Incredible Crash Dummies, The (USA)

Incredible Crash Dummies stands as one of the more unusual licensed platformers of the early 1990s, transforming safety testing mannequins from popular toys and cartoons into video game protagonists. Released across multiple platforms including NES, SNES, Game Boy, and Sega Genesis in 1993-1994, Incredible Crash Dummies follows the adventures of Slick and Spin, anthropomorphic crash test dummies who battle against the evil Junkman who is creating dangerous vehicles. What makes Incredible Crash Dummies particularly distinctive is its unique gameplay mechanic that embraces the crash dummy concept—the characters can literally fall apart after taking damage, losing limbs and needing to recollect them to restore functionality. The game features environments inspired by car testing facilities, junkyards, and factories, all designed around hazards that can dismember the dummy heroes in cartoonish, non-violent ways matching the toy line's slapstick humor. With its creative implementation of the license's core concept, vehicle-based segments, and boss battles against mechanical monstrosities, Incredible Crash Dummies delivered an experience that genuinely captured the appeal of the source material. Though varying in quality across different platforms, these games have earned recognition among retro games collectors as fascinating artifacts of 1990s marketing synergy, when safety education characters became unlikely action heroes in both toy aisles and video games.

Incredible Crash Dummies was developed by various studios for different platforms and published by LJN/Acclaim in 1993-1994, capitalizing on the popularity of the Tyco toy line that had itself evolved from public service announcements promoting seatbelt use. The games represented part of a broader merchandising push that included action figures, an animated special, and various promotional items—a remarkable evolution for characters originally created to promote automotive safety. The Incredible Crash Dummies games arrived during a period when licensed titles were extremely common, with publishers eager to transform any popular toy or cartoon property into interactive entertainment regardless of how suitable the source material might seem for gaming adaptation. Upon release, Incredible Crash Dummies received mixed reviews across its various platform versions, with critics noting the creative implementation of the crash dummy concept while often criticizing control issues or difficulty balancing common to licensed games of the era. The different versions of Incredible Crash Dummies varied significantly in quality and design, with the SNES and Genesis releases generally considered superior to the more limited NES and Game Boy versions. Among collectors of retro games focusing on licensed titles or early 90s platformers, Incredible Crash Dummies represents an interesting curiosity—a game based on characters that themselves began as educational mascots before becoming action toys and finally video game protagonists. The franchise demonstrates the unusual merchandising pathways of the early 1990s, when safety testing mannequins could become unlikely action heroes through the power of marketing and cross-media promotion, resulting in video games that now serve as fascinating time capsules of this peculiar moment in popular culture history.