Fans of old-school sports compilations may remember Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge on Super Nintendo. In it, you played as the titular animated youngsters, who competed in enjoyable cartoon versions of familiar events. SNES also had Looney Tunes B-Ball, a beautifully animated genre classic that put a colourful spin on the NBA Jam formula.
Bamtang Games hopes to bring back this forgotten subgenre with Looney Tunes: Wacky World Of Sports, a collection of four game types, pitting the original Warner Brothers animated line-up against each other in solo and multiplayer tournaments.
It’s always good to see these characters in any piece of media and Wacky World Of Sports nails the colour, sound, and zany tone of the Merrie Melodies crew. All characters are fully voiced, with the likes of Fred Tatasciore, Jeff Bergman, and Kath Souicie giving enthusiastic performances in their signature roles.
Opting for a cel-shaded 3D art style over more faithful 2D depictions stings a little, sacrificing stylistic flair for a serviceable cartoon aesthetic. It's a shame that this less ambitious style doesn't translate to reliable performance. The game is just about performant both docked and undocked, occasionally slowing down during power-up heavy match moments.
The character models are a bit too stiff, especially when compared to the quick and fluid animation of the Mario Tennis and Strikers titles. At times running up and down the court/pitch feels like it’s on rails - not the best representation of characters known for their lively demeanour. Yet, despite the lack of visual polish, the franchise iconography is well represented here.
The sports available are Basketball, Golf, Football (soccer, for US players), and Tennis. They all share the same mechanical quirks to fit the mould of the IP. There are energy meters that trigger super moves and items of Acme-manufactured destruction litter each play area.
Some game types have special ability variants that suit the format of the sport. Tennis allows players to trigger slow motion, making it easier to intercept a distant shot. Basketball uses energy to trigger 3-point opportunities, but mostly shares its interception and shooting gameplay with Football. All games have super shots, flashy canned animations that show off each character's signature buffoonery.
Golf is the most enjoyable of the four. This is mainly because you aren't moving around, removing the annoyances present in the other sports. Shots use a simple power gauge augmented with different club types. Energy charges super shots, while items can be applied to other players to ruin their shot. Taking Bugs Bunny et al through courses covered in bear traps and dynamite is a great time and goes some way to justifying the existence of this collection.
Tennis also benefits from not having to manage multiple teammates but has its own set of issues. Hit boxes feel wildly inconsistent at times, it’s never quite clear how you misjudged your positioning, as you get shunted off the court by Porky Pig’s backhand. The rock-paper-scissors shot type exchange is enjoyable when you get a streak going, but wacky Tennis just isn’t very fun.
Basketball and Football are equally bad. Controlling a team of slow-moving, blocky cartoon animals (and a game hunter who for some reason isn’t trying to shoot them) is a chore. These sports are a frustrating combination of imprecise controls, AI that feels unfair even on easier difficulties, and special abilities constantly raining down on the playing field. The Acme-made obstacles can be disabled, which removes the visual clutter, but dampens the feel of being in a cartoon. Characters have a varied set of stats that should translate to different play styles, but trying to balance a side never seems to work in your favour.
Aside from the gameplay faults mentioned above, control mappings are fine. This is a title ultimately targeted towards younger audiences, so there are no complex systems here. Tennis and Golf can be played using motion controls, detaching Joy-Con and swinging wildly to hit the balls where you want them to go. This mode only serves to add extra difficulty and is basically impossible undocked, as you lack any sort of reference to where you are in relation to your character.
Like most sports compilations, enjoyment can be had with other players. Looney Tunes: Wacky World Of Sports has four-player local co-op modes for playing each individual sport, or taking part in the Acme Ultimate Cup. This tournament format throws in every game type and has you compete against each other, or take on the CPU. Being at the mercy of terrible AI will mar the enjoyment of one-to-three players, but with four you are at least all throwing custard pies and anvils at each other. No online hijinks here, though.
Much like some of the characters in its roster, this poorly executed compilation will be an acquired taste. Cartoon fans will enjoy the faithful depictions of classic characters, but struggle to have fun with the games on offer. There are plenty of unlockables to keep you churning through matches, but these are just cosmetic benefits. There are challenge modes, too, that force you to engage further with the quirks of each sport. Though the real challenge is trying to endure another game of b-ball with Bugs and Co.
