Released in 1997, The Odd Squad Adventure in Oddbodia is an interactive story taking you into the world of Oddbodz. Made available on My Abandonware, the ‘game’ has you teaming up with characters like Nerdy Neville, Myron Megabrain and Mimi Screami to save Doc Fever (who I incorrectly call X. Perry Mental in this review).
Along the way you meet characters from the Oddbodz Collector cards, solve puzzles and click around to explore Oddbodia.
Oddbodz Cards
Oddbodz collector cards were everywhere as a kid. Distributed in Smiths potato chips in Australia, these funky cards featured a whole host of whacky characters. Designed by artist Andy Hook and featuring plenty of glow-in-the-dark ink (with some special rare cards including heat-sensitive thermal hotspots).
The cards are cut in a wavy way that makes them easy to bump up next to each other. On the front of the cards we get the character, usually with a bad joke or a pun. On the back we get two different story threads as well as the top and bottom half of a character. By placing cards next to each other, we can create our own stories and characters.
The artwork itself by Andy Hook is big, bright, bold and totally hard to ignore. Getting to collect and study these cards as a kid really stuck with me and embodied the 1990s design aesthetic I’ve grown to love.
The glow-in-the-dark feature was featured heavily throughout each series of the collector cards (and makes them easy to find in the dark!).
Odd Squad Adventure in Oddbodia
You play as Dylan, an average kid who gets suck through his computer into the land of Oddbodia. Myron Megabrain needs your help to rescue Doc Fever from the evil clutches of Draculard. To help you on your quest, Myron gives you a Superhero makeover (to disguise the fact you’re a human). Playing as the Mystery Kid, you team up with Nerdy Neville and Mimi Screami.
The ‘game’ features three different activities you can either access from the main screen, or play as you progress through the story. There’s a simple mix-and-match style game where you need to unjumble Mimi Screami, Mystery Kid, Nerdy Neville and Myron Megabrain after a whirlwind breaks them up.
There’s also a memory-style game where you need to match the characters with their favourite burgers.
Finally, there’s a Glo Zone/hot spot activity where you need to find the characters in the background of a picture. Clicking them will reveal them as if they were glowing, or revealing them as if they were a hot spot from one of the collector cards.
Navigation occurs with an arrow system at the bottom of the screen. You can progress forward, or click back to revisit scenes. The characters are all fully voice cast, with some wonderfully amateur results (and a bit of pitch shifting). Each scene has a few areas you can click to trigger certain events.