When the announcement trailer for this game was released, many people couldn't believe that any company would resurrect Bubsy with him becoming the poster child for poorly designed games over the last 20 years. Yet this negative attention was the very thing that made UFO Interactive Games consider that Bubsy could possibly now be a somewhat financially viable property. Watching the original teaser trailer got me really pumped up for the fact that he was actually brought back after 20 years and I just had to buy this game.
And the game is pretty good. It address pretty much all of the issues that people had with the original Bubsy platformers. Bubsy takes up a much smaller portion of the screen, so there are no obstacles popping out of nowhere to kill you. The shirts offer you an extra hit point the first time you collect one and an extra life after that (unless you take a hit, in which case the shirts will become extra hit shirts again). Most importantly, there is now an option to toggle how often Bubsy talks. Naturally I put it on the highest setting. I can't get enough of Bubsy's whacky but repetitive quips.
Unfortunately there are a few major issues with this game. The biggest is that it is way too easy compared to the classic Bubsy games. There are some moderately difficult parts, such as the last two bosses (which are extremely well done and fun to fight), but even this is negated by the fact that if you lose your nine lives, you can just continue where you left off with no penalty. The levels look polished and well done, but are kind of generic and not as memorable compared to the levels in Bubsy I and II. The same is true with the game's music.
If you simply want to play through this, you can race through it without collecting anything within an hour or so, but this game is most enjoyable when you try to complete the optional tasks the game lists. These tasks include collecting all of the t-shirts, all of the keys to the Woolie vaults, and beating a level without dying. If you want to get even more out of the game, you can try to increase your score by collecting all of the yarn balls as quickly as possible to earn a high place up on the online leaderboard.
Overall it is a pretty fun game with some pretty cool boss battles. I think it is currently free (as of this writing) to PS Now subscribers, so definitely give it a try and have an open mind.
And the game is pretty good. It address pretty much all of the issues that people had with the original Bubsy platformers. Bubsy takes up a much smaller portion of the screen, so there are no obstacles popping out of nowhere to kill you. The shirts offer you an extra hit point the first time you collect one and an extra life after that (unless you take a hit, in which case the shirts will become extra hit shirts again). Most importantly, there is now an option to toggle how often Bubsy talks. Naturally I put it on the highest setting. I can't get enough of Bubsy's whacky but repetitive quips.
Unfortunately there are a few major issues with this game. The biggest is that it is way too easy compared to the classic Bubsy games. There are some moderately difficult parts, such as the last two bosses (which are extremely well done and fun to fight), but even this is negated by the fact that if you lose your nine lives, you can just continue where you left off with no penalty. The levels look polished and well done, but are kind of generic and not as memorable compared to the levels in Bubsy I and II. The same is true with the game's music.
If you simply want to play through this, you can race through it without collecting anything within an hour or so, but this game is most enjoyable when you try to complete the optional tasks the game lists. These tasks include collecting all of the t-shirts, all of the keys to the Woolie vaults, and beating a level without dying. If you want to get even more out of the game, you can try to increase your score by collecting all of the yarn balls as quickly as possible to earn a high place up on the online leaderboard.
Overall it is a pretty fun game with some pretty cool boss battles. I think it is currently free (as of this writing) to PS Now subscribers, so definitely give it a try and have an open mind.