Game Info
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Developer: Solid Software
Publisher: Accolade
Year of Release: 1993

Game Review & Impressions
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I covered the Sega Genesis of the original Bubsy many moons ago. It was one of the few games I owned for the system back in the day, and while it was never a serious pretender to the likes of Sonic or Mario, It's not as bad as some make it out to be. The game follows the exploits of one Bubsy, who is on a mission to save Earth's supply of yarn balls from an invading race of aliens, known as "Woolies". This is as much exposition as one needs for a game of this type which, when all said and done, amounts to combing expansive levels full of platforms for collectibles, bouncing on the heads of enemies to dispose of them, and finding the way to the exit.

In terms of features, the game has some of the most expansive levels in the genre, at least for its time. Unlike the Genesis longplay video, I spent more time investigating each level, which added over an hour to the total completion time. Whether you would actually want to do this under normal playing conditions is debatable, but there's a certainly a big 'ol slice of platforming to be had, should you wish it be so.

It's a shame, therefore, that level design, at least in my opinion, is one of the areas where Bubsy falls short. Whereas the levels in Sonic the Hedgehog are carefully curated experiences that players can learn over successive attempts, the levels here feel like sprawling expanses of randomness, which you just plough through until you finally reach the end.

It also doesn't help that the controls aren't as refined as they could be. The level of inertia applied to Bubsy when you stop moving, coupled with the camera system, means that traveling at speed carries a far higher risk than in Sonic or Mario; you can't stop in sufficient time to deal with an oncoming hazard.

As to any differences between Sega and Nintendo versions of the game, the audio quality in the SNES is definitely an improvement. The digital speech samples spoken by Bubsy at the start of each level are noticeably clearer and can be understood, at least compared to the crackly warbling on the Genesis.

If you can look past its faults, Bubsy is a reasonable-enough game. There's plenty of content to keep you platforming for many an hour, provided you have a sufficiently attuned pain threshold to cope with its various gripes.

Video Notes
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The score counter mysteriously reset itself to zero on level 11; this is not a continuity error.

Chapters
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TBC