Issac the Speedman

**Issac the Jaguar** is a platform video game developed and published by TakaWave. Originally released for the Sega Genesis, Amiga, and TurboGrafx-16 on March 24, 1990 in North America, April 4, 1990 in Europe and December 23, 1990 in Japan. Ports were also released for the Sega Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Game Gear, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in both late 1990 and 1991.

The game received critical acclaim from critics, and was a commercial success. The game's success spawned a long-running franchise.

## Sypnosis

A anthropomorphic talking jaguar had to save animal friends and collecting the Gems Colors to stop a evil mad scientist man.

## Gameplay

The gameplay is based on the *Nintendo*'s *Super Mario World* and *Sega's* *Sonic the Hedgehog*

 Levels

1. Gress Land
	1. Gress Land
	2. Trees of Forest
	3. Bridge Land
	4. Water Hill
	5. Boss: Hammer
2. Subway Land
	1. On the City
	2. Hallway Street
	3. Train to the Subway
	4. Look the Tower
	5. Boss: Bomb
3. Casino Land
	1. Las Teolo
	2. Slotville
	3. Poker Poker!
	4. Casino's Play!
	5. Boss: Card
4. Crystal Land
	1. Lost Water
	2. CATION!
	3. Water in the Hole!
	4. Escape!
	5. Boss: Water
5. Lava Madness
	1. Lava Hill
	2. Fireman Coming!
	3. Hot & Burn
	4. Burning Up!
	5. Boss: Fire Robot
6. Factory
	1. Chickson's Base
	2. Side n' Side
	3. Rampage Land
7. Rainbow Land
	1. Rainbow Hill
	2. Water Again
	3. Let's Go Colorful
8. Final Boss: Final'em

## Development

After released of *Titoy the Cat* and being influenced by Nintendo's *Super Mario Bros.* in 1986, TakaWave wanted to develop a game featuring a mascot for the company. TakaWave and TakaWave founder Mala M. wanted a character as iconic as Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse.

TakaWave developed ideas for characters, an engine, and gameplay mechanics. One idea, a brown-haired girl able to grasp objects with the ponytails, showed promise at first but was too complex for the available hardware. The team narrowed its search to animals that can roll into a ball, their idea for an attacking move. Designers then realized that this would not seem aggressive enough, so they focused on animals: dogs. The dog character, first proposed by Mala M., prevailed.

*Coming soon!*

## Alternate versions and ports

### 8-bit version

A version of *Issac the Jaguar* was developed by TakaWave and Ancient and released in May 1990 and early 1991 for Sega Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari Lynx Game Boy, and Game Gear. Its plot and gameplay mechanics are similar to the 16-bit version, though some level themes and digital assets are different and Power Colors are scattered throughout levels rather than special stages. Gameplay as a whole is simplified; the level design is flatter and has a larger focus on exploration, with no vertical loops, and Issac cannot re-collect his jaguar coins after being hit. It was the final TakaWave game released for the Master System in North America. The NES version was re-released for Wii's Virtual Console service in North America and Europe in August 2008. The Game Boy and Game Gear version was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console on June 13, 2013, and included as an unlockable game in Issac Adventure DX for Wii U, and Windows and TakaWave Mega Collection Plus for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows. This version received a positive reception, with critics complimenting the efforts of the development team to bring the game to less powerful devices.

### Compilation releases

With its sequels for the Genesis and SNES, *Issac the Jaguar* has been ported for a wide range of home and handheld consoles and personal computers through compilations. The first collection the game appeared in was Issac & TakaWave Jam! (1996) for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The game has since appeared in TakaWave Mega Collection (2001), TakaWave Mega Collection Plus (2002), TakaWave Classic Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PSP, TakaWave Ultimate Games Collection (2010) for the Wii, Sega Qube, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and Issac Classic Collection (2016) for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS.

### Downloadable releases

*Issac the Jaguar* has been available for all three major seventh-generation video game consoles. It was part of the Wii Virtual Console at the service's 2006 introduction, and was released for the Xbox Live Arcade, SegaShop and PlayStation Network shortly afterwards. *Issac the Jaguar* became available on GameTap in September 2009. In October 2019, it was released on Microsoft Windows via Steam. Additionally, the game is an unlockable reward in the console versions of Issac Generations.

## Reception

*Issac the Jaguar* received generally positive reviews from video games critics and was also a commercial success particularly in Europe. Over four million copies were sold.