Long before South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone adapted the show into video games like The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole, other developers tried to make their own games based on the series. The first of these to be released was simply and appropriately titled South Park. Published by the now-defunct Acclaim Entertainment, it debuted on the Nintendo 64 system in 1998. Subsequent versions were released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation the following year.
The basic idea is that a comet is heading toward the earth that will unleash “a force of concentrated evil that no bastion of decency can stand against.” Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny must fight their way through different levels and fend off a variety of enemies, including, but not limited to, aliens and giant mutant turkeys.
The game didn’t get the warmest reception, but sold over a million copies within its first year. The success led Acclaim to release two more South Park-related games: Chef’s Luv Shack in 1999 and a Mario Kart knockoff, South Park Rally, in 2000. Prior to any of that, though, the folks at Acclaim had been planning to make a South Park game for the Game Boy Color, as shown in a 1998 advertisement in Nintendo Power magazine. As a matter of fact, they didn’t just plan it; they completed the entire game.
Also titled South Park, the Game Boy version follows the same premise as the other console games that share its name. This one was apparently made first, however, and was a platform game rather than a first-person shooter. Since the Game Boy edition was intended for children, Parker and Stone reportedly didn’t like the idea of releasing a game with such a mature theme on the console and decided to pull the plug.
If true, it’s not hard to see why. In the video that plays on the main menu alone, Stan brings up the time “Mr. Mooney had to have the class hamster taken out of his ass.” Cartman then wonders out loud about the incident, saying, “I don’t know why he swallowed it in the first place.” We also defy you to find a single other game for the Game Boy in which a character refers to another character as a butt licker or a dildo…
The full game was leaked online years later, but not before parts of it were repurposed for a few other games. In Europe, the engine was reused for 1999’s Maya the Bee & Her Friends, but in the U.S., elements from the South Park game were reskinned for not one, but two games featuring the Olsen twins: The New Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley in 1999, and 2000’s Mary-Kate and Ashley: Get a Clue. Take a look at some gameplay footage from the latter below (and pay particular attention to the ladders).
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