A look at the only RC car puzzle game to ever exist. Ratz off too ya!
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Year: 2000
Played on: GBC
Developer: KnowWonder inc
Publisher: Mattel?
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Here comes trouble!
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Date posted: October 22, 2017
PREMISE
As a young boy, growing up in a foster home, I only had a few games and a gameboy color. These games were Mario Kart Super Circuit, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and Racin’ Ratz for the gameboy color. Guess what game I played the most?
Correct! Link’s Awakening. What, did you really think I was going to say Racin’ Ratz, a game from the year 2000? A game that no one has heard of? A game that doesn’t have a wikipedia entry. I’m not joking. That obscure arcade game I reviewed yesterday, Hard Head, had a wikipedia article. This game has nothing. I had to do some digging of my own.
Every game I reviewed on here, up to this point had a wikipedia article. What the f#@k.
Apparently, this game was made as a sort of advertisement for Mattel’s Tyco line of R/C cars, called, shockingly enough, Racin’ Ratz. Here’s a video proving, once and for all, that the early 2000’s were a mistake.
They’re named after him apparently.
Other then this, all I could find is that KnowWonder, the developer, was a subsidary of a bigger company called Amaze Entertainment, which made a bunch of shit.
So what do you do in this obscure game that doesn’t even have a wikipedia article (sorry, I don’t think I’ll ever get over that!) Well it simple. You control a little R/C car, and use items/powerups in a specific order to take revenge on your family, presumably after they kill your dog. (Or is that the plot of John Wick? I get them confused all the time!)
Real talk, the game actually has a story! What ya know! Some little shit is playing with his brand new Racin Rat R/C© (PRODUCT OF MATTEL®), when he uses his Racin Rat R/C© (PRODUCT OF MATTEL®) to knock over the expensive Vase©(PRODUCT OF A TERRIBLE JOKE), which leads him to be grounded. Little do his parents know, he has something up his sleeve…
So he (or she, as you can play as a little girl) uses his R/C to carry out his revenge- stealing very important items from his family members. Dad’s wallet, Mom’s car keys, your sisters diary- nothing is too taboo for Tyco R/C’s Racin’ Ratz!
Random Screen shot because… I uh….Why not?
PROS
You actually have a lot of powerups to use here. There’s an item that lets you drive up walls, spring and flips let you jump in the air, a little micro car let’s you turn into the size of my (CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION). You can also use an item that inflates your tires, which is completely redundant, as tires are usually inflatable by nature.
A handy, dandy screen telling you what does what. The Super Brake is useless, by the way.
In each room, you have to find out what items to use to make progress. You usually have to use two specific items to finally reach your goal. You can hold up to two items, the B and A buttons activating each, just like how Zelda uses its items. Also, if you pick up an item when you already have two, you can press the relative button to discard that item to replace it with the new item. Convenient!
There are 18 levels, split into 9 or so rooms of the house, where the game takes place. There’s your mom and dad’s room, your grandma’s room, the living, the kitchen the basement, the back yard- a good variety for your basic suburban home. A nice touch- if you choose to play as the boy, you infiltrate the sister’s room, but if you play as the girl, you play though the brother’s room. I have to say, that is something I didn’t see coming!
Still more car customization then the latest Need For Speed game EA’s churning out.
You can also change the color of car, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I thought it was neat feature. There is also two models of cars to race, but I choose the one on the right every time.
CONS
Far and wide, the game’s biggest problem is how cheap it is. Say you get near the end of a level- you only need to make one jump across some drawers. You jump, and you miss. Guess what you have do now? You pretty much have the start the entire level over, as the games items work in a chain of sorts- you get one item to get the next, and then you’ll the specific items you need. Now that you don’t have any items, you pretty much have to start the whole level over again. Nice, real nice! The controls don’t help either, as you have to wait for your car to accelerate to full speed for a least a second, which is far too long for a game about small R/C cars. It doesn’t help that the controls are stiff either, making you fight the controls now and then.
Also Ratitude. RATITUDE.
FINAL VERDICT
Racin’ Ratz has some things going for, mostly the fact that, I personally feel, that there really isn’t any game like it. I call it an R/C puzzle game, myself. It really is a unique game. However, the controls and the cheapness of the game will hold its back from being a “Good” game. I think it’s just “Okay” at the end of the day. I wouldn’t pay more then $5 bucks for it.
SURPRISE CAT BOSS! YOU DID’NT EXPECT THAT, DID YOU?
Agree? Disagree? Good! Leave a comment about how terrible my taste is in the comments below!
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