With Bubsy's recent inclusion in the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) package, I decided to indulge my morbid curiosity about this much maligned franchise. For context, Bubsy the Bobcat came out on the heels of Sonic the Hedgehog, which was created in response to the massive success of Super Mario Bros. With Mario and Sonic, the big two video game mascots of the '90s, the developers at Accolade clearly wanted a piece of the pie.

At the time of its release, Bubsy had received mixed reviews and the fact that the sequels exist tells us it sold well enough to justify said sequels. But the years have not been kind to Bubsy; countless gamer nerds on the Internet have assured me and the rest of the world that Bubsy is a bad game.

Though there has been a Bubsy compilation released on the Nintendo Switch and other modern consoles, I had no intention of spending my hard-earned money on a game with that reputation, but since the first game is now on NSO, well, there it is.

After giving it 15 minutes, there's little I can add to the Bubsy conversation. It's clear from the get-go that Bubsy not only wants the popularity of Sonic, it wants to BE Sonic! At first it seems to be a single-button game like the Blue Blur's early outings. The A, B, X, and Y buttons all make Bubsy jump, but if you want to glide (yes, glide), you have to press jump in mid-air. For weird some reason, only the X and Y buttons can trigger the glide command.

But here's where it gets worse: Bubsy is more fragile than a crystal wine glass; one hit will kill him and it's not always clear what will kill you in the game. Who knew gumball machines were lethal? You do get nine lives, because ha ha, cats have nine lives, though it's super easy to burn through them. It also doesn't help that Bubsy's movements are slippery. The game really could have used something like Mario's mushrooms or Sonic's shields to offset the punishing difficulty.

Bubsy could potentially have been a solid platformer; it has the bare bones of what makes a decent platformer coupled with cartoon humor. But its flaws and the plethora of better games from its era hold it back. Though it has its own problems, Earthworm Jim delivered tight platforming action with cartoon gags in spades. And not long after the first Bubsy, Sega gave us Sonic 3, which also features a gliding animal that shouldn't be able to glide, and wouldn't you know it, that gliding mechanic is better in every respect!

So there you have it, Bubsy lives up to its reputation. On the bright side, the money I pay to use NSO gives me access to a decent selection of much better games, and in the case of Mario Kart, the ability to play online with my family.

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