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Garfield has spent I don’t want to think about how long being terrified for our entertainment, and somehow this is only the second time we’ve noticed. Today we’re looking at two occasions Jim Davis’s laziest creation got shoved into a horror plot he absolutely did not sign up for: Garfield’s Nightmare on the Nintendo DS and Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt, the Flash game that lived on Garfield.com back when “Flash game that lived on a dot-com” was still a sentence people said out loud.

Helping us make sense of not one but two inst...

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Superman Returns came out in 2006 and asked audiences a very sincere question: what if Superman, but sad? Brandon Routh brooded his way across the big screen, lifting improbable objects and pining for Lois Lane, and somewhere in a boardroom, someone decided this emotionally complex theatrical event needed to be a video game on four different platforms. Five if you count the Game Boy Advance version, which is technically a different game but we’re counting it anyway because we paid good money decided that we just needed to talk about it.

The PS2 an...

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Somewhere out there is a piece of Superman history that almost nobody remembers exists. Not because it was bad. Not because it flopped. It just… vanished off the internet one day, like it got caught in a Phantom Zone projector aimed at a server farm. That’s the story of The Multipath Adventures of Superman, and we’re about to dig it back up.

The whole thing started life as a CD project dreamed up with actual comic book writers, including Louise Simonson and Steve Englehart, before publisher Brilliant Digital Entertainment decided the format...

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Look, at some point you have to respect the audacity of putting the entire Justice League on a Game Boy Advance cartridge. Not one hero. Not two heroes doing a buddy-cop thing. The whole league. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the works. All crammed onto a handheld that also had to share shelf space with Hamtaro games. That’s ambition. That’s vision. That might also be a cry for help, but we’re not here to judge.

Justice League Chronicles was Ubisoft’s love letter to the animated series, which means it had genuinel...

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The year was 2006. The Game Boy Advance was winding down, the Justice League animated series had wrapped up, and someone at WayForward Technologies looked at a tiny handheld screen and said, “You know what this needs? The Flash. Running very fast. On a cartridge the size of a business card.” And honestly? Bold decision.

Justice League Heroes: The Flash took the Game Boy Advance, the beloved animated series, and a Justice League comic run and asked the eternal question: how many Rogues can you stuff into a handheld beat-em-up before the whole thing star...

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At some point in the early 2000s, someone looked at the Dragon Ball Z manga and anime, a story full of screaming men who power up for entire episodes, hair that defies physics, and villains who monologue long enough for the protagonist to reach a new power level, and said, “Yes. This. But make it a fighting game. On two, and only two, consoles.” And thus, Dragon Ball Z Budokai 2 arrived on PS2 and GameCube, ready to let you spend an unreasonable amount of time unlocking characters and pretending you know what a Fusion Dance is s...

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If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if professional wrestling, superhero nonsense, and a generous helping of “did they really just do that?” collided in a PS2-era video game, congratulations you’ve found your people.

This episode dives headfirst into Galactic Wrestling Featuring Ultimate Muscle, a game that asks the important questions, like how many absurdly named wrestlers can fit into one ring and whether flexing harder is a legitimate combat strategy (it is). Along the way, we’re joined by Josh “Anoriand” Fagundes. Yes, that Anoriand from Twitch. He brings his streaming...

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Somewhere in the mid-2000s, a group of developers looked at the Justice League and said, “What if we made a game where all your favorite heroes team up… and then we just kinda vibed with that idea instead of sticking to any specific comic storyline?” Which kind of works actually because they got Dwayne McDuffie to write it but that’s not the point. So anyway, Justice League Heroes burst onto the scene for PS2, Xbox, PSP, and Nintendo DS like a Watchtower alarm that nobody remembers installing.

This week on Play Comics...

Buckle up for a PS2 heist where Lupin III swaps manga mischief for blocky stealth antics in Treasure of the Sorcerer King, that 2004 gem channeling Monkey Punch’s rogue into disguises-gone-wrong and treasure hunts that test more patience than finesse.

