Bug Too!
Sega Saturn
I was a big fan of the original Bug! for the Sega Saturn, and I played through it many times growing up. Its sequel, however, I have only played through one time in my life. The year was 1996. I had gone to Blockbuster Video to rent this for the weekend, when the lady checking me out decided to give me a hard time. I used to come to Blockbuster nearly every weekend and I would use my dad's card to check stuff out, because I was not old enough for a card of my own. No one ever gave me a problem, until I ran into this lady - who I think was a new employee because I did not recognize her. She refused to check the game out to me, and told me I needed to come back with my dad if I wanted to rent a game for the weekend.
I remember coming home on my bike and begging and pleading with my dad to come with me so I could rent this game. It was after seven o'clock, and he was already settled in for the night. He begrudgingly came with me, and after a whole bunch of hassle, Bug Too! was finally in my possession. In case you were wondering, that was the first and only time I ever encountered trouble renting a video game on my own. So I always associate Bug Too! with that b!tch from Blockbuster who wouldn't let me rent it without my dad.
I remember more about my experience renting the game than I do actually playing it. I remember I beat the game. I remember it being easier than its predecessor. I remember showing the ending to my mom because I thought it was funny. And that's all I remember. Fast forward 29 years into the future, to the year 2025. I haven't played this game since then. Ever since I learned to emulate, it has always been on the back of my mind that I need to come back and play Bug Too! again, since it will probably be near impossible to obtain a physical copy of my own. I know Saturn games are in high demand. They are hard to find and often too expensive to obtain. So emulate, I did. And here we are.
How would I feel about this game in the year 2025? Let's dive in.
Story:
The Bug! series isn't exactly well known for its storyline. In this game, you play as the titular Bug as he looks to film six movies in one day. Each movie represents one of the game's worlds. There is a haunted house themed world, an Egyptian themed world, an outer space themed world, a circus world, an underwater/ice world, and a "trippy" world. Each one of them is named after a famous movie. For example, the horror themed world is titled "The Weevil Dead". Once you complete all six worlds, you beat the game and earn the Bugster a well-deserved vacation from movie making. A vacation 29 years long and running. This is the last Bug! game that was ever released.
Gameplay:
While this game looks and feels much like its predecessor, there are a few improvements to the gameplay. The most noticeable change is the addition of a run button. You can also hover briefly in mid-air if you hold down the jump button after jumping. Both of these additions make the game slightly more accessible than the original Bug!, which was brutally difficult - in part due to the basic controls.
For those who haven't played the original Bug!, this game is a platformer that gives the illusion of 3D. Not only can you walk left and right, you can take paths up and down, to parallel planes. There are multiple ways to get to the end of reach level. You aren't just stuck on a 2D track, making your way from point A to point B. The game always felt more like a giant maze. Branching paths, items to collect, different bonus stages to unlock. Bug Too! follows the formula of the first game faithfully. Aside from the small gameplay improvements, it feels a lot like the first game.
There are six worlds in the game. Each world contains about 3 or 4 stages. Some have more, some less. You can tackle the stages in any order. I just did them chronologically. When you've beaten all the stages, a boss fight becomes available. Beat the boss and you move onto the next world in the game.
At first, I thought that the game was not as hard as its predecessor. The first two worlds weren't too bad. And then: the space level happened. And then the water world. Really, any area that requires precision platforming or blind leaps of faith. It is very hard to line up jumps in the game. It's difficult to judge distances, especially when you are jumping up or down on the plane instead of left or right. This led to just an absolute ton of frustrating deaths. Checkpoints in the game are few and far between, and I often found myself having to replay large chunks of the level I had already played before. Very frustrating when you hit a section where you are dying over and over again, and you keep having to go back to the checkpoint. I played this time around with save states, as I did not want to see what happened if I ran out of lives or continues. Even with save states, I still struggled with the game. I can't imagine how I did this in one weekend as a teenager.
I ran into the same problem I encountered with the original Bug! The game becomes too frustrating. I often would find myself thinking: am I really having fun here? And oftentimes no, I was not. But other times I was really enjoying myself. I think it all boils down to the level design. Levels with bad design and constant cheap deaths: bad. Well-designed levels that are more fun to play and aren't looking to screw you over every two seconds: good.
Graphics:
It's a little rough around the edges, but I think the game looks great. It is very bright and vibrant. Each world's theme gives each of the stages a very unique feel. The stage design itself is awesome, with the moving platforms and the multiple branching paths. I liked the look and feel of the space world in particular. It just looks so freaking awesome.
I'd say that this is one of my favorite looking Saturn games. Not necessarily the best looking, but my favorite looking. It reminds me of everything that was awesome growing up in the 32 bit era.
Sound:
Bug Too! has a fabulous soundtrack. Right off the bat, the game hits you with a real banger. The Weevil Dead music is freaking awesome. You have to check it out. It perfectly encapsulates what you are going to get from this game: consistently fun and upbeat music that fits the theme of the stage. I was bopping and grooving my whole way through this game. The music is truly great. I love the callback to the original Bug! during the end credits as well. Good stuff.
Sound effects are good too. The titular Bug throws out some goofy comments and one liners occasionally, but never gets annoying like Gex or other games from this era. I like all the small sounds, like when you pick up a gem or jump on the head of an enemy.
Overall:
Looking back at my review for the original Bug!, I can't believe I gave it a C-. All my memories of the game are positive. I would have thought it would have scored in the B range. I must have let the frustrating difficulty get to me.
That did not happen here. I could easily see myself getting frustrated without the option of being able to use save states. But I played with them, and it greatly enhanced my experience. Without them, I might have been tempted to give this game a lower score, just like its predecessor. But you know what? I am going to do what I'm going to do to make the game more enjoyable for me.
As much as there were things I didn't like about this game and as much as I liked to nitpick some of its gameplay flaws, I still had a decent time with it. I still don't think it's necessarily a great title. In the grand scheme of things, it is a forgettable platformer that did not make much of a mark on gaming. You can skip over this and you won't really be missing out on anything. But at the same time, it is a very well-made game that is just oozing with charm. Great music, great level design, awesome graphics. There is a lot to appreciate here.
THE GRADE:
B-
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