Just saying... I think the joke with Bea Bear, is that she is probably actually another SpyCore member, and she's put into new roles during Spy Fox's missions to help him... Sure, she's not telling him she's a spy too, but probably shows how much better she is at being a spy without the blatant name lol
@@christopherbucher7017 right? I also admittedly remember something that... I guess may have not actually happened in... I think I remembered in Operation Ozone. I think Spy Fox basically was saying to Bea "I think I remember meeting you somewhere before...", while she basically responds "Nah, pretty sure this is the first time we met.", all for Spy Fox to then bring up the past 2 times he met her, like going "Didn't we meet on that island?" and "But what about the World's Fair?", all for her to finally pull him over and present a card that proves she's from SpyCore. I remember this all too well, and yet I couldn't find it again...
@@NightNinja1998 now that you say that I'm wondering if I actually remember a little bit of that myself or if my brain is just messing with me 🤔 either way, good catch 👍
@@NightNinja1998 I actually just found it in this video! She doesn't show him a card or say she's a spy but they do mention having met before at 1:32:30
Never understood why there were some many people who didn't like this. Of all the Junior Adventures, Spy Fox had crossover appeal with adults. Playing through them again in my 30s, I realize how many jokes and themes that where totally over my head as a kid, even one who was an avid James Bond fanatic. Couple that with pretty damn good voice acting for kids games at the turn of the century and some really imaginative animation- you got yourself a series, that while very short to play now that Im older, still brings a wide smile to my face to this day.
One detail you missed in Operation Ozone is that, when you have to sell the cookies, there's actually five possible customers and the game gives you a pool of 3. So there is some additional variety amongst the already optional path.
I wish we had a fourth game coming out with Mr. Big-Pig as the final adversary of the Spy Fox franchise. It’d be a pleasure to lock him up like the others. I’m sad that it will probably never happen.
Well Spy Fox was inspired by Get Smart, starring the great Don Adams, who would go on to voice Inspector Gadget, and whom Spy Fox's voice actor is doing an impression of lol
You forgot something in Spy Fox: Hold the Mustard. Spy Fox: Hold the Mustard; there's an alternate scene where, if you find and go down a secret area in the ocean area, you'll be taken to King Conglomerate's secret hideout, thus unlocking a cutscene where the villain himself is revealed to be a hamster inside of an ape robotic suit. The final confrontation scene plays out, except with King Conglomerate Hamster instead of the ape counterpart.
@@jaggerguth4391 Good question. My guess is that wearing the robotic suit would conceal the hamster's true appearance and make him look super fearsome and powerful in front of others, like his staff. In other words, King Conglomerate was making himself look bigger, stronger and better in the eyes of others, despite his true form. But like I said, this is an alternate cutscene if you find the secret entrance to the area. I recommend looking that cutscene up on RUclips, it's there! BTW, sorry for not replying sooner, I was busy with IRL stuff. ^^;
@@HorrorLover98 Hey, this was what I found on RUclips! Here's the link: ruclips.net/video/5oRJw_meGTQ/видео.html According to what I read, if you've managed to find a secret in Passageway 8 by blowing up a crate, you'll get to play the secret Atlantis levels AND unlock the secret cutscenes.
Spy Fox was always the HE series that was nearest and dearest to my heart. I remember being 8 or 9 and borrowing one of my dad's white button up shirts he wore to church and I would make little paper fox ears and tape them to a headband I had. I would run around the house pretending to be a spy.
Before there was T.U.F.F. Puppy there was this he that came In mind. Outside of Pajama Sam, Spy Fox here was my 2nd underrated character from my childhood who may not too "Sly" but truly was a chilled guy who got out of many situations and vanished evil On the very end.
Spy Fox were the ONLY Humongous games we ever had as kids, at least until we got the first Put Put game, though that ironically was many years after 'Dry Cereal' and 'Operation Ozone'. Dude, it was YEARS before any of me or my brothers realized there were alternate optional endings to 'Dry Cereal'
This is one of my favorite series in the Humongous Entertainment lineup. I played all three of these games more time than I care to count. I also can’t help but feel like the Sly Coooper series borrowed some ideas from these games although It’s highly unlikely. So fun fact James Udderly The 3rd is a reference to comedian Don Knotts the line “My whole body is a weapon” is from 1966 movie *The Ghost And Mr. Chicken.*
Just discovered this channel through looking up Spy Fox material and thought it might be worth mentioning that Spy Fox's voice in the American dub seems to be highly influenced by Maxwell Smart from the 1960s spy comedy series Get Smart. Another fun fact: the actor who played Maxwell Smart is Don Adams, who also voiced Inspector Gadget in the early cartoons.
I've been waiting until Spy Fox came out. I didn't watch whole video, but I watching this spare times. I love all Puttputt, Freddi Fish, Pajama sam and Spy Fox as I draw them till now. Thanks for the video.
You need to do a video on the Fatty Bear junior adventure! I know fatty bear only had the one junior adventure game, but it would still be worth talking about
There are at least a thousand sly references all throughout the Spy Fox games. For instance, the reason Spy Fox always introduces himself, even to his arch-enemies, as “The name’s Fox … Spy Fox.” (I used to wonder about this one, as to my mind he was giving the show away by telling them he’s a spy). Then I realized after watching this video it’s a Bond reference. “Bond … James Bond.” Apparently “Spy” can be used as a first name in this universe. Also, several celebrities of former decades are scattered throughout the series, especially “Dry Cereal”. Big-Pig the cardsharp was based on Sydney Greenstreet’s character “Mr. Gutman “ from 1946’s “The Maltese Falcon.” (Spy Fox could also be mistaken for Humphrey Bogart’s character in that film Sam Spade). The orchestra leader on the ship (Clarence Waltzin) is a spoof of real-life orchestra leader Lawrence Welk. Napoleon LaRoche from the second game has some similarities to Peter Lorre from “Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca” among others. If you Google these people and look them up, you will find the cartoons are almost carbon copies of their mannerisms. Poodles Galore from the third game is an obvious corruption of the name of one of Bond’s love interests. I could go on for hours about this.