Joining the vault-cracking crew this time is Robbie Sherman from Conversations with Robbie Sherman, dishing on how the game stacks up to the source chaos of Jigen’s aim, Goemon’s blade ballet, and Fujiko’s inevitable backstab.

So grab your best disguise and let’s see if you can sneak the treasure out of this one...

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Sometimes a game says it’s based on a comic. Sometimes a movie says it’s based on a comic. And sometimes a game says it’s based on that movie that says it’s based on a comic, and suddenly we’re three layers deep in adaptation lasagna.

This week, we’re cracking open Over the Hedge for the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox—a game that definitely follows the movie’s lead and only politely waves at the original comic strip from across the yard. Expect sneaking, snacking, and more suburban chaos than your averag...

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There are games that make you feel like a superhero, and then there are games that make you feel like you forgot to read the instructions, lost the instructions, and maybe the instructions never existed in the first place. Uncanny X-Men on the NES proudly lives in that second category.

This week, we’re taking a look at a game that technically features some of our favorites from Marvel’s mutants, but in a way that raises a lot of questions. Mostly “why does it work like this?” and “who thought this was a good ide...

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Some magical girl stories are content with sparkly transformations and heartfelt speeches. This is not one of those stories. This time on Play Comics we’re warping through the glitter-strewn chaos of Sailor Moon: Another Story, the Super Famicom RPG that took the 90s manga and anime vibes, mashed them with branching timelines and turn-based redemption arcs, and asked, “What if destiny needed a save state?” It’s console combat where emotional baggage weighs more than your inventory, and every villain monologue comes with a friendship discount.

Chris isn’t battling cosmic paradoxes solo thoug...

Springfield’s favorite menace trades his skateboard for spandex in Bartman Meets Radioactive Man, and somehow the result ended up on both the NES and Game Gear. Whether it’s justice or just pure mayhem, this is one crossover nobody asked for but we’re glad to have anyway.

But Chris can’t do this along, so he’s joined by the always enlightening Tommy Proffitt from Distant Echos and Lee Carvallo’s Podding Challenge. Together they unravel what happens when cartoon superheroes meet 8-bit hardware and common sense takes a vacation.

So grab your cape, your s...

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They say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but in this case, it’s paved with quick‑time events and awkward platforming. Step back into 2010, when grim determination, button mashing, and a suspicious amount of artistic license gave us Dante’s Inferno on the PS3 and Xbox 360, the game adaptation no one asked for but we secretly loved anyway.

Joining Chris this time is Adam Williamson. You know, that guy who’s somehow managed to pop up in both past and future episodes of Play Comics. It’s like he’s got his ow...

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Look,  We’ve seen a lot of comic-based video games in my time, but when a mafia hitman gets murder powers from an eldritch shadow monster so he can take vengeance on, well, everybody, you know we’ve entered elite storytelling territory. The Darkness isn’t here to make you feel good about humanity. It’s here to make you ask if you’d trade your soul for a pair of talking demon heads who love street lamps way too much.

This week, we’re diving into The Darkness on PS3 and Xbox 360, that moody, g...

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This time on Play Comics, we’re sneaking into the glittery, CGI-filled vault of early-2000s tie-in games and asking the question nobody demanded an answer to: “What if Catwoman, but make it even more 2004?” Between the leather, the eyeliner, and the wall-running, we’re checking out the Catwoman movie game that clawed its way onto GameCube, Xbox, PS2, and Game Boy Advance. It’s the kind of experience that feels like someone motion-captured an energy drink and then gave it a whip.

To help make sense of this pixelated fever dream, Chris is joined...

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Some licensed games take you to fantastical worlds filled with wonder and adventure. This is not one of those games. This time on Play Comics we’re trudging through the smoke-filled, demon-splattered streets of Constantine (2005), the tie-in that asked, “What if we took Keanu Reeves, a theological horror film, and the PS2’s most dramatic lighting engine, and just… saw what happened?” Somehow it’s a third-person action game, a movie adaptation, and a vaguely spiritual experience about regretting your rental choices all at the same time.

