Bubba 'N' Stix

n/a

NTSC-U PAL
Bubba 'N' Stix
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Core Design
Developer: Core Design
Distributor: Tengen (US)
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-08 $54.9554.95 T-115026 301087-0150 EU 1994-06 T-115026-50 PT 1994 MDJ115026 UK 1994-06 £44.9944.99 T-115026-50 GR 199x AU 199x FBUB00SMC
Non-Sega versions Amiga Amiga CD32

Bubba 'N' Stix is a side-scrolling action game for the Sega Mega Drive.

In the United States, the game was released with a Bubblicious brand tie-in. During gameplay, this is reflected by the bonus stages containing Bubblicious pack collectibles that give the player points as well by as an idle animation in which Bubba chews bubble gum and blows a bubble.

A reportedly complete Sega Mega-CD version was planned for release in January (later February, then March) 1994, but was cancelled for unknown reasons. Former developers at Core Design have confirmed its existence.

Story

Bubba, a redneck handyman, is abducted by an alien named Waldo, who collects beings from around the universe to showcase in his zoo. On his way back to his home planet, Waldo crashes his ship on an alien planet, affording Bubba and a sentient twig named Stix the opportunity to escape. Now the pair must work together to make their way home.

Gameplay

The game is a puzzle platformer. The player must use Stix in a variety of different ways in order to progress. Stix can be used as a bludgeoning weapon, as a temporary platform, as a stirrer, as a snorkel, or as a prybar, for instance. Bubba swipes Stix by pressing or throws him like a boomerang by holding , both of which can be used to defeat enemies. Stix can be used to interact with various objects found in the stages with , sometimes combined with a direction on the D-pad. If Stix is left in an object, pressing calls him back. Bubba can be moved with or and can jump with . He can run if the button is held down while walking. He can crouch with and crawl with and . When underwater, he can swim by pressing the D-pad in any direction and surface by pressing with enough momentum.

Bubba's vitality is shown as a six-segment bar represented by Stix in the lower-left corner of the screen. He loses vitality when he takes damage from enemies or stage hazards. Bubba's vitality is carried over from stage to stage, though he can find vitality items in bonus stages in between each stage. He loses a life if he loses all of his vitality. He can also lose a life if he drowns underwater; his air level is indicated on his portrait in the lower-right corner of the screen. However, the game can be continued as many times as desired if the player runs out of lives, and there is a password system for starting any stage from the beginning at a later time. The antagonist, Waldo, sometimes appears in stages to torment (and inadvertently help) Bubba.

Items

	Vitality Replenisher
	Replenishes one segment of Bubba's vitality bar.
	Extra Life
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Checkpoint
	Checkpoint where Bubba revives after losing a life.
	Various Monsters
	Awards the player with extra points. A bonus stage is played after the current stage is completed if enough bonus points are accumulated.
	Small Blobs
	Gives the player more time in the bonus stage.
	Clown Unicycle
	Hidden in each stage. Gives the player bonus points and more time in the bonus stage if Bubba finds and catches it.
	Bubblicious Gum
	Collect in bonus stages for points.

Stages

	Alien Forest
	Waldo's Starship
	The Volcano
	Marine Temple
	The Spaceport

Bonus Stages

Bonus stage

Bonus stages are played after each stage (except the last) if the player accrues enough points. Each bonus stage is timed; the amount of time depends on the amount of blobs the player finds in the prior stage (in addition to the Clown Unicycle, which appears in each stage). Bubba can collect bonus points, vitality, and extra lives in the bonus stages.

Development

According to designer Simon Phipps, originally Core Design had wanted a "moody, dark and atmospheric" game featuring an adventurer wielding a multipurpose stick. It became apparent to him that a realistic approach to the design was not feasible. As a result, Phipps, along with collaborator Billy Allison, sketched out a large number of mostly outlandish uses for the game's central tool. After reviewing the drawings, Core subsequently gave the go-ahead to develop the game. The game's protagonist started out as a green long-necked alien and went through several iterations until the developers settled on Bubba.

Production credits

• Produced By: Jeremy Heath-Smith
• Bubba 'N' Stix Team: Billy Allison, John Kirkland, Simon Phipps, Mark Watson
• Music and Sound Effects By: Mark Iveson
• Play Tested By: Darren Price, Troy Horton, Jamie Morton
• Special Thanks: Linda Blanchard, Steve Calfee, Bill Hindorff, Ted Hoff, Mike Klug, Susan Lusty, Mike Kruse, Mitzi McGilvray, Dan Van Elderen, CJ Welch

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Bubba 'N' Stix/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in EGM² (US) #2: "August 1994" (1994-0x-xx)
also published in:

• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #62: "September 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #18: "April 1994" (1994-02-28)

Print advert in Video-Ace Dendy (RU) #16 (1995-02-28)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 80 Console Mania (IT) PAL 88 Consoles + (FR) 88 Cool Gamer (RU) 80 Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL 85 Digitiser (UK) PAL 90 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 75 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 68 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 80 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 3 (RU) 80 FLUX (US) 70 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 77 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 75 Gamers (DE) 60 Joypad (FR) PAL 88 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 77 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 81 Mega (UK) PAL 84 Mega Force (FR) 84 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 62 Mega Machines (UK) PAL 84 Mega Play (US) NTSC-U 65 MegaTech (UK) PAL 83 Magazina Igrushek (RU) 90 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 89 Player One (FR) 86 Play Time (DE) 62 Power Up! (UK) 80 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 78 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 74 Sega Power (UK) PAL 74 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 84 Sega Zone (UK) PAL 81 Sega Force (SE) 90 Sega Megazone (AU) PAL 87 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 76 Supersonic (FR) 90 Todo Sega (ES) PAL 85 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 80 Video Games (DE) PAL 80 VideoGames (US) 60

	79
Based on 41 reviews

Bubba 'N' Stix

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Manual PCB

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, GR
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (Silver)
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 d45cb46f MD5 7f6f2774da5fb57435c31708a52d8738 SHA-1 907c875794b8e3836e5811c1f28aa90cc2c8ffed	1MB	1994-05-04	Cartridge (US)
✔	CRC32 b467432e MD5 444142cbf4012abe02d0d9420a2698e1 SHA-1 4039dfb41c08d17047d2acf90d0ab8bb7932cabd	1MB	1994-03-16	Cartridge (EU)
?	CRC32 2dfa5e48 MD5 5e5a2a35902f37a7a2b3a23f3304a677 SHA-1 8fdc89c8371b91a5938b40d3826a0d4da8924501	1MB	1994-03-09					Page