Bubsy 3D
Encyclopedia
Bubsy 3D: Furbitten Planet, known simply as Bubsy 3D, is a platform
video game developed by Eidetic and published by Accolade and Telstar
for the PlayStation video game console
. It was designed by Michael Berlyn. It was released on October 13, 1996 in North America and in August of 1997 in Europe. It is the third and final game in the Bubsy
series, starring the eponymous character from it. It is one of the first 3D platform games, though it allowed limited movement for Bubsy. The game's complete name is a parody of Forbidden Planet
, a 1956 sci-fi film.
It received very poor reception, regarded as one of the worst games of all time by GameTrailers
, IGN
, GamesRadar
, and humorist Seanbaby
. Many of the major elements of the game received criticism; it has been criticized for its graphics, its controls, and the personality of Bubsy, the latter which IGN felt was ruined from the previous Bubsy games. It holds an aggregate score of 50.90% at Game Rankings
based on five reviews. Berlyn attributes its low quality to its release coinciding with Super Mario 64
, which he found to be far superior; however, due to development being nearly done and Accolade wanting it to be released, there was no time to improve upon it.
for North America and Europe respectively. It was designed by Michael Berlyn. After the release of Bubsy II, which Berlyn described as having almost killed the franchise, he and his team began work on Bubsy 3D. He cited the development as a challenge, due to having no experience with controls or tools for drawing environments in 3D. It was released in North America on October 31, 1996 and in Europe in August of 1997. A release for the Sega Saturn
in Spring of 1997 was planned, but ultimately scrapped. Due to its release coinciding with Super Mario 64
, Berlyn was worried; he felt that Bubsy 3D could have had a chance with early 3D adopters, but it couldn't keep up with Mario. He attributed the game's failures in part to the coinciding releases; after having seen Super Mario 64 in a much more complete state than Bubsy 3D at a trade show, the team wanted to make it more complex; however, it was late in the development cycle and Accolade was pushing for it to be released.
based on five reviews. It was given a four out of 10 from The Electric Playground
, while Electronic Gaming Monthly
gave it a 3.25 out of 10. GameTrailers
named it the eighth worst video game ever made, calling it a "cheap imitation of a quality product", referencing it as a rip-off of Super Mario 64
, a game that was released around the same time. Talk show host Scott Rubin called it a "terrible clone". They described the visuals as resembling "painted cardboard boxes", criticizing also Bubsy's one-liners. GameSpot
's Peter Criscuola called it the least fun of all the 3D action/platform games for the PlayStation at the time of its release. GamesRadar
's Tom Goulter described Bubsy 3D as the video game equivalent to terrible films such as Plan 9 From Outer Space
or Battlefield Earth
. Seanbaby
named it the 17th worst game of all time, criticizing its controls, the character's personality, and the graphics, which he calls "ass". He adds that "you can almost taste how much the Bubsy 3D makers hated the children of America."
IGN
's David Zdyrko called it an "all-time classic debacle". IGN's Levi Buchanan used it as a prominent example of a bad attempt at the transition from 2D to 3D, criticizing its controls as well as the character design, which he says was ruined from the previous games in both appearance and personality. In describing the game, they call it "not-so-loved". IGN noted that it was widely-regarded as one of the worst games ever made. 1UP.com
called it "wretched" and a "would-be "Mario killer"". GamePro
called it a "cash-in job". GameZone's jkdmedia referred to the early days of 3D gaming as the "dark and scary days of Bubsy 3D." He later compared the graphics of Chessmaster: The Art of Learning to this game's, commenting that "even Bubsy 3D is laughing." Kotaku
's Michael McWhertor called the unreleased Pac-Man Ghost Zone closer to Bubsy 3D than Super Mario 64.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game developed by Eidetic and published by Accolade and Telstar
Telstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites, including the first such satellite to relay television signals.The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962...
for the PlayStation video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It was designed by Michael Berlyn. It was released on October 13, 1996 in North America and in August of 1997 in Europe. It is the third and final game in the Bubsy
Bubsy
Bubsy is a series of video games created by Michael Berlyn and released by Accolade for the SNES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Atari Jaguar, the PC and PlayStation in the early and mid-1990s....
series, starring the eponymous character from it. It is one of the first 3D platform games, though it allowed limited movement for Bubsy. The game's complete name is a parody of Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
, a 1956 sci-fi film.
It received very poor reception, regarded as one of the worst games of all time by GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
, and humorist Seanbaby
Seanbaby
Sean Patrick Reiley , better known as Seanbaby, is an American writer best known for his comedy website and frequent contributions to video game media outlets Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP.com. He is also a regular contributor to the humor website Cracked.com...
