Does anybody out there like Awesome Possum?

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Awesome Possum is a weird and surreal Sonic knockoff that developed by Atari/Tengen and was released for the Genesis on November 9,1993. I played it quite alot as a kid first at Venture and then frequently on Sega Channel in '95. I considered it "different". The idea of a video game character talking was so cutting edge back in the 16-bit era. I mean yes, it was slow and the collision detection was sloppy, but it was a very solid platforming experience for me.

But too many sites and reviews over the years have been pretty negative. Not only do they call it a "Sonic rip-off" but they slam the game pretty harshly. Complaining about pretty much everything,graphics,controls,music,sound. To me, I felt that they were just nickpicking. Even in 2009 as a 26 year old, I still enjoyed the game. Though as an adult, I found it to be a game of patience with its learning curve(aren't all side scrollers like that?) :)

I like this game. I haven't run into anyone who shares my opinion. I'd love to here your thoughts on the game or its concept.

There are games I appreciate/love and/or have always wanted that most people just hate.

1. Goofy's Hysterical History Tour
2. Sonic Spinball
3. Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
4. Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest
5. Marsupilami
6. Asterix and the Great Rescue
7. Aero the Acro-Bat
8. Aero the Acro-Bat 2
9. Awesome Possum

Call me crazy, but I'm in this to enjoy myself.

I've long had a theory that no matter how widely reviled or belittled a game may be, there's probably someone who appreciates it and is able to mine some enjoyment out of it.

Now, when I played Awesome Possum, I didn't like it -- to put it mildly -- so I can't join you on this one (though I didn't play the game for very long, admittedly). But I'm glad to know there's someone out there who does like it -- so, credit to you for admitting that you're fond of a game that most people trash.

As someone who thoroughly enjoyed Sword of Sodan, and even had fun beating Dark Castle (gasp!), I can appreciate that. There's a lot of received wisdom surrounding bad (or "bad") games, and even if it's often right, it's still worth forming your own opinions.

BTW QuickSciFi I'm with you on Asterix, as you know. On Goofy I'm more borderline; it had so much potential but I think the stage design lets it down. Still not a "bad" game in my book at all, just a missed opportunity that's still worth playing.

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

Sonic Spinball
Asterix and the Great Rescue
Aero the Acro-Bat
Aero the Acro-Bat 2

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I like these ones.

But no, I don't like Awesome Possum. And I gave it a fair chance.

That was not the first genesis game to feature a talking character. What bullshit false advertising. At the bare minimum, Bubsy predates it, and I'm sure many other (and better) games do too.

I own the game. I have since I've been a kid. I've always hated it, and I've given it plenty of fair chances. I just don't think it's well made, beyond being a rip off. Like, ignoring all the aesthetic problems it has, the game underneith is just sloppy and not a lot of fun. The level design seems random with no rhyme or reason.

No, I much rather spent my time playing stuff like Buster's Hidden Treasure, or Dynamite Headdy, or, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog.

I have to agree with QuickSciFi. The above titles are games that I thoroughly enjoy. I can understand how most people just don't have the patience not the inclination to take the time to learn the controls. This is especially true when the controls are not quite intuitive. The way I approach a game is to first learn the controls and then to learn the hidden mechanics of the game. Sure it's a little frustrating at first but once mastered, the game soars to new heights! At least for me.

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Originally Posted by TheSonicRetard

That was not the first genesis game to feature a talking character. What bullshit false advertising. At the bare minimum, Bubsy predates it, and I'm sure many other (and better) games do too.

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I guess the idea is that he "really talks", i.e. has dozens of stock phrases, but of course it's a liability. I love the copy in the ad: "Doesn't he ever shut up? No!"

Also, if HardBall III came out first, then having a video game character who wouldn't shut up was assuredly a done deal on the Genesis...

Awesome Possum= Lamest Sonic imitation ever.

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Originally Posted by Saturn Fan

Awesome Possum= Lamest Sonic imitation ever.

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I'd say that, if only because it tried to promote a good cause, it's not the lamest of the 90's anthropomorphic animal crazed games. That would go to bubsy for me, a shitty game whose sole purpose was to try and create a multimedia conglomerate brand put together by pure focus group testing. We live in a better world because Bubsy never became what he was intended to be.

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

There are games I appreciate/love and/or have always wanted that most people just hate.

1. Goofy's Hysterical History Tour
2. Sonic Spinball
3. Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
4. Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest
5. Marsupilami
6. Asterix and the Great Rescue
7. Aero the Acro-Bat
8. Aero the Acro-Bat 2
9. Awesome Possum

Call me crazy, but I'm in this to enjoy myself.

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Honestly, I don't like any of the other games on your list, but people hate Sonic Spinball? For the love of God, why?

Oh, and I like Pit-Fighter, as I've said elsewhere. That one's pretty widely reviled.

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Originally Posted by TheSonicRetard

I'd say that, if only because it tried to promote a good cause, it's not the lamest of the 90's anthropomorphic animal crazed games. That would go to bubsy for me, a shitty game whose sole purpose was to try and create a multimedia conglomerate brand put together by pure focus group testing. We live in a better world because Bubsy never became what he was intended to be.

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Well his ambitious and dreams did turn to shit once he hit 3D. Complete SHIT.

Busby on the Genesis and Super NES was a pretty generic platformer with little originality(except the "one hit and your dead" formula that Crash Bandicoot later exploited) To be honest I never got to play the Genesis version(I first played the SNES version and recall him having little if no dialog at all.) I played Busby 2 on Sega Channel. Found it to be a lame and lazy-as-hell sequel cash in.(His voice was grating and his one-liners were idiotic.)

There's a review that chronologizes the Busby series by Silent Rob who pretty much feels the same way you do about the franchise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feLpSCQc2oU

As for Genesis games I tried to like but ended up hating, Taz-mania comes to mind. The game was merciless and annoying.

I also recall Rolo Adventures and The Ooze. Both pretty difficult to play and sluggish.

I don't really like Awesome Possum, but I've never spent a lot of time with it either... but I do somewhat like some games that most people seem to hate, most notably Bubsy 3D and Carmageddon 64. (Note: I don't like the 2d Bubsy games much at all, and never have. It's not a franchise I played in the '90s, but once I did try it, I disliked the games.) I didn't own either of those games back in the '90s, and had never played them before getting them in the last few years, but once I did play them, I quickly found that, despite a few issues, I think that they're good games...

Awesome Possum is an awful, awful game. Absolutely nothing good about it. IMO, it's in the top ten worst on the system.

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

5. Marsupilami

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Only problem with this game is it gets tedious real fast. Good graphics and music though.

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Originally Posted by QuickSciFi

6. Asterix and the Great Rescue

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People don't like this game? News to me. I very much enjoyed it.

I think its kinda funny that after posting a thread like "Worst Games of The 90s" that MrSega would select such an awful game as Awesome Possum as a game he likes. If any game needs to be added to that thread, this should be one of them.

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Originally Posted by The Jackal

People don't like this game? News to me. I very much enjoyed it.

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It's alex kidd: in the enchanted castle syndrome - where a good game isn't as great as its spectacular predecessor, and thus is judged unfairly. The Great Rescue is a fun game, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original Asterix on the SMS, and thus people tend to be harder on it.

Asterix on the SMS was one hell of a title.