Not that it's relevant to the gameplay, but I am surprised you didn't talk about how the Spy Fox 3 also had an album on it comprised of the songs in the jukebox. You could play it and listen on an ordinary CD player. Anyway, I have enjoyed this whole series of videos. Your Humongous company retrospective was how I found your channel. I was a huge Humongous fan growing up. I've been excited for this particular video for weeks, Spy Fox is even the inspiration for my current username which I have had since I was 10.
32:14 That might be Fox's other VA. Spy Fox had two voices for different regions. The US got a voice that sounds like Inspector Gadget and Maxwell Smart, UK got someone that sounds like James Bond.
I had (and beat) Hold the Mustard as a kid. I had the patience of a saint. Atlantis is actually a set of hidden bonus levels you could access by shooting a specific crate in the eighth passageway level. Halfway through these levels, Fox confronts King Konglomerate early and it's revealed that he's actually a small rodent piloting a robotic gorilla suit. The ending to the game reflects this change if you do go for the Atlantis levels. Still a chore to sit through, but the fact they even included more levels and an alternate ending...wow.
The Spy Fox are my favourite Humongous Entertainment games hands down. Grew up with the third game as a kid and got to play the demo of it as well too. Only got to play the demos of the first game and the second game as a kid. The first game though is yes by far the best in the series. Spy Fox is also my favourite character out of all the Junior Adventuerures
32:15 I’m pretty sure this was a reference to Bond again as I think Spy Fox was supposed to sound British originally like Bond. However, they wisely chose to change his voice, at least for the U.S. version (but forgot to change this clip). There was a spy spoof series in the 1960’s called Get Smart and the agent in that show Maxwell Smart (played by Don Adams) had an American twang similar to Spy Fox. Smart also has a wild bunch of gadgets that includes, among other things, his shoe which acts as a very early cell phone. (Spy Fox’s shoe has an ultralight instead to see in a pitch black room). Spy Fox is even a spoof of the spoofs.
I remember as a kid I didn't understand what to do for the boat path; if I got it, I'd just end up restarting. Then one day as a teenager feeling nostalgic I booted it up again and managed to get through it easily :P
I love Pajama Sam, but I have definitely replayed Spy Fox the most. And I LOVE the boat path in dry cereal! I prefer it. The other way is just too simple and I love wiping that smirk off Big Pig’s face!!
Wow, this brings back memories. I've played the Spy Fox Trilogy alot as a kid, mostly the first and third games. I remember the powder puff scene cause it was funny to see spy Fox reaction to it when it was functional and when it wasn't.
For Spy Fox 1, it wasn't the go fish that got me stuck on the Boat path, it was actually figuring out the Chamilian's break time. I just never figured it out as a kid, so I never got to learn what was past the boat part. I dreaded the boat pass as a kid since it was the break time that would always get me stuck. Thankfully, I can get past it now, but man, it was a pain learning the truth of the path's secret.
Same for me, except sometimes I would boot up the game on my barely functional PC just to play go fish with the pig. At some point I ended up so good at it that I won every other game. I was also the kind of kid who played solitaire and hearts because I saw my grandma play it one time lmao.
1:46:15 It's meant to be a homage to the death animations in Dragon's Lair, another video game that's famous for its animation. Almost all the death animations in that game look like that.
I can’t be the only one to never have an issue with Big Pig. He’s pretty predictable. It literally comes down to a game of memorizing his previous callouts and otherwise seasawing his AI into getting three out of four suits, then ripping it from his hands.
omg Thanks for this lovely walk back in time ^^ I played Dry Cereals, it was such a great experience, was so proud when I beat some of the puzzles :) And so sad when I finished it :'(
I have the most Nostalgia with Spy Fox myself, I remember it taking me YEARS to find out that the game continues to a "True Ending" if you follow Billy's Blimp at the end (same applies to the 2 Sequels as well actually) and it's also the only Series from HE that I didn't discover the Sequels until WAAAAAAAY LATER, I found Spy Fox 2 when I went to my friends house and he was playing it (I lost my shit when I found out) and then Spy Fox 3 I just happened to see on the shelf at a game store well after I stopped playing the HE games (still in Primary School but I had a PS2 and was already on to Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank etc. etc.)
7:57 - 8:16: What about Maxwell Smart? Spy Fox's voice is clearly a parody of Don Adams' character, and Don Adams also played the voice of Inspector Gadget, a parody character loosely based on Inspector Clouseau for his personality trait being that of a bumbler; I'd also like to point out that what you said, vs what they said, is clear to me you didn't really pay attention to the fact Brad Carlton clearly said "Get Smart", not "James Bond (as shown earlier: 1:56). Although, other countries, mostly in Europe, did make Spy Fox sound more like James Bond than he does in America.
Man, I ALWAYS loved Spy Fox above the others, but all I ever got of those games as a kid were demos. Always a tease that I would just play over and over again hoping they would magically open to the main game eventually. I love innocent wordplay, dad jokes and dry wit included and these games were loaded with it all (as a bonus name gag, "Russian Blue" while sounding like an epic villain/ spy name, is the name of an actual species of cat which is hilarious knowing she is in fact a cat that is blue). Not to mention the more complex puzzles that felt so much more rewarding once I finally figured them out. It too hated that sly swine, as even in the demos he was ruthless. I'd go on, but I'd leave a full page on all the rest. Love your HE reviews!
