Cats and video games: Stray's isn't the only feline around!

Cats and video games

Stray is finally out, a cyberpunk adventure where you play a cat, here the only protagonist. It may seem trivial, but this is a historical event: a video game totally dedicated to a cat, of the real and non-humanoid ones and with caricatured features, probably had not been seen for about forty years. By the way, have you read Stray's review?

Oh yes, right from 1983, when Bill Williams created Alley Cat, a game that made history and that became extremely popular the following year, when it arrived on PC in a "booter" version, therefore able to load autonomously from the operating system. So easy to start that it could be used by little ones without the help of an adult, original or copied Alley Cat entered the homes and computers of more and more families.

The black kitten (or white, depending on versions) of Alley Cat, so graceful in its rudimentary and angular pixels, remained the only feline exponent of the video game industry for quite some time. A few cats could also be found around, but as the only protagonist of a video game not even the shadow; the developers have often preferred all kinds of animals to cats, from blue porcupines to dogs, got it? Dogs of all sizes and species, too. Because the dog in video games is often grouchy, but almost never in the wrong; while the cat is haughty, it blows and scratches, and it is in fact the pokémon of Team Rocket while the good ones carry a mouse with them. The last affront.

So while Stray does his duty, rebalancing the video game power relationships of the animal world, we do ours: putting the best cats in video games in line. Ready, set, meow.

Bubsy - Bubsy

Bubsy: As cute as a cat in the pants ... It is not realistic, but anthropomorphic and to see it today it is surprising that it was so successful, but in the 90s i video games of the cat Bubsy were more or less guaranteed hits. His career takes a less convincing turn in 1995, when he tries the leap into the third dimension with the game Bubsy 3D. For the occasion, even an animation legend like Chuck Jones of Warner Bros is hired, but a first-rate development team is not enough to revive the fortunes of a mediocre game and a character ready to retire.

Margareth “Mae” Borowski - Night in the Woods

Night in the Woods: Mae Borowski is not easily forgotten Like Bubsy, Margareth "Mae" Borowki from Night in the Woods is a true protagonist of a game among the most delightful and touching of recent years, albeit tainted by the dramatic and precocious demise of its creator. Mae is as deep, wary and bitchy as a cat would be if she could talk, but there is a reason for her behavior, and that's what the cat calls the accident: a highly traumatic before and after that changed her forever. (?) life.

Blinx - Blinx The Timesweeper

Blinx The Timesweeper: look at his face, and what posture, you can immediately see that he can rewind time! Great Blinx: The Timesweeper, the aspiring cat with which Microsoft has tried to charm Japanese gamers, also making sense of the first Xbox series hard drive. For a while, they also tried to push him as the console's official mascot, as in some markets the Master Chief was perceived as too violent. Blinx is great because he was sent to the fray, despite the fact that it was immediately evident that he had neither the charisma nor the right gameplay. Yet it was born under the best auspices, developed by the then newborn Artoon, a software house founded by the co-creator of Sonic Naoto Ohshima together with other important names ex Sega.

Cait Sith - Final Fantasy

Cait Sith: here in one of her latest appearances Protagonist or not, we don't care: Cait Sith is one of the most famous videogame cats and had to be placed in the front row. Also in Final Fantasy VII and Dirge of Cerberus he is in effect one of the playable characters, so much so that he can be deployed in battle even if some characteristics of him limit his attacks. The great thing about Cait Sith is that like a real cat, when you meet him in one of the games he appears in, you never know if he is friend, foe, likeable or even dangerous. Speaking of Cait Sith it is impossible not to mention the huge moogle that the cat uses as a friend, den and locomotion system.

John Blacksad - Blacksad: Under the Skin

Blacksad: Under the Skin: you notice the level pedigree, right? We've seen different types of cats and toys, but none are like John Blacksad. This private detective and bodyguard, former World War II fighter, has a noble origin: he was born as the protagonist of several comic books created by the writer Juan Diaz Canales and the cartoonist Juanjo Guarnido, and in 2019 it also becomes a video game thanks to Microids. Blacksad: Under The Skin is a great graphic adventure supported by great puzzles, great dialogue and of course great characters, starting with the cursed John Blacksad.

As always, we know very well that there would be others, carefully skimming this is the best that we have been able to remember and find. But our list of videogame cats is certainly not finished here: it is also right to give a little prominence to those cats who, without occupying the first place on the cover, have still made their games the best games, and only with theirs. presence.

The cats of the Meow Meow Teahouse - Yakuza

Yakuza 6: welcome to the Meow Meow Teahouse! In the sixth chapter of the criminal epic of Kazuma Kyriu, hidden among the buildings of Kamurocho, it is possible to find a new place, and not just any place: it is the Meow Meow Teahouse, a cat café where, however, most of the most prestigious cats are run away. And guess who will have to find them again? This mission is not solved in a few minutes, consequently a good part of Yakuza 6 is spent with the ears pricked trying to pick up meows in the chaos of the city. Truly my wonderful experience.

The stake of Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World: the stake is an irreplaceable friend Everyone has their favorite Monster Hunter, but no one can deny that the importance and the innovative charge of Monster Hunter World. And among the novelties brought by this extra-luxury chapter of the Capcom series, there are also the palico, warrior cats of the felynes breed. In practice, irreplaceable handymen that we can build with an amazing editor and customize during the game exactly as we are used to do with our character. Our palico friend, however, will not be the only one: exploring the new world we will also be able to meet other tribes of felines, and of course have to do with those of other players.

Meowth - Pokémon

Even though we mentioned him in the introduction, good old Meowth also had to be officially included in the list. Among the video game cats (and as we well know, not only) he is probably the most famous of all, although he has never managed to earn a leading role. Its shape does not take up any particular cat breed, it seems to be inspired by the lucky cats with the raised paw, clearly visible in any oriental restaurant, called Maneki-Neko; however it could also be a Persian cub, since its latest evolution will transform it into the Pokémon Persian.

Big the Cat - Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure: Big the Cat appears in both i Sonic for Dreamcat, in the second it can only be used in competitive mode How can you not love a cat that has ended up straight in the list of least loved characters of all time? Big the Cat is also this and much, much more. Meanwhile, he is not a pain in the ass like the other co-stars of Sonic, and then he makes you laugh because he loves to hide in the levels, where in the two Sonic Adventure if you are careful you can see him while he is intent on spying on what the player is doing, always with his frighteningly sly face , a bit Totoro if this appears in your worst nightmare.

Rover - Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing: What is the first animal you meet in the first Animal Crossing? Just him, Rover the cat! We close with the lovable Rover, the cat who first welcomed us to the magical world of Animal Crossing, when the Nintendo game debuted in the west. Rover is a cat who loves to travel by train, plane, bus and it is on these vehicles that the player will have the most chance to meet him. In the last Animal Crossing New Horizon, however, he remained a bit on the sidelines, appearing only in a special event at the beginning of May: the May Day event. A little bit for such a recognizable and kind character ...

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