Cool Spot

n/a

NTSC-U PAL/NTSC-J Master System Game Gear
Cool Spot
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System
Publisher: Virgin Games Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Virgin Games Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Supporting companies: Krisalis Software (audio)
Distributor: Sega (US)
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action, Arcade
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1994-02-18 ¥8,000 (8,240)8,000e T-70013 US 1993-04 $54.9954.99 T-70196 EU 1993-06 T-70196-50 EU (Classic) 199x 70196-50 DE 1993 DM 119.95119.95 T-70196-50 PT 1993 14.700$14.700 MD70196 UK 1993-06 £39.9939.99 T-70196-50 SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x KR 199x GM93031JT EU 1993-10 MK-27068-50 PT 1993 MS27078 UK 1993-10 £32.9932.99 MK-27068-50 AU 199x US 1993-10 T-70108 EU 1993 T-70108-50 PT 1993 UK 1993 £24.9924.99 T-70108-50
Non-Sega versions Amiga Game Boy IBM PC Super NES
ESRA

Cool Spot (クールスポット) is a 1993 platform video game developed and published by Virgin Interactive starring the then-mascot of 7 Up, the 7 Up spot. It is a sequel to Spot: The Video Game, a puzzle game similar to Ataxx initially released on the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.

Cool Spot was developed with the Sega Mega Drive in mind, and due to its success was ported to other platforms, including the Amiga, DOS computers, Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, and Super NES. During development, it was referred to as Spot: The Quest For Cool.

The game was followed by the isometric platformer Spot Goes to Hollywood in 1995.

Gameplay

Mega Drive version

The game is a platformer played as 7 Up mascot Spot. The goal is to collect "cool points," red spots scattered throughout each level. Once enough have been found, the player must find the fellow Spot, who is captured in a cage, and release him by shooting the lock. The levels are filled with enemies and contain platforming elements such as balloons that Spot can hang from and hazards such as spikes or water traps that Spot must avoid. Spot is moved with and . He jumps with and jumps higher with +. Enemies can be defeated by firing Spot's fizz-like projectile with . The projectile can be directed with the D-Pad (including diagonals) and is also used to open the cages.

Spot's health is indicated by a picture of himself in the status bar, which starts to peel off as he takes damage from enemies or hazards. Additionally, each level is timed. Spot loses a life if he runs out of health or runs out of time. There are items throughout the levels that replenish health and time. If Spot runs out of lives, the game ends, but the player can earn continues in the bonus levels. The player has an opportunity to earn an extra life at the end of each level based on the amount of time left.

There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard), which are selectable in the options before starting the game. Spot starts with 4 extra lives on Easy, 3 on Normal, and 2 on Hard. The difficulty level also affects the number of enemies, the placement of the cage, and the number of cool points that must be collected to complete the level or access the bonus level.

Items

	Cool Point
	Collect to complete the stage. Adds 1 to the cool percentage. There are 100 total cool points in each level. Spot needs 30 cool points to complete the level on Easy, 60 on Normal, and 90 on Hard. Spot needs 75 cool points to access the bonus level on Easy, 85 on Normal, and 95 on Hard.
	7 Up
	Collect to complete the stage. Adds 7 to the cool percentage.
	Glass
	Replenishes part of Spot's life.
	Timer
	Adds 30 seconds to the timer.
	1 Up
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Checkpoint
	Checkpoint where Spot is revived after losing a life.
	Cage
	After collecting the required amount of cool points, shoot the lock on the cage to end the level.

Levels

	Shell Shock
	Pier Pressure
	Off the Wall
	Wading Around
	Toying Around
	Radical Rails
	Wound Up
	Loco Motive
	Back to the Wall
	Dock and Roll
	Surf Patrol

Bonus level

Bonus level

Bonus levels are unlocked by collecting a certain number of cool points, which varies depending on the difficulty level, on top of the number needed for level completion. The level takes place inside a 7 Up bottle. Spot can use bubbles to explore the bottle and find one of the letters in "UNCOLA" ("VIRGIN" in PAL version), which gives the player a continue. Bonus levels, like regular levels, also contain 100 cool points, and the player earns an extra life for collecting all of them.

