A Bug's Life (video game)
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| A Bug's Life | |
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| Developer(s) | Traveller's Tales, Tiertex Design Studios, Buena Vista Games |
| Publisher(s) | Buena Vista Games, Sony, Activision, THQ |
| Release date(s) | N64 May 26, 1999PlayStation November 18, 1998Game Boy Color May 30, 1999PC December 31, 1998 December 31, 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (6+) |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows), PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color |
A Bug's Life is a video game based on the Disney/Pixar movie of the same name. It was released for various systems in 1998 and 1999.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
The game's main character is an Ant named Flik. Players control Flik throughout the game and must cause him to complete various tasks on 15 different levels. Some levels require them to collect certain items or complete certain objectives before the level is completed, but some just require them to traverse the terrain to the end of the level. Some of these levels are specifically boss battles in which one must defeat a boss such as a bird or Hopper. Additionally, there is a training level, in which Mr. Soil teaches Flik the concepts of the game.
Flik begins each level at a predetermined start location and must then complete specific objectives, such as finding all of the pieces to build his fake bird invention or floating across a riverbed using sets of propellers. The finish is indicated by a leaf post, and may be seen in advance with a telescope.
[edit] Attacks
There are two ways to attack opponents, which Flik may encounter during the game. The primary way is for Flik to use weapons, which are represented by different types of berries in the game. Flik may also engage in physical attacks against opponents, but these are generally less effective than the use of berry weapons.
[edit] Berries
There are five different berries in the game, each with different capabilities:
Red Berries: This is his basic starting weapon. It is the weakest of the berries, and does not even harm certain enemies. This berry can be traded for a stronger one.
Super Berries: This is the most common berry other than the Gold Berry. It is stronger than the Red Berry, and harms all enemies. Although it is not the strongest, it is useful because it can kill any enemy.
Homing Berries: This berry has homing capabilities. When thrown, they curve and head toward the nearest enemy. It is found on several levels, the most notable probably being Level 4, where he has to fly out into the riverbed. Along the way, there is a Homing Berry which Flik can collect to keep the enemies from touching him.
Mega-Homing Berries: This is the second berry in the game that has homing capabilities. It homes slightly better than the regular Homing Berry, and is also stronger, but is not as common as the Homing Berry.
Gold Berries: This is the strongest berry. It can be used on every level in the game, since it is the only berry that permanently eliminates enemies. However, on Level 13, the player must use a Mine Plant to destroy the enemies (see below). Each enemy can be eliminated with the gold berry in one or two throws.
[edit] Physical Attacks
While berries are the main way to destroy enemies, there are several other ways in the game that Flik can eliminate an enemy. For example, he may jump on top of the enemy, or smack them with his abdomen, or spin past them, etc. But none of these permanently destroy enemies, and they don't effect all enemies.
[edit] Seeds
On most of the levels, there are seeds which Flik may use to produce different useful objects. He can pick up a seed, move it to somewhere else, and put it down again. Not all seeds are moveable—some are buried in the ground and Flik cannot move these, but he can do handstands on them. To open a seed and retrieve its contents, Flik simply has to jump on it. This will crack it open. Some seeds in the game are sunflower seeds. These seeds, when cracked, will always turn into a specific object, regardless of number of tokens.
Once Flik no longer needs the object, he may pick it up and throw it down onto the ground where it will vanish. The seed will reappear out of the ground. Seeds can also be used to crush enemies.
[edit] Tokens
Before Flik can use the seeds for certain things, however, he has to collect tokens. There are several tokens scattered throughout each level (except for Levels 9 and 14) that will allow Flik to use them for different purposes. There are five colors of tokens. They are: Brown, Green, Blue, Purple, and Yellow.
Brown Tokens: These are the standard tokens. These tokens will make things that allow Flik to reach higher places. Flik starts each level with one of these.
- One token will make a mushroom. This is the standard item. When Flik jumps on it, it bounces him into the air.
- Two tokens will make a propeller. This item blows Flik into the air. When he lands, he starts spinning. He can move around while spinning, and stops spinning when he stops moving. Flik can also start himself spinning by running around in circles. The spinning ability can be used to destroy enemies.
- Three tokens will create a dandelion. Flik can use this to float through the air. He can use the leaves at the bottom to bounce up and grab it. When on a dandelion, any contact with an enemy will cause him to lose it and drop onto the ground. Propellers can be used to boost Flik up a little higher. Cannon plants do the same thing, but at a much bigger level (see below).
- Four tokens will make a cannon plant. This will blast Flik way up into the air, allowing him to reach very high places, like the top of the stump on Level 10. Flik must hop in to be blasted. He can also float in on a dandelion plant, which will shoot him up very high and keep him there, as the dandelion drops very slowly.
Green Tokens: The second-most common tokens, these create a plant with leaves on it that Flik can use to reach high places.
