Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection

I'm bubbing it And by it i mean.. haha my bubby

This game treated me better than my last relationship back in 2022.

[h1]What could possibly go wrong? These games will answer that question[/h1] A failed attempt at a mascot platformer from the 90's, Bubsy's original games return in one collection without having to spend hundreds of dollars just to play them all. I want to start by mentioning that the team behind this collection did a really good job. You've got screen size settings, a CRT filter and borders. The SNES and Mega Drive versions of Bubsy 1 and 2 are included which should be a standard for collections like these. Tons of extras are included such as the manuals, music, merchandise, and even the entire Bubsy cartoon pilot that never saw the light of day. Developer interviews were great to see included - I love behind-the-scenes material like this, making it feel much more personal. The best addition to this collection is the rewind feature, allowing you to go back and retry quickly at failed sections. Thank goodness this feature exists - without it, I don't think I'd have the sanity to finish any of these games because they are all terrible. All 5 games share a lot of the same problems that ruin the experience - poor collision detection that can result in getting hurt even when jumping on top of an enemy, the camera not allowing you to see what's coming up, slippery controls that make even basic platforming difficult, and the maze-like level design. My quick thoughts on each game: [h3]Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind[/h3] This game actually starts off okay in the first few levels, but gets so much worse once you hit Chapter 4 when it becomes more frustrating than fun. Many later levels feel very repetitive with their layouts, making it feel like you're playing the same stage three times. It barely feels play tested at points - as an example, there's a checkpoint in Chapter 8 where if you die and respawn, the game puts you directly in contact with an enemy, forcing you into an endless death loop until you lose all your lives with nothing you can do about it: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3762343639 [h3]Bubsy II[/h3] This is IMO the best game in this entire collection. That doesn't mean it's actually good, though. There are two massive improvements, those being an actual weapon you can use to attack enemies from a distance, and you can take up to 3 hits instead of 1. I like the addition of bonus stages, and getting a choice as to which 15 of 30 levels you play through by choosing either the East or West wing at the start of the game. Sadly, other flaws ruin this game too. The levels are aimless in design, the HUB is so bland it may as well not exist, enemies can take multiple hits, and the plane levels are nothing more than mindless distractions from the main platforming. IMO the SNES version is superior as switching inventory is done by pressing Y instead of requiring you to hold down and B like on the SEGA release. [h3]Bubsy II (Game Boy)[/h3] Unlike the other games in this collection, I didn't find this one frustrating to play - I just found it really boring and sluggish. The main version had 5 areas and 6 levels in each, but this version only has 3 for a total of 9 levels. The exact same boss fight is repeated three times. A lot of the same issues from the main version are present here, and even some new ones like one level you can beat by gliding over everything, and this part where I got stuck with no way out: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3762947412 This game is terrible even by handheld standards, considering Super Mario Land on Game Boy and Sonic 1 on Game Gear were very enjoyable despite also being downgraded to work on a handheld. [h3]Bubsy in Fractured Furry Tales[/h3] This rare gem is basically just a worse Bubsy 1 with a lot of the same problems that plague the second game. It does have some neat ideas like Chapter 7 requiring you to go inside the sub to hit a switch that deactivates a spike wall outside, and you now get a password after every level instead of 3, but other than that, the game is a mess. The later levels are so surreal in their setting with random objects floating in mid-air with no rhyme or reason. The pesky wasps that plague most levels are super annoying to deal with. [h3]Bubsy 3D[/h3] By far one of the worst games I have ever played. A perfect case study for game developers on what to avoid, this game got its infamous reputation as one of the worst PS1 games for a reason. Control is abysmal - this game uses tank controls as a result of being released before the PS1's analogue controller but every other game with tank controls handle it far better. Turning is too loose, making it near impossible to move in the direction you want to. The awful camera positioning makes depth perception hard - even the drop shadows don't help much due to the bad controls. The graphics should speak for itself: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3763709967 This is one of the very few games I've played where it's painful for the eyes. You can't tell what any of the environments are supposed to be due to how abysmal the graphics are. The overall presentation is incredibly weak, being one of those "tell, don't show" stories where everything is told to the player rather than shown, and even the death animations are just CG rendered instead of in-engine. This game has two different endings depending on whether you collect all the rockets or not. I'll just spoil them for you since it's not worth it - the regular ending sees Bubsy stranded in space on his way back to Earth, but the true ending from collecting all the rockets results in Bubsy being sent all the way back into the Jurassic era. Both endings are bad, because the villains win and invade Earth meaning this entire game is completely meaningless! It wasn't even innovative for its time, considering Jumping Flash the previous year already showed the world how 3D platformers could be done and was far better in every way possible. Then once Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot hit the scene earlier in 1996 that truly innovated the genre, this game was dead on arrival. The only redeeming quality this game has is that the development studio, Eidetic (now known as Sony Bend Studio) went on to make the excellent Syphon Filter games on PS1 after this and are still making games today with Days Gone in 2019. [h3]Bubsy 3D Refurbished Edition[/h3] While I commend the team for trying to make an improved version with full analogue controls and a free camera, this version of Bubsy 3D is somehow even worse than the original and perfectly demonstrates that the tank controls were not the problem with this game but rather how bad the movement control is. The camera no longer auto-adjusts when jumping so you can barely see what's below you, making jumps even more awkward than they already were. I barely played the first level in this version before giving up on it entirely. ----- There's also some room for improvement with this collection. For some reason, Boost mode is only available for the SNES versions and not for the Mega Drive versions. Bubsy II on Game Boy has no colour palette options, not even a greyscale option - you're forced to use the green monochrome display. Bubsy 3D disabled the in-game save feature and password system despite still receiving codes at the end of every level, so you're forced to use save states which you only have one slot available, making it inferior to playing the PS1 version. It's clear that there was a lot of love and care put into this collection. I just wished that other collections in much more popular and better franchises got similar treatment (e.g. Super Mario 3D All Stars). The work done on the collection is good, but the games themselves are awful; for that reason I cannot recommend this one if you're looking to have a fun time. This is only for those who are very curious about 90's gaming history.

