Fur Fighters
Encyclopedia
Fur Fighters is a video game developed by Bizarre Creations
and published by Acclaim
for the Dreamcast in 2000, then later for Microsoft Windows
.
The game was designed very much as a standard third-person shooter
, but used a world populated by cute little animals as its setting. As a result, the game's depiction of violence is very cartoon
-like without losing any of its intensity.
In 2001, an updated version for the PlayStation 2 was released as Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge.
featured many unique aspects for a third-person shooter of the time it was released, most notably making each level an extremely large, expansive area that requires sometimes hours of involved exploration to locate the babies and get rid of the enemies. (Examples include a giant construction site and an entire section of a large city, complete with buildings to explore, including a complete museum of modern art
.) Maneuvering through these levels often requires careful observation of the environment so as not to get lost, as well as solving puzzles to figure out where some babies might be hidden or how to gain access to more of the level.
Unlike most action games of this type, Fur Fighters distinguishes itself by featuring a system where the player can, at many intervals on a level, switch between one of many animal parents. Each parent has their own advantages and disadvantages, with many having special abilities allowing them to do certain things easier. This switching-out system also makes it easier for players who are low on hit points or ammunition
to switch to a more playable character.
. In an attempt to take the series further with a larger audience, a new version of the game entitled Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge was released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2
. It met with mixed success as it was simply an update of the original game with a few minor features included (such as cel-shading and real voices for the characters). Notably, the first level of the game is the "World Quack Centre", a play on New York's
World Trade Center
. Some people wondered if the level would be removed from future copies of the game after the events of 9/11, though that never happened. This may have to do with the fact that the game's storyline relies on each and every level to make sense.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Roofus is the natural born leader of the Fur Fighters. He is also the only member who can dig holes in the ground. After defeating Viggo years ago he gave it all up to settle down with his wife, Winnie and their children, until Viggo returned and kidnapped them. Roofus decided to battle for one last time to save them and get rid of Viggo once and for all.
Chang
Born in Hong Kong, China, Chang is the smallest of the Fur Fighters and therefore is the only member who can get into small places. Chang is probably the most useful of the group as he has a scientific mind, is quick witted and is brilliant with weapons. His mission is to save his wife, Mai and children.
Juliette
Born in Paris, France, Juliette is the only Fur Fighter who can climb up and down walls; she is also the only female in the group. Juliette is very athletic and can be very short-tempered and stubborn. She prefers to fight alone, but if persuaded she will stay with the group. Her mission is to save her husband, Claude and children.
Bungalow
Born in Alice Springs, Australia, Bungalow is the only Fur Fighter who can jump high and far. Best friend of Roofus, Bungalow is rather slow and dim-witted; he does not realise his own strength or ability. He seems to be very happy to take orders from the other members. His mission is to save his wife, Esmerelda, and children.
Rico
Born in Argentina, Rico is the only member of the Fur Fighters who can swim underwater. Rico is not the most serious or fully focused member as he seems to think himself as a hero. He is also overconfident about his fighting skills and is a total daydreamer. His mission is to save his wife, Juanita, and children.
Tweek
Born in Fur Fighter Village (presumably, as he is only a day old), Tweek is the youngest member of the Fur Fighters. He is also the only member who can glide. Tweek was born bigger and a different color than the rest of his siblings. His family was taken by Viggo, and Tweek was taken in by the other members who taught him how to use weapons, allowing him to help in the war against Viggo. His mission is to save his mother, Gwyneth, and his brothers and sisters.
General Viggo
He is responsible for kidnapping the Fur Fighters' families and trying to take over the world. Viggo is pure evil, yet well spoken. He leads his army of stupid bears against the Fur Fighters and he is also surprisingly strong.
Fifi
He is General Viggo's pet. A horrible little bald man and the only human in the game.
General Bristol
Bristol is a ghost that helps guide and advise the Fur Fighters during their mission against Viggo.
Sergeant Sternhouser
Sternhouser is the personal fitness trainer of the Fur Fighters who loves dancing and gives them better weapons.
