Introduction
Over the years there have been many attempts at presenting the next big gaming mascot. But for every Mario, Sonic, Crash, Lara Croft, Spyro, Donkey Kong… (alright enough already, we get the point – Ed), there are countless others who have fallen out of sight over the years and discarded like a used tissue. Join us as we take a quick stroll through the forgotten (or less frequently referenced) gaming mascots of yore…
Gex
Gex featured in some rather lads mag-esque adverts in the late 90s (who can forget that one for Gex 3 where he’s cupping Agent Xtra’s extras?), which on consideration of the games was pretty on brand for his character. A shame then that the games he starred in were generic platform fare at best.
Appearances (3):
Gex (1995); Gex: Enter The Gecko (1998); Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (1999).
Croc
Croc is another character from a platformer (that appears to be a recurring theme here), yet despite originally being designed as a Yoshi game before being re-tooled, it still doesn’t quite hit the spot. And Croc, bless him, was confined to history.
Appearances (2):
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (1997); Croc 2 (1999), plus Gameboy remakes and mobile only games that we don’t talk about.
James Pond
The writing for James Pond was perhaps always on the wall. After all, his name is a pun of a somewhat more famous literary and cinematic super spy (you know, that Jones Bind chap). An entertaining trio of platformers they may have been, but ultimately the character wound up limited by the very thing that created him. It’s still the puns.
Perhaps the final nail in the coffin came in 2013 when a Kickstarter campaign to resurrect the character was cancelled early when it became clear it would not achieve its target.
Appearances (3):
James Pond: Underwater Agent (1990); James Pond 2: Codename Robocod (1991); James Pond 3: Operation Starfish (1993).
Ecco
When not busy teasing tourists and expressing gratitude for all the fish, Ecco featured in five games between 1992 and 2000. Which is surprising in a way, because there must be only a few ways that you can make a dolphin seem interesting. The aliens Ecco regularly faced may have something to do with that. Carrying an environmental message, perhaps the beginning of the end was starring in edutainment titles. Because we all know they tend to be a bit rubbish.
Appearances (5):
Ecco the Dolphin (1992); Ecco: The Tides of Time (1994); Ecco Jr (1995); Ecco Jr and the Great Ocean Trasure Hunt (1995); Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (2000).
Bubsy
Bubsy appeared in four games between 1993-96, with two belated sequels appearing in 2017 and 2019. You’d think this cheeky chappy would be a success. I mean look – he’s an animal wearing a t-shirt and shoes! Alas, a cutesy design doesn’t guarantee immortality.
Appearances (6):
Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Third Kind
Bubsy II
Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales
Bubsy is 3D in “Furbidden Planet”
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back
Bubsy: Paws On Fire!
Ristar
Ristar barely made it off the starting blocks before his potential career as a system selling mascot came crashing down to Earth, appearing in just one game to date. It’s likely not his fault, though. The game appeared right at the end of the Sega MegaDrive’s lifecycle and Joe Public was intent on moving over to the next generation of consoles. Still, at least the game’s good enough to feature regularly on Sega’s many compilation releases.
Appearances (1):
Ristar (1995)
Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim has everything that should make him a respectable mascot – a cool look, a quirky sense of humour, and a hit cartoon to his name. And yet he floundered when making the transition from two dimensions to 3D – a move that ended any hope that he would be a bankable character in the future. With that said, if someone was inclined to, I don’t know, maybe try again but as a 2D platformer once more. You never know, it could prove to be just the game to scare off that early bird once and for all.
Appearances (4):
Earthworm Jim (1994); Earthworm Jim 2 (1995); Earthworm Jim 3D (1999); Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 The Galaxy (1999).
Dizzy
Dizzy starred in a massive 16 games between 1987 and 1992. He’s a… well, an egg? Who engages in some platforming shenanigans. The games are enjoyable enough, but look, he’s still an egg.
Appearances (16):
Not including the recent remakes, a select list includes Dizzy (1987); Treasure Island Dizzy (1988); Fantasy World Dizzy (1989); Magicland Dizzy (1990); Spellbound Dizzy (1991).