Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose

The rabbit Buster Bunny bursts out of the Acme Looniversity classroom straight into a crazy ride full of slapstick, and Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose is one of the most underrated platformers on the Super Nintendo. Konami took the popular cartoon series and turned it into a fast, artistically rich and surprisingly inventive game that was not afraid to experiment with pacing.

Konami released the title in 1993 and built it on what it did best: precise gameplay and visual flair. Buster controls not only jumps but also his characteristic dash and sliding kick, thanks to which the game moves faster than most competing mascot platformers. Every level has a different theme and a different gameplay twist, so the action never begins to repeat itself.

Mechanically the game brilliantly varies the pace. In one level you run along the roofs of a train, in another you play American football, elsewhere you find yourself in a space parody. The bonus phases and comic-book interludes faithfully carry over the atmosphere of the series, including its typical looney humor and the exaggerated animations of the characters, which Warner Bros. oversaw.

Culturally, Buster Busts Loose belongs to the wave of licensed games derived from cartoon series that flooded consoles in the nineties. Unlike many quick cash-ins, however, Konami did honest work and created a title that holds up even without nostalgia for the brand. For fans of Tiny Toons it was a dream come true of how their favorites should look in a game.

Thanks to its quality execution, the game made its way into many retro recommendations as an example that even a licensed title can be great if a capable studio stands behind it. For SNES collectors it is still a sought-after piece.

Why play: A fast, funny and visually delightful platformer from Konami that shows how a game based on a cartoon series should be made.