Virgin ran a contest in the United States awarding an unspecified "cool prize" for players who collected all of the letters and took a picture of the ending and sent it in.

Master System and Game Gear versions

The 8-bit versions play identically to the Mega Drive version. The goal is to collect a certain number of "cool points," red spots scattered throughout each level, and then find the cage and shoot its lock to free the captured Spot. Spot moves with and . In the Master System version, jumps and shoots. In the Game Gear version, jumps and shoots. Spot's projectile can be aimed using the D-Pad.

Spot's health is indicated by a picture of himself in the status area, which starts to peel off as he takes damage from enemies or hazards. Spot has a limited amount of time to complete each level. He loses a life if he runs out of health or runs out of time. If Spot runs out of lives, the game ends, but the player can earn continues in the bonus levels. The player can earn an extra life at the end of each level based on the amount of time left and the number of cool points collected.

There are three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard), which are selectable in the options before starting the game. The difficulty level affects the number of cool points that must be collected to complete the level or access the bonus level.

Items

	Cool Point
	Collect to complete the stage. Adds 1 to the cool percentage. There are 100 total cool points in each level. Spot needs 40 cool points to complete the level on Easy, 60 on Normal, and 90 on Hard. Spot needs 60 cool points to access the bonus level on Easy, 90 on Normal, and 99 on Hard.
	7 Up
	Collect to complete the stage. Adds 7 to the cool percentage.
	Glass
	Replenishes part of Spot's life.
	Timer
	Adds 30 seconds to the timer.
	1 Up
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Checkpoint
	Checkpoint where Spot is revived after losing a life.
	Cage
	After collecting the required amount of Cool Points, shoot the lock on the cage to end the level.

Levels

	Shell Shock
	Map: 1️⃣
	Pier Pressure
	Map: 1️⃣
	Off the Wall
	Map: 1️⃣
	Radical Rails
	Map: 1️⃣
	Wading Around
	Map: 1️⃣
	Back to the Wall
	Map: 1️⃣
	Dock and Roll
	Map: 1️⃣
	Surf Patrol
	Map: 1️⃣

Bonus level

Bonus level

Bonus levels are played after completing the current level if Spot collects a certain number of extra cool points (depending on the difficulty level). The level takes place inside a 7 Up bottle, and Spot can use bubbles to climb up the bottle. The top of the bottle contains one of the letters in "VIRGIN," and collecting the letter awards a continue. Like regular levels, the bonus levels are timed. They contain cool points that can be collected for an extra life and sometimes bombs that harm Spot.

Versions

Cool Spot was developed with the Sega Mega Drive in mind before being ported to other platforms.

As Spot stood as a mascot for 7 Up, Cool Spot was originally intended to help promote the 7 Up soft drink, however curiously most 7 Up branding was removed following its initial North American release. The PAL and subsequent Super NES versions still credit the 7 Up company for the license to use the Spot character, but all branded bottles are replaced with unlabeled alternatives (such as the bottle Spot rides in the introduction).

The PAL Mega Drive versions were partially optimised to have correct music speed, but the gameplay is slower than in the NTSC version. As a result, forcing the game to run at 60Hz causes the music to play too fast.

Most conversions of the game retain the same core gameplay as seen in the Mega Drive version, however in the case of weaker systems such as the Master System and Game Gear, graphics and audio are cut back.

The Super NES version, released several months after the Mega Drive original, offers more colourful (and in some cases, more "animated") graphics, but at the expense of screen resolution. In this case, the assets, designed for the Mega Drive's 320x224 display, were not re-worked for the 256x224 resolution of the Super NES, and subsequently appear wider than originally intended (alongside a reduced field of view). However, the Super NES version is able to make use of semi-transparent sprites which were not achievable on standard Mega Drive hardware.

Production credits

Mega Drive version

Note: Michael Merren is only credited as producer in the PAL version.

