Rascal

About

Rascal is a platform game where you navigate five distinct time periods to rescue a captured scientist. You play as a kid armed with a Bubble Gun hopping between medieval castles, Aztec temples, Atlantis, pirate ships, and Wild West towns. Each level has past and present versions you must complete in order. You collect six Time Clock fragments in each to unlock a Time Bubble that lets you advance. Future levels end with boss battles against Chronon. Progress through all five worlds to reach his hidden lair and free your dad. Released in 1998 for PlayStation, Rascal stands out for its varied settings and dual-time gameplay. The mix of exploration and combat feels brisk for its era, with each level design clearly tied to its theme. Developer Traveller's Tales leaned into colorful visuals and straightforward mechanics typical of 90s platformers. The time-travel story is simple but ties neatly to the level structure. A lesser-known title from the PlayStation launch window, it carved a niche for families and fans of classic 2D action.

Storyline

Professor Casper Clockwise is in his lab making the final adjustments to his time travelling device, when suddenly someone creeps behind him. Meanwhile, his son Callum "Rascal" Clockwise is walking through a secret route under the house to get to his father's lab when suddenly the lights go out and an alarm sounds. Rascal rushes down to see the problem, but to his horror two aliens in spacecraft appear and chase him down the corridor. Rascal finally makes it to his father's lab by going through the safe door entrance. He is shocked to find Chronon, the evil master of time, torturing his dad for unknown reasons, and holding him at gunpoint with another of his dad's inventions called the "Bubble Gun", but Chronon accidentally activates the controls for the time machine and he and the Professor are sucked into the time portal. The Bubble Gun manages to be released from the portal and lands at the feet of Rascal, who picks it up, vowing to save his dad. Rascal chases the two through time, from the medieval Castle Hackalott, to the Aztec Temple at Chichimeca, to the lost city of Atlantis, to the Jolly Raider pirate ship and Dodgy City in the old West, travelling to each location's past and present forms and collecting the pieces of a Time Clock from both before fighting Chronon in each area's future. Afterwards Rascal travels to the Corridors of Time, Chronon's lair within the space-time continuum where, after defeating its guardians brought from each of the other time periods, he successfully defeats Chronon and rescues his dad. After escaping using another time portal, Rascal and his dad safely return home, leaving the portal to shatter and trap Chronon in interdimensional time forever.