Rascal (video game)

Rascal is a platform game developed by Traveller's Tales[2] and published by Psygnosis for the PlayStation. The main character and several enemies were designed by the London branch of Jim Henson's Creature Shop.[3][4]

Rascal
Developer(s)Traveller's Tales
Publisher(s)Psygnosis
Director(s)Jon Burton
Producer(s)Chris Rowley
Designer(s)Jon Burton
Programmer(s)Dave Dootson
Paul Houbart
Gary Ireland
Artist(s)Beverly Bush
James Cunliffe
Sean Naden
Composer(s)Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • EU: March 1998
  • NA: March 27, 1998[1]
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

Professor Casper Clockwise is in his lab making the final adjustments to his time-traveling device when suddenly someone creeps behind him. Meanwhile, his son Callum "Rascal" Clockwise is walking through a secret route under the house to get to his father's lab when suddenly the lights go out and an alarm sounds. Rascal rushes down to see the problem, but much to his horror two aliens in spacecraft appear and chase him down the corridor.

Rascal finally makes it to his father's lab by going through the safe door entrance. He is shocked to find Chronon, the evil master of time, holding his father hostage for unknown reasons, and holding him at gunpoint with another of his dad's inventions called the "Bubble Gun", but Chronon accidentally activates the controls for the time machine and he and the Professor were sucked into the time portal. The Bubble Gun manages to be dropped from the portal and it lands at the feet of Rascal, who picks it up, vowing to save his father.

Rascal chases the two through the timestream, from the medieval Castle Hackalott to the Aztec Temple at Chichimeca, to the lost city of Atlantis, to the Jolly Raider pirate ship and Dodgy City in the old West, traveling to each location's past and present forms and collecting the pieces of a Time Clock from both before fighting Chronon in each area's future. Soon afterward, Rascal finally travels to the Corridors of Time, Chronon's lair within the space-time continuum where, after defeating its guardians brought from each of the other time periods, he successfully defeats Chronon and rescues his father. After escaping using another time portal that leads back into the hallway of Rascal's house, Rascal and his father return safely back home, leaving the portal to shatter apart on Chronon, trapping him within interdimensional time forever.

Gameplay

In the game, the player assumes the role of Rascal armed with the Bubble Gun, in a mission through five worlds - Castle Hackalott (a medieval castle), Chichimeca Temple (an ancient Aztec temple), the aquatic city of Atlantis, The Jolly Raider (a pirate ship), and Dodgy City (a town in the Wild West).[2] Each world has three forms: past, present, and future[2] (e.g. Castle Hackalott appears as a medieval castle in the past while in the present day, it has become a museum). The player needs only to complete the past level to gain access to the next world. In each past and present level, the player has to find the six pieces of the Time Clock (some of which are held by certain enemies) in order to access the Time Bubble and complete the level, in turn unlocking the next form of that world. Each future level has a boss battle against Chronon and defeating him in all five gives access to the final world. The Bubble Gun has limited ammo, and the range and strength of the bubbles depends on how much ammo is left. In most levels, minor enemies will spawn from Time Bubbles over time (usually those to do with the level theming itself) and when defeated, they will leave behind various items such as Bubble Gun ammo (in either green or red; the latter can temporarily grant the bubbles with homing capabilities), hearts that will restore health and "Chronon's Gift" (a red skull and crossbones) which will cause damage to the player if picked up.

Development

Traveller's Tales founder Jon Burton revealed in a video posted in September 2018, that the poor controls were a result of the publisher requesting that the controls be changed from directional movement to tank controls similar to Tomb Raider, leading to issues with how the game's camera engine was designed. Burton also claimed his involvement in the game was limited due to being preoccupied with Sonic R and that effectively made the publisher in charge.[5]

Reception

The game received generally unfavorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[6] Next Generation said that the game was "more of a technological achievement (one of the only PlayStation games with no noticeable load time) than a game, and worth picking up only for those who enjoy being annoyed."[16] In Japan, where the game was ported and published by Takara under the name of Bubblegun Kid (バブルガンキッド, Baburugan Kiddo) on March 18, 1999, almost a year after its U.S. release date, Famitsu gave it a score of 22 out of 40.[10]

Notes
  1. GamePro gave the game 4.5/5 for graphics, 3.5/5 for sound, 1.5/5 for control, and 2.5/5 for overall fun factor.

References
  1. GameSpot staff (March 27, 1998). "videogames.com Calendar". GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 18, 1999. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  2. Semrad, Ed (August 1997). "Psygnosis". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 97. Ziff Davis. p. 83.
  3. "Rascal". NowGamer. Imagine Publishing. March 31, 1998. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  4. "NG Alphas: Rascal". Next Generation. No. 32. Imagine Media. August 1997. p. 87.
  5. GameHut (September 13, 2018). "Rascal Prototype Shows Incredible Technology - So What Went Wrong?". YouTube. Google. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  6. "Rascal for PlayStation". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. Williamson, Colin. "Rascal - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  8. Edge staff (May 1998). "Rascal". Edge. No. 58. Future Publishing. p. 99. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  9. EGM staff (May 1998). "Rascal". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 106. Ziff Davis.
  10. "バブルガンキッド [PS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  11. "Rascal". Game Informer. No. 61. FuncoLand. May 1998. Archived from the original on September 30, 1999. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  12. Boba Fatt (May 1998). "Rascal". GamePro. No. 116. IDG Entertainment. p. 88. Archived from the original on May 31, 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  13. Carnevale, Jason C. (April 1998). "Rascal Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on June 13, 1998. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  14. Kelly, Sean (May 4, 1998). "Rascal Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 14, 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  15. IGN staff (March 25, 1998). "Rascal". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  16. "Rascal". Next Generation. No. 43. Imagine Media. July 1998. p. 113. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  17. OPMUK staff (April 1998). "Rascal". Official UK PlayStation Magazine. No. 31. Future Publishing. pp. 104–5. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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