Fur Fighters

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Fur Fighters
System(s): Sega Dreamcast
Publisher: Acclaim
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Genre: Third-person shooter
ESRB ELSPA USK OFLC SELL

Fur Fighters is a video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Acclaim for the Sega Dreamcast in 2000.

The game was designed very much as a standard third person shooter, but uses a world populated by cute little animals as its setting. As a result, the game's depiction of violence is very cartoon-like without losing any of its intensity.

Ports of the game were made for the PC and PlayStation 2, with the PlayStation 2 version using cell-shaded graphics, voice acting and sporting a new subtitle, Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge.

Gameplay

In Fur Fighters, the player's job is to rescue the tiny animal babies who have been taken from their parents by the central villain, General Viggo. Viggo has scattered these babies all over the world, requiring the animal parents to explore, confront Viggo's henchmen, and rescue all of them. The gameplay featured many unique aspects for a third-person shooter of the time it was released, most notably making each level an extremely large, expansive area that requires sometimes hours of involved exploration to locate the babies and get rid of the enemies. (Examples include a giant construction site and an entire section of a large city, complete with buildings to explore, including a complete museum of modern art.) Maneuvering through these levels often requires careful observation of the environment so as not to get lost, as well as solving puzzles to figure out where some babies might be hidden or how to gain access to more of the level. Unlike most action games of this type, Fur Fighters distinguishes itself by featuring a system where the player can, at many intervals on a level, switch between one of many animal parents. Each parent has their own advantages and disadvantages, with many having special abilities allowing them to do certain things easier. This switching-out system also makes it easier for players who are low on hit points or ammunition to switch to a more playable character.

Critical reaction

While Fur Fighters was not a tremendous financial success and went almost unnoticed by the majority of gamers at the time, critically the game was almost universally praised for its size, scope, sense of humour, and attention to detail. The fact that mindless violence was not the sole gameplay element impressed many, and the game went on to become a sort of cult classic. In an attempt to take the series further with a larger audience, a new version of the game entitled Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge was released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2. It met with mixed success as it was simply an update of the original game with a few minor features included (such as cel-shading and real voices for the characters). Notably, the first level of the game is the "World Quack Centre", a play on New York's World Trade Center. Some people wondered if the level would be removed from future copies of the game after the events of 9/11, though that never happened. This may have to do with the fact that the game's storyline relies on each and every level to make sense.

Voice cast

• Tim Wallers as General Viggo.
• Johnathan Booth as General Bristol.
• Corinne Kempa as Juliette.
• Scott McMurrey as Roofus.
• Guy Taylor as Bungalow.
• Alan Turner (PS2)/John Karnay (Dreamcast) as Rico.
• Daniel York as Chang and Tweek.

Characters

• Roofus:

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Roofus is the natural born leader of the Fur Fighters. He is also the only member who can dig holes in the ground. After defeating Viggo years ago he gave it all up to settle down with his wife, Winnie and their children, until Viggo returned and kidnapped them. Roofus decided to battle for one last time to save them and get rid of Viggo once and for all.

• Chang:

Born in Hong Kong, China, Chang is the smallest of the Fur Fighters and therefore is the only member who can get into small places. Chang is probably the most useful of the group as he has a scientific mind, is quick witted and is brilliant with weapons. His mission is to save his wife, Mai and children. He is a small red Firefox panda.

• Juliette:

Born in Paris, France, Juliette is the only Fur Fighter who can climb up and down walls; she is also the only female in the group. Juliette is very athletic and can be very short-tempered and stubborn. She prefers to fight alone, but if persuaded she will stay with the group. Her mission is to save her husband, Claude and children.

• Bungalow:

Born in Alice Springs, Australia, Bungalow is the only Fur Fighter who can jump high and far. Best friend of Roofus, Bungalow is rather slow and dim-witted; he does not realise his own strength or ability. He seems to be very happy to take orders from the other members. His mission is to save his wife, Esmerelda, and children.

• Rico:

Born in Argentina, Rico is the only member of the Fur Fighters who can swim underwater. Rico is not the most serious or fully-focused member as he seems to think himself as a hero. He is also overconfident about his fighting skills and is a total daydreamer. His mission is to save his wife, Juanita, and children.

• Tweek:

Born in Fur Fighter Village (presumably, as he is only a day old), Tweek is the youngest member of the Fur Fighters. He is also the only member who can glide. Tweek was born bigger and a different color than the rest of his siblings. His family was taken by Viggo, and Tweek was taken in by the other members who taught him how to use weapons, allowing him to help in the war against Viggo. His mission is to save his mother, Gwyneth, and his brothers and sisters.

• General Viggo:

He is responsible for kidnapping the Fur Fighters' families and trying to take over the world. Viggo is pure evil, yet well spoken. He leads his army of stupid bears against the Fur Fighters and he is also surprisingly strong.

• General Bristol:

Bristol is a ghost that helps guide and advise the Fur Fighters during their mission against Viggo.

• Sergeant Sternhouser:

Sternhouser is the personal fitness trainer of the Fur Fighters who loves dancing and gives them better weapons.

Credits

Programming: Jeff Lewis

Physical Scans

Dreamcast

Dreamcast, US
Cover

Dreamcast, UK
Cover
Disc Pre-Production Disc

Dreamcast, FR/NL
Cover
Disc

External Links

• Fur Fighters at Bizarre Creations
• Fur Fighters Fanpage