Reviewed: October 15, 2002
Reviewed by: Loki

Publisher
THQ

Developer
Software Creations

Released: September 17, 2002
Genre: Action
Players: 4
ESRB: Everyone

6
7
6
7
6.8

Supported Features:
GBA Link Cable

The Ripping Friends: The World's Most Manly Men is the latest game franchise to be licensed from a popular cartoon series. If you’ve ever seen the show then you already know that it borders on the verge on insanity, and this game is no different. The story goes something like this:

Rip, Chunk, Slab and Crag knew that something was up when they heard the evil Citrasett was heading their way, determined to put his most diabolical plot ever into effect. It had just been too quiet recently in Ripcot. Bent on destroying the Ripping Friends way of life, Citrasett and other arch rivals are teaming up to challenge The Ripping Friends in a climatic final battle to decide the fate of the earth!

Features:

  • Take control of up to 4 different Ripping Friends: Rip, Chunk, Slab and Crag - each with their own special moves
  • 7 huge levels to explore including 5 additional sub-levels
  • Battle evil bosses and an array of their minions - all based on original characters from the Ripping Friends cartoon
  • Pick-up awesome items along the way like the Blaster, Freeze Ray or Popgun, but watch out for hidden traps and hazzards
  • Multiplayer action - play with up to 4 of your friends using the GBA link cable
The first order of business is to pick your “friend”. You can choose Rip, Chunk, Slab and Crag, and each has their own special moves but none of them are truly that original or even special for that matter. There are no complicated combos to memorize, and you will quickly realize this is simply a button mashing fighting game, albeit a very good one.

There are seven fairly massive levels and five sub-levels you can unlock when you finish the main ones. There are plenty of tricks and traps and the levels get larger and larger as you advance through the game. Each level follows an ongoing storyline and includes nice mission-based tasks along with plenty of good old-fashioned brawling.

Fighting is a must and you will quickly learn to kill everyone you come across since you never know who might be holding that next important mission critical item. There is also a nice assortment of weapons to add a bit of variety to the combat. Weapons like the Popgun, Freeze Ray, and traditional Blaster are quite useful for taking out targets from afar.

Control is always paramount in a fighting game, and the GBA D-pad and buttons are more than adequate for playing this simplistic fighter. With no combo structure you can bash your way through this game with moderate effort. The interface even includes a helpful compass to keep you from getting lost.

Ripping Friends has that classic Nickelodeon animation style I fell in love with back in the days of Ren and Stimpy. The characters are colorful and designed with exaggerated graphics that are fun and humorous, and the backgrounds are very impressive given the GBA format. You will quickly see the power of the GBA being exploited in the very first level with some incredibly detailed animated backgrounds.

The jazzy soundtrack is very nice and there is enough music that it doesn’t get nearly as repetitive as the gameplay. The sound effects are adequate, and while there is nothing outstanding they do offer the traditional moans, groans, and typical sounds of fisticuffs and weapons combat. Everything has that Spumco treatment that gives it just the right satirical “edge”.

You can probably “rip” through this game in under eight hours but thanks to the use of the GBA cable you can link-up and play with up to three other friends, or should I say “ripping friends”. This is great fun and reminded me of old-school games like Fighting Force where you fight side by side in frenzied combat.

There are some frustrating levels where you will make it “almost” to the end of the level only to die and have to replay the entire thing over again. Yes, these levels are large. There is a password feature that uses the GBA buttons and D-pad directions; a refreshing change from the typical alphanumeric entries of other games. Unfortunately you can only save between levels and not during.

I really enjoyed this game even though it did start to wear thin about halfway through it. There was some nice non-combat mission objectives that helped to break up the monotony and the huge levels are both clever and inventive so even though the gameplay gets stale, the environments are always original.

Thanks to those irreverent visionaries at Software Creations, The Ripping Friends is easily one of the most original titles I have played on my GBA. If you enjoy the TV show then you will surely enjoy the game, and you may be interested to learn that “The Ripping Friends” television program has been picked up by the Cartoon Network, which will feature 13 new episodes this fall.

If you have no idea who or what The Ripping Friends are all about then you may want to rent this title first, otherwise I can comfortably recommend this to anyone who enjoys fighting games or multiplayer fighting games. It’s a ripping good time!