Exploring the Annals (heh heh) of Beavis and Butthead Video Games

When I was growing up, Beavis and Butthead were everywhere all at once. The hit TV show spread like wildfire, and then kids started hitting each other and starting wildfires, so the show was forced to shut down. The characters lived on in the form of comic books, a movie, toys, albums, action figures, toilet paper, beach towels, and the TV show again after a while. Needless to say, there were also a few video games of varying quality.

As a child, I took Beavis and Butthead at surface level. At some point, I became vaguely aware that Mike Judge’s creation was considered some great satire, skewering the kids of today and all that. But I was a Kid of That Day, and I genuinely identified with them. A lot of stuff did suck, and a handful of other things were pretty cool. Beavis and Butthead spoke to me. 

Their monosyllabic refusal to comply with the rules of work, school, and society in general was relatable and inspiring. To dorks my age, Beavis and Butthead are iconic figures—hilarious, violent, and heroic. My generation’s Cheech & Chong, Tom & Jerry, and Batman & Robin all rolled into one.

For years, I thought Beavis and Butthead’s video game library consisted of a single game that was ported to a few different systems. And while that release certainly constitutes the backbone of their video game catalog, I’ve discovered a little more that’s worth talking about, including a few games that were close to being released before ultimately being shelved.  

I’m going to focus on console releases and the canceled coin-op arcade game, as there are several PC adventure games I’ve yet to play. Sure, I could’ve researched them on the fly, but I am adamant about giving Beavis and Butthead: Bunghole in One the fair shake it deserves one day. I’m sure you understand. 

Beavis and Butthead (1994)

SNES/Genesis

I used to rent the SNES version of this game periodically because I’d assumed it was the superior of the two. But I recently discovered the Sega Genesis version’s graphics and gameplay are actually much better. I know I say this a lot in this newsletter, but I’ve been living a goddamn lie. 

Overall, the games share more similarities than differences, but the story has a variation that always puzzled me. Both games are set into motion by Beavis and Butthead seeing a commercial for an upcoming GWAR concert they desperately want to attend. (GWAR is a science fiction heavy metal band that wears big costumes and simulates violence against popular celebrities during their live shows. Everyone loves GWAR¹) 

In each version of the game, the boys take a different course of action to get to the show.  

In the SNES version, Butthead comes up with the idea that if they did a bunch of “cool” shit all over Highland (their hometown) and took pictures of it, GWAR would be so impressed that they’d have to let them into the concert for free. It’s a terrible idea, but the fact that they think it could work feels true to the characters. 

In the superior Sega Genesis version, our heroes score tickets, but Tom Anderson runs them over with his lawn mower, sending the shreds all over Highland. The levels are the same, but the boys are tasked with putting their tickets back together instead of causing photogenic chaos.

There’s a neat feature exclusive to the SNES version where, at the end of each level, after you’ve beaten up an adult, Beavis and Butthead pose for the picture to show GWAR. Players are given a minute to adjust their eyes and mouths to make the photo to their liking. It’s a hoot.

This is a really clever little part of the game. In fact, Beavis and Butthead is a mediocre video game with a lot of fun little bits added on top of it. I like that you do very Beavis and Butthead-type things, but sadly, they’re spaced out over levels that should be much shorter. 

In the mall level, for example, you bounce on pogo sticks, hit security guards with boxing gloves stuck on the end of a baseball bat, push each other in shopping carts while shooting enemies with a water gun, and you can even play a game called Butt Fighter in the arcade if you’ve discovered a quarter along the way. 

But sadly, a lot of the memorable moments are just that—breaks from a repetitive and overly difficult game. The levels are too long, and there’s too much stuff going on in them. Stuff sucks. 

But still, find me a video game ending more memorable than getting onstage with GWAR, and I’ll say, "Oh, that’s cool. Did you know at the end of the Beavis and Butthead game you get onstage with GWAR?” I mean, look at this shit. Diddy Kong would never.

MTV didn’t play GWAR very much, at least not that I could ever tell. Maybe on 120 Minutes or Headbanger’s Ball on occasion, but I watched a lot of MTV and had no idea who they were. Despite being on MTV, Beavis and Butthead did a good job of making sure future burnouts like me were aware that most of the channel’s output sucked, and they oughta play more videos where people destroy things. This game hipped me up to GWAR, and for that, I am genuinely thankful.

Verdict: Rocks more than it Sucks 

Game Gear

As you might expect, the Game Gear version is severely stripped-down and doesn’t leave a lot of positives behind. There’s no framing device to speak of whatsoever, and it’s all much, much harder than it is fun. However, I think it’s the only one that shows you Beavis and Butthead while they’re on the toilet. So that’s probably worth something here. 