- One token will make a small leaf. As high as a mushroom, but it doesn't bounce.
- Two tokens will make a big leaf. It's taller than a mushroom, but it only has one leaf. Flik cannot reach it just by jumping. He must use a mushroom to reach it.
- Three tokens will make a three-leaf plant. It's a little taller than the big leaf, and Flik can hop up the leaves to the top.
- Four tokens will make a rose with four leaves with a flower at the top. Flik can again hop up the leaves to reach the top.
Blue Tokens: These are used to give Flik health and invincibility. With one, two, or four, tokens, these create a tomato plant which shoots out the items.
- One token will create a tomato which shoots out invincibility pickups. When Flik grabs one, he becomes invincible for a short period of time. If he falls into a pit, he loses the invincibility.
- Two tokens will create a tomato which shoots out health pickups. When Flik grabs one, he gains health. These can also be obtained from enemies.
- Three tokens will create a bubble shield. This makes Flik invincible for an unlimited amount of time, but the shield can only take three hits before popping. Like the invincibility, if he falls into a pit, he loses the shield.
- Four tokens will create a tomato which shoots out super-jump pickups. When collected, Flik gains the ability to jump higher and farther. This power cannot be lost in any way.
(Note: All tomatoes also shoot out spike balls which can hurt Flik. After super-jump is collected, the fourth tomato only shoots out spike balls.)
Purple Tokens: These tokens allow Flik access to berries. They are only in play on levels where the Gold Berry isn't already there (except for Level 10, which has two Purple Tokens and a Gold Berry, and Level 13, which has no Purple Tokens at all).
- One token will allow Flik to collect a Super Berry.
- Two tokens will allow Flik to collect a Homing Berry.
- Three tokens will allow Flik to collect a Mega-Homing Berry.
- Four tokens will allow Flik to collect a Gold Berry.
Yellow Tokens: These tokens create berry-shooting plants. Unlike other tokens, however, there are only three berry-plant shooters.
- One token will create a Super Berry shooting plant. This shoots three Super Berries in different directions.
- Two tokens will create a Mega-Homing Berry shooting plant. This shoots one Mega-Homing Berry straight up into the air.
- Three tokens will create a Mine Plant. When an enemy walks near one of these, it takes one Gold Berry damage. It can also be picked up and thrown at enemies, but if it explodes when Flik is holding it, he takes some damage to his health. This item can only be accessed on Level 13.
To change the shell's color to access a different group of items, press the color-change button. To change between items in a single category, pick up or get on the seed and press the jump button to select a different item. When an item is no longer needed, Flik picks it up and throws it on the ground. If he throws an object onto an enemy, it will be destroyed.
[edit] Enemies
A Bug's Life has a large variety of curious creatures, almost none of which are friendly. However, the circus bugs (Dim, Rosie, Tuck, Roll, Manny and Gypsy) and other ants do not hurt Flik. The ones that do are:
- Spider: Basic enemy. Scuttles around on the ground. Another one pops out of ground when the first one is destroyed.
- Mosquito: Other basic enemy. Flies through the air and occasionally lands. It reappears when Flik isn't looking.
- Mite: Riverbed enemy. In other words, it appears only in levels where Flik is in the riverbed. Like the spider, it pops out of the ground.
- Dragonfly: Riverbed enemy. Like the mosquito, it flies around through the air. The only difference is it never lands.
- Wasp: Third basic enemy. Stronger than the spider and mosquito, it flies around in the air and occasionally bounces down on its pointy end.
- Daddy Long Legs: As strong as the wasp, it walks around on its many legs and shoots spider webs into the air, which can be painful.
- Grub: Only appears in Level 2. It is the weakest of the enemies and can be easily killed with just one throw of any berry.
- Grasshopper: Deadliest enemy. Is not affected by a red berry. They fly down from the sky when they reappear, and on Level 2, the first time they appear, they create a hole in the roof of the tunnel.
- Cockroach: City enemy. Only appears on Level 8. It has exactly the same strength as a grasshopper, and they reappear when Flik isn't looking.
- Worm: Sneaky enemy. Pops up out of the ground when Flik walks by. Cannot be hit when underground, and care not damaged by red berries.
- Centipede: Sneaky enemy. Horizontal version of the worm, they pop out from the side.
- Fly: Stupid enemy. It is just as strong as worms and centipedes, except that it can be destroyed by red berries.
- Armored Beetle: Stationary enemy. It is just as strong as worms and centipedes, except that it can be crushed by Flik, crushed by seeds, etc.
- Graingiver: Only appearing on Level 7, named "Graingiver" because he only appears on Level 7, the level where every enemy gives a grain when they're destroyed.