Dry Cereal is by far the best. Also have some fond memories of Operation Ozone because the locations were diverse. I remember disliking Some Assembly required other than the intro sequence in the Alps 😂
Spy Fox was the only character with which I never played a game with as a kid. I had a few of the Putt Putt and Freddi Fish games, and one of the Pajama Sam games, but I could never get Spy Fox
Operation Ozone is the game I was only able to play in english. For me as a german this was hard when I was a kid. All the other games I played in german... but this one I only had in english... It was so weird. The language which now ofc I am able to speak sounded so alien, I understood nothing, and the world also looked kinda alienplanet like. I felt like playing a game from another planet in a language called blerp or something. I just clicked random things and sometimes things happened and the plot evolved which made me understand by seeing... but this took hours xD
Spy Fox is an amazing series as well, and one that I absolutely adored. With its clever, dry wit and extra layer of puzzle-solving compared to the others, I dare say it might objectively be the best series of Humongous point-and-click adventure games. The three Junior Adventures are fantastic, but I think many of us can agree that the Junior Arcade games don't hold up nearly as well. Still, pretty much all of the HE games provide the most nostalgic memories I have from throughout my gaming youth. These games were absolutely brilliant. I have a soft spot for Some Assembly Required in particular for some reason. Great job on these, and I eagerly anticipate your retrospectives of Buzzy the Knowledge Bug, Backyard Sports, Blue's Clues and Big Thinkers...I have a crazy nostalgic attachment to all of those games as well. May the wonderful memories never fade!
I also preferred eating cereal without milk growing up, so you're not alone here Shadow. Anyways, I had a lot of fun with the "Spy Fox" games, although like with "Pajama Sam," I don't remember ever completing the second game. At least I managed to complete the first and third games while still enjoying them. And like I said before, "Operation Ozone" was the last Humongous game I ever played, so it kind of left a decent impact on me. Many of the environments were fun to explore and the final act in outer space was a real treat. Also, I don't know why but I just loved the way Pushpin said 'Congeal Pill.' Can't wait to see you discuss the other Humongous games.
I guess THAT's why when I got the 4-in-1 arcade collection with Hold the Mustard, I had never heard of that game before. Because I always kept up with what games were out based on the catalogs and what I had seen on the shelf at stores. I don't think I ever saw the standalone on the shelves, ever, in fact.
1:03:00 If you think little Elmo is frightening, wait until you’re a celebrity and you’re surrounded by hundreds or thousands or even millions of little Elmo’s losing it over the fact that you are the Caped Cod! RUclips is full of little Elmo’s.
1:04:58 The hardest of the mini-games to beat. “Things From Space.” Just thinking of that last level gets me perspiring. They literally throw everything they’ve got at you and there is very little margin for error. Spoiler Alert: There is no reward for beating this arcade, just the satisfaction of knowing that you survived a mini-Apocalypse. Then you start over again at level 1. I think there are twenty levels total.
Funny you say this game gets the least recognition, because spy fox is the only junior adventures series besides Pajama Sam I played as a kid. 4 year old me loved this sh*t. This video unlocked memories I forgot I even had.
Finally somebody else who eats cereal without milk!!! And who shares my love for Spy Fox! His was my favorite of all the HE series, and then Putt Putt. I was always into espionage and spy movies, so these games were such a dream come true for me. I played them so much I have so many of the voice lines forever ingrained in my brain. I wish more fans of the HE games talked about him more. Including Cheese Chase! It was a very fun arcade game you could spend a lotta time on, I’ll die on this hill.
Again, I never grew up with Spy Fox or PJ Sam but my younger self would have LOVED these alongside Freddi Fish. I plan to get this one day to play it to see what I missed. I am so glad modern day HE are porting these games over to Switch to introduce the next generation of why we loved HE's works. Maybe one day, HE can come back and make a crossover game similar to Mario Party. Imagine it, it's free real estate/idea. Also is just me or does Spy Fox's voice sound like Inspector Gadget? Is it the same voice actor by any chance? Fun fact: Mata Hairy is named after a Dutch WWI Spy named Mata Hari. Side note: Fuck Infogrames for destroying a wonderful company. Another thing to note is that Poodles is by far the most evil of Spy Fox's Rouges Gallery. Compared to William and Napoleon, Poodles' scheme is FAR more destructive all for the sake of profit, regardless of the consequences of how lethal and terrifying living on an Ozoneless Earth would be.
when i was young i remember having the boat path but i dont remember finishing it. when i got a bit older and started playing this game more i couldn't figure out how to get the boat and i didn't even know it was a separate path from the car.
weirdly, i very vividly remember trying to get the guys charm back from the pig, but since that only happens in the boat path, i wonder who i dont remember the boat path more vividly
Another very thorough retrospective! I've always been of the opinion that the first game was the best of the bunch, but I've never been quite sure if that was just the nostalgia talking. It's tough to be 100% objective about something that was such a fundamental part of my childhood. I definitely remember getting stuck on the boat route as a kid, but I never had an issue with Big Pig (I guess I just have good luck with Go Fish?) Rather, it was the chameleon that gave me trouble. I was around 6 years old, and didn't yet know how to tell time, so I had to get my dad to help me get past that :p
I never really connected to Spy Fox as a kid, but it was always my mom's favorite. Now that I'm an adult, I've come to appreciate just how brilliant they are, especially Dry Cereal.
Cartoon Network is actually airing the original Powerpuff Girls holiday special right now and I was playing in the basement at my old house when it premiered back then, sadly I only had two of the Bionicle Rakshi at the time.
I replayed Spy Fox in: Dry Cereal today on Steam & I got the boat path. I'm not done yet because I have played 3 rounds of Go Fish with Big Pig. Lost one game and the other were draws. 😂 Btw, for Cheese Chase, I think the cut scene style was based on the style the ending credit scenes are in Dry Cereal.