. Many of the major elements of the game received criticism; it has been criticized for its graphics, its controls, and the personality of Bubsy, the latter which IGN felt was ruined from the previous Bubsy games. It holds an aggregate score of 50.90% at Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
based on five reviews. Berlyn attributes its low quality to its release coinciding with Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
, which he found to be far superior; however, due to development being nearly done and Accolade wanting it to be released, there was no time to improve upon it.
Gameplay and premise
Bubsy 3D takes place on the home planet of the Woolies, a species of aliens from the series, called Rayon. The objective is to defeat their two queens, Poly and Esther and also escape from the planet by collecting rocket parts. In Bubsy 3D, players control the player-character Bubsy, who has several catch phrases that he says based on players' actions. Bubsy is able to walk in a straight line only, requiring players to take time to turn in order to go in a different direction. He can jump high, glide, and swim in certain levels. He defeats enemies by jumping on them, and he has a health system consisting of three health points called "Paw Points". The game consists of 18 levels, with three of them taking place underwater; in these levels, Bubsy has an oxygen meter that depletes over time and his gliding action is replaced by a jetting dive which makes him swim faster, but depletes oxygen quicker. In levels, players can collect items called atoms. If players collect 150 of them, they will go to a bonus round with atoms and extra lives to collect.Development and release
Bubsy 3D was developed by Eidetic and published by Accolade and TelstarTelstar
Telstar is the name of various communications satellites, including the first such satellite to relay television signals.The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 was launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962...
for North America and Europe respectively. It was designed by Michael Berlyn. After the release of Bubsy II, which Berlyn described as having almost killed the franchise, he and his team began work on Bubsy 3D. He cited the development as a challenge, due to having no experience with controls or tools for drawing environments in 3D. It was released in North America on October 31, 1996 and in Europe in August of 1997. A release for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
in Spring of 1997 was planned, but ultimately scrapped. Due to its release coinciding with Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
, Berlyn was worried; he felt that Bubsy 3D could have had a chance with early 3D adopters, but it couldn't keep up with Mario. He attributed the game's failures in part to the coinciding releases; after having seen Super Mario 64 in a much more complete state than Bubsy 3D at a trade show, the team wanted to make it more complex; however, it was late in the development cycle and Accolade was pushing for it to be released.
Reception
Bubsy 3D is considered one of the worst video games ever made. It holds an aggregate score of 50.90% at Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
based on five reviews. It was given a four out of 10 from The Electric Playground
The Electric Playground
The Electric Playground is a daily news television show on the cable TV network G4 that covers movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets...
, while Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
gave it a 3.25 out of 10. GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
named it the eighth worst video game ever made, calling it a "cheap imitation of a quality product", referencing it as a rip-off of Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
is a platform game, published by Nintendo and developed by its EAD division, for the Nintendo 64. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the console. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America, Europe, and Australia. Super Mario 64 has sold over...
, a game that was released around the same time. Talk show host Scott Rubin called it a "terrible clone". They described the visuals as resembling "painted cardboard boxes", criticizing also Bubsy's one-liners. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Peter Criscuola called it the least fun of all the 3D action/platform games for the PlayStation at the time of its release. GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
's Tom Goulter described Bubsy 3D as the video game equivalent to terrible films such as Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
or Battlefield Earth
Battlefield Earth (film)
Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film adapted from L. Ron Hubbard's novel of the same name. It was directed by Roger Christian, and stars John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, and Barry Pepper...
. Seanbaby
Seanbaby
Sean Patrick Reiley , better known as Seanbaby, is an American writer best known for his comedy website and frequent contributions to video game media outlets Electronic Gaming Monthly and 1UP.com. He is also a regular contributor to the humor website Cracked.com...
named it the 17th worst game of all time, criticizing its controls, the character's personality, and the graphics, which he calls "ass". He adds that "you can almost taste how much the Bubsy 3D makers hated the children of America."
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's David Zdyrko called it an "all-time classic debacle". IGN's Levi Buchanan used it as a prominent example of a bad attempt at the transition from 2D to 3D, criticizing its controls as well as the character design, which he says was ruined from the previous games in both appearance and personality. In describing the game, they call it "not-so-loved". IGN noted that it was widely-regarded as one of the worst games ever made. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
called it "wretched" and a "would-be "Mario killer"". GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
called it a "cash-in job". GameZone's jkdmedia referred to the early days of 3D gaming as the "dark and scary days of Bubsy 3D." He later compared the graphics of Chessmaster: The Art of Learning to this game's, commenting that "even Bubsy 3D is laughing." Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
's Michael McWhertor called the unreleased Pac-Man Ghost Zone closer to Bubsy 3D than Super Mario 64.