Game Review: Felix the Cat

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Limited Run Games and Konami have a new two-game package out now for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, and it's probably one that most people were not expecting to see. Originally released back in 1992/93, the Felix the Cat games are 8-Bit platformers that were originally developed by Hudson Soft. This collection packages the NES, Game Boy, and previously unreleased Famicom versions into one neat package, and we're going to be taking a look at the Switch version today. There are three games to discuss in this review, so let's just get right into it!

While it makes the most sense to review each game in this collection individually, I wanted to talk a bit about what's included first. If you came into this collection thinking that you'd be getting a lot of bonus content, sort of what Limited Run Games is known for, then you're going to be disappointed. This is a pretty bare bones package, and there's nothing notable included beyond the games themselves. Each title does have a rewind feature and save states, as well as various graphic options, but that's all you get beyond some new backgrounds and an admittedly charming title screen. I do have to give special shout out to that rewind feature though. While I don't like using rewind features much in action games or platformers, I have to say that the one in Felix the Cat has to be the smoothest rewind that I've ever encountered. I'd even say that it's better than the official Nintendo one. Sadly, that's all there is beyond the ROMs themselves. While this is obviously a big missed opportunity, and something we'll circle back around to later, at least we can rest assured that the games included are great. Right?

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Felix the Cat (NES)

Yes, this is a great game. As a matter of fact, where has it been all my life? I have lots of memories of seeing Felix the Cat cartridges at swap meets when I was a young child, and I always assumed that there was no way that the game could be good. Even at a young age I knew that licensed games were usually bad, and this wasn't even anywhere near what I would call a "good" license. I'll admit that this bias even went into starting this review, and my first thought was "Why re-release this game?" Though I still have to get into the actual review, you can probably guess that I'm trying to say that it turns out that I've been sleeping on one of the best 8-bit platformers of all time. That may sound like hyperbole, and maybe it is to a small degree, but I had so much fun playing this that I felt like I'd wasted decades of my life ignoring it. Anyway, with that bit out of praise out of the way, let's move on to the review.

Felix the Cat is a 2D platformer in the style of the original Super Mario Bros., but it also has mechanics that reminded me of the Adventure Island series. You run, you jump, and you take out enemies until you get to the end of the stage. The end of most every third stage ends in a boss, and then you move on to the next world. Felix isn't Mario though, so jumping on enemies actually will harm you, and actually kill you if you're not powered up. Instead of jumping, Felix attacks with various weapons. The current weapon he has at his disposal is determined by the current form he's in, and this is where a lot of the fun comes into play.

Throughout the course of the game you'll find Felix heads scattered about. Collecting five of the drops milk, and collecting ten drops a heart that powers up Felix to his next form. In his most basic form, he's a cat with a punching glove, next he's a magician who shoots out stars, then he hops onto a motorcycle and takes out enemies with his horn, and finally he enters a tank and shoots cannonballs. Each of these attacks that are better or worse than each other, though I think the motorcycle is the best of all. Each subsequent power-up also acts as an extra life of sorts if Felix gets hit. Each hit takes you down to the previous form, but that's not the only way you can power-down. All power-ups have a heart meter that slowly goes down, with the only way to raise it being getting another heart, or collecting milk. While this describes the biggest mechanic in the game, it only applies to the "normal" platforming stages. Felix the Cat features levels that take place in the sky, in the ocean, underwater, and even in space. All of these level types have their own versions of the power-ups, and they in turn feature their own weapons. These are all unique to themselves, but this system is what reminded me so much of the Adventure Island games. You even get to ride a dolphin at one point, and that felt close enough to the animal riding from that series. This power-up system ultimately means that there are over ten versions of Felix that you can see over the course of the game. I know I compared it to the first Super Mario Bros. game earlier, but that's some great Super Mario Bros. 3 stuff right there!

It's not just power-ups though, as the core game is just so much fun to play. There is admittedly a sort of floatiness to Felix's movements, but you have so much control over stopping or changing his jump trajectory that it never felt like the controls were "bad". There are nine worlds in the game, and 25 levels between them, with all of them feeling unique in their own way. There's also a story about Felix's girlfriend Kitty being kidnapped by The Professor, but I assume that only means something to those who are familiar with the Felix lore. Even though I never cared for the story much, it is rather neat that there are cutscenes in between some of the worlds that update you on what's going on with The Professor's plan. Besides story and the hard-to-describe platforming excellence, Felix the Cat also has some of the best graphics and music I've seen in an NES title. I literally have no complaints about either, and you know a game is good when it starts making you wonder what its source material must be like. Then again Hudson Soft is known for producing amazing games, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I beat the game in a single session, and it pretty much instantly ranked high on my list of favorite 2D platformers. I don't know if I'll ever play it again, but I had a lot of fun discovering one of the best hidden gems of the 8-Bit era. I know you will too.