Verdict: Sucks more than it rocks

Beavis and Butthead (1998)

Beavis and Butthead on the Game Boy surprised me. For years, I was vaguely aware of its existence, but I assumed it was just a worse version of the SNES and Genesis games. It’s not a crazy assumption based on how video games worked in that era, but I was dumb and wrong. This game is no masterpiece, but it is a fresh Beavis and Butthead game that shows promise before losing its charm. 

The game has an entirely different plot and a reasonably different style. The story eventually lands on the fellas trying to impress Todd and join his gang. The first few levels have you controlling Beavis around his school, in a top-down perspective that invites more exploration than the side-scrolling games from four years prior. 

Beavis opens lockers, rummages around the teacher’s lounge, and even avoids dodgeballs Mr. Buzzcut throws at him in the gym. There are entertaining diversions which are a welcome break from the monotony on display in the other B&B games. A tennis instructor asks you to run around and collect 10 tennis balls before you can advance. Stuff like that. It’s great running around as Beavis and seeing what kind of trouble or interaction you might trigger. The graphics are fairly underwhelming, but I do quite like the art in the dialogue screens.

Sadly, after a few levels of roaming around, Beavis finds himself in the sewer, and it’s time for a generic and overly complicated bit of primitive side-scrolling. The graphics are worse, and suddenly, instead of bumping into familiar characters from the show, you’re jumping over Beavis-sized rats and taking damage from bugs. It’s too bad, as the first few segments are surprisingly fun.

In the end, this game’s plot is probably closest to an episode of the show. There are no GWAR concerts or trips across the country, just Beavis and Butthead trying to impress Todd by springing him out of jail. Their plan works, and Todd rewards them by kicking their ass for getting him locked up in the first place. The game ends with our heroes on the couch, ruminating about how getting beaten up sucks and considering maybe starting their own gang.

Game Boy’s Beavis and Butthead starts with a lot of promise, but it wears off–like when they used to watch a minute of a music video before changing the channel.

Verdict: Rocks until it Sucks

Canceled Beavis and Butthead Arcade Game (1996)

Atari came about as close as they possibly could to releasing this game before ultimately deciding against it. This is unfortunate, as a multiplayer Beavis and Butthead arcade game on par with classics like The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the stuff of people-about-to-turn-40’s dreams. It’s a shame that this animated classic didn’t get to flourish in the arcade alongside some of its contemporaries. 

Luckily, it lives on in the form of a handful of prototype cabinets that contain the mostly-finished game. It’s been reported that MTV auctioned off roughly a dozen before the game was nixed, obviously making them a rare and collectible memento. A few of the prototypes are scattered around the West Coast, and one is owned by the Galloping Ghost Arcade in Chicago. 

The game looks like it would’ve been at least adequate, especially for the genre. 

A welcome change of pace from the other Beavis and Butthead games, it’s not set across different parts of Highland. Instead, it sees the boys get sucked into their TV, causing them to brawl through levels with themes like the Wild West and Las Vegas. The boxing glove tacked on the end of a baseball bat appears here again, as well as other weapons like whips and Flying V guitars. 

In addition to great graphics, animation, and sound, it also offered a twist on the beat ‘em up gameplay, positioning the camera behind the characters. Instead of walking to the right all the time you’re walking, uh, like, up I guess. 

Here’s some footage of it:

Verdict: Likely rules, but it sucks that I don’t know 

Beavis and Butthead Do Hollywood (in development for PlayStation 1998-1999)

It’s tempting to look at canceled games like this and wonder about what could’ve been, but my gut tells me this was going to be bad like an NES Simpsons game or an N64 South Park game. Maybe I’m being cynical, but Beavis and Butthead in 3D is no good. It’s an idea for a game from an era where every single series was fucking around in primitive 3D. Tetris, Castlevania, Mega Man, Frogger, it didn’t matter. They needed big chunky polygons. 

This game (in which Beavis and Butthead take on different jobs across Tinseltown) was advertised in magazines like EGM and Game Informer, but ultimately fizzled out after the publisher stopped paying the developer. 

Sure, there’s a chance this game could’ve risen above its awkward graphics, but there’s an equal chance it would’ve been as fun as Paperboy 64, a game I wish I’d made up just for that joke. 

Verdict: Probably would’ve sucked 

That’s all, folks! Thanks for reading as always. Reminder that the first Skitching the Elephant shirt is now available here. Hope you have a great weekend!

1. GWAR has a rich and storied history that I’ll resist diving into here. But, since this is about Beavis and Butthead, I feel compelled to share a story I discovered about an incident in which the singer was arrested for wearing an inappropriate codpiece at a show in North Carolina. The resulting court hearings were presided over by the honorable Judge Dick Boner.