• Programmed by: David Perry
• Animation by: Mike Dietz, Shawn McLean, Clark Sorensen
• Background Art by: Christian Laursen
• Music, Sound FX & Samples by: Tommy Tallarico
• Executive Game Designer: David Bishop
• Level Design: Bill 'Boy' Anderson
• Game Design: The 'Global' Team
• Additional Background Art by: Rene Boutin
• Art Supervision: Stan Gorman, Mike Dietz
• Artists: Roger Hardy, Willis Wong
• Sprite Management Engineer: Tim Williams, Doug Cope
• Samples by: Steven S. Henifin
• Quality Assurance Manager: Michael D. Gater
• Testing and Quality Assurance: Noah Tool, Justin Norr, Danny Lewis, Mike Glosecki, Bijan Shaheer, Adam Ryan, Scott Duckett
• Producer: Cathie A. Bartz-Todd, Michael Merren
• Executive Producers: Neil Young, Dr. Stephen H. Clarke-Willson

Source:

In-game credits

Master System version

Cool Spot

• Origional Game Designed by: [sic] Virgin Games Inc
• Programmed by: David Leitch
• Graphics by: Doug Townsley
• Music & SFX by: Krisalis
• Produced by: John Roberts
• Testing by: James Dillon, Graham Tizzard

Source:

In-game credits (demo sequence)

Game Gear version

• Origional Game Designed by: [sic] Virgin Games Inc
• Programmed by: David Leitch
• Graphics by: Doug Townsley
• Music & SFX by: Krisalis
• Produced by: John Roberts
• Testing by: J. Dillon, G. Tizzard

Source:

In-game credits (demo sequence)

Magazine articles

Main article: Cool Spot/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Cool Spot/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 80 Æskan (IS) 97 Alaab Alcomputtar (SA) 89 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 83 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 63 Consoles + (FR) 92 Cool Gamer (RU) 80 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 92 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 85 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 70 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 4 (RU) 80 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 90 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 53 Game Power (IT) 91 Game Power (IT) PAL 92 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 85 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 85 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 85 Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J 50 Joypad (FR) PAL 94 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 89 Mega (UK) PAL 93 Mega Action (UK) 86 Mega Force (FR) 95 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U 85 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 92 MegaTech (UK) PAL 89 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 90 Player One (FR) 85 Power Up! (UK) 87 Power Play (DE) 79 ProGames (BR) 100 Power Unlimited (NL) NTSC 85 Score (CZ) 82 Sega Magazin (DE) 88 Sega Power (UK) PAL 80 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 93 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 90 Sega Force (SE) 90 Sega Force (UK) PAL 86 Sega Mega Drive Review (RU) 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 66 Supergame (BR) NTSC-U 87 Supersonic (FR) 90 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 83 Video Games (DE) 79

	85
Based on 46 reviews

Cool Spot

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, EU (Classic Mega Drive)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (Rental)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Joypad (FR) 91 Mega Force (FR) 88 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 74 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 82 Player One (FR) 86 Sega Magazin (DE) 88 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Force (SE) 83 Sega Master Force (UK) PAL 91 Todo Sega (ES) PAL 87

	85
Based on 11 reviews

Cool Spot

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, PT
Cover
Manual AU Manual (Avalable on AU Release)

Master System, AU
Cart Manual

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Digitiser (UK) 90 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 78 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 90 Joypad (FR) 71 Joypad (HU) 90 Megablast (DE) PAL 78 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 74 Megazone (AU) 88 Sega Magazin (DE) 88 Sega News (CZ) 85 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 95 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 86 Sega Force (SE) 95 Sega Master Force (UK) PAL 90 Todo Sega (ES) 87

	85
Based on 16 reviews

Cool Spot

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, PT

Technical information

Main article: Cool Spot/Technical information.

References

7 Up games for Sega systems
	Cool Spot (1993) | Fido Dido (unreleased) | Spot Goes to Hollywood (1995)
	Cool Spot (1993)
	Cool Spot (1993)
	Spot Goes to Hollywood (unreleased)
	Spot Goes to Hollywood (1997) | Miru Kiku Asobu Fido Dido JiuQ BOX (unreleased)