I am so glad I wasn't the only one stuck on the Pig, I only ever played Dry Cereal but that pig is what I remember the most. I would always lose and it's so obvious that he cheats, I don't think I ever beat the game because of him. Other than that, I had no idea there were other games, I feel I only really played about 1 game for their big series with the exception of Freddy Fish at 2. Great video as always, it's really a shame the other two were not as in depth as the first game, I don't want to call them lazy as they clearly put a lot of work into all of them, but maybe they realized really quickly it would be hard to top what they did in the first game.1
My family had the HE games burned onto CD-ROM (no idea where or when we got the originals) so I only had one of each franchise: Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, Pajama Sam 3, probably just a demo of Freddie Fish, and Spy Fox 1. I had no idea there were more than one game in each series, I never really noticed the “3” in the PJ title. But now I want to go back and play all of the Spy Fox games, that was my favorite overall.
I remember playing the demo for Dry Cereal and wanting to get the game. I also liked that pipe sound effect hahaha When we finally got the game, I wasn’t smart enough to do much. Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Backyard Baseball and Pajama Sam were more my level. My teenage sister on the other hand enjoyed the challenge. I watched her play sometimes, but never got into it like she did. I think the disc broke. That said, this did unlock some memories for sure! She spent a while playing Go Fish too! Honestly this game’s clever with its jokes and naming patterns. Maybe I’d enjoy it now! Haven’t played the others but will definitely watch the rest of your video when I get a moment to learn more :)
I think the one thing that you missed out on when making this particular video is the lack of mention of the UK dubs for several of the games. It's the most noticeable with this series specifically, but it was a thing that happened with most of the titles after Infogrames acquired them. I just think it's the most notable with Spy Fox because it kind of adds to that sort of British Spy kind of vibe, but knowing that UK dubs exist for most of the Junior Adventure games is just really wild to me.
Truthfully, this is the main Humongous Entertainment IP that I have the least amount of knowledge about as I never was able to finish the first game and I'm not sure why I never went back to it but I think I should give it another chance in the future.
There’s a Cleveland reference when you talk to the Girl Scout. Her description of the prized bike ends with the phrase “This thing in the handle bars that tells time!” That phrasing comes from the very famous ‘A Christmas Story’ movie filmed in Cleveland. The main character Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun. In his school report he describes the BB gun as follows: “I want an official Red Ryder, carbine-action; two hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time!” Another Cleveland reference is in Pajama Sam 2 where you pointed out how the character Lightning tries to distract Mother Nature with her photos from her trip to Cleveland. I wonder why there are multiple references to Cleveland in Humongous Entertainment’s games.
I just played through Dry Cereal. I'm 27 years old and it still managed to get some laughs out of me. Also, anyone else see Spy Fox fighting the chicken while wearing a yellow jumpsuit and think Kill Bill, even though this was 6 years before that.
Something to mention: on top of being a James Bond parody spy fox’s voice actor is doing a don adams impression, who played Maxwell smart in Get Smart a spy parody show as well as the voice of inspector gadget. Just a fun tidbit.
Just saying... I think the joke with Bea Bear, is that she is probably actually another SpyCore member, and she's put into new roles during Spy Fox's missions to help him... Sure, she's not telling him she's a spy too, but probably shows how much better she is at being a spy without the blatant name lol
Mind blown 🤯
@@christopherbucher7017 right? I also admittedly remember something that... I guess may have not actually happened in... I think I remembered in Operation Ozone. I think Spy Fox basically was saying to Bea "I think I remember meeting you somewhere before...", while she basically responds "Nah, pretty sure this is the first time we met.", all for Spy Fox to then bring up the past 2 times he met her, like going "Didn't we meet on that island?" and "But what about the World's Fair?", all for her to finally pull him over and present a card that proves she's from SpyCore.
I remember this all too well, and yet I couldn't find it again...
@@NightNinja1998 now that you say that I'm wondering if I actually remember a little bit of that myself or if my brain is just messing with me 🤔 either way, good catch 👍
@@NightNinja1998 I actually just found it in this video! She doesn't show him a card or say she's a spy but they do mention having met before at 1:32:30
Never understood why there were some many people who didn't like this. Of all the Junior Adventures, Spy Fox had crossover appeal with adults. Playing through them again in my 30s, I realize how many jokes and themes that where totally over my head as a kid, even one who was an avid James Bond fanatic. Couple that with pretty damn good voice acting for kids games at the turn of the century and some really imaginative animation- you got yourself a series, that while very short to play now that Im older, still brings a wide smile to my face to this day.
That’s weird that people don’t like these games. Outside of maybe Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, Spy Fox 1 & 2 were my favorite Humongous games growing up.
Yeah it was one of those games I loved coming back to after a long time and seeing if I could still win
One detail you missed in Operation Ozone is that, when you have to sell the cookies, there's actually five possible customers and the game gives you a pool of 3. So there is some additional variety amongst the already optional path.
and in "Hold the Mustard", It Will Reveal Later That The Main Villain is Really a Gerbil in a Ape Robot Suit Ala Long Eared Jack.
And one of the cookies (the nutty nut chews) will only spawn if doing the donut path.
Fun Fact: At the beginning of Dry Cereal, Monkey Penny gives you Drachmas. The game came out just 5 years before Greece switched to Euros.
I wish we had a fourth game coming out with Mr. Big-Pig as the final adversary of the Spy Fox franchise. It’d be a pleasure to lock him up like the others. I’m sad that it will probably never happen.
Spy Fox
in
Go Fish!
I agree if they had made a final 4th game back in 2003, I think the voices would have changed just like in Pajama Sam 4.
@@RoseBouquet3And the quality would be horrible as well 😅
@@buzzy33 Yes 🥲
Spy Fox reminds me of Inspector Gadget. Mainly because of the similar voice, weird gadgets, and the smart girl co-lead being named Penny, but still.
Well Spy Fox was inspired by Get Smart, starring the great Don Adams, who would go on to voice Inspector Gadget, and whom Spy Fox's voice actor is doing an impression of lol
I'm gotta say it big buttons
You forgot something in Spy Fox: Hold the Mustard.
Spy Fox: Hold the Mustard; there's an alternate scene where, if you find and go down a secret area in the ocean area, you'll be taken to King Conglomerate's secret hideout, thus unlocking a cutscene where the villain himself is revealed to be a hamster inside of an ape robotic suit. The final confrontation scene plays out, except with King Conglomerate Hamster instead of the ape counterpart.
