The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper! is a licensed 1992 Platform Game by Taito.
Our story begins with Mr. Spacely hassling a lounging George Jetson once again at the office. Spacely learned of a scheme conducted by his corporate rival Mr. Cogswell on Planet M38. Cogswell is building a mining facility on the planet against the wishes of the native aliens. It's up to George to infiltrate the operation and put a stop to Cogswell's nefarious caper.
Cogswell's Caper is a 2D platform game. You play as George Jetson on an quest visiting different facilities in Orbit City. He also has to beware of dangerous robots and Cogwell's minions who will try to stop him.
Similar to games like Super Mario Bros. 2 and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, the gameplay is centered around George grabbing items and boxes and throwing them at enemies. Along the way George will meet many different characters and other members of the Jetson family who will lend him helpful tips and gadgets, which range from a jet board to cross pits to altering gravity, to help him overcome challenges and obstacles.
This game was followed up in 1994 by The Jetsons: Invasion of the Planet Pirates. Another Jetsons game, Robot Panic was made for the Game Boy that same year.
Cogswell's Caper! contains examples of:
- Amusement Park of Doom: Cosmo World (Stage 6) merges this with Space Zone. There is low gravity normally that allows George higher jumps, but altering certain switches also makes gravity heavier, shortening his jumps and making platforming more difficult.
- Athletic Arena Level: The Sports Gym and Space Ball Stadium are small mini-stages where George meets Astro and Elroy, respectively. Who respectively give him new power ups.
- Big Bad: Mr. Cogswell, the Corrupt Corporate Executive who is running an illegal mining operation on Planet M38.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: There are some misspellings in some words, a clear sign that the game was programmed in Japan.
- Clockworks Area: The Gear Factory takes place in factory filled with moving gears and wheels.
- Dream Land: A literal namesake is the fourth level where sleepwalking dudes and dreams come to life from monitors to attack George.
- Eternal Engine: The Packing Factory is the first stage.
- Gravity Screw: Certain switches in the levels reverse gravity. George even gets a power up item that allows him to do this on his own. Cosmo World's entire gimmick is altering gravity to affect George's Jumps.
- Jungle Japes: The Botanical Garden is the second level.
- Hearts Are Health: George starts out with three hearts in a life meter. Collecting hearts restore health, and Larger heart power-ups award him an extra heart.
- Lethal Lava Land: The Blast Furnace (Stage 5) is filled to the brim with molten iron. Fortunately, the massive heat doesn't affect George. Occasionally, the lights will black out in the middle of the stage.
- Mana Meter: Power Packs fuel George's Power-Up items, each of them with their own cost.
- Mecha-Mooks: Dangerous robots run amok in the levels standing in George's way.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After George defeats Cogswell in his office, he forces him to shut off the mining operation on Planet M38, but the mother computer's shutdown causes the robots on the planet to run haywire. Cogswell talks gullible George to travel to the planet and manually shut it off himself.
- Robot Dog: Cogswell's mecha minion dog Sentro attacks George in the Packing Factory as the first boss.
- Tomorrow Land: Being based on the futuristic world of The Jetsons, this is the overall setting.
- Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: George defeats Mr. Cogswell and shuts down the computer running his mining operation, but it just makes everything worse on Planet M38. George now has to go the planet and stop the rampage, kick starting the real finale of the game.
