opinion/Firebugs (PS1)
The first and last time I thought about Firebugs before today was approximately 2002 (I remember it being the height of Summer), my family had been out for the day and returning home, our patriarch suggested the notion that we pop into McDonalds, a rare treat for us back then. Being the big boy that I was, I went for the happy meal, one of the options at the time was a Sony/McDonalds cross promotion Playstation Demo disk of which existed four volumes. I had Volume 4, which contained demo versions of Formula 1 Arcade, Stuart Little, Firebugs and Jinx. This was back in the day before the protracted console lifespan (Which, offtopic, TBH doesn't bother me so much, what can a PS5 do in 2D that a PS3 or PS4 cannot?), a Playstation 1 promotion popping up in 2002 was very unusual, almost all development energy globally was now aimed squarely the PS2 and it's competitors.
Firebugs was the hot ticket item on that disk for me, as I'd spent the last several years growing up as an avid Rollcage fan, and immediately saw it for what it was as a pseudo-sequel just from a glance at the cover. I played each of the other games on that disk exactly once, perhaps less than once (I have no recollection of Jinx). I liked what I had of Firebugs, and got a fair amount of play out of it despite only having scant few tracks on the disk, I'd grown bored of the same old Rollcage courses and was hankering for new content, which it provided. In the years since, I've revisted Rollcage many times in many different forms, on the PS1, a PSP eboot version, and the PC release, and with those and time, Firebugs completely disappeared into my memory.
Twenty-Three years later, I finally stumbled across a copy in the wild and had to give it shake, a complete and thorough shake this time. Unfortunately, in the years since, and with slightly more critical eyes, I've also grown accustomed to the concept of a disappointing sequel, and I'm sorry to say that, I feel Firebugs falls into that category.
Just like the previous Rollcage games from developer Attention to Detail, you will be racing at up-to and over 400mp/h, you fly down courses replete with ramps and tunnels, with the unusual gimmick of being able to stick to walls and ceilings using just the downforce generated by your vehicles speed. This takes some fairly basic track layouts and transforms them into fun obstacle courses where your route planning needs to take the third dimension into consideration, a twisted ramp can fling you onto a wall, so your launch angle and roll need to be taken into account. The gameplay is genuinely great, if a touch erratic. You bounce and skitter around every corner, and losing grip to failing momentum or bad judgement with aiming a jump penalises you with a spin-out or getting flung into the void outside the track. The sensation of speed is real and well executed, finding a good line and sticking to it feels great, and makes you want to fight to keep it. This is where the game is at it's best, there's a missile on your ass but you're going so fast you can just ignore it, really fun.
Fighting off against the other racers, you have a range of pickups to play with, encountered on the track as floaty balls of light. These going into two slots, left and right, tied to the L1 and R1 trigger buttons. These include laser beam weapons, shields, a teleporter that flings you ahead and the dreaded "blue shell" missile, which when locked onto you plays the staple ticking geiger counter sound as it gets closer and closer. Getting hit is almost devastating, your vehicle loses all of it's speed will likely get spun around, with a cartoony animation of all the wheels falling off as it recovers. To survive an encounter, trigger a shield to block it (good for 1 direct hit), maneuver to allow another racer to take the brunt, or in the case of the "blue shell", simply drive like hell to outrun it. By the end of a race, you may have as many as a dozen projectiles trailing behind. Another cool weapon is an area of effect blast that gathers energy around the car and releases it all at once, disorienting any nearby opponents.
The game appears to build off the same game engine used for Rollcage Stage II, exhibiting the exact same 3D gameplay, with many special effects and stylistic quirks being copied over verbatim. Races in both games end on a cinematic race camera showing the cars bumbling around the course with a "press start button to continue" prompt. Pressing the suggested button has the screen vanish in a same tumbling oval effect reminiscent of that games transitions, for one example that stood out to me. The physics also seem to be the same, or at least so similar I didn't notice a difference.
The soundtrack is catchy, made of a drum n bass/club sound that I never personally liked back at the time, but now have a begrudging appreciation of. "Junction Down" Is my personal highlight, a simple beat and unintelligible voice samples, and special mention to "K.M.P. Program" which I found quite enjoyable.
The main racing event is broken into 3 tournaments, where you visit 5 themed locations (The same 5 each time, not 3x5!). Getting first place sends you to the next course, as you'd expect, but interestingly, failing a race sends you on a different track where you 1v1 an opponent for a chance to re-enter the standings, set on unique tracks! Besides that are some "Training" exercises that play out kinda like Gran Turismo's licence tests, mostly centred around driving a course as fast as possible and stopping on the chequered finish area. It's a nice bonus, but does little to bulk out the games otherwise thin content...
The tracks are micro-sized, most laps spanning less than 20 seconds when keeping a good pace, and have very little variety or sense of place, and many don't have any decorations outside the map, just a narrow sliver of skybox showing an island chain or a cityscape, surrounded above and below by an infinite sky void. The two best looking environments feature Aztec pyramids and Easter Island heads (In the same place!?), and one tournament set in a trench running through redstone rock (Featuring construction equipment and sometimes giant ribcages overhead!).
Besides the basic track geometry, there are no obstacles or hazards besides the threat of a spin-out sending you off the track or being blasted by other racers. This world is BLAND, and a huge step-down from the Rollcage games, which featured interactive building, trees and various interesting sci-fi props to shoot and smash. This to me is Firebug's biggest issue, there is very little to see or do, and the courses blend together with no setpiece moments or locations, and with short stubby tracks, the driving mechanics barely shine, driving up and around the walls is often something that happens when you screw up rather than a planned maneuver.
The overall graphics quality is solid, but unremarkable for the Playstation, the cars look good and the particle effects are pretty, but there's not a whole lot to look at most of the time, and the empty void backgrounds are just eerie. It strikes me as a project made by experienced developers using a proven engine but with not enough time to really flesh the game out the way they wanted, which totally makes sense given the time it was made in.
To Firebug's credit, the presentation outside of the 3D world is very well realised. The racer portraits and menus are imbued with a colourful and bold turn of the millennium cartoon aesthetic. The menu's and HUD elements are composed of large flat blocks of colour and cartoony visuals, with hints of that era's version of "cool japan" in the character designs that was also reflected in cartoons like Aeon Flux and games such as Bungie's Oni. It's the sort of art style you convince yourself that you could probably replicate in mspaint, but eventually realise it's far harder than it looks because while the rendering is simple, the arrangement is precise. I find it pretty appealing to look at.
Firebugs has a great personality and looks pretty from a distance, but unfortunately does not have enough content or longevity to show it off. It's a good, short blast, but did not hold my attention.