Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind

Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind is a platformer starring the yellow bobcat Bubsy, who tries to defend Earth from aliens stealing wool. The game bet on fast, fluid jumping and a gliding-fall ability that lets Bubsy briefly hover and soar over obstacles, which, together with branching levels offering multiple paths, was meant to entice players to replay the same levels repeatedly. The levels hide a number of alternative routes and bonus rooms, so despite its linearity the game offers room for experimenting with how to get through fastest or safest.

Technically the game offers colorful, variously themed scenes and brisk animation; the music is lighthearted and accompanies Bubsy's constant one-liners and quips, with which he tried to set himself apart from silent mascots like Mario. Visually the game feels clean and clear, with expressive animation of the main character who, unlike many contemporary mascots, communicates with the player through facial expressions and gestures even outside of dialogue lines. The game's pace, however, is unforgiving – a number of obstacles and hazards cause near-instant death, which even at release led to a mixed reception: some reviews praised the speed and inventiveness, others criticized the frustrating difficulty and imbalance compared to rival mascot platformers, where jumping and dying were more fairly graduated.

With the years, Bubsy is seen more as a curiosity and a symbol of the attempt to create yet another iconic gaming mascot in an era when several were trying to break into the market at once. His one-liners and unfortunate moments became part of the gaming community's internet folklore, and that is partly why the game is still remembered today – not as a forgotten title, but as a distinctive, if controversial, chapter in the history of SNES platformers, one still debated as to whether it is more of an underappreciated game or a cautionary example of the mascot fever of the nineties.

Why play it: Anyone who wants a look at the controversial chapter of the nineties' mascot fever will appreciate Bubsy as a curiosity full of legendary one-liners rather than as a fully-fledged platforming classic.