Severely underrated as a kart racer, but I partially blame the lack of a PS2 release outside of Europe and a seemingly limited release in Europe (I never came across another copy aside from mine) as key reasons for this. Had this not been the case, it would've been more fondly remembered, as I do think it was ahead of its time in some important aspects.
The controls are still good. The graphics have aged nicely thanks to the colorful, vibrant cell shaded designs of the characters and karts. The game supported up to 50/60 frames per second, pretty crazy for an early PS2 game. Each kart had its own unique power-ups that were mostly taken directly from the 1960s show. There were plenty of modes: there was an adventure mode and a more relaxed arcade mode, obviously, but within adventure mode you had:
- Normal races;
- Mario Kart-esque cup tournaments;
- A mode where you have to collect 10 Muttley trophies while racing other karts (easily the most brutal mode of the game, in my eyes),
- A really fun battle mode;
- A sudden death-esque race mode where you have to catch up to the Mean Machine while avoiding all of its traps (read: glue pools);
- BOSS BATTLES;
- and let's not forget all the collectibles: stars (for finishing a level in first), clocks (for finishing a level in fast time) and mirrors (which are hidden in each level and unlock a mirror mode for the level you found it in).
And I'm not done: the music is a lot of fun and adds to the frantic nature of the game, the sound effects are diverse and appropriate, the vehicles have a lot of individual character thanks to the little animations they have, and the coin system in combination with which power-ups you choose and which short cuts you do or don't take add some strategy and risk-reward dynamics.
A really great game.
The controls are still good. The graphics have aged nicely thanks to the colorful, vibrant cell shaded designs of the characters and karts. The game supported up to 50/60 frames per second, pretty crazy for an early PS2 game. Each kart had its own unique power-ups that were mostly taken directly from the 1960s show. There were plenty of modes: there was an adventure mode and a more relaxed arcade mode, obviously, but within adventure mode you had:
- Normal races;
- Mario Kart-esque cup tournaments;
- A mode where you have to collect 10 Muttley trophies while racing other karts (easily the most brutal mode of the game, in my eyes),
- A really fun battle mode;
- A sudden death-esque race mode where you have to catch up to the Mean Machine while avoiding all of its traps (read: glue pools);
- BOSS BATTLES;
- and let's not forget all the collectibles: stars (for finishing a level in first), clocks (for finishing a level in fast time) and mirrors (which are hidden in each level and unlock a mirror mode for the level you found it in).
And I'm not done: the music is a lot of fun and adds to the frantic nature of the game, the sound effects are diverse and appropriate, the vehicles have a lot of individual character thanks to the little animations they have, and the coin system in combination with which power-ups you choose and which short cuts you do or don't take add some strategy and risk-reward dynamics.
A really great game.