Cult classics or best forgotten? 9 gaming mascots from Bubsy to Boogerman
The pantheon of video game gods has limited seating, and very few characters make it through the door. These nine hopefuls didn’t.
Incredible scenes: people dancing in the streets, strangers embracing, birds singing louder than ever – Bubsy’s back in Bubsy 4D! What? You don’t know Bubsy? Bubsy the Bobcat! Nothing? You know, the hero from legendary video game hits like… erm… hang on… uh… oh boy.
I guess I somewhat overestimated Bubsy’s fame. Which puts me in the same boat as publisher Accolade, who repeatedly tried to turn the orange wildcat into a mascot – and failed just as reliably as Kim Kardashian did her bar exam.
But the American developer is far from the only one. In the 90s especially, countless studios looked on enviously at Nintendo’s Mario and Sega’s Sonic, thinking to themselves, «We can do that too.» Spoiler: they couldn’t. Some of the attempts had genuine potential, others at least had absurd entertainment value, and others are more alive than you might think. Here are nine (almost) forgotten gaming mascots.
Earthworm Jim
Source: Interplay
Worms don’t rank particularly high on the coolness scale, but Earthworm Jim still had what it takes to be a genuine gaming great. The cyber-worm’s first two adventures were really, really good. They combined tricky platforming sections with punchy shooting action, all rendered in gorgeous hand-drawn visuals. The animation ranked among the best the 16-bit generation had to offer, and the absurdist humour gave Earthworm Jim a distinctly unique personality.
All of that went out the window with the third instalment. Earthworm Jim 3D was developed by the talentless studio VIS Entertainment, whose idea of fun apparently involves sending the player through labyrinthine polygon worlds where the camera deals more damage than any final boss. What was once charming 2D slapstick is reduced to a clumsy 3D caricature that feels out of place even on the N64 – and looks even more forlorn on PC a few years later.
In 2018, a reboot was announced for the Intellivision Amico. But the console never launched. It ended up as vapourware – including the new Earthworm Jim title.
Zool
Source: Secret Mode Limited
Until I started researching this article, I was convinced Zool was an ant. I suppose the missing pairs of legs should really have been a clear indication that he isn’t. Apparently, my autism isn’t quite advanced enough to correctly identify insects. Zool is actually a Gremlin ninja from the ninth dimension, sent to Earth to boost his ninja ranking.
The little critter was intended as the mascot for the Amiga home computer. But the funds weren’t there, so the game had to be sponsored by Chupa Chups. In exchange, the lollipop giant got to scatter its products across every level – making Zool something of a proto-influencer.
Next time you’re annoyed because a content creator is shoving their ugly can of iced tea into the camera, you can thank the gremlin ninja from the ninth dimension.
Cool Spot
Source: Virgin Interactive
Speaking of cavity-causing brands sneaking their products into children’s minds, Spot is the red dot in the 7Up logo, and in 1993 he got his own game. Ideas this dumb could only have come from a marketing department that spent a weekend at an ayahuasca retreat together. Although, strangely enough, it actually resulted in a good game.
Cool Spot was programmed by David Perry (Earthworm Jim, Disney’s Aladdin) and bears his signature in every pixel: strong level design, precise controls and fun bonus stages.
Unfortunately, the sequel, Spot Goes to Hollywood, couldn’t match that quality, and Spot was quietly put out to pasture shortly after.
Blinx
Source: Microsoft
Master Chief is a great video game character. As a mascot, though, the gruff marine’s about as well-suited as Jason Statham would be to play René Descartes in a biopic. Microsoft’s decision-makers knew this too, and promptly brought in Japanese cult designer Naoto Ōshima to create a character tailored to the Xbox.
Ōshima – the creator of Sonic, no less – came up with Blinx, a cat in a turtleneck jumper whose mass appeal was roughly on a par with Jar Jar Binks. The accompanying game – a puzzle platformer with time-manipulation mechanics – was decent and even got a sequel. But that was as far as it went. Blinx subsequently vanished into the mascot graveyard.
