My Top 100: #61 – Felix the Cat

 

From one Hudson Soft game to another…  I didn’t do that on purpose, but they were definitely one of the great game developers back in the day, so long as you’re willing to forget Milon’s Secret Castle.

I didn’t know much about Felix the Cat before this game came out.  From looking at him in previews in Nintendo Power, I recognized him from really old black and white cartoons I’d see from time to time.  There was really no other reason to rent the game that first time, other than my mom saying she also recognized him from when she was younger.

We brought it home, and I was pretty damn impressed with what I played.

 

 

This is your typical platformer from those days.  Some might be tempted to call it a Mario-clone, what with the collecting of “Felix coins” and power ups.  Felix even reaches special areas by jumping into giant coin purses (giggity), remeniscent of Mario jumping into pipes to reach loads of coins.  Beyond that, however, Felix the Cat has a few nice changes to the formula.

As you gain new abilities and your powers increase, you have to stay vigilant and collect all the coins you can.  As time progresses with a certain ability, a heart meter in the top-left corner will slowly decrease.  Let it go empty, and you’ll get knocked down a peg on the power up ladder – a power-down, essentially.  Collect coins, get the Milk bottles that come every 10 coins, repeat.  Coins get a bit more sparse in later levels, so it makes you up your game a bit.

Seems like a bit of an ode to the Adventure Island hunger meter, to me!

There were also a few flying and underwater stages that came along, helping to break up the platforming monotony a bit.  They had different upgrades as well, and that was fun.

So yeah, if you ever get a chance to play this game, please do so.  Even though it isn’t the most challenging game in the world, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how fun it is.