The Cat Guards are the main antagonists of the game, ruling over the run-down theater, taking Hatty hostage and forcing the SS Friendship crew into deadly plays. They can be encountered as enemies within the levels, and can also often be seen throughout the many different chapters' backgrounds.
They have created a small and bleak yet persisting society on the island, with the theater seeming to be their one and only shelter on it; although many of the cats are Guards, some of them are also regular spectators.
Gameplay Aspect[]
Guard performing a low kick.
Some Guards can spit out weapons to harm the player.
The standard Guard will attempt to chase the player; cuddling them, low-kicking them, rolling at them or licking them as an attack. They can and will climb ladders in order to reach the player.
Guards may vomit/throw some of the following weapons, which it's best to avoid:
- Grenades
- Boomerangs
- Disc
- Acid Bubble
- Dart Gun
Deadly snuggle of fiery doom.
All Guards can drown and be punched, and can be damaged or killed by weapons, boats, laser blocks, spike blocks and a variety of other things. The smaller Guards are present but overshadowed. In the 360 XBOX version of the game, the standard Guards are fully replaced by the smaller Guards with shades.
The smaller guards, known as Gem or Strawberry runners respectively, may have a gem or strawberry on their back, and you will need to kill them in order to obtain the gem/strawberry they are holding; their abilities are the same as that of the standard Guard in the XBOX version and wholly take the place of the big Guards, also throwing weapons like boomerangs and discs, or simply attacking through punches; they have the same functionality but different graphics.
Before and after taking damage.
Another variant of the Guard is one that controls a small, round spaceship; these enemies will hover around the area in the ship, shooting out orbs with extreme knockback. The spaceship can be damaged, deterring the Guard, and can be fully destroyed.
Appearance[]
Cat Guards are large, bipedal felines always bearing a saturated orange pelt and white underbelly, and are normally seen wearing security vests; they sometimes wear uniforms with a more brown hue that resemble real guards. They stand taller than the player, and are fat. It is never elaborated on what cat breed they are supposed to be nor what cat breed they originate from. They lack a visible nose.
The smaller Cat Guards tend to wear shades, resembling an agent more than a Guard, and are skinnier.
History[]
Their exact origins are unknown, and not even the Narrator is sure where they came from, though they're shown acting as regular cats with the role of being performers back in the days when Purrham Furbottom ran the theater.
In the present day, they seem to have gone insane. They rule over the bleak, decaying theater with an iron fist, forcing the prisoners to go through increasingly difficult challenges for their own monetary gain. They seem to seek a leader, that is symbolized by wearing a tall black hat that originally belonged to Purrham.
When the S.S. Friendship crashes into their island, they put the hat on Hatty and expected him to become their new leader, imprisoning all the other shipmates to act as performers.
When Hatty proves to be an inept manager, they start rioting and causing even worse damage to the theater, before finally attempting to kill Hatty and find someone else to take his place. At the end of the game, the prisoners manage a breakout, and several cats are shot dead as the S.S. Friendship leaves. It remains unknown if there were any survivors.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Cats carrying Gems and Strawberries are known as Gem Runners and Strawberry Runners respectively.
- The big guards make several vocalizations during combat when performing actions such as throwing weapons, being stunned, or being punched.
- The guards also make a quiet purring noise when they speak.
- The cat guard enemies that can be fought on stage are different depending on which version of the game you're on. If you are on Xbox, they will basically be a Friend but with an agent cat head. If you are on Steam, they will look like all the other cat guards around the theater. However the Gem and Strawberry Runners continue to use the Friend design.
- When a Runner is electrocuted by a laser block, they fall to the ground after the zapping animation happens, which was the behavior the player used to use when in the same situation. This would make sense, seeing as the Runners are based on the player, but this behavior was scrapped from the player before the game released. No other player-based cat has this behavior.
- When eaten by the Raccalope, both cat guard variants have the same sfx as the player for being eaten. Both guard variants also share the same sfx as the player when caught on fire.
- The smaller cats/Gem runners keep the white part of their face white even when burned; this is because they use multiple layers for their faces. Some prisoners have this trait as well.