Bubsy for the SNES was and still is one of my favourite platformers, for reasons even I am not exactly sure of. There is just some intangible quality ... maybe it's the upbeat attitude spewing out of every pore, the wacky sound effects, the nifty yet somewhat annoying extreme physics involved in movement, etc. etc.. Something about the original SNES version of Bubsy just rubbed me the right way. Even though the game was hyped beyond belief and did not quite measure up to it all, I still enjoyed Bubsy more than I probably should have. I mean, hell.. I was even able to squeeze some enjoyment out of Bubsy 2, and anyone who has played that game extensively knows what kind of game that was.

That being said, you have to realize that I am somewhat biased towards the Bubsy series and thus approached this game with an optimistic and foolishly positive attitude hoping that 'Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales' would at the very least be nothing more than the original Bubsy with brand new enemies and levels. Sadly, that is why I am a fool.

Believe the bullshit for once, this game will disappoint.

[GRAPHICS]

From screenshots and initially seeing the game in motion, Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales appears to have captured the platforming goodness of the original. The sprites are well drawn and fairly well animated and the levels themselves are quite colourful and detailed; it essentially appears as an above-average SNES cartoonish platform game with more colour than the Super Nintendo could ever pump out.

Notice that I said the sprites are 'fairly well animated.' In some cases the animation looks good and in others it is obvious that frequent slacking took place. The developers of Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales used the exact same sprite for Bubsy as in the other two games, only adding new animation for moving up and down inclined slopes (Bubsy's face looks hilariously flat at these points), yet they somehow botched his running animation. It seems that the developers never really completed the animation for Bubsy's running on a flat surface, or mistakenly deleted several important frames - this gives Bubsy's running an odd sort of appearance, almost like he's skipping rather than sprinting.

And what's the deal with Bubsy's insanely quick death animations? It's difficult to tell exactly how it is he's meeting his bitter end in many cases.

Enemy sprites seem to possess fairly sparse animation, but it is adequate. The artwork in the game is in many instances great, both for appearance of enemy sprites and level graphics, so this does in a way compensate for the lackluster enemy animation.

The levels... alright, the levels themselves are generally pretty cool looking and highly detailed. Lots of colour is used and it is obvious that a good effort was put into their creation. The thing is, no part of the levels ever animate. Look at the first level for an example.. Instead of water being an animate thing, it is a solid mass that is merely just an unmoving mass lodged in the ground. Initially one can only guess that this is water until you attempt to move across it and die instantly, drowning in what appears to be a 3-4 foot deep pool. If it were animated, then it would be obvious it was a hazard.. as it is, it's more a case of trial and error.

Anyways, avoid the 'water' at all costs. You will die.

It is almost as if the developers didn't quite get the chance to smear on the polish, or even the last coat of paint, for this game.. I mean, damn, the SNES version has more parallax then Jaguar Bubsy - at times, the background is just a static image that does not move at all (visit any of the beanstalk stages to get an idea of what I mean), with the maximum layers of parallax being a solid one. The overall effect of the graphics is that they were rushed, or maybe it was just the fault of the developers and their laziness. Who knows for sure, but either way, you can't help but notice some flaws.

[SOUND FX/MUSIC]

This category has me a little torn. On one hand, you have some nifty (although low sound quality) music, but on the other hand, effects are rather pathetic. It's a mixed bag of tasty treats and razor blades.. unfortunately, you're going to have to swallow them both. Sadly, the flavour of said tasty treats does not compensate for the razor blades tearing your throat and stomach to shreds.

...perhaps that analogy was a little too strange...

Anyways, as I mentioned previously, music is quite good - very similar to the soundtrack of Zool 2, which is understandable because the same people were in charge of the music for both of these titles. And since I must give credit where credit is due, I admit that the music is fairly impressive, and is one of the very few high points of the game.

What little sound effects there actually are, though, get tiresome quickly, and, quite frankly, are terrible. Not counting the smartass (and sadly moronic) comments of Bubsy before each stage, you can almost count the number of sound effects used in this game on one hand. This works best if you have 8 or more fingers on each hand.

...actually, I'm not sure of the exacty number of sound effects, but there aren't nearly enough.

No enemy in this game makes a noise.. they patrol the levels in complete silence (those stealthy buggers!). Haha, actually.. there is one point right at the start of the game where the lack of enemy sound effects will nearly guarantee you a lost life, if you have never played this game before. Near the beginning of the first level, there are a series of tables set up and after about the third or fourth one there is a collection of teacups that you can jump up on which take you to a platform hovering in the sky. Once you reach this platform, you will notice a standard rabbit enemy, and soon after, you will more than likely be quickly slaughtered by an unexpected giant killer bee assassination. The bee must be a seasoned and profession killer.. it doesn't make a sound as it flies, thus giving you no warning of what is to come.

