Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tails

"It's got charm but not enough to make it more than average."

Billed as being the answer to Sonic and Mario, Bubsy never really made an impact on the market nor did he ever really make it out of the starting gate. With programmers leaving and developers moving onto greener pastures to develop for more popular systems, Bubsy never got the chance to be one of the top mascots in the system wars. In this little outing, you take control of Bubsy in a run of the mill platform game that doesn’t do much other than force you to bash on several different enemies much like you would do with Mario. However, what you have is something that is visually appealing and plays much like other games that you’ve played before.

The story that you come across here is one that really does take the cake, but has been done before in some form on another system. Bubsy is charged with the restoration of five different fairy tales that have been changed because Mother Goose has come up missing. You’ll travel through stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Alice in Wonderland and others, while taking on the bad guys and characters from each story in a fifteen-stage romp. Once you’ve gotten into the game, you’ll see that the game has one thing that most other platform games tend to lack and that is undeniable charm.

-The Game Play-

Bubsy is a cat that likes to jump and glide through the stages with the greatest of ease. However, you’ll find that the game is more or less just jumping from place to place, bashing enemies and getting from the beginning of the stage to the end without getting killed. You’ll find that there isn’t much else that you have to do in each of the stages, as there are no puzzles you have to solve, or really tough enemies that you have to make a strategy for. All in all, there isn’t much to the game but making it from start to finish with your lives intact, and you’ll also find that it tends to be repetitive in almost every aspect.

Control really isn’t much of an issue here and you’ll see that the only part of the control that takes a bit of learning is how to glide in certain areas. The jumping and moving part is responsive enough and you’ll need it in the later stages when you have to take on the moving platforms. Aside from that, you still won’t find too much going on that will force you to get aggravated which will be a blessing to platform game beginners and a curse to anyone who is looking for some control challenge. Most of the attacks that you dish out are done by simply jumping on your enemies, so anyone can pick up on this without much of a problem.

-The Visuals-

Visually, Bubsy has plenty going for it, though you really won’t find too much new each time you play. Each of the five main stages and the three sub stages that are in between are all done with the theme of the book that they are representing. You’ll see the little white rabbits of Alice in Wonderland and the submarine creatures in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea to be very well detailed. However, you’ll be running across these mainstay creatures with little or no difference between them and that leads to a bit of repetitive boredom. Aside from that, Bubsy tends to float and glide through the stages with little or no slow down and that is a comforting sight.

-The Audio-

The music that you find here in Bubsy really doesn’t have too much going for it and you’ll find that the little blurbs of speech at the beginning and in between the stages is cool, but doesn’t really change the way the stages sound. As you move through the game, the different stages really don’t do too much to change the themes in between the sub stages and you’ll find it to be the same on most accounts. The sound effects are nice the first couple of times around, but after you’ve heard them fifty times; they tend to grate on the nerves. Besides that, you’ll hear that the game never really changes and even some of themes repeat with just a slight pace difference.

-The Verdict-

Bubsy doesn’t have as much going for it as Rayman, but it is an enjoyable adventure if you’re looking for something new to play. The visuals are crisp and the control is only partially flawed, though the audio and the repetitive game play tends to make this an average game. However, you’ll see that there isn’t much that would keep you from playing through this game aside from the fact that there isn’t any reason to play through it more than one or two times. If you’re looking to play something on the Jaguar and you don’t want Rayman, then you’re limited to this. Aside from that, Rayman is a collector purchase only and not a need to have type of game.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/30/02, Updated 09/30/02