In the wake of Nintendo’s success with Mario, developers in the 80s and 90s were desperate to find a mascot platformer of their own. Some, like Sega’sSonic the Hedgehog, were instant hits that becamelong-running video game franchises that continue on until today. Others were modest hits in their day but have largely been forgotten as time has marched on.Bubsyis one of those mascot platformers.
Clearly more inspired by the irreverent “cool dude with attitude” persona of Sonic the Hedgehog, Bubsy Bobcat was Atari’s response to the mascot platformer craze of the time. After a solid run of four consecutive games back in the 90s, Bubsy fell to the wayside, becoming an industry footnote and eventually something of a punchline for how dated the games would go on to feel. But with developerLimited Run GamesannouncingBubsy: The Purrfect Collectionfor next year, Atari’s recently reacquired franchise might just be poised to make a solid comeback.
What The Purrfect Collection Means for the Future of Bubsy
Bubsy Might Finally Find His Niche
Bubsy: The Purrfect Collectionis more than a simplere-release of the classic trilogy ofBubsytitles. According to developers at Limited Run, the collection will not only iron out some of the rougher, less polished aspects of the original games, but it’ll also act as a sort of collected history of the embattled platformer with artifacts and interviews fromBubsyexperts, who do in fact exist, as it turns out.
It’s an interesting approach to a re-release, especially for the Bubsy franchise. There’s no dodging the fact it’s been a hit or miss series, but it does have its core fans, who largely latch onto the franchise due to those original three games. There’s clearlysomething worthwhile in the originalBubsytrilogythat gave the series long enough legs that it’s still being talked about all these years later.Bubsyisn’t a completely forgotten series likeGex GeckoorCroc; there’s still some interest in the games and the character, even if it’s mostly as a curiosity from a bygone era in gaming.
Maybe this type of series retrospective presented by its most passionate fans is what the IP needs to revitalize itself.The Purrfect Collectionmight just be the thing tointroduce the world’s punniest bobcat to a whole new generation that may find him more endearing than the last.DuringBubsy’s heyday back in the 90s, the gaming market was a lot smaller; Sony used to consider 400,000 units sold as one of its “Greatest Hits” during the PS2 days. Maybe with this re-release, and more eyeballs on the series than ever before, the overlooked (and frankly overhated) mascot can finally find an audience.
The Purrfect Collection is Excellent Game Preservation
The first Bubsy game debuted over 30 years ago, back in 1993 for the SNES and Sega Genesis. It was ported to Windows shortly after, but without one of those original installation discs, the game is largely unplayable today without some type of emulation software. If this sounds like a familiar situation, that’s because it’s becoming anincreasingly common problem for gamersas the times move on.
Game preservation efforts have skyrocketed in recent yearsto ensure that classic games from generations past don’t fade into obscurity and become lost media. As time moves forward and technology progresses, older games become harder and harder to access without the original hardware, and companies like Nintendo have been known to take very hardline stances against emulation software, which isn’t even widely accessible to everyone in the gaming community.
The Purrfect Collectionand similar re-releases ensure that the games of yesteryear don’t fade into the past. By giving the classic Bubsy trilogy a release on modern digital storefronts, Limited Run Games and Atari are basically guaranteeing the originalBubsytrilogy will never face the danger of becoming lost media ever again.
