Frantic Flea
{{Short description|1996 video game}}
{{Infobox VG
|title = Frantic Flea
|image = SNES Frantic Flea cover art.jpg
|developer = Haüs Teknikka{{cite magazine|title=Pak Watch: Insider Update|magazine=Nintendo Power|volume=82|publisher=Nintendo of America|date=March 1996|pages=102–103}}
|publisher = GameTek
|composer = John Anguish{{cite web | url = http://www.snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?selected=940&profile=set | title = Composer information | publisher = SNES Music | access-date = 2011-05-31}}
{{vgrelease|EU|1996}}
|genre = Action
|modes = Single-player
|platforms = Super NES
}}
Frantic Flea is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game created by German studio Haüs Teknikka that was released in April 1996.
Gameplay
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Development and release
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Andy Whitehurst, creative director of Haüs Teknikka, described the team's approach to the graphics: "What we were trying to show is that despite 16-bit graphical limitations you can actually make a video game look like a cartoon. We wanted FF to look like a '50s or '60s Warner Bros. cartoon and to have the same zany feel, almost Dr. Seuss-like which nobody has tried before in a video game."{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-081-april-1996/page/n62/mode/1up |title=Interview the Man Behind the Flea |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |issue=81 |publisher=Ziff Davis |date=April 1996 |page=61}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| Allgame = 2/5{{cite web|last=Weiss|first=Brett Alan|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=2498&tab=review|title=Frantic Flea - Review|work=AllGame|publisher=All Media Network|date=1998|access-date=2025-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116142601/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=2498&tab=review|archive-date=2014-11-16|url-status=dead}}
| GI = 5.75/10{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/game-informer-issue-36-april-1996/page/n58/mode/1up|title=At a Glance: Frantic Flea (Review)|magazine=Game Informer|issue=36|publisher=Sunrise Publications|date=April 1996|page=57}} ([http://www.gameinformer.com/april96/flea.html Transcription] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970117185619/http://www.gameinformer.com/april96/flea.html|date=1997-01-17}}).
| GMaster = 44%{{cite magazine|last=Groves|first=Will|title=Reviews: Frantic Flea|magazine=GamesMaster|issue=38|publisher=Future Publishing|date=January 1996|page=43}}
| MF = 70%{{cite magazine|last=Souleiman|first=Sandrie|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AMegaFun_DE_1995-12.pdf&page=78|title=Test SNES / MD: Frantic Flea|magazine={{ill|Mega Fun|lt=Mega Fun|de|Mega Fun}}|issue=39|publisher=Computec|date=December 1995|page=78|language=de}}
| ONM = 74/100{{cite magazine|last1=White|first1=Shaun|last2=McVittie|first2=Andy|url=https://archive.org/details/nms39/page/n31/mode/2up|title=Review: Frantic Flea|magazine=Nintendo Magazine System|issue=39|publisher=EMAP|date=December 1995|pages=32–34}}
| SP = 29%{{cite magazine|last=Forrester|first=Simon|title=UK Review: Frantic Flea|magazine=Super Play|issue=39|publisher=Future Publishing|date=January 1996|pages=44–45}}
| TOT = (UK) 31/100{{cite magazine|last1=Dyer|first1=Andy|last2=Wallace|first2=Danny|url=https://archive.org/details/total-49/page/n43/mode/2up|title=Total! SNES Review: Frantic Flea|magazine=Total!|issue=49|publisher=Future Publishing|date=January 1996|pages=44–45}}
(DE) 4{{cite magazine|last=Hellwig|first=Thomas|title=Test: Frantic Flea|magazine=Total!|issue=36|publisher=X-Plain-Verlag|date=June 1996|page=56|language=de}}
}}
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Frantic Flea received mixed reviews. Three of the four editors forElectronic Gaming Monthly commented that though the game has some innovative features, they are not enough to hold the player's interest. They also criticized that losing all the player's collected fleas each time said player is hit is more frustrating than fun, and that the levels quickly grow repetitive. The remaining reviewer, Ken "Sushi-X" Williams, defended the game, praising its compelling action, graphics, and selection of weapons.{{cite magazine|last1=Baran|first1=Andrew|last2=LeFebvre|first2=Mark|last3=Desmond|first3=Mike|last4=Williams|first4=Ken|url=https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-081-april-1996/page/n31/mode/1up|title=Review Crew: Frantic Flea|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=81|publisher=Sendai Publishing|date=April 1996|page=32}} GamePro said the game "puts another nail in the Super NES coffin with uninteresting gameplay, horrible cartoon-like graphics, obnoxious and monotonous music, and annoying, imprecise controls. Basically all you do in this game is run around and collect your little flea buddies".{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_081_April_1996/page/n90/mode/1up|title=Quick Hits: Frantic Flea|magazine=GamePro|issue=91|publisher=IDG|date=April 1996|page=89}}
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