You can take me, but you cannot take my bunghole! For I have no bunghole. I am the Great Cornholio!
When you get past the title screen featuring the two great buffoons you will then come to the main menu, where you have four options. The first option is called "1 Player Go" and is where you go to dive in to a single player game. Similarly, the second option is called "2 Player Go", what you choose if you have a friend along for the ride and want to partake in a two player cooperative game.
The third option from the main menu is, naturally, "Options". This is where you can alter a number of the game's functions including toggling the music on/off, toggling Stereo on/off, switching the difficulty level between the three available settings (Wimp, Cool, and Dude), as well as the Start option, which just confirms all of your settings and takes you back to the main menu.
The fourth and final option from the main menu is "Password". To continue progress on this game from where you last left off you are required to input a password. The passwords consist of eight three character words that Beavis and Butthead often say, including YAH, WOA, HEH, etc. You will receive your unique password after each time you complete a level in this game.
After you confirm all of your options and then select whether you want a 1 or 2 player game, the game will then proceed to the level select screen. The main menu and level select screen are both displayed on a close up replica of Beavis and Butthead's TV screen, fyi. Anyways, at first there are four different game levels you can choose from on this screen, it doesn't matter in which order you play and complete them, you can proceed in any manner you desire. Just scroll through and select the level you want to play, then press Start and you are off to the races! I will now review the game levels in the order in which they appear on this level select screen.
The first game level is called "Highland High School". This level starts off with Beavis and Butthead roaming the halls of their alma mater. As you wander there are doors to enter, letting you explore some of the classrooms as well. You have to be ever vigilant though, avoiding skateboarders rolling through the halls as well as the bully, Todd, who tips lockers and throws basketballs at weapons. The two soon come to the cafeteria where Daria makes an appearance and offers them some nourishment, but the other students aren't so friendly and start a food fight, firing food at Beavis and Butthead . . . even the school chef gets in on it!! About halfway through the level, after the cafeteria, you come to a part that let's you restore your energy. There is a room with a series of three garbage chutes, coming from the cafeteria, chemistry labs, and teacher's lounge respectively. Avoiding the toxic stuff coming from the chemistry lab, you can eat all the food coming from the other two chutes and get back to full health. The pair then head back out in to the school and wander the halls some more. Principal McVicker makes an appearance, attempting to chase the delinquents down. You then end up in the gym, where Beavis climbs up on Butthead's back and brings with him this long piece of wooden board that has a big boxing glove attached to the end of it. As you tromp through the gym you need to swat at bouncing basketballs and skateboarders, even at Todd and his buddy, who climbs on Todd's back and comes out swinging a giant wrench! Exiting the gym you then find yourself in the change rooms, where you have to deal with ignorant broads snapping towels, constantly running showers with super-heated water, and Coach Buzzcutt (who is trying to get in on the beatings as well). When you finally come out of the change rooms you're back in the gym and it's time for the boss fight of this level against Todd and his buddy, who are again going piggyback and swinging a giant wrench.
Second we have the "Streets of Highland" level. You start off on a residential sidewalk somewhere in Highland and go for a stroll. Soon enough you're having to avoid vicious, unleashed dogs, swooping birds that also try and crap on you, as well as an old lady who fires shopping carts in your direction. Luckily a couple of those boards with boxing gloves attached to the ends of them are lying around, so you're not left defenseless!! Eventually you make your way to the backyards of a strip of houses. Jumping from clothesline to clothesline you are forced to make your way down the row of houses while avoiding the dogs that are constantly jumping and trying to nip Beavis and Butthead's heels. Back on the streets afterwards you'll run in to some more of the same trouble as earlier, as well as some new environmental hazards. Fire hydrants spewing fountains of water and crocodiles popping up out of manholes see your jumping abilities tested to the limit. A kid on his big wheel even tries to take you out a couple times. You then cut through some more back yards, using the clotheslines yet again as your avenue of transportation. This time there are not only dogs jumping as you try to pass, but birds swooping and crapping too. After this last bout of clothesline play you pop back out on the streets of Highland but not for long as you finally make it to Mr. Anderson's house, where the boss fight of this level takes place. Anderson is shooting tomatoes at you with his leaf blower, your task is to pick them up and fire them right back at him!
The third level is called "Highland Hospital". You begin play here in the triage lobby and make your way down the halls, occasionally sneaking through patient rooms as short cuts. The main opponent this time around are hospital orderlies, who come at you with needles!! Luckily there are some green bottles lying around that shoot some sort of foam or gas, so these clowns are easily dispatched. You also have to watch out for gurneys that are being rolled violently about, as well as the odd puddle and pile of mop pails. Eventually you come across an elevator and head up a floor or two. When you exit the elevator Butthead is pushing Beavis on a gurney while he uses IV bags to shoot water at the onrushing orderlies. After this bit of activity you then find yourself in an operating room, escape is managed by jumping across the row of drop down lights hanging from the ceiling. Back to roaming the hospital halls afterwards you face not only the orderlies, but also maintenance men armed with plungers!! Eventually you arrive at another elevator and climb another floor or two. When the action resumes Butthead is again pushing Beavis on a gurney while he shoots water at both orderlies and maintenance men. Making matters worse this time is that Todd is being pushed behind you in a wheelchair, taking swings at you with another giant pipe wrench! When you finally escape this portion of the level the twosome end up in the nurses' change room, where the boss fight takes place. A good looking blonde nurse with one big old booty comes out swinging that thing at you in an attempt to take you out.
