10 Video Games That Tried To Be The Next Big Thing (And Failed)
6. Bubsy 3D
Video game mascots used to be a regular trend in the video game industry. But for every Mario and Sonic, there have been duds like Alex Kidd and Gex. One of the biggest failed mascots, however, has to be Bubsy.
Though this orange cat found success with his first game, Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, subsequent sequels did not match the same quality. This downward spiral would eventually culminate with the release of Bubsy 3D.
As one of the earliest platformers in the third dimension, the game suffers due to its poor controls. The title has a tank-control scheme similar to games like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider in order to implement the D-Pad of the PlayStation. The downside of this is that Bubsy ends up feeling clunky and a chore to move around.
The graphics also suffer, with Bubsy 3D looking like an unfinished game. Despite the developers' attempts at making the game's resolution as high as possible, the environments all look like flat polygons without any visual variety.
1996 was a big turning point for 3D platformers. While Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot changed the game, Bubsy 3D killed its franchise for good.