Chris isn’t wandering this half-lit hellscape alon...

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If you’ve ever dreamed of piloting a transforming jet while sorting through a love triangle and dodging alien laser fire, then without knowing it you’ve been living in the Robotech: The Macross Saga timeline. Chris dusts off his Game Boy Advance for this one, only to find that the same intergalactic mess has crash-landed again, this time in crisp Switch resolution. Because nothing says “future of gaming” like revisiting a handheld title from an era when batteries were a personality trait.

Helping navigate this space-time crossover is DC Dave from The Monitor...

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Some duels are fought with cards. Some are fought with dice. And then some… are fought with the Game Boy Advance’s eternal struggle against decent menu navigation. This week on Play Comics, we’re shuffling up and drawing into Yu-Gi-Oh! Destiny Board Traveler and World Championship Tournament 2004, two games that take everything we love about Yu-Gi-Oh!, monsters, strategy, friendship laser beams, and cram it into a tiny cartridge that smells faintly of childhood and battery corrosion.

Joining Chris for this summoning circle of digital nostalgia is David from Anime Field Guide, who brings...

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Lucky Luke might be the fastest gun in the West, but nobody warned him about being jammed into a tiny Game Boy cartridge where his biggest foes are stiff platforming and whatever that enemy AI is trying to do. This episode of Play Comics moseys into the dusty frontier where classic European comics meet tiny Nintendo screens, occasionally in glorious Game Boy Color if you were lucky enough to live in the right place or know the right import guy. It is pixel dust, cowboy hats, and the eternal question of “Is this a faithful ad...

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Set sail, button-mashers, because this time Play Comics is diving face-first into One Piece: Grand Battle! that PS2 and GameCube special where early Water 7-era drama gets smooshed into a chaos-filled arena and told to play nice. Expect stretchy punches, loud special attacks, and exactly the kind of character balance you’d expect from a game that assumes “pirate” and “fair” don’t belong in the same sentence. We’re talking Straw Hats, shipyards, and the eternal question: “Is this actually good, or do I just really like yelling ‘Gum-Gum’ every five seconds?”

Joining Chris on this...

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This week on play comics we ask ourselves what happens if you you can’t decide what you want to make a game about. Should you just give up? Should you really dig into your soul and decide what you’re super passionate about? Should you look and see if there’s any other related media coming out that you can tie this game into? Or should you act like you’re at the end of five different boxes of sugary cereal and justice dump the mall into a single bowl and see what happens?

Th...

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Grab your canned vegetables and your questionable licensed tie-ins, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving headfirst into Popeye: Rush for Spinach on the Game Boy Advance—the game that looked at a classic comic strip about a gruff sailor punching his problems and said, “Actually, what if everyone just… ran a lot instead?” This is a world where the Sea Hag steals the global spinach supply, the solution is apparently time-traveling track meets, and Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy all agree that the best way to settle things is to sprint through hi...

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Have you ever wanted to live the cowboy life while staying comfortably parked on your couch with a controller in hand? Well dust off that old PS1 and join us on a tumbleweed-tossed adventure into Lucky Luke, the 1998 game that lassos the comic’s wild west flair and corrals it into glorious mid-poly action.

This week, Insane Ian from the comedy music frontier rides into town to help Chris figure out whether this comic adaptation shoots straight or ends up misfiring into nostalgic absurdity. We’re mixing comic books, cowboy clichés, and just...

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Strap in for the mecha of your dreams, or nightmares, because this week on Play Comics we’re transforming, exploding, and fighting our way through the post-apocalyptic wastelands of Robotech: Invasion, the PS2 and Xbox shooter that said, “You know what would make the Invid Invasion better? A first-person perspective and the ability to pilot a motorcycle that also becomes battle armor!” (Spoiler alert: it actually kinda worked!)