The fourth level is called "Turbo Mall 2000". To start this level off you're in the hallways of the local shopping mall. First you make your way through the mall corridors for a short while, fending off evil old ladies swinging canes, mall security guards, as well as avoiding objects being thrown down from the upper levels. Soon you arrive at the pet store. Making your way through said store you have to take on vicious dogs, massive pythons, but hardest of all is swimming through a giant piranha tank full of many different conniving sea creatures! Back in the mall corridors afterwards you have to fend off some more dogs as well as some mall rats who are finding it fun giving you a hard time. Eventually you reach an elevator and take it up to the second floor. Immediately you encounter more animals and mall rats, but the best part is discovering a couple of pogo sticks lying around randomly. Climbing aboard them you then bounce through the mall, using the pogos as weapons to squash spiders. Soon you find another elevator and head up to the third floor. Upon exiting the elevator Butthead begins pushing Beavis through the mall in a shopping cart, while Beavis uses a water gun to shoot the mall security guards. After this excitement the next stop is the arcade. There are no enemies for you to face in there, just oodles of video game machines. You can poach as many quarters as possible off the machines and even have a game or two on the one arcade machine that is actually playable, called Butt Fighter. This game pits Beavis and Butthead against each other in a Street Fighter style of combat game. After playing some games and refreshing yourself at the vending machines you then head back in to the mall. There are a couple more pogo sticks lying around so you climb aboard and squash more spiders. But this time around you also have to avoid mall security guards as well as a pod of crocodiles that has infested the mall fountain. At the end of this last adventure you come to the boss of the level, who I assume to be the mall owner. He's a big old fat dude in a cowboy hat who swings a giant salami as a weapon!
After you beat the four initial game levels you unlock the fifth and final level of the game, called "Gwar! Concert". In this level the two destitute teens have finally made it to the rock and roll show, you start the level off on the street outside the venue. Making your way to the front gates you are forced to confront other concert goers who are attempting to impede your progress including more skateboarders, some S & M chicks swinging chains, and some dorky guy in a yellow coat who I think is the band's manager. Once you get inside the building you've got to make your way around the concourse surrounding the arena, avoiding more of the same types of concert goers as well as the food stand guys, who are firing all sorts of different treats you! The next stage of the level is the actual area of the arena where you can see the show, you are forced to skulk around the mezzanine level of seating. All the way you continue to be attacked by skateboarders, S & M chicks, and that chubby guy in the yellow coat just won't give up!! After withstanding this final barrage you find yourself arrived at the promised land . . . on stage with Gwar!!! All you have to do is fend the guy in the yellow coat off long enough to make it to the front of the stage and that's it, game over!
At this point I should take the time to mention that in between each of these levels you will have the choice of going "Couch Fishing" before moving on to the next level. What happens when you choose this option is that an image of Beavis and Butthead's house will come up on the screen, with the view looking out one of their windows. All of a sudden it will start raining food (ice cream cones, pizza, steaks, oh my!) and you use a fishing rod to snag as much of this food as you can in order to replenish your health. An old lady with a cane will tromp through every once in a while and try to break your line, but she's easy to avoid . . . it's the big dog you've got to worry about.
As another aside, at the end of each of the main game levels (excluding Couch Fishing) you get to take a snapshot of Beavis and Butthead in a wacky photo that is supposed to have taken place at some point during the level you just completed. The picture will automatically take itself after a certain amount of time or you can press the Start button to take it yourself. Before the picture is snapped you can use the buttons on the controller to manipulate the looks of both Beavis and Butthead's eyes and mouths, making the picture appear just how you want it. You receive your game password on the screen immediately following this picture taking tomfoolery.
Moving on, there is a bunch of information on the game screen you'll need to keep your eyes on. In the upper left hand corner are two icons in the form of Beavis and Butthead's faces. To either side of these icons are additional icons that display the weapon each character is currently equipped with, if any. Below the weapon icons is a number that signifies how much ammo is remaining for each weapon. If it's a weapon that doesn't use ammo an infinity symbol appears here. In between the character icons is a number that represents how many lives you have remaining in the game. You start off with 5 lives and that is all you have to beat the game with, no continues. In the upper middle section of the screen is a long green bar which represents your health. The bar is depleted as you take damage, when there's no more green left you're dead. Lastly, in the upper right hand corner you will see an icon in the shape of a coin with a number below it. When you collect coins they are added to this tally, when you have no coins on your person the icon disappears completely.
