Throughout the years, we are just chilling in our favorite recliner…watching some commercials pop up on the television set. The white rabbit in the cereal commercials, the giant pitcher of red liquid jumping through walls…the little chihuahua talking on behalf of a Mexican fast food chain. These great and wonderful mascots for companies have been doing their job for the corporations they represent. But there have also been some that have made a few decent good games as well. Ones that when you played it, you didn’t expect it to be anything more than filler time throughout your day’s activities. I discuss some of the ones I thought were good enough to be mentioned.
Cool Spot
The man…the myth…the little red guy with shades. Cool Spot was released in 1993 and was the mascot of the soda 7-Up. This game is jam-packed with the awesomeness that would make any surfer guy go, “Radical, dude!” The object of the game is pretty simple, collect red spots to unlock bonus levels, and rescue other Cool Spots throughout the game. The graphics are absolutely flawless during its time, and the music is so peaceful. One of the greatest bonus-level themes in any video game can be found in Cool Spot.
Cool Spot at Shell Shock
Yo! Noid
I know what you are thinking…the guy in those Domino’s commercials wearing a red body suit was in a video game? Yes, he was…and it was pretty good too. The graphics were traditionally well done for a game in 1990 for the NES home console system. Released from Capcom, Yo! Noid is about Domino’s mascot, The Noid, trying to stop his evil counterpart, Mr. Green, from the mayhem he was causing in New York City. Your primary weapon in the game is a super yoyo. As the player goes through the game, they will notice a nice beat hitting their eardrums. The music in this game is solid. Oh yeah, also, Noid rides a skateboard in the game.
The Noid in New York City
The Incredible Crash Dummies
Yes…You heard that right. It’s time to get a little silly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s mascots landed head first into a video game in the early ’90s. Although the game came out in many different ports, I personally played the one that came out for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES.) As the two beloved unlucky heroes, the player must stop their evil arch nemeses, Mr. Junkman, from finding a way to construct the body prototype, the T9000. The game’s cut scene segments had a lukewarm, good comic quality. The most remarkable concept of this game was that every time you got hit, you lost a limb. That was your health bar. The player can get screwdrivers to put the limbs back on the crash dummy. The music was also enjoyable.
The Incredible Crash Dummies was a decent side-scroller for a corporate mascot
Chex Quest
Just like Clay Fighters was the non-violent fighting game counterpart to Mortal Kombat, Chex Quest was a non-violent alternative to Doom. The game is as cute and sweet as any cereal could be. You play as Chex Warrior, and the goal is to stop slimy green aliens. Chex Quest is a first-person shooter that resembles the level layout of Doom. The background music in the game has a subtle warm tone to it.
A slimy green alien wants to say hello in Chex Quest
Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
The hip cat with the knack for Cheeto consumption made it into a game. Throughout the game, Chester Cheetah tries to locate parts for his too-cool-for-school scooter. This side-scrolling game is a cheesy treat, and its music is pretty decent. Also, I enjoyed the fact that the health bar is individual Cheetos Paws.
Chester Cheetah rocking out in Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
These are just some of the corporate mascots outside the traditional video game mascots that splashed onto the video game scene.
