Who else has played these games? As a kid, these were hands down my favorite computer games and I ended up playing most of Junior Adventures games plus a few of their arcade-style games. I also had some of their edutainment games, like the three Let's Explore games (which were pretty fun) and Big Thinkers. I never had any of the Backyard Sports games, but feel free to talk about them if you played them.
I've revisited some of them recently, either by playing them or watching playthroughs, and also checked out a few I've never seen before (like Freddi Fish 1). Just some observations as an adult:
-This is probably as intended, but the Putt-putt games are obviously meant to be the youngest-oriented tier of Humongous games. Putt-putt Goes to the Moon is still fun, mainly for its setting, but I can't imagine that anyone who's over 10 and without the nostalgia of playing them as a kid would want to play through them.
-Freddi Fish, like Putt-putt, is obviously meant for younger kids, but it's much more interesting for its underwater setting (imo, the best artwork of any Humongous games.) This series, and Putt-putt, are supposed to be for kids 3-8, and the dialogue in the games definitely feel intended for the younger half of that age group.
-The Pajama Sam series, even though they're intended for the same age group as Putt-putt and Freddi Fish, are a lot more interesting and is probably the best series that Humongous ever made. Sam, by the way, is basically a blue-skinned Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes (a six-year old kid with an overactive imagination.) In terms of the writing and humor, it almost feels like it was made for a Nicktoon, so it's still pretty fun years later.
-I think Spy Fox holds up decently well, but the James Bond jokes can be kind of cringeworthy now that I understand them (the fact that it's basically a parody of the spy genre completely went over my head as a kid.) The art is also really distinct, compared to the other games (really thick outlines, slightly abstract shapes, less detailed backgrounds, etc.) The humor's also edgier than the other games (meaning, on the level of Spongebob). And maybe it's because these games are meant for older kids (ages 5-10) but there aren't as many "clickables" in the game (objects you can click on for fun) and the ones that are there aren't very interesting.
I've revisited some of them recently, either by playing them or watching playthroughs, and also checked out a few I've never seen before (like Freddi Fish 1). Just some observations as an adult:
-This is probably as intended, but the Putt-putt games are obviously meant to be the youngest-oriented tier of Humongous games. Putt-putt Goes to the Moon is still fun, mainly for its setting, but I can't imagine that anyone who's over 10 and without the nostalgia of playing them as a kid would want to play through them.
-Freddi Fish, like Putt-putt, is obviously meant for younger kids, but it's much more interesting for its underwater setting (imo, the best artwork of any Humongous games.) This series, and Putt-putt, are supposed to be for kids 3-8, and the dialogue in the games definitely feel intended for the younger half of that age group.
-The Pajama Sam series, even though they're intended for the same age group as Putt-putt and Freddi Fish, are a lot more interesting and is probably the best series that Humongous ever made. Sam, by the way, is basically a blue-skinned Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes (a six-year old kid with an overactive imagination.) In terms of the writing and humor, it almost feels like it was made for a Nicktoon, so it's still pretty fun years later.
-I think Spy Fox holds up decently well, but the James Bond jokes can be kind of cringeworthy now that I understand them (the fact that it's basically a parody of the spy genre completely went over my head as a kid.) The art is also really distinct, compared to the other games (really thick outlines, slightly abstract shapes, less detailed backgrounds, etc.) The humor's also edgier than the other games (meaning, on the level of Spongebob). And maybe it's because these games are meant for older kids (ages 5-10) but there aren't as many "clickables" in the game (objects you can click on for fun) and the ones that are there aren't very interesting.