering how bad that game also was.

Reception

The game was barely reviewed by critics, though reception of most people who have played it ranges from mixed to negative. Nintendo Power did not review the NES version, but gave the SNES version a 2.85 out of 5. Game Players and Electronic Gaming Monthly were more positive about the game, with Game Players giving the SNES version a 75/100 and EGM giving the NES version a 6.5 out of 10.

Trivia

• It is the last Ren & Stimpy game on the SNES.

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