Not the most famous cartoon cat
Retro games making a comeback is nothing new in 2024. We have seen titles that many thought would never make a comeback, and others that should have NEVER made a comeback. Felix the Cat was a lesser-known NES and GameBoy game that hardly anyone even remembers. People today likely don’t even have a frame of reference for this character, and to be fair calling this a collection is a bit misleading. This is essentially one game packed with some minor features and delivered mostly for a handful of people with nostalgia for it. It isn’t a bad game, just curious why it wasn’t included with some other titles to make it more worthwhile.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: PlayStation (reviewed), Switch
Price I’d Pay: $14.99
Once I booted up the game, I was greeted with a menu offering three games to play. Again, this is a little misleading. The console version is the NES game, the portable is GameBoy and finally there is a Japanese version of the NES game, which is the same just in Japanese. The GameBoy game is also just a stripped-down version of the NES title. And that is it. The game itself isn’t terrible, in fact it has some really cool mechanics with how Felix gains his special moves, but there is just so little in this package it feels a little overpriced at times.
As mentioned, the game itself is actually pretty cool. It is a standard action platformer, but what makes it unique is the power-up system. Felix collects tokens throughout the level. For every ten he collects a new power-up is dropped. His fist becomes projectile stars, then a car, and eventually a tank. These are all timed, but extremely satisfying. Levels are switched up with flying stages and the like, which was standard in the NES days. The game is fun and enjoyable, if not a bit too easy at times.
The GameBoy version is essentially the same game with stripped down mechanics and performance. There really isn’t much here to dissect as it really is just the same game with less features. The Famicom version included is simply for curiosity. It is the same game as the NES one, just in Japanese.
As for extras, this game is bare bones. Limited Run once again is using their Carbon Engine, which emulates retro games perfectly. I didn’t notice any issues with performance or execution, but there just isn’t anything here to see or do. There are CRT filters as well as LCD filters for the GameBoy version. You can rewind, save state, and turn off sprite flicker. All pretty standard stuff, nothing extra like artwork or music players to dig deeper into the original game’s release. Which is a shame as those are the best parts of retro game re-releases.
Felix is a fun game; this package just doesn’t pack a lot of punch. One game with variations does not feel worth the asking price. Unless you have an extreme affinity for Felix the Cat this is a hard retro release to recommend. I had a good time revisiting this game, but it just falls short when it comes to value. Only bother if you are a huge fan of the original games.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
