Bubsy

"What could possibly go wrong?"

Bubsy is a series of Platform Games released in the early- to mid-1990s by Accolade, starring a bobcat with attitude meant to capitalize on the popularity (at the time) of Sonic the Hedgehog. Bubsy can jump up to about twice his height, and can glide to slow himself down when he falls by holding out his arms like an airplane. It is, as the description implies, rather cartoonish.

Four games were released in the series, along with a pilot for an animated series that never materialized. The list of games is as follows:

• Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind (1992, multiple systems)
  • Super Bubsy (1996, PC Updated Rerelease)
• Bubsy II (1994, multiple systems)
• Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales (1994, Atari Jaguar)
• Bubsy 3D: Furbitten Planet (1996, PlayStation)

The games never made any commercial success, or recognition by that matter until Bubsy 3D, sadly, which proved to be the Franchise Killer. The 2D games are rather challenging and silly, so give them a run when you get the chance.

Sometime in 2017, Bubsy made a comeback in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back. Thanks to a Kickstarter.

Tropes used in Bubsy include:

• Amusing Injuries
• Animal Stereotypes: Bubsy is a type of cat, and therefore instantly drowns if he touches water.
• Animated Actors: Bubsy has threatened to walk off the set multiple times.
• Band Land: Musicland in Bubsy II.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: If you didn't press any buttons, Bubsy would eventually knock on the TV screen and yell at you.

"Hello?!"

• • In Bubsy 3D, he started messing with your TV settings.
• Butt Monkey: Bubsy, in the original outing. His level-opener lines started with "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" and eventually end up as "Is there a veterinarian in the audience?"
  • In the second game, his sidekick Arnold the Armadillo took this role.
• Catch Phrase: "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"
  • Also the name of the pilot episode itself.
  • Since the release of Bubsy 3D, the most common answer to that is "This."
• Cats Have Nine Lives: You start with nine lives in the first game, literally. And you will lose them fast if you don't know what you're doing.
• Circling Birdies: This happens if Bubsy hits a wall after running into it too fast. (This is one of the very few injuries you can inflict on Bubsy that does not kill him).
• Cute Little Fangs: Bubsy, his nephew Terry, and his niece Terri all have them.
• Difficulty Spike: Every third chapter in the first game threw every obstacle at you that it could and doesn't ease up.
• Fractured Fairy Tale: The premise of Fractured Furry Tales is that Bubsy goes around "humbling" the bad guys from storybooks like Jack and the Beanstalk and Alice in Wonderland.
• Goomba Springboard: A very useful tactic to rank up a ton of points and clear large gaps (and the whole stage if you're so inclined).
• Humanlike Foot Anatomy
• Idle Animation
• Jerkass: Bubsy, Bubsy, Bubsy.
• Kick the Dog: From Bubsy himself, no less, during the ending of Claws Encounter of the Furred Kind.
• The Many Deaths of You: Mostly it was Bubsy smiling, then falling down, but the rest was rather funny. It's usually the only reason why most players didn't throw their controllers through the television.
  • Bubsy has a death animation for every kind of obstacle, sometimes multiple ones. See if you can find them all!
• Mascot with Attitude
• One-Hit-Point Wonder: The first game only. The sequels gave him an idiosyncratic health meter.
  • He doesn't even have to be hit to die in the first game as it seems even breathing on him will kill him. This is taken to ridiculous levels in one stage where he'll die by jumping onto a platform that's covered by an inch of water!
• Product Placement: In Bubsy II, you have the ability to buy Nerf Bazookas and shoot Nerf Balls at enemies.
• Punny Name: All of the woolies in the game are named after types of material. The queens are named Polly and Esther, and their assistant is named Professor Nylon.
• Rob Paulsen: Did Bubsy's voice in the animated pilot and Bubsy II. The role was originated in the first game by Brian Silva, who has a very similar affect to his voice.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon seeing the level title "Eye of the Bobcat", Bubsy says: "That's it, I'm outta here, you can't make me...", and runs off the screen.
• Sphere Eyes
• Stealth Pun: Bubsy's catchphrase, given he doesn't stress the wordplay like he normally does.

What could pawssibly go wrong?

• Super Drowning Skills: In the first game, Bubsy will die if even his toes touch water.
• Tagalong Kid: Bubsy's nephew Terry, and niece Terri in the second game. They could be controlled by a second player.
• Who Writes This Crap?: One of the sound bytes heard before a level in Bubsy II is "Who wrote this stuff?!" Bubsy is referring to the punny level titles.