Gwyneth
Tweek's mother and the real sixth member of the Fur Fighters—that is, before she was kidnapped and mutated by Viggo. She is now a metal dragon who soars the skies of New Quack City.
Juanita
Rico's wife. Ordinarily she keeps Rico in line when he says something... "inappropriate". She is now a giant penguin who contaminates the waters of Beaver Power.
Claude
Juliette's husband who is easily amused and a talented artist. He has become a gigantic creature in a space suit, who is destroying the main satellite of Cape Canardo.
Esmerelda
Bungalow's domineering wife. She has a habit of hitting Bungalow on the head with a saucepan. She is now a 200 feet (61 m)-tall monster who keeps the lava nice and warm in the swimming pool at Dinotopolis.
Mai
Chang's wife. She is also small in stature, and is also a Firefox. She has become a quick and agile force to be reckoned with in the form of a slithery silver fox, and resides in the distant temple of Anatat Tatanatat, aka City of Fear.
Winnie
Wife of Roofus who was kidnapped and thrown into a portal by Viggo. She is now an enormous and powerful force to be reckoned with in the form of a large, malevolent dog, and resides in the distant temple of Anatat Tatanatat, aka City of Fear.
(The Flame Thrower, Tazer and Flea minigames were introduced in the 2001 version)
Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations was a video game development studio, best known for their racing titles: Metropolis Street Racer and the followup Project Gotham Racing series . The company has also developed games in other genres, including the Geometry Wars arcade series, plus third-person shooters Fur...
and published by Acclaim
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
for the Dreamcast in 2000, then later for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
The game was designed very much as a standard third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
, but used a world populated by cute little animals as its setting. As a result, the game's depiction of violence is very cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
-like without losing any of its intensity.
In 2001, an updated version for the PlayStation 2 was released as Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge.
Gameplay summary
In Fur Fighters, the player's job is to rescue the tiny animal babies who have been taken from their parents (in one case, it's the biggest brother) by the central villain, General Viggo. Viggo has scattered these babies all over the world, requiring the fathers (again, in one case it's the biggest brother, in another, it's the mother) to explore, confront Viggo's henchmen, and rescue all of them. The gameplayGameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
featured many unique aspects for a third-person shooter of the time it was released, most notably making each level an extremely large, expansive area that requires sometimes hours of involved exploration to locate the babies and get rid of the enemies. (Examples include a giant construction site and an entire section of a large city, complete with buildings to explore, including a complete museum of modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
.) Maneuvering through these levels often requires careful observation of the environment so as not to get lost, as well as solving puzzles to figure out where some babies might be hidden or how to gain access to more of the level.
Unlike most action games of this type, Fur Fighters distinguishes itself by featuring a system where the player can, at many intervals on a level, switch between one of many animal parents. Each parent has their own advantages and disadvantages, with many having special abilities allowing them to do certain things easier. This switching-out system also makes it easier for players who are low on hit points or ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
to switch to a more playable character.
Critical reaction
While Fur Fighters was not a tremendous financial success and went almost unnoticed by the majority of gamers at the time, critically the game was almost universally praised for its size, scope, sense of humour, and attention to detail. The fact that mindless violence was not the sole gameplay element impressed many, and the game went on to become a sort of cult classicCult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
. In an attempt to take the series further with a larger audience, a new version of the game entitled Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge was released in 2001 on the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. It met with mixed success as it was simply an update of the original game with a few minor features included (such as cel-shading and real voices for the characters). Notably, the first level of the game is the "World Quack Centre", a play on New York's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
. Some people wondered if the level would be removed from future copies of the game after the events of 9/11, though that never happened. This may have to do with the fact that the game's storyline relies on each and every level to make sense.
Voice cast
- Tim Wallers as General Viggo.
- Johnathan Booth as General Bristol.
- Corinne Kempa as Juliette.
- Scott McMurrey as Roofus.
- Guy Taylor as Bungalow.
- Alan TurnerAlan TurnerAlan Turner is a former Australian cricketer who played in 14 Tests and 6 ODIs from 1975 to 1977....
(PS2)/ John Karnay (Dreamcast) as Rico. - Daniel York as Chang and Tweek.
