Cool Spot
From Sega Retro
Cool Spot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Virgin Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: Virgin Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sound driver: GEMS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Action | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of players: 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cool Spot (クールスポット) is a 1993 platform video game developed and published by Virgin Interactive staring 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.
Contents
Gameplay
The gameplay, summarized in the introductory picture before you go to the first level, is very simple - the player character's goal is to explore each level collection the red dots scattered throughout. Once the player has collected enough, he'll be able to clear the level by finding a cage with an ally character trapped inside, and breaking it.
Besides the spots, levels have typical platformer elements - Items, traps, and enemies. Enemies can usually be defeated by firing the player's fizz-like projectile (/
) at them until they burst. Said projectile can be directed by the D-pad (including diagonals) and is also used to open the cages.
/
jumps (holding
jumps higher).
Bonus levels can be unlocked by collecting an even greater amount of red dots than is necessary for level completion; usually, the amount of dots for a bonus level are close to the amount of total dots on a stage. Bonus levels give the player even more Extra Life opportunities.
Levels
Level 1 - Shell Shock | |
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Level 2 - Pier Pressure | |
Level 3 - Off the Wall | |
Level 4 - Wading Around | |
Level 5 - Toying Around | |
Not present in the 8-bit versions. | |
Level 6 - Radical Rails | |
Level 7 - Wound Up | |
Not present in the 8-bit versions. | |
Level 8 - Loco Motive | |
Not present in the 8-bit versions. | |
Level 9 - Back to the Wall | |
Level 10 - Dock and Roll | |
Level 11 - Surf Patrol | |
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 Seven-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 were partially optimised to have correct music speed, put 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 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
Master System 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: James Dillon, Graham Tizzard
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
Magazine articles
- Main article: Cool Spot/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Cool Spot/Promotional material.
Physical scans
Mega Drive version
85 | |
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Based on 46 reviews |
Mega Drive, EU (Classic Mega Drive) |
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Mega Drive, SE (Rental) |
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Master System version
Sega Retro Average | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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85 | |
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Based on 11 reviews |
Master System, AU |
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Game Gear version
Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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85 | |
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Based on 16 reviews |
Technical information
ROM dump status
System | Hash | Size | Build Date | Source | Comments | |||||||||
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✔ |
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1MB | 1993-05 | Cartridge (US) | ||||||||||
✔ |
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1MB | 1993-05 | Cartridge (EU) | ||||||||||
✔ |
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1MB | 1993-07 | Cartridge (JP/KR) | ||||||||||
? |
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1MB | 1993-05 | Page | ||||||||||
? |
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256kB | Cartridge (EU) | |||||||||||
? |
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256kB | Cartridge (EU) | |||||||||||
? |
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256kB | Cartridge (US) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 File:SegaForce UK 18.pdf, page 61
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sega Magazin, "September/Oktober 1993" (DE; 1993-09-01), page 56
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 File:GamePro US 045.pdf, page 47
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mean Machines Sega, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-10-xx), page 100
- ↑ Sega Force Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 65
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sega Force Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 73
- ↑ File:GamePro US 051.pdf, page 158
- ↑ File:CoolSpot MD US credits.pdf
- ↑ File:CoolSpot SMS credits.png
- ↑ File:CoolSpot GG credits.png
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-08), page 17 (19)
- ↑ File:SSM_JP_19950901_1995-09.pdf, page 87
- ↑ Consoles +, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 106-109 (97)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Electronic Gaming Monthly, "May 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 28
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 33
- ↑ GamePro, "April 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 42-43 (46)
- ↑ GamesMaster, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-19), page 60-62 (62)
- ↑ Mega Force, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 84-87 (87)
- ↑ File:MegaFun DE 1993-07.pdf, page 83
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-24), page 52-54 (52)
