A walk in time ...
Bugs Bunny and Taz in Time Travel is the (indirect) sequel developed by Infogrames and released in 2000 to Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time.
This time the most beloved rabbit of cartoons, will be accompanied in his arduous adventure by another character of the Looney Tunes, also very beloved, let's talk about Taz, impetuous Tasmanian devil.
Screen
Also in this story one of the triggers is Duffy Duck, the black duckling had been invited by his beloved Grandmother to disinfect the house from a particularly pestiferous rodent.
Daffy immediately gets to work, but during the various attempts to capture the mouse, he comes across and damages the Time Regulator (all Grannies have one in the house, don't they?). Suddenly the black duckling is catapulted into the Aztec world, together with the gem of time, an indispensable tool to control the flow of time.
From that moment on, everything happens, Grandma's bizarre machinery blows up and its gears get lost in the maze of time along with many other Looney Tunes characters. Grandmother then asks for help from Bugs and his "pet" Taz.
Both have to retrieve the time gem, gears and characters lost in time. During the breathless chase of the bungler Daffy Duck we will collide with the ancestors of Yosemite Sam, Taddo and Babba.
gameplay
Bugs Bunny and Taz in Time Travel retraces four different eras (Azetec, Viking, Arab and one set in Transylvania), in turn these eras are game worlds, whose access can be gained from a main HUB, called Central Zone ( a bit like in Spyro).
Within each level it is possible to find gears of different values, if you want to complete the game 100% you will need to collect them all. Some, however, require certain conditions, such as crystal gears, collectible only and exclusively after saving all the characters lost in time within a level.
To get to the next era, you will have to face and defeat a Boss, you can only reach the battle after having collected three "boss tokens".
You can choose at any time (except in some cases) to change characters, choosing between the crafty gray rabbit and the agitated Tasmanian devil. Logically it will be necessary to take into account the intrinsic abilities of the characters, Bugs is agile and is particularly good at digging tunnels, while Taz could be useful in cases where strength is mandatory.
More moves will be added throughout the game with the help of Granny and the adorable canary Tweety.
Structure of the worlds
Each level includes these elements:
- Gears (whose value changes according to color);
- Three Boss tokens;
- Five ACME boxes: once destroyed you will get a golden gear;
- Five characters lost in time (in the Central Zone there are only two)
Layers
Bugs Bunny and Taz will have to traverse the following worlds to fulfill their important mission:
- Granwich: Area from which you can access the next worlds In this place the rabbit and the impetuous Tasmanian devil will learn, thanks to the loving help of Grandmother and Tweety, the basic techniques and mechanisms of play;
- Aztec World: The central game hub is set inside an Aztec city, complete with armed soldiers. In this world, our bizarre duo will have to fight against Yosemite's ancestor Sam;
- Viking World: After Sam's defeat, Daffy Duck is catapulted into the realm of Thaddeus the Viking. The black bird will be captured as he attempted to steal Thor's hammer. To free Daffy and the Time Gem it will be necessary to defeat the Viking warrior;
- Arab World: After defeating Thaddeus, Daffy will be teleported along with the gem to the treasure room of the Arab king Babba Chop. The latter also caught the black duck red-handed as he tried to steal the treasure;
- Transylvania: Once you have defeated Babba, the craziest bird of the cartoons is found in the castle of Count Bloodcount. While trying to escape, Daffy drinks a concoction of an unknown nature and transforms into a monstrous green duck.
Multiple endings
Once the bloodthirsty Count is beaten, Bugs Bunny and Taz return to Granny with the time gem and abandoning Daffy in Transylvania. If you have not collected all the devices, the friendly granny will ask you to finish the task, in case you refuse, the cheerful old woman will ask where Daffy is, and a scene will open where we will see the bird escape the Count.
If instead you agree to find the missing gadgets and bring them to Grandma, the game will have its proper lock, showing us that Daffy returns to Granwich, only to discover later that he has grown as small as an insect and is crushed by the gray rabbit with his same insecticide.
Characters
Even Bugs Bunny and Taz in Time Travel hosts the most iconic characters of the animated series, less than in the previous chapter, but hilarious as always.
- Bugs Bunny: it is one of the most famous rabbits in the world, known for its irony and cunning;
- Taz: my favorite character, noisy and voracious like few others… Taz breaks!
- Grandma and Tweety: we are talking about one of the stainless bands in the world of Looney Tunes, there is no one without the other. During this adventure they will be particularly useful;
- Yosemite Sam: Aztec ancestor of the mustachioed gunslinger we all know, he will try to sacrifice poor Daffy to a bloody deity;
- Babba Chop: very rich Arab king, taken from the animated short "Chiuditi Sesamo".
Review
The game like its predecessor has benefited from the praise of critics and the public so much that it is recommended as an alternative to the adventures of the purple dragon Spyro. Surely the excellent use of the license made by the development team makes it a unique and fun title.
