Skateboards, helicopters, lava pits, robot sharks... just another day at the office.
Speedy Eggbert, originally titled Speedy Blupi, is a 1998 PC game detailing the bizarre adventures of a 3D yellow egg creature named Blupi in a 2D land littered with Inexplicable Treasure Chests. Levels varied between enemy-dodging exploration and deductive platforming, primarily in the form of Block Puzzles. A key feature of the game was its dual jump buttons, and the clever use of the low and high jumps these offered.
Initially an indie game by EPSITEC and sequel to strategy game Planet Blupi, it was re-released by eGames, who added the 'Eggbert' title (and their own spyware
). The game was never a major hit, but garnered a small following due to the responsive controls, interesting level design and fully-featured Level Editor. Speedy Eggbert 2 (or Speedy Blupi II) was later released, adding a few minor additions to the feature set and a pile of new levels.
And yes, despite the game titles, his name remains Blupi throughout. Not to be confused with the first game of the Toki Tori series, even if they're both puzzle platformers about yellow egg-shaped guys.
Like most of the Blupi games, both Speedy Blupi and its sequel have become open-source, available for download straight from the official website.
This game provides examples of:
- 1-Up: Collecting a normal, white chicken egg gives Blupi another body to come back in.
- 2½D: Strictly speaking, anyway. The level terrain and gameplay is 2D, while all objects, enemies and Blupi himself are rendered in 3D graphics.
- Abnormal Ammo: The tanks and helicopters fire some kind of sticky green goo.
- Animal Mecha: All of the non-egg-shaped enemies appear to be robot animals.
- Bizarrchitecture: Most House and Palace levels have the same type of layout as other levels, resulting in the type of architecture that would be very strange for a regular building.
- Blob Monster: The sequel introduces the slime creatures, blob monsters that trap you in slime if you pass by them when they're not moving. Contrary to other enemies in the game however, the appearences of the slime monsters are limited to the slime world.
- Block Puzzle: There are many points in the game where you need to push blocks to progress. These are often designed to avoid letting you make the game Unwinnable.
- Bomb Disposal: Drive any vehicle over them, you'll be fine. They don't just disappear, either. They explode in your face, but you cheerfully drive out of the flames a second or so later.
- Bottomless Magazines: For the enemies. Averted for you, despite using the same goo-based ammo.
- Bottomless Pits: Both used and averted. Falling into a bottomless pit is an instant Game Over, but there is only one level in the first game that has any. Custom levels, however...
- Classic Cheat Code: You can type certain codes in-game to achieve certain effects, much like Planet Blupi. For a useless (
or maybe a form of "life count restriction" challenge for challenge-seekers out there) example, typing "killegg" will deduct a life.
- Conspicuously Selective Perception: Enemies will always follow the same patterns, Blupi or no Blupi.
- Convection, Schmonvection: Not touching lava, you're fine. Any part of you touches lava? You're charcoal.
- Covered in Gunge: Both Blupi and his egg-shaped enemies, when hit with a goo pellet. Everything else explodes.
- Death from Above: The helicopter packs allow Blupi to rain gooey death upon his enemies. The enemies do it too, but only at either end of their flight path.
- Death Is the Only Option: Probably a developer's oversight, but in the first game, there's one level that you can't complete without losing one life, as you must make a bomb explode to have access to part of said level and there are no legitimate ways of getting rid of the bomb without walking towards it and losing one life in the process. Gets worse when that level's design is reused in the sequel and neither said bomb was removed, or a legitimate way of disposing of it was added.
- Evil Laugh: Blupi does a rather ridiculous laugh when setting timed bombs in the sequel.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: In the sequel, you can be cut in half. Luckily, it's a kids game and Bloodless Carnage results.
- Helicopter Pack: An incredibly useful tool in a platformer. Can only run for so long, though.
- Hell Is That Noise: Death by lava or a Bottomless Pit? Blupi will let out a hellish scream!
- Hub Level: The main one, where you can access the tutorial level, the game worlds, and the final level, and each world also has its own hub.
- Idle Animation: Oh, so very many. Leave Blupi alone for a few seconds, and he'll start posing one way or another. He has different animations for various situations, too. Keep Blupi hanging for a while, and he'll suddenly swing round to face you and start scratching his armpits while the game audio switches to ape noises.
- Implausible Boarding Skills: Somehow, Blupi is able to ride skateboards in such a way that they can get rid of bombs. He can also make some very high jumps when riding one.
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests: Why would you leave these out in the open?
- Interface Screw: Forced moonwalking of all things in the sequel.
- Level Editor: Interestingly, a cheat code that can only be enabled by hacking the save file allows to edit every level in the game (with access to otherwise unselectable objects such as Keys or Level Monitors), as well the access to the demo recording feature.
- Level Goal: A big spinning red arrow, which is bizarrely easy to miss in later levels. When you complete the tutorial level or the final level of any world, the red arrow is replaced with a golden key.
- Lock and Key Puzzle: With the introduction of colored keys and doors in Speedy Blupi II, some levels introduced in the sequel are this.
- Made of Explodium: Any vehicle you may use will explode if given the chance, even if it is a skateboard.
- Marathon Level: Many of them. And sometimes you have to walk all the way back to the beginning of a level to finish it!
- Mission-Pack Sequel: The second game adds some new gimmicks, levels and scenery but recycles the soundtrack and some level designs.
- Mooks, but no Bosses: There are absolutely no bosses in the game, although density of numbers sometimes makes it feel otherwise.
- No Body Left Behind: Touching lava or a bomb reduces Blupi's body to ash.
- No Plot? No Problem!: Both games have no plot whatsoever.
- No Water Proofing In The Future: Any technology you're using will explode if you let it touch water. Luckily, you can drop pickups at any time, to keep them around for your return.
- Nostalgia Level: Some levels in the sequel are taken directly from the first game.
- Power-Up Food: Eat a lollipop and you'll jump super-high for a short period.
- Respawn on the Spot: Blupi reappears in the last safe location whenever he dies.
- Sea Mine: Bright red, spiky and absolutely everywhere, land or sea. Apparently flat land mines need not apply.
- Unintentionally Unwinnable: Some levels can be rendered unwinnable, but most times it won't happen unless the player is really clumsy or doing it on purpose.
- The introduction of doors that only open with a certain number of chests was collected in the sequel defies this, as in many cases they prevent the player from rendering levels unwinnable by getting into a level's area without collecting all the chests in the previous one, sometimes in levels where it's not possible to go back after leaving certain places.
- What the Hell, Player?: A very gentle one. Walk Blupi right up to within a few pixels of a mine and release the controls, and he'll shiver in fear, glare at the player, and backpedal a step or two (unless the player stands between two mines - in that case he will only shiver in fear without moving).
- Winged Soul Flies Off at Death: Whenever Blupi dies in the sequel, his soul flies upward and off the screen in the form of an angel.
- A Winner Is You: At the very end of the game, having collected every treasure chest and reached the final exit, you get a picture of Eggbert cheering beside a treasure chest. In other words, the same result as simply completing any custom level! The sequel's victory image is visible on the game's CD case!