Conclusion
Looney Tunes: Wacky World Of Sports' multiplayer can be fun in short bursts, especially if you just want to play a quick round of golf with friends. From a general audio-visual perspective, this is a good franchise representation. As a sports collection, though, it’s clunky and frustrating. Playing with others will elevate this, but not by much.
Comments 57
What a damn shame! I grew up with Looney Tunes, and when I first saw footage of this game it looked like it could be a lot of fun. Sadly, it seems the opposite is true. Off the wishlist you go!
Devs seem to be the same as those Nickelodeon kart racers, and the DreamWorks one. The first Nick game was pretty bad, but apparently the follow ups were quite solid. It would be funny if it happened again and the Looney Tunes Sports 2 turns out as a banger.
>Publisher: Game Mill
>Same publisher behind: Skull Island: Rise of Kong, The Walking Dead: Destinies, Avatar: Quest for Balance, and Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
>Very poor game quality
Not surprised at all xP
Looney Tunes B-Ball is a nostalgic darling to me! It’s a shame this game didn’t turn out well, but I have to be honest, the reveal trailer looked pretty rough to these eyes.
Exactly what I expected. It was clear from the trailers this one is gonna be a dud.
I love the pro about not being cancelled for taxes! But it’s a bit disappointing to hear it’s not great. I mean. I don’t usually go off reviews, but for something like this, it’s nice to hear opinions. Shame, I have a relative who was looking forward to this too…
If anyone had any actual expectations that this game from Gamemill would be fun, then you are more looney than the characters.
Another Game Mill game is bad? Next you'll be telling me the sky is blue.
But seriously, their company name says it all. They are quite literally a mill that pumps out licensed games of questionable quality just to get people to buy them. They're practically wearing it in their sleeves. May as well be called, "The Game Company of Questionable Quality."
So, Space Jam on Saturn is still King then?
Oof. The graphics are really not pleasant to look at as stills.
As I said, at least it was a good pay day for Eric Bauza I hope.
Would it be fair to say this game is 'dettttthhpicable' or that it 'sufferin' sucks-atash'?
Anyway, I hope Bamtang tried their best with what I assume was limited development time..
Well, looks like i will get the PS5 version for better performance.
Removed - flaming/arguing
@RobTheIII So what? Let him buy it if he wants. Who cares what some people online think? I have to say I respect Anti Matter for just buying it without caring what other people think. There's too much judging online anyway as it is
I'm still going give a try been looking forward to a new loony tunes it's been too long 😋
@Anti-Matter
It's Game Mill, so better performance on PS5 isn't guaranteed. Maybe check some PS5 reviews first, performance wise, just in case.
@RobTheIII
I mean, not every games by GameMill are bad.
Oh, well. I might consider the physical release on sale, then.
Thanks for the review, while I suspected it wouldn't be particularly good I ended up getting it because it was discounted... oh well, hope I'll enjoy its few relatively good parts, especially golf!
And yeah, as others have already mentioned it being published by Game Mill isn't enough to tell if a game is going to be bad, there are several games by them which are perfectly fine (less so on Switch when it comes to performance, but still) and you have to consider also the development team - for every Skull Island etc. they've released there's also a Nickelodeon Kart Racers and All-Star Brawl!
But only 4 different games? How is that "Wacky"??
Maybe its Wacky how they can charge 40 quid for this rubbish
I was already burned by switch sports.
Game Mill are the Uwe Boll of videogame publishing.
Blows that someone's bothered to make sure the voicework and music is good but the game let's it all down.
This looked like such a throwback to the Wii/DS era of cheap licensed cash grabs lol
I don't understand with the hatred of this game and GameMill.
I saw the PS5 version gameplay from YouTube and it was pretty good on smooth 60 fps.
The gameplay itself pretty average despite of lack of the number of sports.
Well, at least something alternative to fill my gaming area.
Just give us a Looney Tunes RPG game like the ones on PS1 and I'll be happy!
Bummer. I was cautiously optimistic about this one. This could have been amazing good fun.
Yep. That's GameMill
too bad. if this got even a 7, i'd check it out.
btw "Game Mill" must be the most appropriate name for a particular publisher ever.
That's really too bad. Looney Tunes is a great IP that doesn't have that much video game exposure yet.