James Pond
Source: System 3
If you want to create a memorable mascot, you’ve got two options: either design an original character that makes a cultural impact, or take a dad joke and run with it. Millennium Interactive went with the latter, sending a fish named James Pond into the fray in 1990. The character’s a parody of Ian Fleming’s secret agent Bond. This is not a criticism; 99 per cent of my articles follow the same creative approach.
Like Zool, James was originally at home on the Amiga. Later came the Atari ST and console versions. The sequel, James Pond 2 – Codename: RoboCod, swept up top scores across various gaming magazines a year later. For a brief moment, it genuinely looked as though Millennium Interactive had managed to pull off a small coup.
Then it was met with the inevitable fate of fish mascots – namely, the collective realisation that scaly vertebrates make for deeply unsuitable lead characters – and after Part 3 the underwater adventure was over.
Gex
Source: System 3
Gex’s career started on the 3DO, a console from Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins. The device launched at a bold 699 US dollars – which, adjusted for inflation, works out to around 1,200 Swiss francs today. That made the system roughly as competitive as a vibrator wrapped in barbed wire, and it was declared dead less than three years later.
The lizard was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation, where it managed to rack up some successes. The first game in the series is a classic 2D platformer in which Gex hops through 24 levels, each parodying a different pop culture reference. Including that one scene from Basic Instinct – and yes, it’s exactly as disturbing as you’d imagine. The gecko also drops one-liners à discrétion that were probably funny back in 1995.
Two sequels followed – Enter the Gecko and Deep Cover Gecko – which took Gex into three dimensions and further developed the games’ satirical elements as well as the platformer genre in general. The trilogy was recently re-released and is available on current-gen consoles.
Bonus creep points for the inclusion of Baywatch actress Marliece Andrada, who plays Gex’s partner and love interest (ew!).
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
Source: Krome Studios
Ty is representative of all the other mascot platformers of the sixth console generation – think Kao the Kangaroo, Vexx, Tak and the Power of Juju. Most of these games were solid, classic 7/10 titles whose selling point was often a single gameplay gimmick.
Ty had two boomerangs, a thick Australian accent and an ad campaign that implied he’d beaten his competitors to a pulp. Developer Krome Studios has remained loyal to the tiger to this day, regularly supplying fans with ports and HD remasters for modern consoles.
Source: Krome Studios
Boogerman
Source: Interplay
There are mascot concepts that die in a pitch meeting, and then there are mascot concepts that should have died in a pitch meeting. Boogerman belongs in the second category. What’s gameplay like in Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure? It’s all about the gross-out factor; Boogerman fights his enemies with burps, farts and bogey ammunition.
You can’t really blame the developer, Interplay, for trying, though. The concept of «gross-out» is as integral to the 90s as carrying a Discman in your JNCO jeans. Nickelodeon explored the subgenre too, releasing multiple cartoons and creating some of the most bizarrely iconic TV moments in the process.
Boogerman is a product of his time. And we should all be grateful that time is over.
Knack
Source: Sony
I haven’t forgotten Knack, even if Sony might prefer it that way. Hey, Sony did this to itself! The company deliberately chose a brand-new character to serve as a mascot, despite having far better candidates gathering dust in its intellectual property cupboard.
Jak & Daxter, Sly Cooper, the Ape Escape gang… even a random hood ornament from a Motorstorm banger would’ve been a better choice than this lump of rock, for crying out loud.
Perhaps the most baffling thing, though, is that Sony has actually had an excellent mascot since 1999. It’s a white cat called Toro – but it’s rarely used outside Japan. Why? Who knows. It seems the console maker’s M.O. has involved making bad decisions well before this year.
In the early 90s, my older brother gave me his NES with The Legend of Zelda on it. It was the start of an obsession that continues to this day.
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show all