BubsyDEIDAD de forma no ironica Una colección llena de contenido, esta como pocas suele haber. Lleno de (casi) todas las versiones de los juegos disponibles. Bubsy 1 y 3D son God, y Fractured Furry Tales mi gusto culposo. Lo unico malo son detalles como no poder configurar los controles a tu gusto (jugar con teclado es horrible) y la ausencia de Super Bubsy, aunque entendible. La version mejorada de Bubsy 3D debio ser pulida un poco mas eso si.

Life changing. 10/10.

Unironically I love this collection of hardcore platformers. Bubsy 1 and Bubsy 3D are genuinely creative early attempts at making video games that look and play like cartoons, which is a whole style nowadays, and it's about time they got their props. Bubsy 2 is, eh, it's alright but I won't be dying to play more of it. Fractured Furry Tales is a welcome inclusion if only because it's been so hard to play over the years, but it kind of sucks, not gonna lie. I've tried giving that one an honest shot. Maybe I'll return to it eventually.

I knew I should have taken that left turn in "Uranus"!

If you enjoy games, you owe it to yourself to play the Bubsy collection. You know Bubsy. I'm not going to elaborate on each game. The level design and enemy placements are ruthless. Without the rewind mechanic, or the cheats enabled, you will be doing a lot of trial and error. These are not "good" games by any stretch of the imagination. Each game does have qualities that make them special and at times even enjoyable. But the preservation and bonus materials make this worth picking up. I'm glad I suffered through every game to the credits. Even Bubsy 3D. Jokes aside, this is a loving collection crafted to celebrate Bubsy. There are a lot of bonus materials that are available right out of the box to look at and enjoy. It's odd to say that this is really one of the better collections of older games you can find.

The collection itself is very well put together, but the included games are a mixed bag, as you might expect from Bubsy. The two games I enjoyed the most were Bubsy 1 and, surprisingly, Bubsy 3D. Both games are very rough around the edges, but you get the feeling that the team behind them had a vision and tried to create something enjoyable. The other two games in the collection pretty much just amount to meandering through huge, maze-like levels where enemies are spammed everywhere and it's hard to move.

"Oh sure, let's all torch the bubster!" - suddam hussein