If you suddenly heard some kind of buzzing, you'd think to yourself, "Well this isn't a good sign. Must mean one or more bees are coming my way! I'll be extra cautious and prepare to defend myself against some sort of flying insect attack." But there isn't. You have no possible way of knowing that the enemy is anywhere near you. Doesn't that suck?

The only sound effects you will ever hear are the noises made when you collect those meaningless point balls (the big ones produce some kind of fanfare clatter), the sound of Bubsy jumping, the sound of Bubsy destroying an enemy, and the subtle 'pop' that occurs when Bubsy is mortally wounded. I forget if running past a level save point makes a noise or not, but I'll say it does.. What an awesome assortment of audio treats! Dazzling, simply dazzling.

[GAMEPLAY]

I wouldn't be complaining had Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales played identical to the original Bubsy, or even the ill fated sequel.. as it is, the formula is basically there, just without the purpose and execution to bring it to the top. Bubsy controls nearly exactly as he did in the first game, with a jump button, glide button, and movement influenced by inertia, so if you got the hang of Bubsy's controls in either of the first games, you'll be right at home.

In exchange for the yarn balls, you now collect pointless multi-coloured spheres with an exclamation mark emblazoned on the front for all to see. The standard 'leap on the enemy in order to annihilate them', and 'one hit kills' return yet again, only taken to such new heights of annoyance that you are likely to question the sanctity of marriage.

I don't know why.

There are dozens of times when you will fall victim to cheap hit after cheap hit, being slaughtered by things you wouldn't think could even damage you (a balloon, for instance, that is slowly drifting into the air). For an example of a cheap hit, just look at the first stage, 'Go Ask Alice,' a title that makes a valiant attempt at cleverness. Near the start of the level, you will notice that there are a series of tables, each decorated with a large white table cloth, and covered in tea pots, candles, and other assorted "Alice in Wonderland" peraphernalia. Now, the way that the tables have been set up is quite a confusing one.. they are at exactly the right height for the large flamingoes strutting innocently below to have their heads just barely stick up above the top of the table, meaning that if poor ol' Bubsy clips even the tiniest bit of his foot on one, he is instantly vanquished in a rather uninspired and nonsensical way.

One hit kills aren't really that big a deal when they are done the RIGHT way (while games like Contra are frustrating, at least you know damn well what's going to kill you and how to avoid it). This.. well, this is designed in exactly the WRONG way. Hit detection is laughable at times, and it is remarkably easy to accidentally tap an enemy, resulting in sweet death. ...hahaha, the whole concept of 'hits' is sort of hilarious when you think about it. I mean seriously, is the enemy coated in some kind of ridiculously poisonous coating or something? Sure, it may just be present to add a level of challenge... but it's still sort of funny to think about.

Anyways, since I've been eluding to this throughout the review, the point of the game is to make your way through 15 ridiculously larger-than-Zool 2 levels and find the exit, where you continue on through the stages until you fight a boss every 3 stages. And after that, the levels switch 'Themes'... Alice in Wonderland, Jack and the Beanstalk, some underwater insantiy, yadda yadda yadda.. you get the idea.

Bottom line, Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales could have been great fun, but one or more people fucked it up in a way that can best be described as violent and unwilling sodomy.

[OVERALL]

Well... maybe with a few more weeks/months of hard work, Bubsy could have easily been one of the best (possibly 2nd to Rayman) platformers on the Jaguar. But this is not a review of what it could have been, it is a review of what is there, and I'm sorry to say that the game you are presented with here is full of potential, but never delivers. It comes off as a hollow and unfulfilling experience, but hey.. maybe you think differently about it than I do.

I was hoping that Bubsy would be superior to Zool 2, simply due to my fondness for the original, but even with my bias, ehhhh.. it's a disappointment.

And is it worth buying? That one is difficult to answer. Alright, well.. I bought it hoping that it would be something it DEFINATELY is not. I read every other review of Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales I could find (the majority of them negative) before I bought this game and I had convinced myself that, "Hey, these people must be full of shit. Bubsy rocks! I'm going to love this game." Even going in with that attitude couldn't shield me from the horrendous nature of this Jaguar platforming disaster. If you are determined to buy it, well... don't be expecting anything more from it than a 30% worthwhile investment. That way you should be able to avoid the disappointment I felt, and hey, the game may even exceed your expectations.

Buy Zool 2 instead if you absolutely need a reasonably priced Jaguar platform game.

[GRAPHICS] - 6.7/10

[SOUND FX/MUSIC] - 7/10 for the music, 2.4/10 for the effects

[GAMEPLAY] - 2.9/10

[OVERALL] - 3/10 (not an average)

review originally written sometime in the late summer of 2002, rewritten 07/21/03