Characters
RoofusBorn in Glasgow, Scotland, Roofus is the natural born leader of the Fur Fighters. He is also the only member who can dig holes in the ground. After defeating Viggo years ago he gave it all up to settle down with his wife, Winnie and their children, until Viggo returned and kidnapped them. Roofus decided to battle for one last time to save them and get rid of Viggo once and for all.
Chang
Born in Hong Kong, China, Chang is the smallest of the Fur Fighters and therefore is the only member who can get into small places. Chang is probably the most useful of the group as he has a scientific mind, is quick witted and is brilliant with weapons. His mission is to save his wife, Mai and children.
Juliette
Born in Paris, France, Juliette is the only Fur Fighter who can climb up and down walls; she is also the only female in the group. Juliette is very athletic and can be very short-tempered and stubborn. She prefers to fight alone, but if persuaded she will stay with the group. Her mission is to save her husband, Claude and children.
Bungalow
Born in Alice Springs, Australia, Bungalow is the only Fur Fighter who can jump high and far. Best friend of Roofus, Bungalow is rather slow and dim-witted; he does not realise his own strength or ability. He seems to be very happy to take orders from the other members. His mission is to save his wife, Esmerelda, and children.
Rico
Born in Argentina, Rico is the only member of the Fur Fighters who can swim underwater. Rico is not the most serious or fully focused member as he seems to think himself as a hero. He is also overconfident about his fighting skills and is a total daydreamer. His mission is to save his wife, Juanita, and children.
Tweek
Born in Fur Fighter Village (presumably, as he is only a day old), Tweek is the youngest member of the Fur Fighters. He is also the only member who can glide. Tweek was born bigger and a different color than the rest of his siblings. His family was taken by Viggo, and Tweek was taken in by the other members who taught him how to use weapons, allowing him to help in the war against Viggo. His mission is to save his mother, Gwyneth, and his brothers and sisters.
General Viggo
He is responsible for kidnapping the Fur Fighters' families and trying to take over the world. Viggo is pure evil, yet well spoken. He leads his army of stupid bears against the Fur Fighters and he is also surprisingly strong.
Fifi
He is General Viggo's pet. A horrible little bald man and the only human in the game.
General Bristol
Bristol is a ghost that helps guide and advise the Fur Fighters during their mission against Viggo.
Sergeant Sternhouser
Sternhouser is the personal fitness trainer of the Fur Fighters who loves dancing and gives them better weapons.
Fur Fighter Bosses
These bosses are the Fur Fighters' families who need rescuing from different parts of the world.Gwyneth
Tweek's mother and the real sixth member of the Fur Fighters—that is, before she was kidnapped and mutated by Viggo. She is now a metal dragon who soars the skies of New Quack City.
Juanita
Rico's wife. Ordinarily she keeps Rico in line when he says something... "inappropriate". She is now a giant penguin who contaminates the waters of Beaver Power.
Claude
Juliette's husband who is easily amused and a talented artist. He has become a gigantic creature in a space suit, who is destroying the main satellite of Cape Canardo.
Esmerelda
Bungalow's domineering wife. She has a habit of hitting Bungalow on the head with a saucepan. She is now a 200 feet (61 m)-tall monster who keeps the lava nice and warm in the swimming pool at Dinotopolis.
Mai
Chang's wife. She is also small in stature, and is also a Firefox. She has become a quick and agile force to be reckoned with in the form of a slithery silver fox, and resides in the distant temple of Anatat Tatanatat, aka City of Fear.
Winnie
Wife of Roofus who was kidnapped and thrown into a portal by Viggo. She is now an enormous and powerful force to be reckoned with in the form of a large, malevolent dog, and resides in the distant temple of Anatat Tatanatat, aka City of Fear.