- ↑ Sega Force, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-06), page 58-61 (58)
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 File:SegaForce SE 1993 05.pdf, page 6 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:SegaForce SE 1993 05.pdf_p6" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Supersonic, "Juillet/Août 1993" (FR; 1993-xx-xx), page 34-35 (31)
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 51
- ↑ Æskan, "" (IS; 1993-06-01), page 1
- ↑ Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-06-xx), page 80
- ↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "August 1993" (DE; 1993-07-12), page 52
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "March 1994" (JP; 1994-02-08), page 19
- ↑ Consoles +, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 106
- ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 55
- ↑ Electronic Games (1992-1995), "June 1993" (US; 1993-05-11), page 52
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 302
- ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 4, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 92
- ↑ Famitsu, "1994-02-25" (JP; 1994-02-10), page 1
- ↑ Game Power, "Maggio 1993" (IT; 1993-0x-xx), page 35
- ↑ Game Power, "Gennaio 1994" (IT; 199x-xx-xx), page 86
- ↑ GamePro, "April 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 46
- ↑ GamesMaster, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-19), page 60
- ↑ Game Informer, "May/June 1993" (US; 1993-0x-xx), page 52
- ↑ Hippon Super, "February 1994" (JP; 1994-01-06), page 43
- ↑ Joypad, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 72
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-04-29), page 18
- ↑ Mega, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-20), page 42
- ↑ Mega Action, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-04), page 80
- ↑ Mega Force, "Juin 1993" (FR; 1993-0x-xx), page 84
- ↑ Mega Fun, "07/93" (DE; 1993-06-23), page 82
- ↑ Mega Play, "June 1993" (US; 1993-0x-xx), page 64
- ↑ MegaTech, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-23), page 68
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-24), page 52
- ↑ Player One, "Juin/Juillet 1993" (FR; 1993-06-10), page 62
- ↑ Power Up!, "Saturday, June 26, 1993" (UK; 1993-06-26), page 1
- ↑ Power Play, "8/93" (DE; 1993-07-14), page 106
- ↑ ProGames, "Julho 1993" (BR; 1993-0x-xx), page 28
- ↑ Power Unlimited, "Nummer 2, September 1993" (NL; 1993-08-19), page 29
- ↑ Score, "Únor 1994" (CZ; 1994-02-01), page 44
- ↑ Sega Power, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-06), page 60
- ↑ Sega Pro, "May 1993" (UK; 1993-04-08), page 24
- ↑ Sega Zone, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-xx), page 32
- ↑ Sega Force, "June 1993" (UK; 1993-05-06), page 58
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Review, "1" (RU; 1995-04-03), page 35
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
- ↑ Supergame, "Junho 1993" (BR; 1993-06-xx), page 16
- ↑ Supersonic, "Juillet/Août 1993" (FR; 1993-xx-xx), page 34
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 46
- ↑ Video Games, "7/93" (DE; 1993-06-30), page 94
- ↑ 66.0 66.1 66.2 66.3 Mega Fun, "12/93" (DE; 1993-11-24), page 112
- ↑ Sega Master Force, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-11), page 14-16 (14)
- ↑ Sega Force Mega, "January 1994" (UK; 1993-12-16), page 64-65 (64)
- ↑ 69.0 69.1 File:SegaForce SE 1993 08.pdf, page 24 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:SegaForce SE 1993 08.pdf_p24" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Joypad, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 162
- ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-12-10), page 134
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 154
- ↑ 73.0 73.1 Sega Magazin, "November/Dezember 1993" (DE; 1993-11-03), page 20
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Sega Power, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-xx), page 52
- ↑ Sega Pro, "Xmas Special 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 55
- ↑ Sega Master Force, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-11), page 64
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Octubre 1993" (ES; 1993-xx-xx), page 44
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 54 (55)
- ↑ GamePro, "November 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 188 (192)
- ↑ 80.0 80.1 File:Megablast DE 1994-01.pdf, page 83 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:Megablast DE 1994-01.pdf_p83" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Sega Master Force, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-11), page 37
- ↑ 82.0 82.1 File:SegaForce SE 1993 08.pdf, page 27 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name ":File:SegaForce SE 1993 08.pdf_p27" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1994-01-04)
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 55
- ↑ GamePro, "November 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 192
- ↑ Joypad, "Décembre 1993" (FR; 1993-1x-xx), page 153
- ↑ Joypad, "3/1994" (HU; 1994-xx-xx), page 23
- ↑ Megazone, "October 1993" (AU; 1993-xx-xx), page 28
- ↑ Sega News, "Leden 1997" (CZ; 1997-xx-xx), page 36
- ↑ Sega Pro, "Xmas Special 1993" (UK; 1993-12-02), page 60
- ↑ Sega Zone, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-25), page 35
- ↑ Sega Master Force, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-11-11), page 73
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Noviembre 1993" (ES; 1993-1x-xx), page 64
Cool Spot | |
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Prototypes: 1992-12-22
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