Bug!

n/a

NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J Windows PC
Bug!
System(s): Sega Saturn, Windows PC
Publisher: Sega Sega PC
Developer: Realtime Associates Beam Software
Supporting companies: Sega Away Team
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (72 tracks)
Peripherals supported: Saturn Backup Memory
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1995-12-08 ¥5,8005,800 GS-9063 US 1995-07-28 $39.9939.99 81004 EU 1995-10 MK81004-50 DE 1995-10 DM 139139 MK81004-50 PT 199x UK 1995-09-15 £49.9949.99 MK81004-50 PL 1996 199zł199 AU 199x BR 1995-08-30 191026 US 1996-09-05 $34.9534.95 85025 US (Expert Software) 1997-09 $19.9919.99 6802 US (Jack in the Box) 199x 85025 DE 1996 DM 80.0080.00 MK-85025-50 UK 1996-10-24 MK-85025-50

Bug!, known in Japan as Bug!: Jump Shite, Fundzukechatte, Pecchanko (バグ！ ジャンプして、ふんづけちゃって、ぺっちゃんこ) is a platform game developed by Realtime Associates and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn in 1996.

Story

Cutscene

The plot revolves around the title character, Bug, an actor in Hollywood hoping to make his "big break." Players take control shortly after Bug has signed a deal for the lead role in an action film, in which his family is kidnapped by the evil Queen Cadavra and he is tasked with rescuing her. The gameplay takes place "on the set" of each scene of the movie, and cutscenes between levels show Bug moving from one set to the next.

Gameplay

Bug! is a "2.5D" platform game. For the most part, the game is played like a traditional side-scrolling title with movement restricted to a track. At various points in the level, Bug is allowed to travel towards or away from the camera, up vertical surfaces, and even upside down, adding a third dimension in the process. However, players are always confined to corridors, meaning gameplay is not as "open" as future 3D platformers, such as Super Mario 64. Though levels are built using 3D geometry, the objects in a level are represented by 2D sprites.

The game is set on "Bug Island" and consists of six worlds made up of three levels (called "scenes") each, with a final level culminating in a boss encounter (called a "finale"). Each level ends when Bug finds and jumps on a "Bug Stop." Levels often contain branching paths that lead to additional items or converge back to the main path. It is often necessary to find a switch or solve a simple puzzle in order to progress. Signs sometimes appear to warn the player of impending hazards or provide directions.

Bug walks with and and moves in and out of the scene with and . Platforms have borders to indicate edges that Bug cannot walk or jump through. Bug can push some platforms by moving into them. He jumps with and ducks with or . Enemies come in the form of insects and are defeated by jumping on them. Bug can also gain two special attacks by finding items: a close-quarters zap attack with and a ranged spitting attack with .

Bug has a health meter depicted as a can of "Bug Juice." He can sustain five hits from an enemy or hazard before losing a life. Since platforms are all floating in the air, Bug also loses a life if he falls off a platform and onto the ground below. If he loses a life, he starts over from the beginning of the level or the last checkpoint. If he loses all of his lives, the game ends, but the player can find continues throughout the game. The game saves the player's progress to the Saturn's internal memory, allowing the player to start a new game from any previously completed level.

Items

	Blue Crystal
	Collect 100 to earn an extra life and a dragonfly icon. If the player accumulates a dragonfly icon for every level in a world, the player takes part in a special Dragonfly Ring Chase bonus level after defeating the boss.
	Red Crystal
	Equivalent to collecting 5 Blue Crystals.
	Heart
	Replenishes a fifth of Bug's health.
	Bug Juice
	Replenishes all of Bug's health.
	1-Up
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Clapper Board
	Gives the player an extra continue.
	Spit Wad
	Allows Bug to spit deadly globs at enemies with . It can be done while ducking or jumping. Green shoots a single glob, red shoots two globs at a time, blue shoots three globs in quick succession, and purple shoots bouncing globs. Lasts until the end of the level.
	Zap Cap
	Allows Bug to unleash a bolt of electricity at nearby enemies with . This attack can only be done a limited number of times per item. It can be done while ducking but not while jumping. Lasts until it is completely used, the level ends, or Bug loses a life.
	Coin
	Lets Bug enter a bonus level by finding Daddy-O Longlegs.
	Statue
	Collect 10 in a bonus level to earn an extra life.
	Stunt Double
	Temporarily swaps Bug for his "stunt double," a blue version of him that is invulnerable.
	Surprise
	Drops a mystery item or sometimes an enemy.