[edit] Bosses
Every third level in A Bug's Life is a boss level. There are five bosses:
- Thumper: First boss. He has two mosquito lackeys on the level with him. Can be defeated rather easily.
- Bird: Second boss. Appears first on Level 4, when Flik crosses the riverbed, Level 6 is where Flik must scare it off. If the Gold Berry is collected on Level 6, the bird will get nervous and fly higher. A Mega-Homing Berry shooter will get it back down again. Also appears on Level 15 (the last level) and has Hopper in its beak right at the end.
- Thud: Clearly the stupidest boss. Every time he is hit, he drops some grain and a health. When Flik has the Gold Berry, he throws Super Berries at Flik. He also throws Super Berry blasts at him.
- Molt: Only boss that doesn't fly, he runs around on the ground (pretty fast) guarding some grain. When hit, he falls over backwards and then gets up again.
- Hopper: The only boss that is not at the same time an enemy. He travels across the level as Flik hits him, and throws White Berries at Flik. At the end of the level, as Hopper is being hit, the Bird is slowly approaching him. When Hopper loses all health, a clip is shown of Hopper in the bird's mouth.
[edit] Other Items
There are a variety of other collectibles in A Bug's Life. They are:
Grain: Each level has 50 pieces of grain scattered all over the place. If Flik can find them all, his health becomes full.
Letters: Each level has the four letters in Flik's name, F, L, I, and K, scattered throughout each one. If Flik can find them all, he will earn an extra life.
Telescopes: Some of the levels have telescopes (drops of water placed on top of a leaf cone) that show Flik something in another part of the level, like a berry, a letter, or the exit.
Harvester: Some of the levels have Flik's grain harvester somewhere in them. When Flik walks by it, press the throw button and he'll put it on. Once inside, press the jump button to get out. The harvester can be used to permanently eliminate enemies, like the Gold Berries.
Vines: These are not collectibles but can be used to swing across gaps, most notably on Level 11, where the player must use vines and Rosie's silk to cross large gaps.
If Flik can collect all the grain, spell his name, and eliminate all the enemies with a Gold Berry, Mine Plant or Harvester, he'll unlock a bonus video clip.
[edit] Levels
A total of 19 different levels are in this game: the regular 15, the Training level, and also three bonus levels.
Training Level: Mr. Soil teaches Flik the concepts of the game, in this order: berries, jumping, the abdomen smack (done by pressing the jump button twice), moving seeds, cracking seeds, disposal of plants, tokens, color change, the Mushroom/Big Leaf combo, how to unlock the bonus movie clips, and stronger berries.
Level 1: Flik must find his way to the anthole. Dot is there to help him.
Level 2: Flik has to make his way to the Council Room, while avoiding the nasty grasshoppers that come down through the tunnel ceiling.
Level 3: This is the first boss level. Flik faces Thumper here.
Level 4: Flik must fly into the riverbed, avoiding dragonflies and using propellers to stay up. If he touches the ground in the open riverbed, he loses a life to the Bird flying above.
Level 5: Flik must work his way through the riverbed maze, avoiding mosquitos and jumping pits.
Level 6: The Bird is back! Flik must defeat it in battle.
Level 7: Flik is finally in the city, and it's not the friendliest of places. He must find Heimlech, Slim, and Francis. This is the level where each enemy gives one grain where they are killed.
Level 8: Flik now has to find the other Circus bugs: Dim, Rosie, Tuck, Roll, Manny, and Gypsy. There are telescopes on this level that show him where they are.
Level 9: Flik is in the bug bar, but it's rolling. He must work his way across the can, dodging other objects and throwing berries at Thud, and making him drop some grain.
Level 10: Flik has a plan to scare the grasshoppers away with a giant fake bird. On this level, he has to find the pieces of the bird scattered throughout the level.
Level 11: Now Flik needs to find the Blueberry Scouts who will help him fly the bird. There are five Berry Scouts on different branches of the tree, and when Flik finds one, Dim will pick them up and take them to the bird. Once Flik has found all five, he needs to find Dot. She's at the top of the tree with the bird.
Level 12: The Bird thing didn't work (and the bonus clip for this level shows why), and now Flik has to face Molt in the arena. The crowd, thinking they're helping Flik, throw red berries into the arena.
Level 13: Hopper has ant-napped Atta, and Flik needs to rescue her. But there are no berries on this level. Flik must use the berry shooters and mine plant to defeat the grasshoppers and free Atta. Also, starting on this level, it's raining.
Level 14: Hopper's furious! He's chasing Flik and Atta as they fly through the riverbed as they dodge other enemies.
Level 15: This is the level where Flik has to face Hopper in the final showdown. Hopper moves to different locations as the level progresses, with the final showdown happening right by the Bird's nest. If Flik can defeat Hopper, the Bird will pick him up in its beak and feed him to its babies (not shown in the game), and Flik will win the game!