So... why does the Hamster needs to wear a gorilla suit to destroy ketchup even though there are people in the real world who like mustard?
@@jaggerguth4391 Good question. My guess is that wearing the robotic suit would conceal the hamster's true appearance and make him look super fearsome and powerful in front of others, like his staff.
In other words, King Conglomerate was making himself look bigger, stronger and better in the eyes of others, despite his true form.
But like I said, this is an alternate cutscene if you find the secret entrance to the area.
I recommend looking that cutscene up on RUclips, it's there!
BTW, sorry for not replying sooner, I was busy with IRL stuff. ^^;
.................WHAT?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!
@@HorrorLover98 Hey, this was what I found on RUclips! Here's the link:
ruclips.net/video/5oRJw_meGTQ/видео.html
According to what I read, if you've managed to find a secret in Passageway 8 by blowing up a crate, you'll get to play the secret Atlantis levels AND unlock the secret cutscenes.
Spy Fox was always the HE series that was nearest and dearest to my heart. I remember being 8 or 9 and borrowing one of my dad's white button up shirts he wore to church and I would make little paper fox ears and tape them to a headband I had. I would run around the house pretending to be a spy.
1:14:57 no one going to talk about the Fatty Bear WANTED poster as he has somehow fallen into a life of crime??!
i have never noticed the voice change honestly. they sounded basically identical to me
Before there was T.U.F.F. Puppy there was this he that came In mind.
Outside of Pajama Sam, Spy Fox here was my 2nd underrated character from my childhood who may not too "Sly" but truly was a chilled guy who got out of many situations and vanished evil On the very end.
But at Least Spy Fox was Serious Most of the time. Unlike T.U.F.F. Puppy by Elmer.
Spy Fox were the ONLY Humongous games we ever had as kids, at least until we got the first Put Put game, though that ironically was many years after 'Dry Cereal' and 'Operation Ozone'.
Dude, it was YEARS before any of me or my brothers realized there were alternate optional endings to 'Dry Cereal'
This is one of my favorite series in the Humongous Entertainment lineup. I played all three of these games more time than I care to count. I also can’t help but feel like the Sly Coooper series borrowed some ideas from these games although It’s highly unlikely. So fun fact James Udderly The 3rd is a reference to comedian Don Knotts the line “My whole body is a weapon” is from 1966 movie *The Ghost And Mr. Chicken.*
Just discovered this channel through looking up Spy Fox material and thought it might be worth mentioning that Spy Fox's voice in the American dub seems to be highly influenced by Maxwell Smart from the 1960s spy comedy series Get Smart.
Another fun fact: the actor who played Maxwell Smart is Don Adams, who also voiced Inspector Gadget in the early cartoons.
I loved watching the 90's secret squirrel cartoons as a kid
Me too!
I've been waiting until Spy Fox came out.
I didn't watch whole video, but I watching this spare times. I love all Puttputt, Freddi Fish, Pajama sam and Spy Fox as I draw them till now. Thanks for the video.
Mr. Big Pig wasn't an issue for me as a kid, always been good at Go Fish. That said, no computer game with Go Fish is even a threat after this guy
Spy Fox Assembly Required was one of the first games I ever played as a child. It’s probably my favorite of the Hughmongus Entertainment games.
You need to do a video on the Fatty Bear junior adventure! I know fatty bear only had the one junior adventure game, but it would still be worth talking about
There are at least a thousand sly references all throughout the Spy Fox games. For instance, the reason Spy Fox always introduces himself, even to his arch-enemies, as “The name’s Fox … Spy Fox.” (I used to wonder about this one, as to my mind he was giving the show away by telling them he’s a spy). Then I realized after watching this video it’s a Bond reference. “Bond … James Bond.” Apparently “Spy” can be used as a first name in this universe. Also, several celebrities of former decades are scattered throughout the series, especially “Dry Cereal”. Big-Pig the cardsharp was based on Sydney Greenstreet’s character “Mr. Gutman “ from 1946’s “The Maltese Falcon.” (Spy Fox could also be mistaken for Humphrey Bogart’s character in that film Sam Spade). The orchestra leader on the ship (Clarence Waltzin) is a spoof of real-life orchestra leader Lawrence Welk. Napoleon LaRoche from the second game has some similarities to Peter Lorre from “Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca” among others. If you Google these people and look them up, you will find the cartoons are almost carbon copies of their mannerisms. Poodles Galore from the third game is an obvious corruption of the name of one of Bond’s love interests. I could go on for hours about this.
Not that it's relevant to the gameplay, but I am surprised you didn't talk about how the Spy Fox 3 also had an album on it comprised of the songs in the jukebox. You could play it and listen on an ordinary CD player.
Anyway, I have enjoyed this whole series of videos. Your Humongous company retrospective was how I found your channel. I was a huge Humongous fan growing up. I've been excited for this particular video for weeks, Spy Fox is even the inspiration for my current username which I have had since I was 10.
wait. it had an album on it??
@@plasmadrone3123 Yes, it would play all the songs from the jukebox in the bowling alley.
@@geopowered is it a separate CD?
@@plasmadrone3123 no, you put the game disc in your CD player
@@geopowered I wonder if the Steam version has the album too..
I just bought spy fox 1 on Mobil and it's pretty fun. As a 26 year I love point and click games
Spy Fox is my favorite character and has been ever since I was a child and I loved Spy Fox 2 the most.
32:14 That might be Fox's other VA. Spy Fox had two voices for different regions. The US got a voice that sounds like Inspector Gadget and Maxwell Smart, UK got someone that sounds like James Bond.
