Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: 11-23-93
(I seriously love this box art)
Leading up to it Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy looked like a wild ride. The advertising made it sound like it was going to be a furry James Bond. Was this the kooky mascot game that would propel Atari back into relevance? Was it going to be Metal Gear with more cat puns? The beautifully absurd box art made it look even more exciting. Trevor is a ladies' man as well as a feline spy. Who doesn’t want to play that game? Unfortunately, Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy is not that game. It turns out to be a mostly generic, horizontal scrolling shooter. Now I love these types of shooters, but there were only four games released before Jaguar’s first Christmas, and three of them were shooters. It’s hard to make a big splash at such a critical time when all of your games are so similar. Of course, the Atari Jaguar only managed 50 carts in four years, so lack of games was always a problem.
(The first level plays like a game of Asteroids. It's better just to ignore the big rocks entirely.)
Its release does make some sense, however. It is certainly a technical marvel. At the time of its release, it was one of the best-looking side scrolling cartridge games ever. It’s hard not to look at the photo realistic backgrounds, large sprites, and gigantic fast-moving bosses and not think that Jaguar showed a lot of promise. Huge objects cover the screen with no hint of slowdown or lag. It’s a game that rivals any of the CD-ROM systems of the time on a console that was much, much cheaper. It makes me wonder if Atari would’ve had more success advertising themselves as a cheaper alternative to high-end consoles than going directly after Nintendo and Sega. Of course, asking how the Jaguar could’ve been a success is one of the oldest questions in the retro community. Still, it’s hard to deny that there was potential there.
(Now this is what the whole game should've looked like)
I just wish that Atari had put as much into the gameplay as they did in the visuals. It’s not a bad game, but it’s a game that shooter fans had seen a thousand times before. It has plenty of enemy spaceships, one hit kills, abundant power-ups, and lots of enemies attacking in formation. One of the better mechanics is the ability to save up different types of special weapons and toggle between them. Often in shooters one power-up will replace another. In Trevor McFur you can save them up and use them strategically. You can use your shields in asteroid fields and save the big guns for the boss fights. It’s a nice touch for a game that needs some innovation.
Sadly, Trevor McFur never quite rises above average. It never becomes frantic enough to reach bullet-hell territory, but there’s also not enough variety to keep the slower pace interesting. The levels are too long and unchanging. However, it’s certainly not a worthless game. I am not very good at it, but I still want to get better. It’s engaging enough that I still want to play, so that has to count for something. As far as the ranking goes, I really wanted to push this one into the good section, but it just falls short. It’s right near the top of the okay section in a group of games that are still worth playing even if they are not of high quality. It’s sliding in at #68 just behind that overrated cult classic Demon’s Crest. Hey at least that game made a star out of its wacky main character. It’s a shame that Trevor McFur was kept inside of a spaceship the whole game. Could you imagine if this had been a furry version of Metal Gear?
Jaguar Quality Percentage: 0/1
The Whole list: Ranking List
