Play Dexter's Lab - Chess Challenge (u)(venom) Online

I picked up Dexter's Lab: Chess Challenge for the Game Boy Advance back in 2002, a time when licensed games were common on the handheld. Ubisoft published it, and it tried to do something different by mixing the show's characters with chess puzzles. It wasn't a typical platformer, which made it stand out on a system full of them.

You control Dexter, moving him screen by screen across a chessboard-like grid. The main goal is to capture all the enemy pieces on each board before your own king is taken. The signature mechanics are the unique movement rules for each piece you control; you might move like a rook in one level and a knight in the next. You also have to avoid enemy attacks while planning your own captures, which requires thinking a few moves ahead. The pacing is deliberate, more of a slow puzzle game than an action title, and some later boards get quite difficult. It feels like a strange but thoughtful blend of cartoon antics and classic strategy.