I had (and beat) Hold the Mustard as a kid. I had the patience of a saint. Atlantis is actually a set of hidden bonus levels you could access by shooting a specific crate in the eighth passageway level. Halfway through these levels, Fox confronts King Konglomerate early and it's revealed that he's actually a small rodent piloting a robotic gorilla suit. The ending to the game reflects this change if you do go for the Atlantis levels. Still a chore to sit through, but the fact they even included more levels and an alternate ending...wow.
That's news to me! I'll have to try going for that sometime to see it for myself haha
Spy Fox was my favorite as a kid.
The Spy Fox are my favourite Humongous Entertainment games hands down. Grew up with the third game as a kid and got to play the demo of it as well too. Only got to play the demos of the first game and the second game as a kid. The first game though is yes by far the best in the series. Spy Fox is also my favourite character out of all the Junior Adventuerures
Me too
32:15 I’m pretty sure this was a reference to Bond again as I think Spy Fox was supposed to sound British originally like Bond. However, they wisely chose to change his voice, at least for the U.S. version (but forgot to change this clip). There was a spy spoof series in the 1960’s called Get Smart and the agent in that show Maxwell Smart (played by Don Adams) had an American twang similar to Spy Fox. Smart also has a wild bunch of gadgets that includes, among other things, his shoe which acts as a very early cell phone. (Spy Fox’s shoe has an ultralight instead to see in a pitch black room). Spy Fox is even a spoof of the spoofs.
I remember as a kid I didn't understand what to do for the boat path; if I got it, I'd just end up restarting. Then one day as a teenager feeling nostalgic I booted it up again and managed to get through it easily :P
Missed opportunity to have Mr Big Pig return as the final villain of the series
Another fun fact about the name William the Kid; it's a reference to William Kidd, a famous pirate.
I love Pajama Sam, but I have definitely replayed Spy Fox the most. And I LOVE the boat path in dry cereal! I prefer it. The other way is just too simple and I love wiping that smirk off Big Pig’s face!!
My favorite’s the first one! Great video - Subscribed! Looking forward to the last one in the series 👍
Wow, this brings back memories. I've played the Spy Fox Trilogy alot as a kid, mostly the first and third games. I remember the powder puff scene cause it was funny to see spy Fox reaction to it when it was functional and when it wasn't.
No. Mention of Spy fox’s voice acting as his voice reminds me of Get Smart’s Maxwell Smart played by Don Adams.
When I was a kid I thought Fox from Super Smash Bros. that my cousin brought over was supposed to be Spy Fox.
For Spy Fox 1, it wasn't the go fish that got me stuck on the Boat path, it was actually figuring out the Chamilian's break time. I just never figured it out as a kid, so I never got to learn what was past the boat part. I dreaded the boat pass as a kid since it was the break time that would always get me stuck. Thankfully, I can get past it now, but man, it was a pain learning the truth of the path's secret.
Same for me, except sometimes I would boot up the game on my barely functional PC just to play go fish with the pig. At some point I ended up so good at it that I won every other game.
I was also the kind of kid who played solitaire and hearts because I saw my grandma play it one time lmao.
That cut scene from Some Assembly Required is a reference to the death animations in the game Dragon's Lair
Back Then, i was too Young for James Bond. So a Bond movie is a reference to spy fox for me
1:46:15 It's meant to be a homage to the death animations in Dragon's Lair, another video game that's famous for its animation. Almost all the death animations in that game look like that.
I can’t be the only one to never have an issue with Big Pig. He’s pretty predictable. It literally comes down to a game of memorizing his previous callouts and otherwise seasawing his AI into getting three out of four suits, then ripping it from his hands.
omg Thanks for this lovely walk back in time ^^ I played Dry Cereals, it was such a great experience, was so proud when I beat some of the puzzles :) And so sad when I finished it :'(
My mother likes to remind me I’d yell “HES CHEATING!!!” everytime I’d lost to Mr Big Pig 😂
I have the most Nostalgia with Spy Fox myself, I remember it taking me YEARS to find out that the game continues to a "True Ending" if you follow Billy's Blimp at the end (same applies to the 2 Sequels as well actually) and it's also the only Series from HE that I didn't discover the Sequels until WAAAAAAAY LATER, I found Spy Fox 2 when I went to my friends house and he was playing it (I lost my shit when I found out) and then Spy Fox 3 I just happened to see on the shelf at a game store well after I stopped playing the HE games (still in Primary School but I had a PS2 and was already on to Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank etc. etc.)
7:57 - 8:16: What about Maxwell Smart? Spy Fox's voice is clearly a parody of Don Adams' character, and Don Adams also played the voice of Inspector Gadget, a parody character loosely based on Inspector Clouseau for his personality trait being that of a bumbler; I'd also like to point out that what you said, vs what they said, is clear to me you didn't really pay attention to the fact Brad Carlton clearly said "Get Smart", not "James Bond (as shown earlier: 1:56). Although, other countries, mostly in Europe, did make Spy Fox sound more like James Bond than he does in America.
Oh whoa how did I miss this!! Not in my recommended or anything till today smh. Could have watched this on my 3 hour long bus trip back home oof
Man, I ALWAYS loved Spy Fox above the others, but all I ever got of those games as a kid were demos. Always a tease that I would just play over and over again hoping they would magically open to the main game eventually. I love innocent wordplay, dad jokes and dry wit included and these games were loaded with it all (as a bonus name gag, "Russian Blue" while sounding like an epic villain/ spy name, is the name of an actual species of cat which is hilarious knowing she is in fact a cat that is blue). Not to mention the more complex puzzles that felt so much more rewarding once I finally figured them out. It too hated that sly swine, as even in the demos he was ruthless. I'd go on, but I'd leave a full page on all the rest. Love your HE reviews!
Dry Cereal is by far the best. Also have some fond memories of Operation Ozone because the locations were diverse. I remember disliking Some Assembly required other than the intro sequence in the Alps 😂
Spy Fox was the only character with which I never played a game with as a kid. I had a few of the Putt Putt and Freddi Fish games, and one of the Pajama Sam games, but I could never get Spy Fox
I recommend playing Spy Fox US dub for the newer fans, because Mr. Udderly's voice in the UK dub felt like it was dragging on.
