Game review: Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection (Switch 2)

Nowadays, Nickelodeon's flagship cartoon is no doubt SpongeBob SquarePants. Before SpongeBob came into the scene in 1999, the network's previous most famous cartoon was arguably Rugrats. The cartoon was unique because all the babies could talk, but they always kept silent when their parents were around. 

I remember watching Rugrats a lot as a kid because it was always shown after school. Despite liking the show, I didn't catch the sequel series when the characters were teenagers for some reason. 

For any millennials who loved the series as a kid, you can now relive the past with the Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection. This collection includes many Rugrats video games from the '90s and early '00s. Let's dive in and see what is included. 

The games

The Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection includes six popular video games that fans may remember from their childhood. Three of them are 3D classics, while the other four are 2D Game Boy experiences. The full list of games and their original platforms is below. 

• Rugrats: Search for Reptar (PSOne)
• Rugrats: Studio Tour (PSOne)
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (PC, PSOne, N64)
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (Game Boy Colour)
• The Rugrats Movie (Game Boy, Game Boy Colour)
• Rugrats: Time Travellers (Game Boy, Game Boy Colour)
• Rugrats: Castle Capers (Game Boy Advance)

Graphics and presentation

Since all of these games were made in the past, newer gamers have to realise the graphics back then were not the best. All of the 3D games in this collection are very pixelated and have lots of jagged edges. Not to mention, the original resolution of all games is very low, so they'll look bad if you play on a big HD or 4K television. 

The original Game Boy games look okay, and they're all the Game Boy Colour versions. You don't have to look at ugly shades of green or grey like we had to while playing on the original Game Boy console. 

Arguably, the best-looking game in the entire collection has to be Rugrats: Castle Capers on the Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Advance has Super Nintendo-style graphics, so the sprites are bigger, and the colours are much more vibrant. 

As for the presentation, all of the 3D games in this collection have the original voice actors reprising their roles. The cutscenes may look janky by today's standards, but at least the audio sounds mostly good over 25 years later. 

Gameplay

As expected, the Game Boy games in this collection are standard 2D platformers. The Rugrats don't have many fighting skills (obviously), but they can jump on platforms and avoid enemies while finding several items that they need to attain. The only difference is the Game Boy Colour version of Rugrats in Paris: The Movie because this is just a set of fun mini-games you can play. 

The 3D games in this collection have free-roaming environments with most of the main characters from the show being playable. Rugrats: Search for Reptar is pretty cool because I can play as Tommy Pickles as he roams around the iconic house from the show while searching for missing Reptar puzzle pieces. 

Rugrats: Studio Tour has some cool mini-games included, such as a foot race, tag, and even mini-golf. Some of these mini-games also have multiplayer, which I think is really cool. There are also several shooting mini-games to enjoy in this game, too. 

The 3D version of Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is enjoyable too because the babies are in EuroReptarLand, which is an amusement park. Much like the other 3D games in this collection, it comprises a lot of mini-games. 

New features

It's worth mentioning that this is not a remake or a remaster, so don't expect this collection to give you modern visuals or controls. However, there is a rewind feature, and you can check out a gallery and music player on the main menu. 

The gallery includes the original box art and game manuals that were included. For anyone new to gaming, we received physical game manuals, and they were great to read while your parents drove you back home from buying a game at the store. 

Controls

While it's always nice to play older games from my generation, the weakest part of this collection is the outdated controls. Controlling Tommy Pickles and the other babies in the 3D games can be frustrating. They don't move very fast, and it can be hard trying to chase down the other babies during a game of Tag. 

The worst part about the controls is that there is no option to adjust the camera. There were many times I literally ran into a wall because I wasn't able to see where I was going. If this was a remake, they would have been able to fix these things, but alas, it's just a straight port.

Closing thoughts

If you were a fan of Rugrats back in the '90s, this collection is perfect to relive your childhood. The only real downsides to Rugrats: Retro Rewind Collection are the outdated visuals and controls. You may still find some enjoyment though if you can bypass these flaws. 

Verdict: 7.0/10