Why anyone would want a shaven yak is beyond me (I don't like watching intros.). All the other Ren & Stimpy video games I've played were pure crap (including both Game Boy entries), but the Game Gear installment is the best one I've played by far.

That's not to say it has its share of problems. It can be difficult at times (and some parts extremely impossible), the extra health items change with every level (level 1 is a TV set while in level 3 it's a shoe.), some of the later level jumps are downright impossible, there are some enemies where your attack (whether it be a hairball or whatever Ren throws, I'm not sure what it is) is useless.

But that's not to say it's not a good game, either. It plays good, way better than the Game Boy versions (which play like something I would program if I knew how to program for the Game Boy.). The graphics are crisp and clear and colorful, but a few things I can't quite make out like, what is Ren throwing? (still haven't figured that out) or What is that brown enemy in level 1 you can't shoot (a porcupine).

Fans of the show (like myself) will get the music cues and the graphic style, and it's very interesting to hear one of the needle-drop music songs from the show digitized into Game-Boy-like music. And, people who aren't very good at the game can go to later levels with a password system (thank goodness!), and with passwords like AURGHH and YYYOWW, what's not to like?

Ren & Stimpy was one of the first cartoon shows I really dug (it premiered when I was around 10), and the episodes have stood the test of time (they're all on DVD, even "Man's Best Friend" and "Naked Beach Frenzy"), but while the game is good, it just falls short of an A rating, although it deserves an A for effort. My rating is B-.