Super Spy Raccoon

Super Spy Raccoon is yet another arcade retro platformer from Flynn’s Arcade, publishers of Cash Cow DX, Goliath Depot, and the wonderful Donut Dodo. All these titles seek to recreate the magic of sticky upright cabinets minus the cash-guzzling aspect; when did you last see an actual ‘coin’, anyway? Super Spy Raccoon looks more like a Commodore 64 game to me, but that’s no bad thing. I grew up with that computer, so the nostalgic memories are strong here.

Slow down, you move too fast

This first level has a couple of potential routes to success—and plenty of bushes to hide behind.

The game’s name pretty much tells you it’s going to be about stealth, although I don’t remember that genre being particularly well represented in the 80s era. It turns out the original Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was the most well-known example, before that series veered more towards blasting than hiding. Stealth games are often frowned upon for their frustrating, trial-and-error nature, and the mechanic is often shoehorned into other genres as an aside: witness recent examples like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Metroid Dread, both of which sneak a bit of stealth into the main action before returning to whatever alternative the player no doubt prefers.

But Super Spy Raccoon is unashamedly all about the stealth. Although the concept might have struggled in original arcades, where games were fast and targeted reflexes rather than brain cells, it fits modern gaming quite well. Unless you’re looking to maximise your score by minimising the amount your timer decreases, there’s no harm in taking things slowly, scoping out the level, and taking it one step at a time. Plan out how to collect each of the documents scattered across the level, then execute—one by one if you must. A massive contrast with Donut Dodo et al.

Spy vs. Spy

Keep one eye on the spotlight and another on the monkeys!

Each screen—of course they’re single screens!—features a small array of enemy ‘things’ to avoid. They start off all anthropomorphic: monkeys patrolling, owls on sentry duty. As you advance, you’ll encounter more mechanical nuisances, from spotlights to moving lasers, but most of these hazards work pretty much the same way: if they spot you, they kill you. In your favour are environmental helpers like bushes you can hide behind and platforms you can, er, stand on. It turns out that an owl can see you from the other side of the screen, but it’s totally blind to your nearby presence, if it can only see your feet.

So the challenge is all about nailing the timing and appropriate pathway in order to avoid prying eyes. Some finesse is possible via desperate moves like jumping over the heads of those stationary owls or collecting the potion which makes you temporarily invisible. Lasers can be avoided by simply standing still, but monkeys aren’t as stupid. Combined, these raccoon detectors are effective unless you have great awareness of everything that’s going on, or you’ve planned out a safe passage in advance.

The Spy Who Loved Me

Put one step wrong and you’ll fail in an instant.

With just five looping stages in total, Super Spy Raccoon is firmly in Donkey Kong-style territory, and lacks the kind of extras that made other Flynn’s Arcade games so compelling. Nevertheless, this is a fun diversion, with nicely polished mechanics, and enough of a retro vibe to make a solid addition to your Switch arcade collection—it’s cheaper than all those overpriced Arcade Archives titles too!

You can play an early prototype of Super Spy Raccoon on itch.io.