As I stated seven years ago, I never hated Bubsy, the bobcat who was infamous for trying so hard to be as hip as Sonic the Hedgehog in the '90s. A compilation of his classic adventures, including the Japanese version of Bubsy in: Claws Encountered of the Furred Kind known as “Yamaneko Bubsy no Daibouken” and the “refurbished” edition of the infamous Bubsy 3D, titled “Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection” was announced before the reveal of a brand new adventure that awaits us, whether we like it or not.
There could have been a Bubsy manga featuring the fourth wall-breaking feline with an extra finger on each hand, which worked for Crash Bandicoot, but we are aware of the failure of the pilot aimed at an animated series primarily for a young Western audience. Despite all the hate the bobcat got, I have never been against the way he would break the fourth wall like Deadpool would and at least he never considered insensitive regarding the events of World War II, which is what Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel was guilty of. Before the two Barbies solve a mystery on Netflix, let us proceed to discuss the potential of Bubsy 4D, which sounds like a self-parody, but still ought to be more than that if the creative team wants to prove that the bobcat CAN do better than the last two attempts at redeeming him in the late 2010s.
Alongside the reveals of the Tetris®: My Play Watch that will soon be available to pre-order and PAC-MAN's special guest appearance in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds that will come in a DLC pack in early 2026, Bubsy 4D was announced, leading to some curiosity, as well as some skepticism. I do not doubt that Astro, the adorable little robot from Astro Bot, would hate him though.
I suppose Bubsy ended up unpopular in Japan, which was the fate Rayman met. At least young audiences in the Land of the Rising Sun have learned how to befriend and support autistic people after encountering the accurate and respectful portrayal of Julia and her family from the official Japanese dub of Sesame Street by now. As for the Bubster, let us discuss how Bubsy 4D can at least be considered the best of this revival era that started in 2017.
Looks like the Bubster has been given an updated design for Bubsy 4D. Aside from his greeting in his classic T-shirt with a red exclamation mark, he shows off an unbuttoned white tuxedo jacket and a red tie right before he announces the title of the forthcoming comeback for looking more sophisticated yet a bit more rebellious. To me, he now sounds like a character from Lackadaisy. He just had to make a jab at Mario, didn't he? Aside from how cool it is to see some variants of his new outfit in a selection menu, it is quite bewildering to see his design from Bubsy 3D make a big comeback in a similar manner to Mario's classic look from Super Mario 64 being a costume in Super Mario Odyssey, possibly for a laugh.
Surely, Bubsy ought to gain some growth from his hunger for stardom, self-awareness, and one-liners in Bubsy 4D, which could perhaps start with some backstory on how he became the way he is in the intro and possibly include a romance between him and Oblivia from the animated pilot blooming at some point. That way, there can be a new and legitimate reason for us to root for him besides acknowledging how bad Bubsy 3D was.
Chances are that at least one fourth wall break committed by Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday will be more effective, compared to how Bubsy poking fun at the failure of Bubsy 3D comes off as a little desperate in the announcement trailer for Bubsy 4D. There is nothing wrong with the protagonist admitting past faults and making fun of them though, but I think relying on such self-awareness a little too much can somehow decrease their chances of making the audience take their promise to do better seriously.
While a “retro” skin for Captain Astro is for some old school gaming flair on a PlayStation 5 game, this guy is making a comeback as not only as Easter egg, but possibly a joke. But still, can there be something new about the bobcat that can prove that he can be more than “the guy we love to hate” after so many years of ridicule?
Compared to the side-scrolling essences in Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back and Bubsy: Paws on Fire that were, unfortunately, lacklustre to some of those who gave it a shot, the gameplay in Bubsy 4D seems to take on a 3D platformer adventure approach, much like Bubsy 3D as a big sign of being a spiritual successor (that ought to be better, especially in terms of gameplay). Some levels shown in the trailer may fondly remind me of Obstacle Course, one of the games from Wit Fit Plus, for some reason, but I am pretty sure the moment of Bubsy running in midair before gliding towards the next tower of cake slices is a glitch that needs to be patched.
Besides the usual gliding, pouncing on enemies, and yarn ball gathering, a new gameplay mechanic Bubsy comments on is his ability to inflate like Astro with the Octo-Balloon in Astro Bot and rolling around like Homer Simpson's transformation known as the “Homer Ball” in The Simpsons Game. At least there are no bags of farts to dodge. I see that the levels are at least way more imaginative than the undesirably and blandly designed areas in Bubsy 3D. At least a little improvement is better than none at all, right? I do not think the overall outcome of the gameplay and such will be as memorable as Astro Bot though.