The original concept of Zootopia had Nick and Judy as spies so it would essentially have been Spy Fox, the Movie.
Operation Ozone is the game I was only able to play in english. For me as a german this was hard when I was a kid. All the other games I played in german... but this one I only had in english... It was so weird. The language which now ofc I am able to speak sounded so alien, I understood nothing, and the world also looked kinda alienplanet like. I felt like playing a game from another planet in a language called blerp or something. I just clicked random things and sometimes things happened and the plot evolved which made me understand by seeing... but this took hours xD
Spy Fox is an amazing series as well, and one that I absolutely adored. With its clever, dry wit and extra layer of puzzle-solving compared to the others, I dare say it might objectively be the best series of Humongous point-and-click adventure games. The three Junior Adventures are fantastic, but I think many of us can agree that the Junior Arcade games don't hold up nearly as well. Still, pretty much all of the HE games provide the most nostalgic memories I have from throughout my gaming youth. These games were absolutely brilliant. I have a soft spot for Some Assembly Required in particular for some reason. Great job on these, and I eagerly anticipate your retrospectives of Buzzy the Knowledge Bug, Backyard Sports, Blue's Clues and Big Thinkers...I have a crazy nostalgic attachment to all of those games as well. May the wonderful memories never fade!
23:19 the woman clearly has some sort of tango compulsion
I had no idea on the alternate endings, super neat to see this new content over 20 years later
I also preferred eating cereal without milk growing up, so you're not alone here Shadow.
Anyways, I had a lot of fun with the "Spy Fox" games, although like with "Pajama Sam," I don't remember ever completing the second game. At least I managed to complete the first and third games while still enjoying them. And like I said before, "Operation Ozone" was the last Humongous game I ever played, so it kind of left a decent impact on me. Many of the environments were fun to explore and the final act in outer space was a real treat. Also, I don't know why but I just loved the way Pushpin said 'Congeal Pill.'
Can't wait to see you discuss the other Humongous games.
1:26:12 Though, that doesn’t explain the aerosol can part. CFCs had been banned since 1986.
I guess THAT's why when I got the 4-in-1 arcade collection with Hold the Mustard, I had never heard of that game before. Because I always kept up with what games were out based on the catalogs and what I had seen on the shelf at stores. I don't think I ever saw the standalone on the shelves, ever, in fact.
1:03:00 If you think little Elmo is frightening, wait until you’re a celebrity and you’re surrounded by hundreds or thousands or even millions of little Elmo’s losing it over the fact that you are the Caped Cod! RUclips is full of little Elmo’s.
1:04:58 The hardest of the mini-games to beat. “Things From Space.” Just thinking of that last level gets me perspiring. They literally throw everything they’ve got at you and there is very little margin for error. Spoiler Alert: There is no reward for beating this arcade, just the satisfaction of knowing that you survived a mini-Apocalypse. Then you start over again at level 1. I think there are twenty levels total.
I always wanted a Spy Fox game as a kid
Funny you say this game gets the least recognition, because spy fox is the only junior adventures series besides Pajama Sam I played as a kid. 4 year old me loved this sh*t. This video unlocked memories I forgot I even had.
Finally somebody else who eats cereal without milk!!! And who shares my love for Spy Fox! His was my favorite of all the HE series, and then Putt Putt. I was always into espionage and spy movies, so these games were such a dream come true for me. I played them so much I have so many of the voice lines forever ingrained in my brain. I wish more fans of the HE games talked about him more. Including Cheese Chase! It was a very fun arcade game you could spend a lotta time on, I’ll die on this hill.
Absolutely fantastic video.
Again, I never grew up with Spy Fox or PJ Sam but my younger self would have LOVED these alongside Freddi Fish. I plan to get this one day to play it to see what I missed. I am so glad modern day HE are porting these games over to Switch to introduce the next generation of why we loved HE's works. Maybe one day, HE can come back and make a crossover game similar to Mario Party. Imagine it, it's free real estate/idea.
Also is just me or does Spy Fox's voice sound like Inspector Gadget? Is it the same voice actor by any chance?
Fun fact: Mata Hairy is named after a Dutch WWI Spy named Mata Hari.
Side note: Fuck Infogrames for destroying a wonderful company.
Another thing to note is that Poodles is by far the most evil of Spy Fox's Rouges Gallery. Compared to William and Napoleon, Poodles' scheme is FAR more destructive all for the sake of profit, regardless of the consequences of how lethal and terrifying living on an Ozoneless Earth would be.
Ooo yeah I agree 😊
Another Humongous Entertainment video! Nice!
the boat part in dry cereal was always a fuzzy memory to me and i wasn't sure it i made it up in my mind so im really glad to see that it's real.
when i was young i remember having the boat path but i dont remember finishing it. when i got a bit older and started playing this game more i couldn't figure out how to get the boat and i didn't even know it was a separate path from the car.
weirdly, i very vividly remember trying to get the guys charm back from the pig, but since that only happens in the boat path, i wonder who i dont remember the boat path more vividly
woah i've never gotten to the underwater section before! whaaaat
i think ive only ever gotten the diode as the item to obtain in kid's fortress!
ive never clicked the truck either! and i never had the kung fu fight!
Another very thorough retrospective! I've always been of the opinion that the first game was the best of the bunch, but I've never been quite sure if that was just the nostalgia talking. It's tough to be 100% objective about something that was such a fundamental part of my childhood.
I definitely remember getting stuck on the boat route as a kid, but I never had an issue with Big Pig (I guess I just have good luck with Go Fish?) Rather, it was the chameleon that gave me trouble. I was around 6 years old, and didn't yet know how to tell time, so I had to get my dad to help me get past that :p
I never really connected to Spy Fox as a kid, but it was always my mom's favorite. Now that I'm an adult, I've come to appreciate just how brilliant they are, especially Dry Cereal.
