A playthrough of Accolade's 1993 mascot platformer for the Super Nintendo, Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind. Though Bubsy is the butt of so many internet jokes, there was a brief period of time - about a year - where Bubsy was actually viewed in a positive light. Then the sequels started. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, however, was released to a great deal of hyped anticipation, and it was generally well received. It never realized its creators' dreams of becoming a mascot vehicle to challenge the likes of Mario and Sonic, but it was successful in ways that most other mascot platformers by third-party publishers couldn't manage. It handily outsold other games of its ilk, like Sparkster (highlighting that good games don't always equate to good sales), Aero the Acrobat (meh), and Awesome Possum (an ironic name if ever there was such a thing), but was it good? If you can cast aside the impact the sequels had on your perception of its "legacy," I'd say that in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, you'll find a servicable but flawed platformer that would've made for a good weekend rental. You play the titular Bubsy the Bobcat, a bright orange blob of 90s hop 'n bop 'tude, as indicated by the giant red exclamation point on his shirt. There are sixteen stages in which Bubsy has to fight the Woolies, a race of aliens that have invaded in order to steal Earth's supply of yarn balls. The stages are mostly huge, non-linear (and sometimes maze-like) affairs packed with secret alcoves filled with bonus items, and you defeat the endless supply of enemies by jumping on their heads. If that sounds a lot like a Sonic game, that's probably because the creator was inspired to create Bubsy after playing the Sega classic. It's certainly fast moving, cartoony, and "edgy." The graphics and sound are the high points. Whether you love or hate the visual design, the sprites are filled with personality, the backdrops are attractive, and some of the animation looks good. The music sounds pretty nice overall - the sample quality is high and a few of the tunes are real toe tappers, like the first stage's theme, which sounds suspiciously similar to Elvis's Rock Around the Clock, maybe with a touch of Buddy Holiday's Everyday mixed in. The voices sound good, too, though the pun-filled humor is more annoying than it is funny. So then, what could pawsibly go wrong? Simply put, the quality of the gameplay doesn't match the presentation. The controls are loose and the awkward trajectory of Bubsy's jumps combined with the uselessness of the glide maneuver make for some frustrating moments. The camera also turns far too many jumps into blind leaps of faith. Since Bubsy goes down in a single hit, these issues all come together to make a game that's way too difficult for its own good. Until you've committed the levels to memory, you'll constantly be subjected to cheap shots that you couldn't have reasonably foreseen, really dampening the fun. Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind isn't a terrible game. It's just a thoroughly mediocre one that happened to show up at the right place and time to become a hit. It is the best game in the series, though, for whatever that's worth. _____________ No cheats were used during the recording of this video. NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!