Look on the bright side, Orange Blur. At least you are not tangled in a giant rubber band ball, which is what happened to Berry from Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends.
It looks like the levels can be selected in a way like how the locations on Earth can be selected in Sonic Unleashed. And not to mention that the rainbow path Bubsy runs on must be a reference to Rainbow Road from the Mario Kart games! Developed by Fabraz, Bubsy 4D might just be more ambitious than his two previous instalments, despite seeming like a reskin of Demon Tides.
Aside from how oddly limited the lip syncing within Bubsy's dialogue looks, let us discuss other aspects of Bubsy 4D that have been revealed in the announcement trailer. As previously mentioned, there can be a moment of Bubsy and Oblivia being smitten with one another as she also appears in a new design in comparison to her appearance in the cartoon's pilot, even though she might keep mispronouncing his game. Other characters who appeared in the pilot include Terri and Terry, Bubsy's niece and nephew, and Virgil Reality, the inventor of the bizarre-looking virtual reality helmet and one of the playable characters in Bubsy: Paws On Fire.
Let us not forget about the characters who appear to be the bosses to beat and could possibly be involved in Oinker P. Hamm's new scheme after his escape from the zoo, as uninspired as that conflict sounds. Chances are that the side characters may not receive much competent character progression in Bubsy 4D, but as previously stated, there ought to be some new reason for us to root for the star if he truly wants to be redeemed aside from his ego, a new outfit and the memes, which should also apply to Shrek's new cinematic arc in Shrek 5 after he counted his blessings at the end of Shrek Forever After.
Of course, the romance between these two kitties ought not to be as self-pandering as Sid and Brooke's romance in Ice Age: Collision Course, yet I wish Bubsy would not be such an uncaring uncle to the twins. I personally consider myself an average writer, yet one of my goals for living in my thirties is to become an even better one, but as always, I do not wish to berate the narrative designer if the plot will not meet my expectations as I am aware that some genres can be easy for some writers to handle than others.
The most important aspects of portraying Bubsy and the others in the forthcoming instalment remain respectful to the legacy of Michael Berlyn, Bubsy's creator, who passed away back in March 2023. My deepest condolences go out to the friends, family and old colleagues and I am very sorry for the tragic loss.
I am not against the idea of another Bubsy game in the post-'90s times, so I suppose there ought to be a dose of the Bubster in the second half of the 2020s, but I am not the most optimistic about the proposal that sounds like a self-parody so far. More preferably, he can always make an appearance as a VIP Bot in another DLC update for Astro Bot or a direct sequel to the interactive masterpiece that can also perhaps feature an engaging multiplayer mode. In the meantime, Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection will be launched a few days after the seventh deadly minisode of Helluva Shorts and the day before the release of the third chapter of Wolverines and Deadpools Vol 1.
Two months afterwards, Omega, Lady Deathstrike and possibly Lady Deadpool will be the notable co-stars of Marvel's Deadpool VR. In 2026, a story expansion named “Woolhaven” awaits the cult following of Cult of the Lamb, LEGO Batman: The Legacy of the Dark Knight awaits LEGO lovers who also happen to be Batfans and the 30th anniversary of Bubsy 3D might as well be celebrated after the 30th anniversary of Super Mario 64. What could possibly go wrong in Bubsy 4D? Hopefully, it will not be all the hate being taken advantage of with hardly any passion for genuine redemption (again), thus leading to the game being a little more than a reskin.
For the sake of consistency, Bubsy might as well have some mountain cat ancestry as a reference to the localisation of his first game in Japan. During the wait for the release of Bubsy 4D, aspiring video game developers, especially those with the money and motivation to do a postgraduate course, can learn a thing or two from the overwhelmingly negative reception of its predecessor. Again, we can be critical, but we need to watch the lines that should not be crossed as we ought to pay respects to Berlyn, despite the ridicule Bubsy has received throughout the years as there was more to his creator's legacy than developing his games.
Look how sophisticated the Bubster looks in promotional artwork for Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection. Why not let him have his own talk show that might as well be the animated equivalent of Figgle Chat, the talk show web series hosted by Fred Figglehorn back in the Autumn of 2011? But for now, let us prepare for the seventh Helluva Short, the remake of the Helluva Boss pilot, the premiere of the second season of Hazbin Hotel and Marvel's Deadpool VR throughout this Autumn.
