Gex Trilogy Review – Tail Whips, TV Tropes, and Surprising Charm

Gex Trilogy Review

Gex Trilogy is a collection of mascot platforming games from the 90s: Gex, Gex: Enter the Gecko, and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko. The first game was a 2D platformer for the 3DO, but the games expanded into 3D, and are best loved as their PS1 versions. When I was a kid, I never even considered playing the Gex games. There were lots of mascot platformers at the time, and Gex tried to set itself apart by having a corny 90s ‘tude. The games seemed lame and generic, trying to cash in on the success of Nintendo’s best games. But they sold millions of copies. None of my friends had any of the games, and we never rented them. I’ve always wondered who bought them. Now, Limited Run is releasing the Gex Trilogy on modern consoles, and it’s time I gave these games a chance.

The first Gex game is about the titular gecko getting sucked into a TV world, which is about the extent of the story in all 3 games. There are 24 levels spread across 5 worlds, each themed after a different movie genre. It’s a 2D platformer with pre-rendered graphics designed to emulate the then-popular Donkey Kong Country series. The visuals haven’t been improved in Gex Trilogy, but they have a built-in low res charm. Gex is also the only fullscreen game in the Gex Trilogy.

A-Typical Control Scheme

The controls in Gex are a little strange. There are face buttons for jumping, tail whipping, and sticking out Gex’s tongue. The tongue allows Gex to consume powerups, health, 1-ups, etc. The player holds L1 to run, which allows Gex to jump further. Enemies, and some objects can be pogoed onto by holding d-pad down and the tail whip button, although it doesn’t play out in a DuckTales-like “bounce everywhere” way. Gex can crawl on walls, which can lead to some cleverly-hidden secrets. Beating a level doesn’t mean much, as Gex has to find a remote in each level to unlock the next level. Each level also has a hidden portal which leads to a secret level section containing a piece of a remote to an end game secret world. I really enjoyed that progressing wasn’t a simple matter of beating each level.

Before I played Gex, I thought it was going to be bad. The footage I’d seen of it in the mid-90s made me think it was a dime-a-dozen mascot platformer. And a janky 3DO platformer with messy vertical levels, and a jerky camera. While there is an air of genericness about Gex, it’s actually quite good. The levels were structured linearly, with great placement of secrets. The camera was jerky, but rarely to the point that it was a problem; it was never a deal-breaker. There weren’t Super Mario levels of polish to the controls, but once I got used to them, they were fine. Gex reviewed as a 70, and I assumed it was really a 40-50, but I was wrong. Gex is a solid 70, and adds variety to Gex Trilogy as the only 2D platformer.

Enter the Third Dimension

Gex: Enter the Gecko is the first 3D platformer in the Gex Trilogy. The very light plot is that Gex is asked to enter the TV world again, so he dresses like James Bond in the hub area. This is really just an excuse for more genre-themed levels, and that’s totally fine. The 3D levels are open, and exploration based. The draw distance is very short, and there are never a lot of enemies on screen. Each level has a remote from getting 120 level-specific collectables, and a hidden remote. When both of those are found they open a bonus level with a third remote.

Gex: Enter the Gecko uses similar controls to the original Gex, where his main moves are jump, tail whip, and tongue consume healing. There are only certain walls that can be crawled on though. Gex also has a kick that can be performed by holding L2 while running, then pressing jump. The camera is a bit of a nuisance, which isn’t surprising for a 90s 3D platformer. But, the ability to turn the camera is mapped to the right joystick for Gex Trilogy. It can also be rotated via the original L1 and R1 control scheme. There are also options for the camera to be controlled manually or automatically, and choosing manual makes the game much more tolerable. Gex 2 and 3 are playable in unstretched widescreen, although they can be switched to fullscreen.

More of the Same

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko is very similar to Gex: Enter the Gecko. It’s a 3D platformer, with the same control scheme. It’s visually much more interesting though, with a better draw distance, chunkier polygons, and less hollow feeling levels. The story is that Gex is asked to rescue Agent Xtra, played by FMVed actress Marliece Andrada. I’m pretty sure the hub world is Gex’s home, which is kind of like a Playboy Mansion. The 3D Gex games are also solid 70s, playing better than I thought they would, but are a tier down from a Spyro, which is a tier down from a Mario.

For a while I was worried that Gex Trilogy had none of the modern quality of life features found in most retro collections. But they’re just hidden behind weird controls, as the Gex games use all the controller buttons. Players have to press the right joystick to bring up an options menu that allows the player to adjust screen size, borders, and CRT filters. This menu also allows players to reset, load, save, and quit, which are all options absent from the games. Saving is especially desired in the original Gex, which uses passwords that are only given upon completion of a world. There is a rewind feature, but to activate it the player has to press L2 and R2 at the same time.

Xtra Everything

There are also Extras found on the main menu. A jukebox has extensive music from all three games. There’s a lot of artwork, including concept art and new art. Box art is included for all games across all systems, including international box art. There are scans of each game’s manual. There are video ads, and trailers for each game, and a long, multi-part video interview with Gex’s North American voice, Dana Gould. And, finally, there are prototype videos for Gex Jr. and unused levels.

There are multiple versions of the Gex Trilogy, but this collection only has ports of the North American PlayStation versions. Although the N64, Sega Saturn, 3DO, PC and game Boy Color ports reviewed much worse, there are notable reasons why players might want other versions. The Game Boy Color versions of Gex 2 and 3 are completely different games, as they’re 2D platformers. The N64 version of Gex: Enter the Gecko had missing videos and levels, but also had an extra underwater Titanic level. Gex is voiced by Dana Gould in North America, but had different voice actors in Europe and Japan. It would have been interesting to hear those different takes on the character. There are retro collections with extensive representation of every version of every game, and Gex Trilogy just has the best versions of the main 3 games.

Better Than Expected

The games found in Gex Trilogy are better than I thought they would be. I was especially surprised by how much I enjoyed the original Gex. These are dated, but solid mascot platformers. As a package, Gex Trilogy has a lot of the modern quality of life features players would expect, as well as a slew of extras. But there could have been more. The Game Boy Color, N64, and international versions of the games are absent. I would recommend Gex Trilogy to fans of retro platformers, who’ve played all the classics. These games aren’t must-play, but are a great option for someone wanting more platforming titles in their library.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***