The Cartoon Network Shockwave Game Era

In some ways, I take great pride in aging myself as a gamer. This is one of those times. A true “you had to be there” moment but if you were there, you know how special the Cartoon Network shockwave games were.

These games were played right in your browser with the shockwave plugin. And they almost always ran great. I can remember a few times where the game wouldn’t loan but it wasn’t often. There were all kinds of games people were making, but there are a few that stood out the most.

CARTOON NETWORK OVERLOAD

Powerpuff Girls: Pillow Fight. That’s right. A “Powerpuff Girls” game. I can’t tell you how much time was wasted with my friends going back and forth in this. Simple but fun like all the games here, you had pillows that did different things, some exploded, some acted as boomerangs, but you had a limited time to rack up points. Quick in and out game. And yes, the cartoon was fire. 

Dragonball Z: Tournament. This one is more of a strategy game as you have to get through 7 enemies in 1 on 1 fights. The key here is it’s not a fighting game at all. You click a quadrant of the screen and what action you want to take. You can melee attack, defend, shoot a beam attack or charge up. Once you make your decision, the CPU does, and the actions play out. It’s a game of cat and mouse basically. It’s a slower game but still fun. And as you all know, a Cartoon Network/Toonami staple.

Samurai Jack: Way of the Warrior. This was a game I remember pouring hours into because of the way the challenges were set up. They weren’t unfair, you just had to figure out how to work within the constraints of what shockwave games were. You go through 5 stages as a young Samurai Jack to train him up enough to be worthy of his family’s sword. A lot of fun and some mild frustration. Also, a show I wished Cartoon Network gave more love.

LOOKING BACK 

There are so many of these games I loved playing. I didn’t even get into the “Dexter’s Lab”, “Ed, Edd, and Eddy” and other “Dragonball Z” games. And beyond that, the Toonami games were pure heat too. The Cartoon Network era gave us a number of classic quick games.

I wish we still had these games but with flash and shockwave being phased out, we’ll likely never experience anything like that again. And that’s sad, especially now. Most of those games we all played in school when we could sneak it. In the words of Michael Irvin, “WE’RE LOSING RECIPES!!”