Bubsy Bobcat is a franchise that does not get a lot of credit that it deserves. That is mainly due to the fourth game in the franchise killed it. In my review of Bubsy 3D I explain why. There has been talks about reviving the series. Bubsy Bobcat I made its debut in 1992/1993. The game was developed by an affiliate of Atari. The game play is similar to Sonic. When Bubsy came out he was intended to rival iconic game characters like Sonic, The Mario Brothers, Mega Man and even Kirby, who was becoming popular in the early 1990's. The Character had a good run and had some really good games before the last game buried Bubsy's momentum. So today I will be reviewing the very first Bubsy Game. 

Story: 7 

Bubsy Bobcat, who has some spunk to him, has the world largest yarn collection and owns the most yarn balls. An Alien Species known as the Woolies invade Earth and steal all the yarn including all of Bubsy's yarn balls. Since Bubsy owns the most yarn is assigned the task of collecting all of the yarn as well as defeating the Woolies. Bubsy heads out to take on the Woolies and recover his yarn collection as well as the world's. 

Okay the story line is simple as it introduces Bubsy very well. We also know who the good guy is and who the villains are. However, it seems like the story is missing something. The story does not explain why the Woolies are interested in  Yarn? Do they use for energy, do they eat it or do they sell it to make money? The plot really doesn't explain why they are going after yarn. I thought of other popular games around this time and the villains give their reasoning. For Example, Bowser in the Mario Brothers tries to take over the Mushroom Kingdom because he wants to rule it all. Dr. Wily and later Sigma in the Mega Man games want to rule the world. In the Sonic Games Dr. Robotnik wants to destroy the environment to build industries so he can rule the world with his robot army and finances. In Kirby games Dark Matter tries to take over Dream Land. Those games do a good job of explaining the villains motives. All we know from Bubsy's plot is the Woolies must like or use yarn. I really think they could have gave a more clear motive. Overall, I give the story a 7 out of 10. It is a good basic story that introduces the characters well. I just feel like something was missing in the plot for reasons state above. 

Graphics and Controls: 8 

The Graphics in this game are similar to Sonic the Hedgehog I and II. The reason being is Bubsy was supposed to be similar to Sonic. The graphics kind of show that. For example, the first chapter looks like the Green Hill zone in Sonic games. Even if the makers of this game tried to copy the graphics of Sonic I and II they did a good job of it. I really like the backgrounds of this game. The mountains in the background are a nice touch. I also like the forests in the background too. The colors are nicely done in this game. One can tell the makers of this game spent a lot of time in designing the levels. The sprites are also nicely done as they are not fuzzy by any means. Also the way the water moves is a nice touch as well. In addition, there does not appear to be any major lags in this game. 

The controls are pretty good but they do have a few minor issues. The issues being sometimes it seems like the controls want to slow down or speed up when Bubsy is running. If one is not careful this can get you hit or fall into a pit. When I have had Bubsy run sometimes he slows down or speeds up more. However, that is really the only flaw with the controls. The controls are a lot like Sonic. Sonic I had some very good controls and were smooth. When I think of smooth controls I think of Mega Man, Kirby, Donkey Kong Country, Mario and even some baseball games controls. Therefore, I give the graphics and controls a good solid 8 out of 10. I would have given them a 9 or 10 if it wasn't for the controls changing speeds for no reason. 

Sound: 9 

Bubsy really shines in the sound. The game has a very awesome soundtrack. I like games that make you want to listen to the music. The music in this game is amazing. I can tell the makers of this game spent a lot of time on developing the sound. I also like Bubsy's voice it seems right for a character that is supposed to be spunky. His commentary is very good. The sound the enemies make is also nicely done. In addition, I think the other sounds in this game are good. Now, there is a certain tingling sound when making the draw bridges come out. I do not know if that was done on purpose to let the player know they are going to be using a draw bridge or not. Anyway it has a tingling sound and I hate tingles. Thus, I give the sound a very good 9 out of 10. 

Replay Value: 8 

Bubsy I is a very fun game to play. I certainly had fun playing this game. I remember when this game came out. What I really like about this game is it offers something different. I think the makers of this game where aiming at that. Its different from Mega Man, Mario, and Kirby for sure. Sometimes I like to take a little break from my favorite games and play something different. Bubsy one accomplishes that very nicely. Also this is a game that is fun for the entire family of all ages. I have played this game more than once. So yeah, I give the replay value a good 8 out of 10. 

