Right about now, it's time to rock with the biggity Buck Bumble. Those were the words that introduced a generation – or, rather, a handful of millennials – to the joys of cyborg bumblebee warfare, and it seems they're now more relevant than ever. Original developer Argonaut Games came back to life just a few years ago, and the studio is taking the opportunity of April 20th's green haze to seemingly tease a Buck Bumble revival.
"Right about now Buck Bumble is officially your new wholesome 4/20 mascot," the company says in its Bluesky announcement, "and we will not be taking further questions ...at this time. But stay tuned and BEE sure to follow us for forthcoming news and announcements!" It also included a brief clip of the Buck Bumble theme as it promised "a different kind of buzz on 4/20."
Argonaut is best known as the developer that partnered with Nintendo on the technically astounding original Star Fox on SNES, but it developed numerous other titles in the years that followed. Original founder Jez San revived the company's name in 2024 as a boutique retro publisher, and the new Argonaut put out a well-regarded remaster of the old Argonaut's platformer Croc the next year.
Ahead of that remaster's release, the devs worried over whether anyone "still remembered or cared" about Croc, and I'm afraid that worry might be pretty well founded with Buck Bumble. This game got middling-to-decent reviews at launch, and offered a fairly unique concept in letting you control a sci-fi bee warrior shooting laser guns at various backyard enemies.
But it's never been among the ranks of the best N64 games, and it was soon forgotten after launch. Buck Bumble has, at least, become something of a… well, I hesitate to say "cult classic," because that's probably overstating its stature, but it has at the very least become a meme in the modern era, thanks largely to its utterly ridiculous (and ridiculously catchy) opening theme.
Does Buck Bumble deserve a comeback? That's the kind of question I've gotten fascinated with as retro game revivals have continued to become more and more prolific. There are infinite games that are certainly more deserving of a revival, but the Buck Bumbles, Gexes, and Destroy All Humanses of the world are the ones that seem to keep getting remastered.
Don't get me wrong – games like Buck Bumble are the kinds of titles that I absolutely crave as an increasingly sicko-leaning retro gaming enthusiast. Weird little 7/10 action games that offer a unique gameplay mechanic and ridiculous setting? Yes please, let me devour it. But I want those games in the context of a weird discovery at my local retro shop, not some lavish Steam remaster.
But hey, every game is somebody's favorite – a co-worker just informed me of a friend who counts Buck Bumble on their all-timer list – and I won't begrudge modern game devs from turning a profit by modernizing even the weirdest games of yesteryear. Until we see what this potential Buck Bumble revival looks like, all I can say is this: Bum to the boom to the bum to the bass to the bum to the boom to the Bumble.