Levels

	Insectica
	Reptilia
	Splot!
	Quaria
	Burrbs
	Arachnia

Bonus levels

Dragonfly Ring Chase

The game has two types of bonus levels.

If Bug collects 100 Blue Crystals in a level, he earns an extra life and a dragonfly icon. The player enters the Dragonfly Ring Chase bonus level by earning a dragonfly icon for every level in a world. These bonus levels are played after defeating the boss. The player controls Bug while he is riding a dragonfly. The D-Pad moves in any direction; the vertical controls are inverted so that dives and climbs. The player must fly through the rings to reach the end. Collecting balloons increases the dragonfly's movement speed. The bonus level ends if the dragonfly fails to fly through a ring or collides with a ring. The player earns a continue if the dragonfly makes it to the end of the level.

There are also bonus levels that can be entered within each level by finding a Coin and taking them to Daddy-O Longlegs. The game contains many unique bonus levels, including a race against Sonic the Hedgehog. The goal of each is to collect as many Bug statues as possible before time runs out (or before Bug gets squashed, which ends the bonus level but does not cost a life). Every ten statues collected earns an extra life.

Boulders

Sonic

Moving platforms

Bubbles

Wall

Boulders and mushrooms

History

Development

Realtime Associates developed the game using Silicon Graphics workstations, which were then used to pre-render the game's characters and then convert them into sprites.

According to producer Steve Apour, "Once we were working on Bug!, we'd meet twice a week to talk about gameplay, just to plow through it and decide what the system could do. Some ideas we weren't able to include, such as the 'wait animation' where Bug was going to leap up and come down right in your face."

Legacy

By the end of 1995, 150,000 copies of Bug! had been sold in the US, making it the second most popular Saturn game (behind Daytona USA). In Europe, it was the best-selling CD game across all platforms for two weeks. Bug! toys and merchandise were sold in the gift shop of Sega World Sydney. According to Sega, discussions were underway for an animated TV series, though this never materialised.

A direct sequel, Bug Too!, was released for the Saturn in 1996.

Production credits

Saturn version

AT REALTIME

• Programmer: Michael DiMambro
• Assistant Programming and Gameplay Design: Cheryl Harada, Steve Shimizu
• Additional Programming: Chris MacDonald
• Tools and Support: Eric Pugh, Glen Volk
• Map Layout Design: Scott Stoabs, Dwight Velarde
• Character Design and Animation: Jeff Cook
• Lead Animation: Tom Grevera
• Animation: Paul Drzewiecki, Doran Fish, Dan Goldman, Darin Hilton
• Background Graphics: Phil Knowles
• Additional Animation: Martin Foster, Mike Norville
• Animation Cleanup: Rich Neves, Ann Petersen, Virginia Smith
• Original Score and Sound FX: Greg Turner
• Voice actors: John Frost (as Bug), Perry Keifer, Tim W. Jones
• Producer: David Bean
• Executive Producer: Dave Warhol
• Special Thanks: Bob Meissner, Mike Mito, Sean Platter

AT SEGA

• Producer: Steven Apour
• Assistant Producer: Eric Rawlins
• Product Manager: Sarah Mason Richmond
• Video Technicians: Katie Weathers, Eric Caplain
• Test Lead: Atom Ellis
• Assistant Test Leads: Don Carmichael, Peter Clark, Lance Nelson, Lloyd Kinoshita, Mark Pentek
• Testers: Anthony Borba, Nathan Caroland, Rayman S. Suansing, Morgan Weiss, David Wood
• Manual: Neil Hanshaw, Carol Ann Hanshaw
• Special Thanks: Tim Dunley, Renee Greenwood, Larry Loth, Doria Sanchez, Angela Stern, Gail Tsujita
• Opening and Win Movies: Asbury Entertainment

A Realtime Associates, Inc.

