Rascal

Rascal
Developer: Traveller's Tales Publishers: Psygnosis (US/EU), Takara (JP) Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: March 18, 1998 Released in US: March 31, 1998 Released in EU: March 1998 This game has unused graphics. This game has a hidden level select. This game has a prerelease article

This page is rather stubbly and could use some expansion. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this article?

Rascal is a somewhat infamous PS1 title that has been regarded by some as being the worst game on the system, a failure that Traveller's Tales founder Jon Burton attributed primarily to a decision by Psygnosis.

Initially, the game used traditional 3D platformer controls similar to Super Mario 64. Psygnosis, seeking to cash in on the popularity of the hugely successful Tomb Raider series, decided that the game should utilize tank controls instead. The result has been described by many as being impossible to control, with an awkward camera to match, and was heavily panned by critics. Unfortunately, Jon Burton was too busy working on another project to help save the game from the critical obscurity it now enjoys.

Despite all this, the engine by Dave Dootson is technically very impressive indeed. It includes particle effects, environment mapping, texture flickering trickery to increase color depth, and reduced texture warping (said warping being a common artifact of the PS1 hardware), on top of running at 60 FPS with few frame-drops.

To do: There are several files named TEST throughout the disc. Can anyone find out what they're for? There seem to be several valid passwords that don't have any obvious effect: "MONEY", "BBBBC", "HELLO", "APPLE", and "WENDY". Look into this.

Sub-Pages

Prerelease Info

Level Select

Entering the code "HOUSE" in the password screen will enable the in-game level select.

When enabled, the current world, level name, and room number are displayed on-screen.

• Press R1 to change the world selection.
• Hold R1 to warp to the selected world.
• Press R2 to change the room number.
• Hold R2 to warp to the selected room (within your currently-loaded world).

Unused Graphics

Graphic	Description
	A leftover from an E3 build of the game.
	This graphic for Psygnosis is different than the one used at the beginning of the game.
	What seems to be an unused title screen, possibly from the E3 build. The final game's main menu uses a frozen in-game camera that transitions seamlessly into gameplay when you start the game.