10 Video Games That Blatantly Ripped Off Iconic Franchises
8. Bubsy
The Game: Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind was the very first game in a franchise, named after its protagonist. The game was released for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in 1993. It was one of many platforming games that were released around that time. As such, it revolved around collecting yarn balls and gliding around the environment.
What set Bubsy apart from the other platforming mascots was how often he made quips. Bubsy made a comment every time you started a new level. It was as if Iron Man took the form of a bobcat and went around collecting yarn.
The Game It Ripped Off: Sonic the Hedgehog.
Bubsy wasn't alone in copying Sonic. As previously mentioned, a lot of mascot-focused side-scrolling platformers were released around that time period. The problem was how poor a job Bubsy did at being a literal copycat.
Bubsy was a platformer that incorporated fall damage into its gameplay. If you fell from a high platform and you didn't glide before hitting the ground, you'd die. That was just one of the many flaws that befell the Bubsy series.
Bubsy is a franchise that's somehow still going today, but no one's happy about it. Bubsy only sells copies ironically now. People buy his games because they're bad. Not that the reason for buying them really matters to the developers' bank accounts.