Sega Away Team Production

Source:

In-game credits

---

BUG! Japan Version

• SEGA OF AMERICA, INC.
  • Senior Liaison: Yukimi Shimura
  • Software Liaison: Osamu Shibayama
• SEGA Enterprises,ltd.
  • Special Thanks: Masato Nishimura, Ryutaro Nonaka
  • Subtitle Design: Miki Okada, Hideki Kawabata
  • Producer: Masanobu Tsukamoto
  • Project Manager: Hideki Yohkaichiya

Source:

In-game credits (JP)

Windows PC version

Beam Credits

• Executive Producer: Adam Lancman
• Producer: Ben Palmer
• Technical Design: Andrew Lacey
• System Programming: Shane Lontis, Peter Litwiniuk
• 3D Systems: Chris Schladetsch
• Data Conversion and Programming: Eddie Retelj
• Audio Programming: Ian Tran
• Lead Tester: Shane Collier
• Testers: Jared Quinert, Leigh Reynolds
• Video Beam Player: Adrian Thewlis
• Additional Audio: Marshall Parker, Gavin Parker
• Additional Artwork: Mark Maynard

Sega Credits

• Executive Producer: Matt Wolf
• Producer: Scott Hawkins
• Associate Producer: J. Tony Smith
• Product Manager: Jill Braff
• Product/Marketing Specialist: Paul Stathacopoulos
• Special Thanks: Shinobu Toyoda, Bill White, Greg Suarez, Geraldine Dessimoz, Victor Caldwell, Jeff Goodwin, Jeannie Ash, Kristi Walker

• Lead Testers: Atom Ellis, Nicole Tatem
• Assistant Lead Testers: Dave Dodge, Ben Rubright
• Testers: Don Carmichael, Rick Greer, Jeff Sanders, Cesar Lemus, Sam Ford, Howard Gipson, Len Jung, Etin Fritz, Robert Hermandez, Jason Totes, Tony Lynch

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Bug!/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1995-14: "1995-14 (1995-12-22)" (1995-12-08)

PDF

Saturn US postcard

Printed in PC Gamer Po Polsku (PL) #6: "Grudzień 1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Artwork

• 

  JP cover

Physical scans

Saturn version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source 89 GamesMaster (UK) 91 №35, p40/41

	90
Based on 2 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Alaab Alcomputtar (SA) 93 CD Consoles (FR) 64 Consoles + (FR) NTSC 95 Consoles + (FR) 94 Computer & Video Games (UK) 90 Edge (UK) 60 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 79 Fusion (US) 100 Gambler (PL) 72 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 94 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 74 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 85 GamePro (DE) 80 Gamers (DE) 80 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 89 Hobby Consolas (ES) PAL 91 Joypad (FR) 85 Joypad (FR) NTSC-U 85 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 80 Maximum (UK) 75 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U 88 Magazina Igrushek (RU) 100 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 94 Player One (FR) 85 Power Up! (UK) 85 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 55 Saturn+ (UK) PAL 89 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 92 Sega News (CZ) 94 Sega Power (UK) PAL 95 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 91 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 63 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 58 Strana Igr (RU) 53 Super Juegos (ES) 90 Todo Sega (ES) 95 Top Consoles (FR) 75 Total Saturn (UK) PAL 78 Ultimate Future Games (UK) NTSC-U 90 Última Generación (ES) 68 Videogame Advisor (US) NTSC-U 100 Video Games (DE) PAL 85 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 70

	83
Based on 43 reviews

Bug!

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, DE
Cover
Disc

Saturn, PT

Saturn, AU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, BR
Cover

PC version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Hacker (HR) 71 LeveL (CZ) 71 PC Action (DE) 79 PC Gamer (US) 44 PC Games (DE) 76 PC Game Parade (IT) 80 Power Play (DE) 61 Score (CZ) 80 Secret Service (PL) 75

	71
Based on 9 reviews

Bug!

PC, US
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

PC, US (Expert Software)
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

PC, US (Expert Software; alt)
Jewel Case

PC, US (Jack in the Box)
Cover

PC, EU
Cover
Disc Jewel Case

Technical information

Main article: Bug!/Technical information.

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Saturn
• Sega of America webpage: PC
• Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Saturn