When you hear the phrase weird licensed games, what comes to mind? Maybe a blurred memory of battling through a pixelated fast-food world or using power tools against dinosaurs. For decades, video game publishers have sought to capitalize on popular brands, movies, and even soft drinks, sometimes resulting in the most baffling and bizarre games ever released. Today, we’re diving into this surreal corner of gaming history, where it seemed like everything needed its own game adaptation—even if it made zero sense.
The Odd Appeal of Weird Licensed Games
The gaming industry has always had a close relationship with other forms of media. From blockbuster movie tie-ins to cartoon character platformers, there’s nothing unusual about adaptation. But sometimes things get, well, weird. Why did Pepsi Man—an athletic superhero solely existing to deliver soda—warrant a PlayStation action game? Or how did Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! become an actual SNES cartridge, tasking players with fighting off mutant dinosaurs on a TV set?
These weird licensed games weren’t just odd in concept. They often pushed boundaries in gameplay, aesthetics, and even marketing, becoming pop culture oddities and later, collectible treasures. Their strangeness makes them uniquely memorable, long after more conventional titles have faded from memory. You can even explore our own blog deep-dive on forgotten oddball games for more digital curiosities.
Pepsi Man: Cola Craziness in Video Game Form
Few weird licensed games are more infamous than 1999’s Pepsi Man. This Japan-exclusive PlayStation game has you sprinting through city streets and crashing through obstacles just to deliver ice-cold Pepsi to citizens in need. The entire experience is peppered with slapstick FMVs (featuring a repetitive, Pepsi-chugging spokesman) and over-the-top, endless-runner gameplay. It’s both a fever dream commercial and a playable mascot showcase, and its novelty has seen fans lovingly revive its gameplay on YouTube and Twitch.
The Bizarre Magic of McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure
Sega Genesis owners in 1993 were treated to McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure, a surprisingly well-crafted platformer starring Ronald McDonald on a quest to recover a treasure map. Developed by legendary studio Treasure, this game packed tight controls and creative levels—despite being a direct tie-in to a fast food chain. Its juxtaposition of expertly made gameplay with hamburger-branded health items cements its place in the hall of weird licensed games.
Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit!—Tim Taylor Meets Dinosaurs
If you think mashups are a modern phenomenon, look at the 1994 SNES game Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! Here, Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor battles through TV studio sets infested with robotic dinosaurs, mummies, and outlandish hazards—all using souped-up versions of his workshop tools. Aside from lacking an instruction manual (the physical game came with a faux warning—”Real Men Don’t Need Instructions”), it was so tonally bizarre that even die-hard sitcom fans were left bemused.
More Oddities: Cereal, Comics, and Cheesy TV Tie-Ins
- Cheetahmen II—An infamous NES game intended as competition for the Ninja Turtles, but buggy and unfinished.
- Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool—Another food mascot jumped into platforming; the game was as lackluster as a forgotten cheese puff.
- Yo! Noid—Based on the Domino’s Pizza mascot Noid, who ‘saves the city’ and wins pizza via side-scrolling action.
Why Do These Games Endure?
Ironically, the cult status of these weird licensed games isn’t just a byproduct of their odd premises. Many are actually decent games—engineered by small teams turning constraints into creative assets. Others are so bad or strange, they’ve become collectors’ items and viral sensations. The fascination with these titles endures, reminding us that gaming’s history is far from predictable.
For more wild stories from the annals of gaming, check out our full gaming archive—and never be afraid to rediscover the oddballs that make the hobby so memorable.