Play The Ripping Friends Online

I picked up The Ripping Friends for the Game Boy Advance back when it was new, a tie in with the short lived cartoon. It was developed by Crawfish Interactive and published by THQ, one of many licensed games from that era trying to capture a show's energy on the small screen. The game arrived during a time when the GBA library was filling up with action platformers, and this one aimed to stand out with its over the top muscle bound heroes.

You control one of the four Ripping Friends, like Rip or Crag, and you punch your way through side scrolling levels. The main goal is to defeat the evil villains threatening the world, moving from left to right while fighting waves of strange enemies. Signature mechanics include using each character's unique super move, which requires building up a power meter, and grappling with environmental objects to throw at foes. The pacing is fast, with enemies constantly swarming, and the difficulty can feel unforgiving if you miss a jump or mis time an attack. Playing it feels like a chaotic brawl where you are always mashing buttons to stay alive.