"Arriba! Arriba!"
Cheese Cat-astrophe Starring Speedy Gonzales is a Licensed Game based on Looney Tunes, developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Sega in 1995 for the Mega Drive, Master System, and Game Gear. Of the three versions of the game, only the Game Gear version received a North American release.
In a small village in Mexico, Sylvester the Cat, as his supervillain alter-ego "Dr. Cheesefinger" has stolen the village's cheese supply and captured Speedy Gonzales' friends, including Carmel, his girlfriend. It's up to Speedy to rescue his friends, defeat Sylvester, and get the village's cheese supply back.
You play as Speedy Gonzales, and the goal of each level is to rescue the mice, who are being held captive by Sylvester. Speedy can attack his enemies by jumping on them or throwing his sombrero at them. There are four worlds, each with three action stages and one boss stage, except for the fourth and final world, which has two boss stages. At the end of each world, Speedy fights a different incarnation of Sylvester, with the final world having two.
Not to be confused with Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos for SNES, Speedy Gonzales for Game Boy, or Speedy Gonzales: Aztec Adventure for Game Boy Color.
This game provides examples of:
- Cats Are Mean: Sylvester is the main antagonist of this game, having captured Speedy's friends, including Carmel. Different incarnations of him serve as the boss of each world.
- Damsel in Distress: Carmel is captured by Sylvester, and the goal of the game is to rescue her.
- Death Mountain:
- The second part of World 1, the Desert, takes place in the rocky mountains. Snakes, vultures, and carnivorous plants serve as enemies, and Speedy also has to watch out for falling rocks and take care when crossing broken rope bridges.
- The third part of World 3, "The Many Faces of Sylvester", takes place on Mt. Sylvester. Here, Speedy has to dodge falling rocks as he uses a rope to climb to the top of the mountain.
- Eternal Engine: The fourth and final world, "Inside Sylvester's Lair" takes place in his cheese factory. Speedy has to run across the power lines while avoiding being shocked, and robotic mice and electric monsters serve as enemies. There are two incarnations of Sylvester. The penultimate one rides an exercise bike and tries to shock Speedy, while the final one operates a crane suspended above a vat of molten cheese.
- Game-Over Man: The Mega Drive version has a defeated Speedy appear on the Game Over screen.
- Goomba Stomp: In addition to tossing his sombrero, Speedy can jump on enemies to damage them.
- Gotta Rescue Them All: Speedy has to find and rescue the captured mice before he can unlock the exit.
- Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt: In the Master System and Game Gear versions, the penultimate incarnation of Sylvester operates an exercise bike atop one of these. Speedy must toss bombs at Sylvester to damage him, while avoiding the lightning that strikes.
- Lethal Lava Land: "Sylvester's Island of Danger - A Weekend in Hawaii" serves as the second world. It takes place at an active volcano.
- Logo Joke: In the Mega Drive version, when you start up the game, Speedy runs past the Sega logo, turning it into cheese, which he then runs past two more times to eat.
- Password Save: The Mega Drive version has one that consists of six items. To get Bugs Bunny to uncover the password, collect all of the carrots in the world, then defeat Sylvester.
- Personal Raincloud: In the Master System and Game Gear versions, a thunder cloud follows Speedy in World 3, "The Faces of Sylvester - Sylvester's Scaffolding", trying to zap him with lightning.
- Piranha Problem: Piranhas serve as enemies "Sylvester's Island of Danger - A Weekend in Hawaii". They attack Speedy by chomping him if he gets close to them.
- Poison Mushroom: Rotten cheese doesn't take away Speedy's health, but it does make him run slower and jump lower.
- Power-Up Food:
- Cheese chunks replenish part of Speedy's health, while cheese wheels fully replenish them.
- In the Mega Drive version, small chili peppers replenish part of Speedy's speed gauge, while big chili peppers fully replenish it.
- Punny Title: Cheese Cat-astrophe.
- Scary Scorpions: Scorpions serve as common enemies, and they attack Speedy by stinging him with their tails.
- Sea Hurtchin: In the Master System and Game Gear versions, there's a level called "The Faces of Sylvester: The River of Paint", where Speedy rows an inflatable raft across a river. In the river are floating sea urchins. If one of them hits Speedy, they will pop his raft, causing him to sink into the river and instantly lose a life.
- Shifting Sand Land: The first part of World 1, the Desert, takes place in the Sand Dunes.
- Snakes Are Sinister: Snakes pop out of holes and attack Speedy by biting him.
- Spiders Are Scary: Spiders serve as common enemies. They scuttle back and forth, attempting to harm Speedy with Collision Damage.
- Stationary Boss:
- The third incarnation of Sylvester stands atop a cliff, pumping balloons that can damage Speedy if he makes a wrong move, and Speedy has to toss his sombrero at him to damage him.
- In the Master System and Game Gear versions, the penultimate incarnation of Sylvester operates an exercise bike atop an Inconveniently-Placed Conveyor Belt. Speedy must toss bombs at Sylvester to damage him, while avoiding the lightning that strikes.
- Super Drowning Skills: The Master System and Game Gear versions have a level called "The Faces of Sylvester: The River of Paint", where Speedy rows an inflatable raft across a river. In the river are floating sea urchins that pop Speedy's raft if they hit him, causing him to sink into the river and instantly lose a life.
- Super Not-Drowning Skills: In "Sylvester's Island of Danger - The Lake of Piranhas" as well as the following battle against Sylvester, Speedy can swim underewater indefinitely without having to worry about resurfacing for air.
- Tennis Boss:
- The first incarnation of Sylvester flies above Speedy by means of either a vulture (Mega Drive and Master System) or a jet pack (Game Gear) while dropping dynamite. In the Master System and Game Gear versions, Speedy has to grab the dynamite and toss it back at Sylvester to damage him.
- The second incarnation of Sylvester is in a boat, dropping anchors. In the Master System and Game Gear versions, Speedy holds a clam, which he can use to launch the anchors back at Sylvester.
- Under the Sea: Part of "Sylvester's Island of Danger - A Weekend in Hawaii" features a piranha-infested lake, where Sylvester serves as the end-of-world boss, riding a boat and dropping anchors.
- Vile Vulture: Vultures serve as common enemies. They fly through the air, lunging down at Speedy if he gets close to them. In the Mega Drive and Master System versions, one of them is used to carry the first incarnation of Sylvester.
- Waterfront Boss Battle: The boss of Stage 2 is Sylvester in a boat, dropping anchors. In the Mega Drive version, Speedy jumps out of the water and tosses his hat at Sylvester to damage him, while in the Master System and Game Gear versions, he uses a clam to launch the anchors back at Sylvester.
- Weaponized Headgear: Speedy can toss his sombrero at enemies to damage them. He has them in a limited supply, but stacks of them give him unlimited sombreros, which are useful during the boss battles against Sylvester.
- A Winner Is You: Your reward for beating the game is to watch Speedy and Carmel look at the fireworks in the sky. The Mega Drive version has some dialogue where Carmel praises Speedy for saving her, and Speedy assures her that she's safe now and Sylvester can't hurt her anymore.
