#230 – Fisher-Price: I Can Remember

But what if you don’t want to remember?

PLAYERS: 1-2 simultaneous

PUBLISHER: GameTek

DEVELOPER: Beam Software

GENRE: Early Childhood

RELEASE DATE: March 1990

At first I thought this game would be the Fisher Price version of Phil Collins’ song “I Can Remember.” Then I REMEMBERED that the Phil Collins’ song is actually called “Do You Remember” and that game and toy companies don’t work together to make video games about British crooners’ struggles with love. Fisher Price, bless their corporate souls, decided to take the more conventional route and make a memory game about – what else – Fisher Price products! I’d say it’s a “fun” memory game, but memory games aren’t really fun at age 26. They’re a reminder of what you used to enjoy, although since I never enjoyed Fisher Price as a company, I didn’t really enjoy uncovering the memory tiles in this game. Product placement lurks behind every tile (look, it’s that phone from “Toy Story 3”!). And yes, I Can Remember is just like any other memory game you’ve ever played, including but not limited to the actual “Memory” board game and the memory minigame in Super Mario Bros. 3. Uncover the same pictures from two tiles and the tiles will remove to reveal a larger picture underneath. Do this several more times and your reward is… a large picture of an expensive Fisher Price toy that, you as a three year old will bother your parents for until they wonder why they bought you a $50 memory game, when “Memory” costs about $10 and is far more hands-on; true edutainment, if you will. As a companion piece to Firehouse Rescue and part V in the Fisher-Price saga, I will say it improves on the whole “children’s game” concept. As a game about remembering garish plastic items, it fares worse. Unless you’re ages 3 to 8 (chortle), I’d recommend just forgetting about this game, this review, and Fisher Price as a whole.

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