Animaniacs is a videogame that is based on the hit animated series of the same name. Unlike regular platform games, the player usually runs from the enemies rather than fighting them. Characters include Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, Pinky and the Brain, most of the supporting cast, as well as Ralph, the Warner Brothers studio guard. Animaniacs was made into two games which bore no relation to each other in terms of gameplay, despite both being made by Konami. One was for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the other was for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Boy. The SNES and Mega Drive/Genesis version were released in 1994, and the Game Boy version in 1995.
Genesis/Mega Drive version
The Warner Brothers and Sister first begin the game by telling the player "welcome to our videogame", before arguing on the absurdity of how they can be in a video game when they are cartoon characters, not video game characters. The main story is that the Warner Brothers and Sister are attempting to try to be closer to their favourite movie stars. Yakko forms a plan: they can open up a shop to sell movie memorabilia - so they must obtain four items from different movie sets to set it up.
There are seven stages within the game. Each stage (except the starting one) has one object to obtain, which can only be obtained at the end after defeating the level's boss.
Like most video games, the Warner Brothers have health indicators and a number of lives. The lives can be increased by obtaining either 100 stars, or obtaining a small golden form of their faces. Their health is indicated by their faces on the top left of the screen. When they smile, they are healthy, but when they are looking either tired, unhappy, or weak, then they should find health soon (which is found in the forms of several forms of ice cream or sweets or other kinds of food).
The levels are timed, so it is unwise to stay and wander aimlessly in one area.
Reception
The Sega version received a 71% at Gamerankings. The SNES version received a 62% at Gamerankings.
Super NES version
This game is out of the ordinary because movement is forwards, backwards, and side to side a movement style usually reserved for Beat 'em ups, in most side scrolling platform games the player can only go forward and backward. Pinky and the Brain once again have another plan to conquer the world by deciding to steal the script of the Greatest Movie ever while it was under development (this is not any actual movie or parody of one). The CEO of Warner Brothers studio reluctantly asks the Warner Brothers and Sister for their assistance to retrieve all 24 pages of the script, which is the primary objective of the game. This game can be completed without obtaining all of them, however. The game focuses more on parodies of films at the different stages that are once more based on different genres of movies.
This game is different from the Sega Genesis version. Firstly, the characters have no health bar, lives (the game ends when all the characters are defeated/captured, one by one) or special abilities making the game highly difficult due to the one-hit kills. Secondly, there is the slot system, which is a slot machine at the bottom of the screen. It is activated after obtaining a certain number of coins and can be used for a range of power ups such as temporary invincibility or bringing back characters who were defeated or captured earlier.
Throughout the game, there are small robots with white block heads, red bodies and yellow appendages who work for Pinky and the Brain.
Game Boy version
The Game Boy version is a port of the Sega Genesis version, but due to space constraints, the Science Fiction/Space Opera - Space Wars level is absent from this version. The port was made by Factor 5. The Gameboy version received a 62% at Gamerankings.
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