Locations
Table of levels (Covers original DC & PC versions & PS2 version 'Viggo's Revenge')| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Fur Fighter Village | This is the home world of the Fur Fighters |
| Undermill | a tutorial level explaining how the game works, set In the village mill |
| New Quack City | This world is loosely based on New York |
| World Quack Center | The interior of a skyscraper based on the World Trade Center. |
| Lower East Quack | The mean streets of the city, which is under siege by thugs. This is based on the lower east side of New York. |
| Quackenheim Museum | A huge museum of modern art, full of wonderful pieces of artwork. Based on the Gugenheim Museum. |
| Saving Gwyneth | a rooftop showdown with a fiery gigantic dragon (Tweeks mother) |
| Beaver Power | This world is based on a giant construction project undertaken by beavers! |
| Furry Forest | A secluded forest hidden within is the happy tree village. This level is exclusive to the PS2 version. It was originally going to be in the Dreamcast version but was dropped. |
| Compound Factions | An area where the construction equipment is kept and organized |
| God Machine Valley | A huge valley with gigantic machines digging away mountains |
| Beaver Dam | The interior of the dam itself, with water, pipes, and machinery |
| Saving Juanita | Within the depths of the dam, a giant mutated penguin (Ricos wife) |
| Cape Canardo | This world is based around the NASA & Russian space programs |
| VAB Building | A building where a shuttle is loaded and prepared for launch. VAB stands for 'Vehicle Assembly Building'. |
| VLF Facility | a facility where astronauts dock and then lift off in a shuttle. VLF stands for 'Vehicle Launch Facility'. |
| Space Station Meer | An orbiting space station, with low gravity and bio domes. loosely based on the Russian space station Mir |
| Saving Claude | A laser beam shoot out on an orbiting satellite (Juliette's husband) |
| Dinotopolis | This world is deep underground and based on a utopian 1920's society inhabited by dinosaurs. |
| Dinos Downstairs | The lounge, dining room and kitchen of the dinosaurs house |
| Dinos Upstairs | The bathrooms and bedrooms of the dinosaurs house |
| The Rumpus Room | The games room, garage and laundry room of the dinos house |
| Saving Esmerelda | A heavily armed mutated kangaroo on a lava swimming pool (Bungalows wife) |
| Anatat-Tatanatat | A jungle world based on Angkor Wat in Cambodia |
| Jungle of Despair | A rough undiscovered land filled with temples and tribes |
| Temple of Gloom | An adventure film style temple filled with traps, its also a portal to the bad place |
| The Bad place | Hades, basically with fire, brimstone and each characters worst nightmare. This level was also the development team's worst nightmare. |
| Saving Winnie and Mai | In a temple, a vicious giant dog and flea (Roofus's and Chang's wife's) |
| Viggo A Go-Go | The final confrontation with General Viggo. Based on Ken Adam era Bond films. |
| H.M.S. viggolina | Viggos aircraft carrier complete with a fleet of fighter jets |
| The V-100 | Viggos submarine, with the capacity to launch missiles |
| Secret Island | A Spy film like HQ, with traps and deadly agents |
| The Generals Lair | Viggo himself and his army of clones |
Weapons
| Weapon | Description |
|---|---|
| Close range attack | a melee attack, different for each character |
| Pistol | a standard hand gun, the first gun the characters have |
| Sub Machine Gun | a machine gun |
| Heavy Machine Gun | an upgraded machine gun |
| Shotgun | a shotgun |
| Auto Shotgun | an upgraded shotgun with a faster fire rate and slightly more power. (popular among fans) |
| Bomb Launcher | launches a timed grenade |
| Cluster Launcher | fires three grenades at once using triple ammo |
| Rocket Launcher | launches an exploding rocket |
| Seeker Launcher | launches a homing missile that hugs the ground |
| Plasma blaster | Sci-fi type weapon, fires plasma which vapourises enemy |
| Plasma Beamer | a death ray type weapon |
| Tazer* | like the plasma beamer with an added electrical effect. |
| Neutron Gun | delivers an all consuming blast which kills all enemies within range |
| Freeze Gun | an icy shot will freeze an enemy (a second attack with another weapon will shatter and kill the enemy) |
| Flame Gun | delivers a fire ball to incinerate the enemy |
| Flame Thrower* | delivers a jet of flames to damage the enemy |
(The Flame Thrower, Tazer and Flea minigames were introduced in the 2001 version)