Rating: A+

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Felix the Cat (Game Boy)

I actually grew up with the Game Boy, and early on I came to the realization that most Game Boy games fell into one of two camps. They were either good/great games that were developed specifically with the hardware limitations in mind, or they were watered down ports of their console big brothers. Felix the Cat on the Game Boy falls hard into the latter category. I honestly don't have much to say about this game as it plays very similar to the NES version, but worse. There's only about half the stages here, they're all a lot shorter, and the music and graphics take the expected hit in quality. I probably would still think this was at least an alright game if it weren't for the massive slowdown issues. I'm not sure if it's a fault of the emulator being used, or if this is how the game always ran, but things slow to a crawl when there are more than a couple enemies on screen. Then there's odd little quirks that just make it feel like the "bad" version of Felix the Cat. Why the developers made some enemies in this version impervious to Felix's weapons, and what made them get rid of boss knockback, are questions I'll probably never get the answer to. It's still not the worst Game Boy game I've ever played, but I don't see why anyone would play it in this day and age when the NES version is right there.

I admittedly used the rewind feature a lot in this particular run, and I still couldn't bring myself to finish the last couple stages. If anything, this is exactly what I imagined a Felix the Cat game would be like all those years ago when I chose to not ever pick it up. I guess I was half right after all.

Rating: C-

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Felix the Cat (Famicom)

I don't think there's any difference in this version of the game outside of the cutscene text. Part of me thought that it ran better than the NES version, but that's probably only because I played immediately after playing the bad Game Boy version. I wish I had more to say about this one since it basically is one third of this entire collection, but I can't think of anything to add to this part of the review beyond what I already said earlier. I guess I can't help but wonder why this version was included in the first place, but I guess there's the novelty of it apparently not being released that might intrigue some players.

Rating: A

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Even though you only really get one game worth playing in this collection, I have to say that it's a very good one. Is a single 30 year old game worth paying for on its own though? That's the question, and it's one that I actually have an answer to. Yes, yes it is, but not at its current price. Felix the Cat comes in at a rather insane $24.99, and that price point feels about three times too much. When you boot up the game there are a lot of logos. Konami, Universal, DreamWorks, and Limited Run Games. I can only assume a bunch of hoops were jumped through to bring us this game, and that a lot of hands are reaching out for a piece of any money it brings in. That shouldn't just be shouldered onto the consumer though, and it makes one wonder why this release was put out at all if it was going to come at such an insulting price. I wouldn't even mind it so much if it fully featured either, but there's nothing here. There's no bonus content, no manuals, no sound test, or anything that makes this feel like anything more than three ROMs bundled together. There's not even a lot of reason to go back to the games once you've beaten them, and they're pretty much all variants on a single game. I've seen a lot of discussion online that these should've just been included in the Switch Online service, and while I'm not saying anything that drastic should've happened, I will admit that the free NES games available via Switch Online make the price point feel even more ridiculous. I don't think this collection should've been priced any higher than the $7.99-$9.99 range, and I can't recommend anyone pay full price for it today.

I have a lot of mixed feelings as to how I want to close out this review. Felix the Cat is a great game, and I had a lot of fun playing it. Putting the price aside for a second, I do think this is the best way to play it today, and the only official way to do so on modern consoles. The problem is that its price is just too high to really suggest picking it up. I give it a full recommendation, but only if you're somehow able to find it at a very steep discount. Either way, play Felix the Cat in any way you can if you haven't already. Don't make the mistake I did in ignoring it!

Check Out Felix the Cat on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/felix-the-cat-switch/

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Overall Rating: C

Pros:
+ One of the best NES platformers returns, and you can play it in three different versions.
+ The platforming is tight and precise, and the level variety is a nice surprise.
+ The graphics are the best you'll find in a game of this era, and the music is all on point too.
+ While I didn't really bother with them, the rewind feature and save states are a nice addition.
+ This package is focused on the NES version of the game, but you also get the Game Boy and Famicom versions as well.

Cons:
- The Game Boy version of the game feels almost unplayable at times due to slowdown in the more intense sections of the game.
- The Famicom version is pretty much a carbon copy of the NES one, but with Japanese text in the cutscenes.
- There is no bonus content to speak of. No manuals, behind-the-scenes interviews, stills, etc., at all.
- Since this collection is essentially based around a single 8-bit game, there isn't a lot of reason to come back to it once you've beat it.
- The $24.99 price tag feels rather insulting when you factor in the amount of content.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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