Welcome to another edition of Playing With Power. The review article that looks at all things Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s no secret that by the end of the NES run that a lot of retro franchises were seeing video games based on them. The Three Stooges, Rocky and Bullwinkle, hell even Gilligan’s Island which we covered previously. And with this week’s game of choice, it’s definitely the oldest franchise to see a game on the great grey box. But is this game a wonderful, wonderful game, or just a bad kitty? Let’s find out with this week’s review of Felix the Cat.
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1992
PUBLISHER: Hudson Soft
GENRE: Platformer
Felix The Cat is one of the pioneering characters in animation. His roots go all the way back to the 1910’s and the silent era of motion pictures. He debuted on the silver screen in 1919 and earned notable popularity until the birth of Mickey Mouse which would follow soon after. Felix managed to live on through animation, and comic strips, and endeared in the popular culture of the first half of the 1900s.
In 1958, Felix’s popularity was still going strong, and he would land his first animated series by Trans Lux. This cartoon would be the major foundation to Felix’s character as it would be the first to feature elements such as the magic bag, and characters like The Professor, Poindexter, and others. Fast forward a little over 30 years later, and through the rise of syndication and cable tv, Felix saw a rise again in popularity. Enough of a rise that it was only a matter of time until he would make his premiere into the video game world. And in 1992, Hudson Soft would release Felix’s first major video game, titled simply Felix The Cat. The game would be ported to the Game Boy not long after. Was Felix’s first foray into the world of gaming a solid one?
COVER STORY
This is a good cover. It shows off Felix quite nicely, along with some of the levels and abilities within the game. I would say my only major nag is the very unnecessary yellow bar on the left that just feels like it’s taking up a bit too much space. But that issue aside, this is a definite eye catcher for both gamers and Felix fans alike.
STORY
Felix’s arch nemesis The Professor is once again out to get his hands on Felix’s magic bag of Tricks. He kidnaps Kitty, Felix’s girlfriend, and takes her to his secret laboratory. Felix has to set out on a quest to save Kitty, take on long time friends and foes, and put a stop to that nefarious Professor once and for all.
GAMEPLAY
Felix the Cat is a one player platformer. You control Felix as you trek through nine worlds to rescue your girlfriend Kitty from the evil Professor. But Felix isn’t going it alone. He has his magic bag of tricks to help him out. The game uses your basic platformer control scheme. The D-pad moves Felix, the A button jumps, and the B button will execute an attack from whatever ability you are currently using.
The game’s main gameplay gimmick is that Felix uses his magic bag to attack for him. It starts as a weak weapon, like an extendo glove, an umbrella, or even a life raft. As you advance through each level, you will see these circular icons with Felix’s face on them. Once the meter on the bottom reaches a sum of 10, you will get a heart. Once you collect it, the magic bag will upgrade to a newer, and more powerful weapon. And for some of these, you can upgrade them more than once. For example the most common case of this is you’ll start with an extendo glove, and upgrade to a magic wand, a car, and finally a tank with each heart you collect. And don’t worry about finding these icons, they are literally scattered everywhere in each level. There are even giant magic bags you can enter that will contain even more icons, and sometimes even a short cut further into the level.
Felix can only take one hit from enemies and he’ll lose a life. However, with each weapon upgrade, you will technically get another hit point. Take damage as an upgraded magic bag, and you will downgrade to the one prior. Pretty basic stuff. Your upgrades however will only last for a short period of time. On the top left of the screen is a meter with hearts. When the hearts run out, you will lose that particular upgrade. However, any time the Felix icon meter is at a 5, you will get three milk bottles, which can fill the meter back up. Also, every 20 Felix icons after fully upgrading your bag will give you another heart which will refill your meter, as well as give you an extra life. And don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of extra lives in this game.
The game has nine worlds, and most of them contain up to three levels within. each level is your basic linear left to right level, similar to most platformer games at the time. Most levels are straightforward walking treks, but the game does mix thing up at times. Some levels will have Felix flying through the sky, rowing in the water, travelling under the sea, or even in outer space. While the core gameplay doesn’t deviate at all from most games of its time, at least there is enough variety to keep the game from suffering too much monotony.
Almost every world contains an end boss which is based off the animated series. You’ll square off with familiar faces like Poindexter, Rockbottom, the Master Cylinder and more as you continue through forests, pyramids, snowy fields, and more as you reach the outer space base of the Professor. None of the bosses are all that difficult, and each have pretty basic methods to defeat them. Mainly just keep shooting at them when they finish flashing to push them backwards.
This game is extremely easy. It is perhaps the most forgiving when it comes to how many lives you can get in the game. Not only can you earn lives with every heart earned after upgrading your magic bag to its fullest, but you can also get extra lives with every 100 Felix icons collected. Not only that, but if you shoot at clouds with the Professor’s face, sometimes, you’ll get an F coin, which gives you yet another extra life. The game has continues, but with how easy the game can get, as well with how many extra lives you can earn (you’ll literally be in the 50s or more by game’s end), you may never see it unless you do so intentionally.
The game controls well with no real issues when it comes to jumping or hit detection. The only weapon upgrade I personally found to be the roughest to handle was the magic wand weapon, but even that wasn’t too much of a complaint. Despite that, Hudson Soft made a game that works extremely well, and despite the lack of difficulty, this is a solid game on the console.
GRAPHICS
The graphics in the game are excellent. the game takes the full advantage of the limited palette of the NES, and retains the cartoony feel of the Felix the Cat universe. All of the characters look like their animated counterparts, and all of the levels and enemies are designed quite well. There really isn’t too much to complain about when it comes to this end. A fantastic job by Hudson Soft.
MUSIC
The soundtrack in this game is also quite solid. From the title screen, to the first level music and more, you will be instantly entranced by the game’s music. Nothing ever feels too out of place, and there’s plenty of catchy tunes that will stick in your head for quite a while. If I were to make a mild gripe, I guess the lack of the Felix the Cat theme song would be one of them, however, the song is still there in small remnants. A fine job by Hudson on this end as well.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Felix the Cat is a solid NES game. It excels in graphics, sound, and control, and the gameplay is also top notch. It also retains the feeling of the source material as well. The only severe downside for most will be the lack of difficulty, but since this game was definitely built for younger fans in mind, this is definitely not a major issue. So, for those looking for a major challenge might have to look elsewhere on the console, but for those looking for a solid licensed game on the NES will definitely find it with this game. It’s a perfect game to own in your collection, and is definitely a must play for anyone looking to burn away an hour, which is likely as long as it will take to beat the game. There are no tricks in this bag, just pure fun.
RATING: Thumbs Up