A demo would have been nice. Would like to see how the motion controls on golf do. That was pretty much my only interest in this game.
It's a shame because the basic premise of Looney Tunes playing sports sounded like a potential game similar to Mario Sports Mix, which is one of my favorites on the Wii, or even a spiritual follow-up to Looney Tunes B-Ball or Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Sports Challenge. But I guess it's my fault for putting too much faith in GameMill.
If it goes on a deep sale, maybe I'll give it a chance.
@FantasiaWHT
"Looney Tunes is a great IP that doesn't have that much video game exposure yet."
I suppose it's all relative, and by "yet" you might mean within the current generation, but someone is born every day that has never seen the Flintstones, so
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Looney_Tunes_video_games?wprov=sfla1
(and, there are nearly 3 mild bangers in there!😂✌️)
@-wc- Yeah, the 8-bit "Hi-Tech" games were really quite impressive for the time and systems they were on. Back in the day, care and attention was given to these characters. It's a real shame that this collection didn't end up being better than it is.
Gosh darn it. The SNES Looney Tunes / Tiny Toons sports game was kind of an underrated gem. Sad this couldn’t follow suit as I was interested. There’s not enough arcade-style variety sports games on Switch imo, especially ones with basketball.
Guess I gotta hope Nintendo/Squeenix make another Mario Sports Mix or Mario 3-On-3 Hoops on Switch.. soon please!
Sidenote: I also thought this game would be like $30 CAD, not $60 for this level of subpar-ness. Definite pass *sigh
@-wc- Yeah, I should have said "lately". I played some of those as a kid.
Well, you get what you pay for even in game dev
@FantasiaWHT
I kinda figured 😊 I remember Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle (sic?) being pretty good as a kid, and to expand a bit, i rented every Taz, Wile E., and Tony Toons game I came across on SNES. Some were good! ✌️
Dang, oh well. This is something that could have been a cool pick up and play. Sports games on switch aren't amazing, I like mario golf and tennis but I can't think of much else...
@Anti-Matter shouldn’t you avoid it because Looney Tunes consistently crosses over with 18+ franchises?
The last movie for example had Rick & Morty, A Clockwork Orange and IT/Pennywise.
And it the shows they’ve crossed over with DC Comics and horror characters.
@darkswabber
I still see Looney Tunes as a neutral franchise since i have interest with them since from Tazos era during 90's era, but i judged them from their original version before it get rebooted.
As you said, the reboot version that got tainted by rated 18+ stuffs, that movie i instantly ban but for other spin off like Looney Tunes Builder with Paw Patrol vibe are still tolerable for me.
I only ban the version which get tainted by random rated 18+ stuffs, just like when i found a fanmade of rated 18+ Mario kart game on Wii.
Basically, Looney Tunes franchise is still fine for me except the crossover with random rated 18+ stuffs.
Kinda brings me back seeing Looney Tunes shovelware getting released again.
@rvcolem1 Strikers is okay but I wish there was a finally an American football Mario game.
A game published by Game Mill Entertainment isn’t good?! Who could’ve seen that coming?!
I wanted to like this but alas it is what I expected. Come on guys, do better with these iconic characters? Cheers for the review
Its like going back to the days of wii shovelware.
"WB didn't cancel it for tax reasons"
Dang, cold. But deserved.
With how many great games don’t get a review these days at NL, it’s a bummer one was wasted for this. Ugh.
Not surprised, GameMill is garbage. Also, with Zaslav, we won't get any form of quality from Warner until he leaves.
I really wish they'd port the old Looney Tunes B-Ball game over. It was one of my favorite titles on the SNES.
This being announced the same day daffy in wacky land was made publicly available is literally just hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby lmfao, idk what the obsession with putting looney tunes into sports for terrible media is 😂💀
Knew this one was going to suck the moment I saw they weren't even using the right Looney Tunes logo
@Anti-Matter Because gameplay triumphs visuals, and this game doesn’t have either, so you have a bad experience.
@coolioam
I have played a lot of mediocre games and that's fine for me as long the games are playable.
Also, just because other peoples said one game is bad it doesn't mean I'm not allowed to play.
Sadly it's not surprising, the trailer didn't look good...
Merely mediocre Merry Melodies minus Marvin the Martian makes me melancholy.
— Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius
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