9 Video Game Mascots We Absolutely Hated

Just about the only thing anybody knows Cool Spot for is the hip, happening and undeniably impressive bottle-surfing introductory sequence from the 1993 Mega Drive platformer of the same name. In actual fact, the crimson circle appeared in not one but two titles before he waved his way onto SEGA's juggernaut.

The little red dot in question wasn't an advert for the synonymous Singapore, but a much less healthy mascot for soft drink 7Up, effectively a piece of dentist-hating geometry encouraging impressionable youngsters to rot their teeth with sugar. As a means of further tapping into the target audience, the character was first grafted onto Mastertronic's Attax clone Infection, which kids could grab for a discount with four 7Up labels. The Spot's second outing was a cynical case of brand cannibalism, a reskin of the Game Boy's M.C. Kids - which itself began life as a glorified McDonald's commercial.

The third attempt, despite beginning with a scene of ecological decay, was actually pretty decent, though its objective quality couldn't mask what was basically a huge sales pitch - and one you had to pay £30 for the privilege of playing.