LJN

"''How many of these games are worthless?! All the LJN ones, I can tell ya that! But there are good games here, there are! Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Contra, Castlevania, Mega Man, but then, A BIG FUCKIN' SHITSTORM HIT IT! A SHITSTORM OF HORRIBLE GAMES! And at the middle of it all, a rainbow. A rainbow of shit! LJN!"

—The Nerd, Episode 112 - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

LJN was a toy company and video game publisher that was notorious for its poorly made licensed video games. It is, by far, the gaming company whose output is most frequently criticized by the Nerd. The Nerd's various criticisms of LJN often focus on negative aspects such as rushed production, prolific glitches and the company's attempt to make easy money by producing games that would capitalize on the relative popularity of movies or other intellectual properties in non-gaming media, while often failing to provide any noticeable reflection of said IP.

AVGN refers to the company's logo as the "Shit Rainbow". The Nerd also talks about LJN being what seems like the only game company who can get a hold of the licensing for movie rights to make video games.

In 1990, the company was bought by Acclaim Entertainment, and LJN was folded into Acclaim in 1995.

LJN was the enemy of The Nerd, otherwise like Bugs Bunny, Jason Voorhees, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Freddy Krueger.

Games by LJN reviewed by AVGN[]

The Karate Kid (NES/1987) (Reviewed in the episode of the same name.)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (NES/1989) (Reviewed in the Roger Rabbit episode.)
Back to the Future (NES/1989) (Reviewed twice in the Back to the Future episode and Nintendo Days Re-Revisited).
Back to the Future Part II & III (NES/1990) (Reviewed twice in the Back to the Future episode and Nintendo Days Re-Revisited).
Friday the 13th (NES/1989) (Reviewed in the episode of the same name).
A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES/1990) (Reviewed in the episode of the same name).
Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six (NES/1992) (Reviewed in the Spider-Man episode).
The Amazing Spider-Man (Game Boy) (Reviewed in the Spider-Man episode).
Roll 'n Rocker (NES Accessory/1988) (Reviewed in the NES Accessories episode).
The Uncanny X-Men (NES/1989) (Reviewed in the X-Men episode).
Wolverine (NES/1991) (Reviewed in the X-Men episode).
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (NES/1992) (Reviewed in the Terminator (Part 2) episode).
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Game Boy/1991) (Reviewed in the Terminator (Part 2) episode).
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (SNES/1993) (Reviewed in the Terminator (Part 2) episode).
Town & Country Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage (NES/1988) (Reviewed in the How the Nerd Stole Christmas episode).
Jaws (NES/1987) (Reviewed in the Spielberg Games episode).
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (NES/1991) (Reviewed in the episode of the same name).
Alien 3 (NES/1992) (Reviewed in the episode of the same name)
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (SNES/1994) (Reviewed in AVGN: Wish List (Part 2)) - The only game that the Nerd has stated as "an LJN game that's not shit"
The Punisher (NES/1990) (Reviewed by Pat the NES Punk in the Adventures of Bayou Billy/Punisher collaboration special) - The Nerd did admit that this game was decent.
Beetlejuice (NES/1991) (Reviewed in the episode of the same name)
LJN Video Art System (1987) (Reviewed in The 12th and final day of Shitsmas)
Roll 'n Rocker (1988) (Reviewed in NES Accessories)
WWF WrestleMania (1987) (Reviewed in the Wrestling Games episode) - The Nerd admits that while the game is iconic to wrestling fans, he didn't find it entertaining.
WWF WrestleMania Challenge (NES/1990) (Reviewed in Wrestling Games)
WWF Steel Cage Challenge (NES/1992) (Reviewed in Wrestling Games)
WWF King of the Ring (NES/1994) (Reviewed in Wrestling Games)
WWF Super WrestleMania (SNES/1991) (Reviewed in Wrestling Games)
WWF Royal Rumble (SNES/1992) (Reviewed in Wrestling Games)
WWF RAW (SNES/1994) (Reviewed in Wrestling Games)
The Incredible Crash Dummies (NES/1994) (Reviewed in the Crash Dummies episode)

About the Logo[]

According to The Nerd, LJN stands for "Laughin' Jokin' Numbnuts" though it really came from the reversed initials of "Norman J. Lewis". The LJN logo depicts all the colors of the 'Shit Rainbow' seen in all of their games:

Purple: Putrid Gameplay
Blue: Bad Musical Abominations
Green: Graphical Farts and Garlic
Yellow: Piss-poor Lack of Loyalty to Source Material
Orange: Orange (Aren't) You a Fuckin' Idiot (possibly due to the cartridge art deceiving you into believing you're playing an actual OK game)
Red: High Stress Anger Inducing Masochism

Put that all together, you got all the colors of the shit rainbow. Hooray LJN.