488 Words About: MTV’s Beavis and Butthead for SNES
When I saw the title MTV’s Beavis and Butthead in a list of ROM files for a Super Nintendo Entertainment System(SNES) emulator, I mimicked Buttheads gross laugh and said, “Whoah, that’s cool.”
I hit download because, to quote Copernicus , “Screw it, why not?”
I never watched Beavis and Butthead because I was too young when the show was on the air, and my parents were trying to raise me right. I note for the record though that I watched Family Guy so I dodged two dumb bullets for one fat one, which reminds me of that time I was trying to write an essay about a videogame.
Playing for a few minutes I recognised that this was a basic 2D scrolling, action, platformer videogame with some fighting mechanics. The player controls Beavis and Butthead and moves them to the right side of the screen trying to dodge skateboarders, adults, animals, and random environmental damage.
Much like The Pagemaster for SNES, Beavis and Butthead is a multimedia product; it exists as a tie-in to an artistic project to build an audience and further establish a brand. That’s giving the game some credit, and I want to try and give it something because critics absolutely did not.
To quote Copernicus, “That sucks.”
The platforming and gameplay does offer challenges to players, and aesthetically the game succeeds in what it’s trying to do. Moving Beavis and Butthead through the hallways of their highschool, the sidewalks of their neighborhood, or even jamming at the GWAR concert the player is completely in the world of these two characters. Rather than just drop Beavis and Butthead into an abstract space, the designers recreated the fictionalized Highland, TX and every pixel of every non-playable character(npc) looks like it was stolen from the original show.
At the heart of the game is a concern for adjusting the aesthetic to fit a different media.
Viewers watched Beavis and Butthead get smacked around and act stupid; players smack folks around…and also act stupid. Because it’s important to remember these characters are stupid.
That’s the appeal.
This is not a fantasy adventure like Panzer Dragoon Saga.
To quote Copernicus, “Uh…duh.”
A contemporary player who decides to play MTV’s Beavis and Butthead is most likely someone who grew up during the 90s and wants to indulge in a bit of nostalgia. I understand this impulse because I downloaded Family Guy: Videogame! for the PCSX2 emulator (even though I never played that game). Nostalgia aside, MTV's Beavis and Butthead is not an empty cash grab.
MTV’s Beavis and Butthead is another example of how malleable the platformer is as a genre because it’s allowed several multi-media tie-ins while giving consumers of videogames a different way to experience familiar aesthetics. Becoming “Cornholio” is not donning a Tanuki suit by any means, but it is yet another excuse to annoy my girlfriend with my dumb impressions.
To Quote Copernicus, “Dude…that rules.”
Joshua “Jammer” Smith
4.28.2025
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