Bubsy In: Claws Encounters Of The Furred Kind (1993, Sega Genesis/SNES)

[Stalvern]

Thanks! I am genuinely curious about the Jaguar Bubsy game, but I'll wait for the upcoming Bubsy collection to try it out since I do not have the means to shell out for an Atari Jaguar just for one game!

It has the same engine and gameplay as the first game, along with better graphics and a pleasant visual theme, but is much worse. Instead of being wide open, the levels are cramped and packed with enemies, and you have to wander all over the place hunting for switches to unlock doors that could be any distance from them. Just an awful experience. Its higher grade than the original is a classic case of the VGC grading on a curve against the Jaguar's awful library, but even on that system, you can get your platform fix with a real game like Rayman or Flashback instead. (Not that I'm against this kind of grading – the mediocre Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure also jumped to my mind as an example of a "real game" on the Jag. I'd give it a B there but a C on the Genesis.)

I've never played Bubsy 3D, but it seems that EVERYONE agrees that it's a complete disaster of a game.

It's really bad but still might be the best one in the series. It's a clunky, hideous-looking mess, but it doesn't give you the feeling of constantly being kicked in the shins like the 2D games do.

[BlasteroidAli]

Rayman and Flashback came out later. I never bought Rayman but yeah I can see that it is the premier platform game on the system. Flashback. I think i had recently beat the Genesis version so there was no point in me getting the Jag version. Think it is only doom I have went crazy for an bought on pretty much every system I owned.

Yeah, Pitfall as well. A superb game. Given that a lot of publishers just used the 68000 chip, they could have imported a lot of the old ST games to the system like Atari Age is now doing. Then it would have had a lot more punch as a system. Over here in the UK the ST was a big computer and gaming system.

[djc]

I own both the Genesis and Jaguar Bubsy games. The Jaguar version is better in pretty much every regard. The graphics and sound are better, it's more colorful, and it's based in a more interesting universe.

Had they tweaked the gameplay and given a lifebar or some other kind of second-chance hit mechanism, the game would be fantastic. That being said, once you become accustomed to the game mechanics, it's not too bad.

[MaverickMoPete]

That being said, once you become accustomed to the game mechanics, it's not too bad.

"Not too bad" is about as good as you're gonna get where the Jaguar is concerned. I still remember one of Seanbaby's statements about the Jaguar in his list of the 20 Worst Video Games Ever (and yes, Bubsy 3D made that list):

"There are so many video game systems that failed for subtle reasons like marketing or sunspots. That's not the case with the Jaguar. The Jaguar deserved to fail. In fact, the Jaguar didn't fail hard enough. If any of the people responsible for the Atari Jaguar are not currently begging for cigarettes at a bus station, there is no justice in the world."

Source.

[Stalvern]

The Jag has a fair few games that are better than "not too bad", even without counting the computer ports. Rayman, Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier, and Skyhammer are downright excellent. Alien vs. Predator, Missile Command 3D, and Ruiner Pinball are basic but solid. Uhh, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure isn't too bad...

OK, yeah, this thing stinks.

[Quick_Man]

The Primal Rage port is pretty good. Shame it never got, like, a Mortal Kombat conversion and you had to settle for not one, not two, not four but THREE horrible original Mortal Kombat clones all of which don't really exceed the 2 out of 10 mark.

[djc]

The Jag has a fair few games that are better than "not too bad", even without counting the computer ports. Rayman, Tempest 2000, Iron Soldier, and Skyhammer are downright excellent. Alien vs. Predator, Missile Command 3D, and Ruiner Pinball are basic but solid. Uhh, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure isn't too bad...

OK, yeah, this thing stinks.

I think the biggest issue with the Jaguar was the fact that it was too easy to port 16-bit games over. Game publishers/developers obviously took the path of least resistance and would rather port a 16-bit title with minimal effort vs. spending time and resources to learn how to program the system properly.

That being said, games that were programmed correctly (Skyhammer, Protector SE, Doom, Super Burnout, Tempest 2k) are really good.

I feel like we never got a chance to see just how powerful the Jaguar could be. I would have loved to have seen the rumored port of Madden just to see how it would have turned out. Even today, most homebrews are 16-bit Amiga ports.

And of course, some games were terrible with an over-reliance on primitive 3D space shooters.