The Tick’s last video game came out all the way back in 1994, but that hasn’t stopped the star of Amazon’s live-action Tick revival, Griffin Newman, from enjoying some pixelated goodness. Newman, who portrays Arthur, the level-headed sidekick to the big, blue superhero, revealed in an interview with Den Of Geek US that while shooting the series’ debut season, he often relaxed by kicking some 16-bit butt.
In 1994 when The Tick was at the height of its popularity, a video game based on the series was released for both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. The title was an unsurprising side-scrolling beat ‘em up in which the Tick takes on the countless foes of The City. When it comes to whether he was a Sega or Nintendo man, Newman admits that his copy of The Tick in his dressing room was the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of the game.
Regardless of which version of the title that you play, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a deeply arduous, frustrating gaming experience. Many beat ‘em up titles are demanding of gamers and put them through a real gauntlet, but The Tick has an unnecessary 44 levels. Griffin reflects on this grim reality by stating that he thought his progress to the game fifth level was significant, only to learn how many levels are actually out there.
While The Tick may exhibit some very repetitive gameplay, it does at least have a clear love for the source material. The video game impressively pulls characters and storylines from both Edlund’s comic and animated series with fan-favourite characters like Chairface Chippendale and Die Flendermaus making appearances.
Newman’s own Arthur actually ends up being one of the more useful characters in the game, who’s capable of wiping out every enemy on the screen. It’s a skill that’s super helpful in clearing the nigh-on impossible game.
In fact, The Tick video game has gained such a reputation for being so difficult that it’s almost become expected to use the game’s level select codes to complete the game. When confronted as to whether he’s resorted to such measures to completing the game, Griffin was aghast.
“I had no idea there was a level select code! Maybe now I can finally finish the thing.” Griffin getting some virtual closure could be nice, but the mere fact that Arthur’s real-life alter ego doesn’t cheat in video games is just a little too perfect.
The first and second seasons of The Tick are now streaming on Amazon Prime. The Tick video game can be found online, but gamers please beware…