This gloriously ambitious action game takes the New Generation saga of Robotech and asks the most important question: what if we gave players the chance to sav...

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Picture this: it’s the early 2000s, the first Fantastic Four film is about to hit theaters, and someone at a video game developer says, “You know what would be the perfect way to capitalize on this intellectual property? A side-scrolling action game on the Game Boy Advance where Reed Richards appears to have been replaced by his less scientifically-inclined brother in law (close enough, give me this one) and the Thing is made entirely of texture-mapping nightmares.” Congratulations, you’ve just invented Fantastic Four Flame On! It’s a game that managed to take four of Ma...

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Attention, ace pilots and Peanuts enthusiasts! Buckle up your aviator goggles and prepare for some canine combat as Play Comics takes a nostalgic dive into Snoopy vs. The Red Baron, the PS2 and PSP action extravaganza where Charles M. Schulz’s beloved dog finally got his chance to translate his doghouse fever dreams into actual gameplay. That’s right, somewhere out there a development team sat down and thought “You know what the world needs? Snoopy piloting an actual Sopwith Camel and engaging in legitimate aerial dogfights with the Red Baron, the nemesis who has haunte...

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Listen up, mutation enthusiasts and multi-platform adventurers, because this week on Play Comics we’re strapping on our Kevlar suits and diving straight into the bewildering, beast-infested, cross-console chaos of X-Men: The Official Game! We’re talking about the 2006 game that launched on practically every system known to mankind (GBA, GameCube, Nintendo DS, PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. Seriously, did they forget a platform?), which based the story nominally on the third X-Men film from Fox. You know, the one that showed us what happens when Professor Xavier and Magneto finally decided to outsource their beef sett...

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Attention, galaxy defenders and neuralyzer-dodging citizens! This week on Play Comics, we’re suiting up to tackle Men in Black II: Alien Escape, a title that hit the PS2 and GameCube with all the grace of a cockroach climbing out of a dumpster. We are looking at a game that saw the plot of the second movie, shrugged, and decided that what the franchise really needed was a run-and-gun shooter where Agent K looks less like a grizzled veteran and more like an Elvis impersonator midway through a bad Vegas residency.

Joining us to...

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Grab your custom jutsu hand seals and prepare to feel a crushing sense of inadequacy when comparing your reaction time to a ninja’s because we’re diving shadow clone deep into the first Naruto Ultimate Ninja game on PlayStation 2! This week we’re channeling our inner shinobi to explore how Bandai Namco took Masashi Kishimoto’s legendary manga about a determined orange-suited underdog and transformed it into a frantic button-mashing tournament fighter that somehow convinced an entire generation of fans that they could recreate iconic Naruto moments if they just hit the attack button fast eno...

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Lock your squad into formation, charge your bolters, and prepare your genetically-enhanced blue skin for a parade of panzer-busting action because this week on Play Comics we’re putting boots to dirt in the grim, industrial wastelands of Rogue Trooper, the 2005 third-person shooter that took Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons’s iconic tale of a genetically engineered super-soldier and transformed it into a cover-based combat experience that somehow managed to capture the grit, the fury, and the desperate isolation of being a lone warrior against overwhelming odds. Originally deployed across PS2, Xbox, and Wii, Rogue’s had...

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Welcome, web-slinging console warriors and handheld hop-scotchers! Prepare your cartridges and grab your controllers, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving into the gloriously chaotic streets of New York with Spider-Man: Battle for New York, the 2005/2006 portable powerhouse that took Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s Ultimate Spider-Man universe and somehow crammed all of Manhattan’s mayhem into a GBA and DS-sized punch-up bonanza. Because apparently, someone looked at one of the most beloved comic runs of the 2000s and thought, “You know what this needs? A brawler where Spidey spends most of his t...

Crack open your Millennium Puzzle and prepare to roll some incredibly awkward polygonal dice, because this week on Play Comics we’re delving into one of the most bewildering spin-offs to ever stumble out of the Yu-Gi-Oh universe! We’re talking about Yu-Gi-Oh Dungeondice Monsters for the Game Boy Advance—a game so determined to turn Kazuki Takahashi’s trading card phenomenon into a dungeon crawler that it somehow forgot to ask if it should.

