Bubsy 3D - What Happened? 

I played Bubsy 2 when I was a kid on my Genesis. I loved the game so much, that as a ten-year-old, I sent the studio a letter telling them how much I loved their game and if they had any merchandise anywhere that I could buy to remind me of Bubsy. They sent me a care package of posters, folders, and a mouse pad that somebody in the office was probably using since it had numbers scrawled on it, since I expect that the original crew was no longer in the office and they had to scrounge to find me some stuff. It was very magical for me, and I can't hate Bubsy no matter how bad the games did. Just the fact that a bunch of people went out of their way to send a ten-year-old a little care package about a game that apparently didn't even do that good is really something special.

So there’s a fun story about CES in 96. Where both bubsy 3D and Mario 64 were on display. Richard Hamm was there showing off the game and after getting hands on to Mario 64 walked back to his both and was quoted as saying “We’re fucked”

Destroying an entire game over getting to brag that you have the highest resolution is the funniest shit I've ever heard.

I don't think Days Gone is that great but the fact it is the studio who made the infamous Bubsy 3D is like finding out From Soft made Superman 64

"We went for super high resolution because no one else was doing it" I wonder if it ever occurred to them that there might be a reason behind that.

Everything went wrong. And Bubsy refuses to die.

The fact that there's actually a good ending for Eidetic is actually kinda heartwarming. After seeing so many Wha Happuns with brutal endings for the companies in question, it's pretty refreshing. Only way it would have been better was if Bubsy died a sad, lonely franchise death, but we've got some really mad folk out there in this world.

I'm glad they had that crisp, clean resolution they could use to clearly display *checks notes* virtually no textures.

I’m surprised it took you this long to get to anything Bubsy related.

What a crazy comeback story. From making one of the worst games of all time, to then making the _Syphon Filter_ series, two _Uncharted_ spin-offs and friggin' _Days Gone._ Wow.

What could possibly go wrong? EVERYTHING.

Besides Coconut Fred, this another role Rob Paulsen wished he never did, at least it was only a pilot, but yet the Bobcat, SOMEHOW, still lives on.

I had no idea Taco Bell was involved in that bubsy pilot, lmao

My 3D modeling teacher at my college worked on this game, I asked him and he said he did some of the animated FMVs for this game. Very sweet man, I think I pissed him off by asking him though X'D

I really hate how people forget about the classic Bubsy 3d 2: bubsy goes to the dmv. It really is an underrated classic for the gamecube. Honestly it’s on par with Mario goes to the fridge to get a glass of milk.

One game I've always been curious about the development of is Guitar Hero: Van Halen. That title ended up being such a mess that they ended up giving it away for free to people who bought Guitar Hero 5. Maybe there's not a lot of meat there, but I'll throw it out there anyway. Also, what the hell happened with Drake of the 99 Dragons?

Sony: You guys sure you want to release this game the way it is? Accolade: What could possibly go wrong?

"Worst Game Ever" Little did we know of the horror that would be Superman 64 three years later.

Reminder that there's two new Bubsy games and still no Jazz Jackrabbit 3, Gex 4 or Croc 3.

I remember this game too well. I was the perfect age for Bubsy's target demo, because the first two games came out when I was too young to know they were ripping off Sonic. Of course, when the PlayStation came around, I just HAD to have Bubsy 3D. I think my Christmas list from that year was just the words Bubsy 3D over and over again. That Christmas, I could physically feel a part of my innocence die.

1:03 - Naming your new company so it becomes before your old company in the phone book is a powerful flex 7:10 - A quick google doesn't reveal exactly which high resolution Busby 3D used, but Crash Bandicoot also used a high resolution mode, as well as insane hacks to fit everything into the measly amount of RAM on the PS1.

Richard Ham now spends his time reviewing board games for his channel Rahdo Runs Through. Super chill guy, funny to hear him talk about Bubsy

Hotel Mario and Zelda CDi should be a fun episode.

Matt: Eidetic was based in Bend, Oregon. Me: Huh. I wonder if that's where Sony Bend are from? Me at the end of the video: oh my god.

Happy to see Skies of Arcadia mentioned as a forgotten gem. Makes me sad that we probably won't even see a remaster.

>KAIN under edgy animal mascots I... Don't know how to feel about this

There's also the fact that the early PS1 dev kits were...unsurprisingly limited (just look at the 1994 PS1 games), in fact they were even worse than the Net Yaroze kits. If that team used those early dev kits, that decision to use the hi-res mode made things 150x more complicated for them

In honor of Batman’s 80th Anniversary, Batman & Robin: Wha Happun?

