So many amazing games come out every week that I don’t often find myself spending a lot of time with bad ones unless I have to for work.
Rarely do video games hit that “so bad it’s good” itch for me that some movies and TV shows can. The games featured within Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection are an exception to that.
This new collection from Limited Run Games and Atari features some terrible games, all of which star the infamous ’90s platformer mascot Bubsy the Bobcat.
One of the games featured, Bubsy 3D, is even considered one of the worst games ever made due to several baffling design decisions.
Outside of the emulated games and museum content included in the collection, Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection goes a step further: it tries to fix Bubsy 3D.
And while I still definitely wouldn’t call it a good game, playing this collection actually got me to enjoy playing one of the worst games ever made.
Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection preserves Bubsy 3D’s infamy
Why isn’t Bubsy 3D very good?
To understand what Bubsy 3D: Refurbished Edition fixes, you first have to understand why the game it’s refurbishing is so terrible.
Simply put, Bubsy 3D is perhaps the most egregious victim of the video game industry transitioning from 2D to 3D. Many franchises had to make this jump in the late 1990s, and while series like Super Mario Bros. excelled, Bubsy floundered.
Bubsy 3D makes almost every error an early 3D platformer can make.
First off, it’s confusing. Outside of Bubsy and the cartoonish enemies he faces, Bubsy 3D’s levels are all poorly designed.
Their art direction is confusingly abstract, and it doesn’t help that almost all of the game’s textures are completely flat, making the entire experience feel unfinished.
But most importantly, the game just feels terrible to control. Bubsy moves like a tank, which makes having any sort of fluid movement near-impossible in a genre that requires it.
Toss in some very wonky collision detection with enemies and platforms, too. Bubsy 3D is not only ugly to look at, but it’s also the worst-feeling platformer that I’ve ever played.
Those sins are also hard to forgive, considering the game came out several months after Super Mario 64, which set the gold standard for 3D games going forward.
We’re so far removed from Bubsy 3D’s release now, though, that it’s possible to go back and learn to appreciate parts of it.
How does Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection fix Bubsy 3D?
Better controls fix a lot of problems
If you want to play Bubsy 3D in its original, infamous glory, that is possible in this collection. Limited Run Games did go out of its way to create Bubsy 3D: Refurbished Edition, though.
The main thing Bubsy 3D: Refurbished Edition does is replace the tank controls with more fluid and natural-feeling ones, shift the camera to show players more of the level, and have levels be widescreen by default.
All of those changes make playing Bubsy 3D a slightly more bearable experience.
While there’s definitely some weird momentum issues, moving around is generally faster. I was able to clear a level that takes me 10 minutes to beat in the standard version of the game in just a couple of minutes with all of these improvements.
The widescreen support and new camera placement also help, as it’s easier to see more of the level now and anticipate where you need to go next.
While Bubsy 3D’s level design feels nonsensical in the original version of the game, I can now at least appreciate the level theming and obstacle courses that the developers of the original were trying to create, albeit poorly.
Generally, it made playing Bubsy 3D much less frustrating. That meant I felt like I had the space to enjoy the good parts of its presentation, such as the level-intro art, end-level videos, and all the different death animations that can play when Bubsy loses a life.
While those things aren’t exactly diamonds in the rough, it does shed light on some of the passion that went into creating this ill-fated game.
Bubsy 3D: Refurbished Edition gave me a deeper appreciation for a terrible game
Even the worst games have things you can appreciate
I doubted I could ever have feelings of enjoyment and appreciation while playing Bubsy 3D, but Bubsy 3D: Refurbished Edition let me feel those things.
Maybe the game would be so reviled and infamous if this were the version that came out on PS1 in 1996.
Then again, it still isn’t that amazing of a game. The level design, visuals, and boss battles are still questionable at best and lack the personality that the main character and animations have.
Still, by fixing the most frustrating aspects of playing Bubsy 3D, its Refurbished Edition gave me a better understanding of what the game was trying to accomplish, at least.
And in that way, Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection allowed me to enjoy Bubsy 3D. I think it’ll allow many other people to do so as well. Even the worst games do have things about them that you can appreciate.
Bubsy 3D: Refurbished Edition serves as a reminder of that and is just a piece of a wider tribute to one of gaming’s most infamous series of all time.
Now, let’s just hope that Bubsy 4D is enjoyable by default.
