Bebe's Kids Was a Bad Game for the SNES

 

A Look Back at Bebe's Kids

Overview of Bebe's kids for the SNES.

Based on the animated film of the same name, Bebe's Kid is a 2D side-scrolling fighting game in the style of the Simpsons arcade game. Players can choose to play as Rashawn the girl or Cahill the boy, though each character is played in the same way. Each button has a basic punch, kick, and jump button, as well as a modifier button that, when held down to match an attack, provides upward movement, knocking down basic enemies in a few hits. Most of the game is a simple side-scroller with some basic environments like a food court and a haunted house. There are some simple puzzle elements as well as maze levels[1].

Mind you, this game deserves its legacy. Bebe's Kids elevated the unlicensed era of side-scrolling SNES games to an art form. The only thing worse than having to look at the game's boring graphics and hear its terrible soundtrack is to be forced to navigate its horrific combat, confusing level layout, and punishing time limit when actually playing the game. To be honest, it's too bad to be impressive[2].

Bebe's Kids had everything it needed to be a memorable and enjoyable SNES game, but in the end it just fell short. Monotonous gameplay, poor graphics, and a lack of creativity led to the game being considered one of the worst in the SNES series. However, it serves as a good game design lesson and reminds developers of the need for engaging gameplay, responsive controls, and immersive graphics, making it a pretty bad SNES game[3].

Issues and flaws with Bebe's Kids.

Three years later, I sat down and played Bebe’s Kids for this review, and I cannot think of a better analogy for this piece of gutrot! Playing Bebe’s Kids is equal to eating something terrible then suffering through its effects until the offending item comes out one end or the other. Then you feel better[4].

So consider the fact that the pace of Bebe’s kids is among the slowest of any game out there. The characters move sluggishly and it becomes an agonizing chore just getting them across the stage. What cannot be understood is how it manages to do this on its own, since the graphics are unimpressive and there are usually less than three characters on screen at any given time. Oh, and when those three characters ARE onscreen at the same time, your game becomes a slideshow presentation. Pair this with the wonky combat and hit detection and you have an unplayable mess on your hands[4].

One of the main reasons Bebe's Kids failed to capture players' attention was its lackluster gameplay and poor controls. The game controls felt clunky and unresponsive, making it difficult to explore the game world and successfully execute activities. This resulted in a frustrating experience that made it difficult for players to engage themselves in the game[3].

Negative reception and impact on the game's reputation.

Unfortunately, those fans were pretty much right. This game is a technical disaster on every conceivable level, but it’s really the gameplay and unnecessary difficulty that made it a particularly painful part of many retro gaming childhoods. Even if you were determined to eventually beat this title’s nearly impossible foes, the game’s lack of continues and sporadic health refills ensure that even those who somehow manage to get good at this broken game will likely never see the end of it[2].

Of course, the ability of licensed games to sell on name alone is a major reason for their poor quality, but it's hardly the only one. Developers are often pressured by movie studio execs to have the game ready for release alongside the movie (which, in the studio execs' eyes, practically equates these games to tie-in action figures, lunchboxes, and other low-grade merchandise), which can shorten development time. Stretching the plot of a 100 minute movie into a twenty hour game can lead to a lot of filler material or serious diversions from the movie's plot. Licensed games also attempt to emulate the most popular genres at the time in an effort to maintain appeal — side-scrollers and Fighting Games were popular in the 1990s and more recently, Grand Theft Auto clones and shooters are common as well. Sometimes they will be a confusing mesh of gameplay genres as the developers attempt to figure out just what their license could be used for to fill up enough game time to push it out the door, and that's assuming the product isn't chock full of Game Breaking Bugs because of the short Q/A window[5].

Even in the early days of video game magazines when publications were less willing to linger on truly bad games, Bebe’s Kids quickly developed a reputation for being one of the worst games ever made. Even Nintendo Power called this game out. Do you know how bad a game had to be for Nintendo Power to say it was bad? [2].

References

1. Bebe's Kids (Game) - Giant Bomb. (n.d.) Retrieved July 24, 2023, from www.giantbomb.com/bebes-kids/3030-5173/
   
   
2. 15 Worst SNES Games Ever. (n.d.) Retrieved July 24, 2023, from www.denofgeek.com/games/worst-snes-games-ever-nintendo/
   
   
3. 18 of The Absolute Worst SNES Games Ever. (n.d.) Retrieved July 24, 2023, from www.retrokingpin.com/worst-snes-games/
   
   
4. Bebe’s Kids Review. (n.d.) Retrieved July 24, 2023, from http://playingwithsuperpower.com/bebe-s-kids-review/