I know, I know. It’s not just a licensed game, it’s a licensed game based on a defunct soda mascot. Why on Earth do I love Cool Spot? Well, because it’s awesome!

Mostly. 

Cool Spot came out during a time when 16-bit games were really hitting their stride in terms of animation. A lot of the earlier stuff from the 16-bit realm, even the best of it, still animated not all that differently from the previous generation. But around 1993-1994 there was this shift where we started seeing numerous games take animation really seriously, and the resulting titles looked so incredibly cool. Disney’s Aladdin on Sega Genesis, Earthworm Jim, games with smoothly animated personalities were coming out of the woodwork, and I honestly have no idea how it happened, but the 7up Mascot wound up on the list of properties to get that degree of royal treatment. 

I remember renting the game because I saw a commercial and thought it looked neat. The game plays out from this really cool perspective of an actual tiny 7up Spot. As in, you’re the size of a Spot on a bottle of soda. So the world around you looks huge, which is a really fun perspective to make a game around. I also thought the animation looked nuts when I saw the commercial, so I gave it a go and wow. This is a game that really makes a great first impression. 

I played the Super NES version, which is the one I’m more familiar with by far. That said, the Genesis version is nearly identical, so I’m fairly confident that no matter which platform you played the game on you had a pretty similar experience. I remember it was the music that caught my attention right off the bat. The game opens with this goofy rendition of Wipeout and the 7up Spot riding a bottle of soda like a surfboard. It was extremely 90s. Anyway, you start up the game on a beach level and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The music is catchy, there’s an enormous beach chair, hidden stuff everywhere, crabs trying to kill you, the works. Spot animates brilliantly, and to my surprise it plays out sort of like an exploratory Mega Man game. Cool Spot is as much a shooter as it is a platformer, with the ability to shoot bubbles in 8 directions as constantly as you want. 

But what really sealed the deal for me was Spot himself. He makes an adorable noise whenever he does stuff. Coupling that with his great animations, and you have the makings of a really charming protagonist. 

The music, visuals, and challenge continued to be great for the next few levels. The music in particular stuck with me, which was supposedly composed by Tommy Tallarico, though these days I have my doubts he’s ever actually written any of the songs he claims to have. But whoever was behind the game’s soundtrack, it was infectious. Eventually the challenge ratcheted up considerably and stages repeated themselves, which left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth (not unlike 7up! AYOOOOO) but I still fondly remember my time with the game. 

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It's a shame it’ll probably never find its way to modern platforms thanks to its license, but if those terrible Bill & Ted games can get a revival, maybe there’s hope for Spot someday! 

If you have the chance to give this game a go, do so. It seems like a recipe for disaster, but there was some real care put into this production, and it’s honestly more than just a crappy product placement tie-in. It’s no masterpiece, but not everything worth playing has to be. Cool Spot is great.