Cartoon Network is actually airing the original Powerpuff Girls holiday special right now and I was playing in the basement at my old house when it premiered back then, sadly I only had two of the Bionicle Rakshi at the time.
I replayed Spy Fox in: Dry Cereal today on Steam & I got the boat path. I'm not done yet because I have played 3 rounds of Go Fish with Big Pig. Lost one game and the other were draws. 😂 Btw, for Cheese Chase, I think the cut scene style was based on the style the ending credit scenes are in Dry Cereal.
Place your trinkets on the table and we'll get started 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥
I can’t help but think of Secret Squirrel and with Spy Fox. Ah childhood
I played the hell out of Dry Cereal as a kid. I didn't even know there were other games until I bought the whole collection on steam a few years back.
The card playing with Mr. Big Pig IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO frustrating!
I like the pathway where you tango with Russian Blue!
Will you be covering the blues clues humongous entertainment games too?
Did you watch the end of the video
He’s gonna be covering Blue and all the other games in one huge video rather than individually
Watch till the end
And hopefully the original Powerpuff Girls holiday special Cartoon Network is airing right now for the first time in years.
Skip to today and he’s done that!
Finished dry cereal on the switch a little while ago, still amazing to this day
I am so glad I wasn't the only one stuck on the Pig, I only ever played Dry Cereal but that pig is what I remember the most. I would always lose and it's so obvious that he cheats, I don't think I ever beat the game because of him. Other than that, I had no idea there were other games, I feel I only really played about 1 game for their big series with the exception of Freddy Fish at 2. Great video as always, it's really a shame the other two were not as in depth as the first game, I don't want to call them lazy as they clearly put a lot of work into all of them, but maybe they realized really quickly it would be hard to top what they did in the first game.1
My family had the HE games burned onto CD-ROM (no idea where or when we got the originals) so I only had one of each franchise: Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, Pajama Sam 3, probably just a demo of Freddie Fish, and Spy Fox 1. I had no idea there were more than one game in each series, I never really noticed the “3” in the PJ title. But now I want to go back and play all of the Spy Fox games, that was my favorite overall.
I remember playing the demo for Dry Cereal and wanting to get the game. I also liked that pipe sound effect hahaha
When we finally got the game, I wasn’t smart enough to do much. Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Backyard Baseball and Pajama Sam were more my level.
My teenage sister on the other hand enjoyed the challenge. I watched her play sometimes, but never got into it like she did. I think the disc broke.
That said, this did unlock some memories for sure! She spent a while playing Go Fish too! Honestly this game’s clever with its jokes and naming patterns. Maybe I’d enjoy it now!
Haven’t played the others but will definitely watch the rest of your video when I get a moment to learn more :)
Le Roach is my favorite villain of the series also in Operation ozone if you talk to Herman the fisherman he makes a reference to Freddie Fish 2.
Was the boat a new thing? I never ever got the boat as far as I can remember, and I played this game a lot.
I think the one thing that you missed out on when making this particular video is the lack of mention of the UK dubs for several of the games. It's the most noticeable with this series specifically, but it was a thing that happened with most of the titles after Infogrames acquired them. I just think it's the most notable with Spy Fox because it kind of adds to that sort of British Spy kind of vibe, but knowing that UK dubs exist for most of the Junior Adventure games is just really wild to me.
1:14:58 A cameo of fuzzbear!
1:46:16-1:46:24 felt like the Humongous team were paying tribute to Dragons Lair.
I absolutely frickin' loved these games, even if I accidentally broke my copy of Operation Ozone when I was a young idiot kid.
It's the guard that says "Excuse me?" before Spy Fox gives him a wedgie.
Truthfully, this is the main Humongous Entertainment IP that I have the least amount of knowledge about as I never was able to finish the first game and I'm not sure why I never went back to it but I think I should give it another chance in the future.
1:46:19 this may be a reference to dragon's lair more specifically the revival scenes.
There’s also a British dub of the games when spy fox sound like jame bond while US sound like Maxwell Smart
Not me realizing I always got the bad ending of the game cause I didn’t know you could click on the truck 😢😂
The first game is coming to the Nintendo Switch soon which is cool since it can be way for new players to discover the series
There’s a Cleveland reference when you talk to the Girl Scout. Her description of the prized bike ends with the phrase “This thing in the handle bars that tells time!” That phrasing comes from the very famous ‘A Christmas Story’ movie filmed in Cleveland. The main character Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun. In his school report he describes the BB gun as follows:
“I want an official Red Ryder, carbine-action; two hundred shot range model air rifle, with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time!”
Another Cleveland reference is in Pajama Sam 2 where you pointed out how the character Lightning tries to distract Mother Nature with her photos from her trip to Cleveland. I wonder why there are multiple references to Cleveland in Humongous Entertainment’s games.
Being from around Cleveland I thought it was funny that there were those references 💀
“You’ll shoot your eye out kid”
Hey; how come you never mentioned how Spy Fox's voice and character were also inspired by Don Adams' Maxwell Smart character from 'Get Smart'?
what happened to monkey penny's design in hold the mustard?! I hate what they did with her bangs!
I just played through Dry Cereal. I'm 27 years old and it still managed to get some laughs out of me. Also, anyone else see Spy Fox fighting the chicken while wearing a yellow jumpsuit and think Kill Bill, even though this was 6 years before that.
orange button man is a under rated hero
At 19:29,
“Hey…! Wanna see my tattoo?!”
(RIP!)
“Wanna see my tattoo?!”
(ECHOS)
“Your mother must be so proud.”
Something to mention: on top of being a James Bond parody spy fox’s voice actor is doing a don adams impression, who played Maxwell smart in Get Smart a spy parody show as well as the voice of inspector gadget. Just a fun tidbit.
Darn! How did I miss that ending in Dry Cereal? I thought it was just a cutscene.