Maybe go for Playstation All Stars? From what I've heard, it contains a lot of "What Happened?" moments

Ah yes, Bubsy. Everyone's favourite video game mascot that they wish it never existed.

I wanna find out what the HECK happened with Phillip's CDI Zelda games!

It's nice to have a happy ending of sorts for a change. I mean they still ended up making Days Gone, but the studio wasn't shut down. That's something.

I remember the first Bubsy semi-fondly. I CANNOT play it now, but I do love how well animated it was...and that's about it. Warm kid memories and decent animation.

I love that Kain was in that roll call of goofy cartoon characters 😂

I have never heard of Bubsy until way into the internet, and he just seems like the thing the ironic enjoyment crowd would like.

"It was dark after Bubsy" is a quote that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

It's crazy hearing them talk about there not being a model for 3D platformers knowing what was coming down the pipeline that same year.

My gran used to buy us gifts at new year (she was Scottish so they were Hogmanay gifts. It was apparently a thing on our family but I think she just wanted to give us more gifts after Christmas) she died before new year the year Bubsy was released. I can't remember if she had bought it or if my mum and dad went and got in in place of her (judging by the release date I'm guessing my parents got it...) but this was the game I got for Hogmanay that year. I fucking loved it. I spent so long playing it. I didn't care how janky it was or how frustrating it was to play. It was the last gift from her so it meant so much to me. I still have my copy to this day. Looking back though...yeah, the game was fucking terrible. But it didn't change it for me.

I'm still waiting for that episode on Sonic: Dark Brotherhood. :D

My first exposure to this trainwreck was Somecallmejohnny’s full Bubsy series review. That was a fun as hell video. Since Matt and Johnny have recently stated interacting and sharing stuff with each other on Twitter, It’d be amazing to have him in a future episode. Maybe Metroid Other M? Also, I’m still waiting for Drake of the 99 Dragons

Man, how refreshing is it to see a developer that actually gets that rare second chance and DOES SOMETHING WITH IT.

I love hearing the success stories of studios reformed after making games like these. It gives me hope that I too can bounce back from a misstep.

Not gonna lie. Seeing Power Stone and Bloody Roar made me tear up a little. I miss them.

Man, I kinda really like how the environments in Bubsy 3D look. The solid colors feel almost Dali-esque to me. Or like every video I was ever shown in school through the late 90s to the early 10s.

Q: What Happened? A: They made Bubsy 3D

The fact that the same company who made...Bubsy 3D, also made Days Gone is mindblowing. While it has some problems, Days Gone is a fantastic game that's quite ambitious and has an incredibly unique atmosphere. I loved my time with it. Guess that's what 20+ years of experience and the backing of a massive company who's known know for quality can do.

Showing bloody roar just made me cry. That game needs a comeback pronto

The only good thing to come out of Bubsy 3D was Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective.

Seeing F-Zero GX float across the screen at the end hurt. Why would you do this to me Matt?

The Bubsy people made Syphon Filter? What a twist!

The fact that there are like a million Bubsy games and we never even got Pulseman on a real cartridge is one of the Genesis' biggest injustices. At least we got Tempo from the same folks.

"I should have made a left turn in Uranus" Bubsy, You are a savage...XD

17:18 you mean like...basically all of SEGA's IPs that arent called sonic?

I will always find it ironic that Bubsy’s catchphrase was “What could possibly go wrong?” When literally everything with him went wrong.

You guys should check out Nitro Rad's review of this game. He actually sits down and beats the whole thing, which is something you really can't say for most people that do something on this turd. It's funny to see one of the most chill reviewers on the platform slowly losing his mind as the game breaks him down. And hey, supporting smaller RU-vidrs is always good.

10:19 that joke aged in quite a curious way

6:37 Ballz 3d sounds like something you would find in a adult video store

"When have you ever seen a Bobcat fly?" - Jontron Do Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, Bomberman: Act Zero, Sonic Forces, and more Sonic games!

I would love to see you do "Outpost". A game that shipped with about half of the features in the instruction manual not actually implemented. I hear Outpost 2 is actually good, but the original version of the first game was a trainwreck.

Bubsy 3D to Syphon Filter is one HELL of a glow-up.

I actually liked the first Bubsy for SNES back then. I even still have my copy of it somewhere in my basement.

