Today, Atari and Limited Run Games revealed Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection. The Nintendo Switch version will be available in 2025.
Atari specifies that the pack includes games (updated in the Carbon Engine), artifacts and interviews. Additionally, the team apparently went out of their way to “smooth out some of the rough edges of the games.”
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Is Bubsy a famous icon from the early 90s mascot wars or a hit platformer? The Limited Run team created a new collection to find the answer. Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection explores the franchise's storied history and enduring popularity.
Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection is a playable story that includes games, artifacts, and interviews. All games have been carefully updated for modern PCs and consoles using Limited Run's proprietary Carbon Engine. Along the way, the team was able to smooth out the edges of some plays.
Leading the project is Limited Run's Audi Sorlie, producer, author, Bubsy World Heavyweight Champion and arguably the world's foremost expert on the furry franchise. With the team at Limited Run and Atari, he created the ultimate throwback to Bubsy, the 3’6″, 80-pound lynx (with an armadillo named Arnold). What could possibly go wrong?
What is the Carbon Engine? Created in-house by Limited Run Games, the Carbon Engine is a development tool that allows old content to be ported to modern platforms. It uses emulation as a foundation, upon which the Carbon Engine builds features such as UI, rendering, audio, data management, controller inputs, and console-specific SDK features like trophies. This allows Limited Run to make highly accurate, emulation-based ports of classic games on modern hardware. Old and beloved games can get a new lease of life on new hardware thanks to the Carbon engine. This is an essential part of Limited Run's vision for a forever physical world.
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Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection is a compilation of games from the series Bubby, developed by Accolade. The collection includes the following four titles:
- Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (1993)
- Bubby 2 (1994)
- Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales (1994)
- Bubby 3D (1996)
Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind is a platform game released in 1993, developed and published by Accolade for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the Sega Genesis. The player plays Bubsy Bobcat, an anthropomorphic lynx, who must save Earth from Woolies, aliens who steal wool. The game consists of 16 levels spread across five different worlds, each with distinct themes like mountains, forest and space.
Bubby 2 is a platform game developed and published by Accolade, released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the Sega Genesis. A direct sequel to “Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind”, this game once again features Bubsy Bobcat in a new adventure.
In Bubby 2, Bubsy must navigate through five themed worlds with multiple levels each, in order to collect coins and rescue captured children. Each world offers varied environments, such as aquatic areas and wild west-style landscapes.
What's new
- New Power-ups : The game introduces gadgets like the nerf gun and the portable trampoline.
- Multiplayer : Bubsy 2 features a two-player game mode where one can play as Bubsy and the other as his nephew Arnold.
- Mini games : Mini-games are also available, such as shooting galleries and flight levels.
Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales is a platform game developed by Imagitec Design and published by Atari Corporation. It was released in 1994 for the Atari Jaguar console. This game is the third in the Bubsy series. In Fractured Furry Tales, Bubsy finds himself in a world of twisted fairy tales. He must face twisted versions of classic storybook characters to save kidnapped children. Levels include environments inspired by the world of Alice in Wonderland, Jack and the Beanstalk, and other famous tales.
Issue, Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales is full of flaws.
- Difficult Controls : Bubsy's controls are often found to be unresponsive and difficult to master, making the game frustrating for many players.
- Difficulty level : The game is noted for its high and sometimes unfair difficulty, with enemies and obstacles placed in a way that severely punishes mistakes.
- Level Design : The levels sometimes lack coherence and fluidity, making progression complicated and sometimes confusing for players.
- Visibility and Camera : The game's camera is often criticized for not providing good visibility of upcoming enemies and obstacles, leading to frequent and frustrating deaths.
Critics often pointed out that, despite the colorful graphics and interesting idea of fairy tale-based levels, these gameplay issues significantly reduced the fun and playability of the title. These flaws contributed to the game's generally negative reception upon release, and it is often considered one of the weak points of the Bubsy series.
Bubsy 3D: Furbitten Planet, released in 1996, marked an attempt to transition the Bubsy series to 3D. Developed by Eidetic and published by Accolade, the game was one of the first 3D platform titles available on PlayStation. Unfortunately, this game is often cited as an example of the worst video games ever made, largely due to its many technical and design flaws.
Very Negative Review
Graphics and Aesthetics : Bubsy 3D's graphics were rudimentary even for its time. Environments are basic and low-detail, with flat textures and garish colors that lack visual coherence. The character modeling is simplistic, and the animations are stiff and clunky.
Controls and Gameplay : Bubsy 3D's controls are often described as imprecise and frustrating. The character's handling is stiff, making movements and jumps difficult to execute with precision. The camera system, essential for 3D platform games, is particularly bad in Bubsy 3D. The camera is difficult to control, often poorly oriented, and it does not properly follow the player's movements, making navigation through the levels very laborious.
Level Design : Bubsy 3D's levels are poorly designed, with a confusing layout that lacks clear direction. Obstacles are often randomly placed, and the player frequently encounters unfair deaths due to visibility and control issues. The lack of proper save points further compounds the frustration, forcing players to restart large sections after each failure.
Technical Failure
Performance : Bubsy 3D suffered from performance issues even on the original PlayStation. The game has inconsistent frame rates, frequent slowdowns, and graphical bugs that detract from the overall experience.
Reception : Upon its release, Bubsy 3D was universally criticized by the specialized press. Reviewers pointed out the game's many flaws, including its poor gameplay, poor graphics, and chaotic level design. Players also shared this opinion, which led to commercial failure.
Impact : The failure of Bubsy 3D practically buried the franchise for many years. The game is often cited as an example of what not to do in 3D platform game design, and it is regularly mentioned in lists of the worst video games of all time.