Depth: 7 

The depth of this game was hard for me to rate as I will explain. When I think of games with high depth I think of Mario, Mega Man, and Kirby games. Those games have a lot of secret areas, long stages, power ups to collect, items to collect, and so much more. This game has a lot of those things. They are secret areas to find in Bubsy I. Bubsy I also has several yarn balls to collect after all that is what this game is based on. The player can also collect other items in this game. So why was the depth of this game hard to rate? Well, despite all the secret areas, yarn and other items to collect the stages are short. I want to think there are 14 chapters in this game. Normally a game with 14 levels would make players think that is a lot of levels. The thing is the levels are short. I mean really short. I cleared a level in under 3 minutes that is how short some of the levels are. Also the player does not have to go far till they reach a check point. So if you where to die in this game you would not have to go far. In Mega Man games if you die in the later part of a stage you have to go to the midway point. Of course, Mega Man games are infamous for having long stages. So yes the game does have some depth to it but the really short levels brings the depth down some. I give it a decent 7 out of 10. I really would have liked it if the makers of this game would have extended the stages some. 

Difficulty: 6 

The first few times I played this game I thought it was difficult. Had I done my review after the first few times of playing Bubsy I; I would have given the difficulty rating of at least an 8. But after getting the hang of it the game was not as difficult. Do not get me wrong Bubsy I does have some tricky spots in it. The changing speed of the controls adds some difficulty to this game. As I stated under the graphics and controls section sometimes the controls speed up or slow down without warning. This can get you hit, knocked into a pit or fall into a pit as well as water. The good news is taking the game slowly really fixes that issue. The other parts of this game that make it difficult is the enemies are in tight places. The Woolies tend to be around obstacles. The Woolies will do different things. Some of them will try to run into you, some will throw rocks at you, some will fire cannon balls at you, others will jump around, and some will even roll barrels or rocks down hills to try and knock you off your feet. In addition, the Woolies will sometimes come in clusters making them hard to deal with at times. Most of the time Bubsy can only take one hit and you loose a life. 

The good news is the game does things to help you out. Bubsy can turn invincible when he collects a power shirt. This can be used to clear out enemies in clusters. Also one up shirts are not hard to find. One thing that makes this game easier than other games I have played is the numerous check points. So if you do get hit and have to go back its usually not that far from where you got knocked out at. The bosses are not that hard to deal with too though some get a little more difficult later on in the game.

In summary, Bubsy I did have its tricky spots and can be difficult at times. That being said, the game does a lot to help you out as well. I would say the difficulty rating is in the middle for me. I have played some games that would literally just bury you in terms of difficult. Though I like games that require a challenge. I have also played games were the game was so easy. This one fits kind of in the middle if not slightly pass the middle. At the end of the day I give Bubsy I a 6 out of 10 in difficulty

Overall Rating 8.3  

Bubsy I is a good game and it is a shame of how its been forgotten. The game was pretty popular when it came out. Future Bubsy games were also popular until the horrible 4th game (Bubsy in 3D) came out. The good news is Atari is thinking about reviving this series. I really hope they do as Bubsy deserves a second chance. I will explain the pros and cons of this game. I will start off with the pros. 

I really like the character. I like how the makers of this game gave Bubsy a spunky personality. It just seems fitting. I also think Bubsy was introduced very well being this was the first one in the series. In addition, I really like the graphics of this game. The Mountains and forest in the background was a nice touch. The colors just seem to go very well with this game. The music as I stated is very good. I would have liked the difficulty to have been more. On the other hand, the makers of this game wanted this game to be fun for the entire family. Keeping that in mind the difficulty seems about right. Its not very easy to make one be bored. But its not real hard either. I really think the developers of this game spent a lot of time in developing. Its like they wanted the first game in the Bubsy series to be a home run. I would say it comes pretty close. 

Now they were a few negatives in this game. I really think they could have explained why the Woolies want yarn. Its never really explained in the plot. I think explaining why they are so focused on yarn would have been fine. While I think the makers spent a lot of time in developing this game. I kind of think they did not spend as much time developing the plot. Since the new character was supposed to rival other iconic game characters. I have to wonder if they were trying to get this game out before other franchises released new games. Shortly after this game came out: Mega Man introduced the Mega Man X series, Sonic would release Sonic I as well as Sonic & Knuckles, Mario would release more games, and so would Kirby. 

The controls while minor could have been a little bit better. The controls changing speeds for no reason can be annoying at times. Yes while taking it slow does fix the problem there are times when you have to go fast in this game. I do not know why that is. Moreover, why oh why, did they need to put a tingle in activating the draw bridges. 

Overall I give Bubsy I an 8.3. This game is a very good game. I had fun playing this game. Would I recommend this game? Yes I highly recommend this game. The game offers something new and different. As I stated its fun for the entire family from the young to the old. It is also not so difficult it would cause new video game characters to get burned out. If Atari does revive this series I would hope this game would serve as a template. So yeah, give this game a try and a chance. So 8.3 sounds about right 

Blessings in Christ and happy gaming