During the game there are a certain number of things to look out for. Banks of payphones, change machines and arcade games will sometimes cough up coins for you. Vending machines will appear every once in a while, you can spend your coins on them to eject food that you can eat to replenish your energy. Food (usually takes the form of a can of pop, bag of chips, ice cream cone, slice of pizza, etc.) can occasionally be found lying around on the ground and also sometimes by attacking certain characters who have it on their person (like Stewart and Daria). And of course weapons will be found lying around the environment from time to time as well. The weapons in this game include the wooden boards with boxing gloves attached to them, guns that shoot what look like racquetballs, IV drip bags, water guns, and the bottles that shoot the weird foam/gas substance. And I guess the pogo sticks count as weapons in a way, too. The last thing you need to look out for, and this is key as you start with only 5 lives, is the free man icons. These icons take form in the shape of Butthead's face. I won't tell you where they are, but there are 3 in total, at least that I've found.
The game controls are pretty simple . . . and also pretty funny! The left/right buttons on the D-pad move your character around the environment. Up on the D-pad is used to make your character enter doors, stick out his tongue to eat falling food, and to interact with environmental objects like payphones, vending machines, arcade games, etc. Down on the D-pad makes your character duck, as well as pick up food and weapons that are lying on the ground. The A button is used to perform a "leg throw". If you press the A button while near your partner (whether human or computer controlled), your character will launch the other guy a good distance by getting down on the ground and flinging him with your legs. This comes in handy when there is a big obstacle to get by that you can't jump normally and may have to be dealt with from the other side. The B button is used to jump. The X button makes your character run, just hold it down while moving in either direction to do so. The Y button is your attack button. Whenever you are equipped with any of the available weapons in the game, this is what will make them fire. The L button is the fun button! When you press it, depending on which character you're controlling, you will either pick your nose or scratch your butt. Also, if and only if you are the correct distance away from your partner, the L button will actually make you slap your partner silly instead . . . it's friggin' hilarious! The R button does nothing. Lastly, on one player mode only, the Select button is used to switch control between Beavis and Butthead.
In terms of the game's presentation, it is nothing short of awesome!! It's colourful, vibrant, the sounds effects are bang on, and everything about the characters and their environments are so well done in terms of their consistency with the original TV show. It makes it a complete pleasure to play! All characters in the game, not just Beavis and Butthead, were well thought out and represented, as were their surroundings. Controls were bang on too. Viacom, although I've never heard of them before, did a bang up job of bringing Beavis and Butthead's world of Highland, Texas to life here!!
As for pros and cons there is really only one con, and that is the game's length. The levels in this game are actually pretty lengthy for a game of that vintage, but despite that there are still only five levels. Another level or two would have gone a long way. Not that it's a deal breaker because, like I said, this game is so well done, it just would have been nice. As for the pros . . . where to start!? First off, like I just explained in the previous paragraph, the world of Beavis and Butthead has been so perfectly brought to life in this game it is just a pleasure to play from start to finish and really lends it a super high fun factor. What also contributes to the staggering fun factor is all of the unique and usually goofy features this game contains. Things like taking those pictures after each level where you get to alter the look of Beavis and Butthead's faces, or the parts of the levels that take teamwork to the maximum when one guy pushes the other in a cart while the other guy shoots at the enemy. Being able to climb on your partner's back and swing a giant piece of wood with a boxing glove attached to the end sure counts as fun too! And then of course, most fun of all, in what other game can you just randomly haul off and slap your partner during game action!?! In Beavis and Butthead, that's where!!
There are a few tips and tricks I can offer people interested in playing this game. First of all, my general rule is that I'm only allowed to lose 1 life when completing a level. If I lose two or more I ignore the password and/or restart the level. Since you have only 5 lives and no continues to beat the game, getting through the first four levels with the least amount of damage is key to beating this sucker. If there is one level that gives you particular trouble and you need to spend 2 lives, you can take a mulligan on said level and still beat the game. For me it was the Turbo Mall 2000 level. My second tip falls directly in line with the first one, and that is to find all the free lives in this game. So far I've only found 3 of them, and I'm pretty sure that's all there is, but it is key that you find them as this will give you a grand total of 8 lives, a more reasonable total that should allow you to beat the game. I won't tell you where they are exactly, but I'm pretty sure the levels you can find them in are the high school, the hospital and the mall. Lastly, this is one of those old school games that is all about repetition. On each level learn what enemies you'll encounter and what order they come in, once you memorize what's going to be coming at you you'll be rocking and rolling (with Gwar!!) in no time!
So overall, despite the game's medium length the faithfulness to the Beavis and Butthead franchise and the massive amounts of fun this game offers is all you'll be remembering for years to come!! This is a true classic for the SNES, in every sense of the word. Awesome!!