Another fantastic episode - this is my favorite series on RU-vid right now, thanks Matt and pals.

Definitely gotta agree with you when it comes to other franchises that definitely deserve a sequel or more sequels than Bubsy does. F-Zero, Skies of Arcadia, and Power Stone are some of my favorite games of all time, yo.

Wow. That's actually great to see a studio turn it around and succeed.

I want a "What Happened?" With the 2000s Crash games mostly Titans and Mind Over Mutant.

Sometimes doing everything wrong teaches you how to make everything better.

the one thing you can say about this game: they genuinely tried

What about Bubsy V Bubsy visits the James Turrell retrospective

From Bubsy 3D to Days Gone. That's one hell of a turn around.

This is the timeline we're living in. Bubsy can be in one of the worst games of all time and still be semi-relevant, yet Blinx, Klonoa, and almost half of Sega's franchises might never see the light of day again, with Klonoa's movie getting cancelled as a final kick in the head.

Real talk, What Happun? is one of youtube's finest series. Great job, Matt.

This has been a pretty good lore drop on a Bubsy I did not think I needed.

Reminds me a lot of Earthworm Jim going 3D, when's that train-wreak getting the spotlight?

Recently subcribed, love this show bruh. Keep up the great work and quality control then watch this channel blow up.

Wow... Just watching this video makes me anxious from the intense crunch and anxiety the devs must've gone through

Seriously, how many of us reach out towards our computer monitors when Skies of Arcadia floated by?

Ohhh my sweet memories as a kid playing Bubsy in Genesis.

Thanks for releasing this on my birthday! A fine gift it was indeed - I'd been wondering how this game went so, so wrong

Loving the content Matt, keep up the good work!

And to think that this is from the same developer behind Days Gone and the Syphon Filter games.

We all knew this one was coming, it was a matter of time.

11:18 "Mr. Bubsy, I don't feel so good..." - Bubsy 3D for Sega Saturn, probably

As an old PC gamer, I can say that the best Accolade game ever made wasn't Bubsy, but was Test Drive 2: The Duel. Probably the best PC racing game of it's time.

Bubsy and Taco Bell. A surprisingly natural pairing.

I played Bubsy 3D and it was the only, and last, Bubsy game I will probably ever play. That game harmed me mentally, as I found myself actually unable to get through most of the game due to dizziness and pun-sickness and even took a break for a long time. It wasn't until spending a lot of time on the original Crash Team Racing that I felt the spark of joy that comes from playing games return to me. To this day, it's a game that I will fear the return of in terms of quality and it may have even been the cause of my mental state to constantly look for terrible puns in everything. But as bad as my jokes can be, Bubsy is simply impawsible to match. I also have that game pinned to my wall after I found it and it stays as a reminder to me that no matter how bad I am doing at a game, or how bad a game is, it could still be worse. It could be Bubsy 3D.

17:17 Powerstone and Skies... right in the feels.

Fun facts Mike Berlin had to submit an essay (yes a literal essay) on what made Sonic the Hedgehog a good game before he was allowed to start on the first Bubsy game. In the 1996 Consumer Electronics Show, Bubsy 3D was being showcased right alongside Mario 64 - and the developers were *fully aware* when they saw what Mario 64 was doing, that they were in trouble.

This game almost drove jontron to insanity

Holy 💩. I really like Days Gone. If they can improve, all of us can.

This was a fantastic one. This history with bubsy was very interesting

The fact that Eidetic jumped up from the failure that was Bubsy 3D to the successes that were Syphon Filter, the Uncharted handhelds & Days Gone tells me they had a huge glow-up, but the fact that the team took inspiration from Jumping Flash to inspire Bubsy 3D’s Godawful camera tells me they really fucked up there.

Kind of funny seeing Kain in the mascot yearbook

Wait... Days Gone was literally from the Bubsy 3D devs????? That answers so much

That was a awesome group of games at the end. I agree all those games deserve another chance.

Legit informative. Great work!

Gotta love how one of the worst gaming failures of all time, in my area, turns out to have a happy ending. Long live Bend Studio ✊🏻

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight was an absolutely glorious faceplant of a game

Ever try something on Eternal Champions? I feel like that game series certainly deserves its own "What Happened?" spotlight episode.

You kept saying "Clawed Encounters of the Furred Kind" when the title was clearly "Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind" which actually works for the joke much better!

After seeing Kain for one frame I would love to see a Blood Omen/Legacy of Kain/Nosgoth/Dead Sun What Happen