Joining us for this delightfully confusing journey through Dungeondice Monsters is none other than Marcus Stewart from Game Informer, who’s armed with the k...

This is a 1 time only crossing of the streams. The episode can be found on the Sugar, Spite, and Everything is Fine website at https://sugarspiteeverythingisfine.com/robin-hood-socioeconomic-policy

In this debut episode of Sugar, Spite, and Everything Is Fine, hosts Chris and Karrington revisit the 1973 Disney animated classic Robin Hood—not just as nostalgic adults, but as media-literate observers of politics, social structures, and childhood lessons that shape us long after we grow up. What begins as a lighthearted walk through a beloved children’s film evolves into a sharp, insightful discussion about wealth inequality, community care, poli...

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Dust off your cowabunga collection and prepare your fists for some serious turtle-powered mayhem, because this week on Play Comics we’re diving shell-first into TMNT: Mutant Melee, the 2005 arena-based fighting bonanza that took the 2003 animated series and asked the most important question: what if we just got all the turtles, their friends, AND their enemies into one room and let them beat the absolute snot out of each other? Developed by Konami for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC, this isn’t your typical one-on-one fighter—it’s more like if Smash Bros and Power Stone ha...

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Lock and load your law enforcement credentials, plug in your justice-dispensing visor, and prepare for some megacity-sized mayhem as Play Comics dives into the brutal, unforgiving world of Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death—the PSX, Xbox, and GameCube shooter that proved you could make a genuinely compelling Judge Dredd game if you weren’t afraid to lean into the dystopian carnage and stylized ultraviolence that makes Mega-City One such a joy to read about. Released when Judge Dredd was already a 2000 AD institution spanning decades of comic book brutality, this game took the Dredd vs Deat...

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Welcome, mechanical marvels and atomic adventurers! This week on Play Comics, we’re firing up our reactor cores and diving headfirst into the absolutely electrifying world of Astro Boy Omega Factor for the Game Boy Advance – because apparently someone at Banpresto looked at Osamu Tezuka’s groundbreaking manga and thought, “You know what this 1950s icon needs? A portable fighting game experience where he punches evil robots directly in their non-existent feelings.”

Released in 2003, this 2D brawler took the mighty atom himself and somehow convinced an entire development team that what fans REALLY wanted was...

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Strap on your meat-based wrestling tights and oil up those biceps because Play Comics is about to suplex you straight into the absurdly wonderful world of Kinnikuman! This week we’re tag-teaming not one, but TWO Ultimate Muscle games—The Path of the Superhero for GameCube and Legends vs New Generation for Game Boy Advance. That’s right, we’re going double or nothing like a Choujin who forgot leg day exists and decided to compensate with twice the spandex.

These games, spawned from the legendary Kinnikuman manga and anime, brought us a universe...

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Digivolve your PlayStation controllers and prepare to shuffle your way through the most wonderfully confused identity crisis in gaming history, because this week on Play Comics we’re tapping into the pixelated card-battling chaos that is Digimon Digital Card Battle for the PS1! Released in 2001 when every entertainment franchise on Earth was racing to cash in on the trading card game gold rush sparked by Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, Bandai decided their digital monsters deserved a piece of that sweet, sweet card-slinging action. The twist? They didn’t just adapt the existing Digimon trading card game...

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Grab your duel disk and prepare for the ultimate test of patience, because this week on Play Comics we’re shuffling into the notoriously punishing world of Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction for Game Boy Advance! This 2003 Konami creation took the beloved manga and anime franchise and somehow managed to turn it into a gaming experience more brutal than being sent to the Shadow Realm by a pack of rare holographic cards.

Based on the wildly popular Yu-Gi-Oh series that taught an entire generation that the real power of friendship is having really expensive ca...