Frantic Flea

Frantic Flea
DeveloperHaüs Teknikka
PublisherGameTek
ComposerJohn Anguish
PlatformSuper NES
Release
  • NA: April 1996
GenreAction
ModeSingle-player

Frantic Flea is an action game developed by Haüs Teknikka and published in 1996 by GameTek for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Gameplay

Frantic Flea is a side-scrolling action platformer game where the player controls a flea looking to liberate their fellow bugs from the Insideos, the game's enemies. The game includes 18 zones, each containing three levels plus a few hidden levels, and three scrolling boss levels.

As the player explores a level, they collect mini-fleas. They must have a certain number of min-fleas for the level's exit to open. Mini-fleas cop all player movements and attacks. Players may also find power-ups in the levels, which are required to traverse some areas.

Players avoid enemies and navigate levels via platforming, utilizing environmental elements when needed. Players can also attack enemies with various moves, and their damage will scale based on the size of their mini-flea following. Receiving damage from enemies or the environment results in losing all mini-fleas. If the player has no mini-fleas, the damage will be applied to their character directly.

Development and release

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." The game uses more than 250 frames of animation.

Reception

Frantic Flea received mixed reviews. Three of the four editors for Electronic 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.

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." Total! also didn't enjoy Frantic Flea, rating it a 31/100 and critiquing its frustrating gameplay, poor level design leading to being unable to see the platform you need to jump to, and the way the game's difficulty increases. Namely, the game increases the number of environmental hazards rather than offering more challenging enemies, traps, or puzzles.

References

  1. ↑ "Pak Watch: Insider Update". Nintendo Power. Vol. 82. Nintendo of America. March 1996. pp. 102–103.
  2. ↑ "Composer information". SNES Music. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  3. ↑ "You'll be itching to play Frantic Flea GameTek's newest Super Nintendo video game". gametek.com. February 12, 1996. Archived from the original on February 25, 1997. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "Frantic Flea: A Dog's Worst Nightmare!". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 81. April 1996. pp. 60–61. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 White, Shaun; McVittie, Andy (December 1995). "Review: Frantic Flea". Nintendo Magazine System. No. 39. EMAP. pp. 32–34.
  6. 1 2 3 Dyer, Andy; Wallace, Danny (January 1996). "Total! SNES Review: Frantic Flea". Total!. No. 49. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. pp. 44–45.
  7. ↑ "Interview the Man Behind the Flea". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 81. Ziff Davis. April 1996. p. 61.
  8. ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan (1998). "Frantic Flea - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  9. ↑ Baran, Andrew; LeFebvre, Mark; Desmond, Mike; Sushi-X (April 1996). "Review Crew". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 81. Sendai Publishing. p. 32. Retrieved November 11, 2025 – via Video Game History Foundation.
  10. 1 2 "At a Glance: Frantic Flea (Review)". Game Informer. No. 36. Sunrise Publications. April 1996. p. 57. (Transcription Archived 1997-01-17 at the Wayback Machine).
  11. ↑ Groves, Will (January 1996). "Reviews: Frantic Flea". GamesMaster. No. 38. Future Publishing. p. 43.
  12. 1 2 Ehrle, Oliver (May 1996). "Spiele-Tests: Frantic Flea". MAN!AC [de] (in German). No. 31. Cybermedia. p. 57. (Transcription Archived 2025-04-26 at the Wayback Machine).
  13. 1 2 Souleiman, Sandrie (December 1995). "Test SNES / MD: Frantic Flea". Mega Fun [de] (in German). No. 39. Computec. p. 78.
  14. ↑ Forrester, Simon (January 1996). "UK Review: Frantic Flea". Super Play. No. 39. Future Publishing. pp. 44–45.
  15. ↑ Hellwig, Thomas (June 1996). "Test: Frantic Flea". Total! (in German). No. 36. Germany: X-Plain-Verlag. p. 56.
  16. ↑ Verocai, Marco (January 1996). "Test: Frantic Flea". Super Power [fr] (in French). No. 39. SUMO Éditions. p. 84. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
  17. ↑ Baran, Andrew; LeFebvre, Mark; Desmond, Mike; Williams, Ken (April 1996). "Review Crew: Frantic Flea". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 81. Sendai Publishing. p. 32.
  18. ↑ "Quick Hits: Frantic Flea". GamePro. No. 91. IDG. April 1996. p. 89.