Forgotten Video Game Characters.

[Dolphman]

Here's some of my picks.


Before Worms, Team17 created a platformer called Superfrog. The game itself is decent, though it borrows elements from Mario and Sonic.
Official artwork and cut-scenes were created and animated by perverted furry artist Eric W. Schwartz, who also made cartoons on an Amiga.
The game was remade for PlayStation Network and Steam, but it sucks really bad due to sloppy HD artwork and butchered music.


Jazz Jackrabbit. Another mascot platformer type character, but one of the few to admit copying elements from Sonic and parodying it.
A decent series parodying the Tortoise and the Hare, with the tortoise being an intergalactic (and racist) terrorist hellbent on extinguishing every rabbit off their home planet, kidnapping the rabbit princess in the process. While our hero is the green bunny bounty hunter who decides to hunt him down. The manual has a prequel comic that explains the plot of the game. Sonic even cameos in the comic requesting for his lawyer!
Epic Games created the series for MS DOS in 1994 way before Unreal became the only product they gave a shit about. Only got one sequel released four years later when the shareware format started to decline and everyone wanted 3D graphics.
Had one expansion pack that was released only in Europe oddly enough. It was pretty rushed though as it only adds an incomplete new character, and one new episode with only a two new worlds and two new enemies, with one being unused.
Another sequel made in Unreal Engine 1 was cancelled in 2000 due to the lack of publisher. All we know about it is that an alpha build has been circulating around the net and not too hard to find either. Who knows how it got leaked.
One more game came out on the GBA, of all things. Epic had no input in it other than licensing it to an unknown developer named Game Titan and Jaleco for some reason. It's a terrible in name only platformer that's best to avoid.
For years people have been begging Epic to release the damn games on Steam and GOG.com, and continues to this day. I reckon they should because both games are rare to obtain physically, especially the first one. Your only second option is to find them on an abandonware site.
The games do have an active community at the website Jazz 2 Online. I recommend trying out the stand-alone mod Sonic with a Gun which puts Jazz in the levels of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 with all six zones and artwork done in Jazz's art style, and fun secrets too.
Another bit a trivia: Dean Dodrill who did the cutscenes for Jazz 2 and the new character Lori, also created Dust: An Elysian Tail.
Sorry if this one got a bit wordy for anyone.


The Lost Vikings! A puzzle platformer from 1992 for consoles and computers made by Blizzard Entertainment before they were even called that.
Vikings Erik the Swift, Baleog the Fierce, and Olaf the Stout get captured by an Alien named Tomator who wants them in his zoo.
The game involves escaping a space ship while traveling through time. Each level is based around teamwork which you need to select one viking for certain puzzles. One of the fun parts is the many and humorous ways to die. Fortunately, there's now lives system.
Besides gameplay, the series is also known for it's funny dialog between the Vikings. A lot of Snarky quips and some forth wall breaking as well.
Had only one sequel, for SNES, then later PlayStation, Windows/DOS and Saturn. the non-Snes versions feature prerendered graphics and decent voice acting with Rob Paulsen, Jim Cummings, Jeff Bennett, Frank Welker, Kath Soucie, and Tress MacNeille.
Blizzard still fondly remembers them. With cameos in World of Warcraft and became playable characters for Heroes of the Storm.