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James Pond: Underwater Agent
Before there was Sonic, there was Pond.
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PRESS START
An Introduction To Today’s Game
Every console needs a mascot, and in 1990 the Sega Genesis briefly borrowed one from the world of British platformers.
James Pond: Underwater Agent cast players as a suit wearing fish tasked with foiling an oil tycoon turned supervillain named Doctor Maybe.
Silly yes, but it works.
The game started life on the Amiga before Electronic Arts brought it to the Genesis a year later. Somewhere along the way, a British magazine declared it better than Sonic.
History has not been kind to that claim, but the confidence alone earns some respect.
BEHIND THE PIXELS
Let’s Dive Into The Game
Picture a platformer crossed with a James Bond spoof, only the secret agent is a fish. That is James Pond: Underwater Agent in one sentence. You control Pond as he swims and hops through twelve underwater levels, working for the British Secret Service.
His mission is stopping Doctor Maybe, a supervillain who has taken over a company called Acme Oil and is busy polluting the ocean. The tone stays light throughout, closer to a Saturday morning cartoon than an actual spy thriller. That mix of espionage and silliness is really the whole appeal.
The game leans platformer, but it plays more like an item hunt than a straightforward run and jump. Instead of racing to an exit, Pond spends most levels tracking down specific objects scattered across each stage. A key might free a caged lobster, while a sponge plugs a leaking oil tanker.
Progress depends on finding the right item for the right problem, which makes early levels feel more like puzzles than action stages. Combat works through bubbles, which Pond fires at enemies to trap them before popping the bubble to finish the job. It is a clever system on paper, though the pace can drag once you have popped your fiftieth jellyfish in a row.
Level names spoof real Bond films, with titles like License to Bubble and Leak and Let Die standing in for License to Kill and Live and Let Die.
It is a nice touch for anyone who grew up on the movies, even if the joke lands more with parents than kids. Some of the puzzle logic is not always obvious on a first playthrough, so expect a bit of trial and error.
Visually, the Genesis version holds up reasonably well for 1991, with bright, cartoonish underwater backdrops and varied enemy designs that suit the tone.
The soundtrack, composed by Richard Joseph, is catchy enough that even players lukewarm on the gameplay tend to praise the music. Twelve levels is not a huge undertaking, but the puzzle pacing means it plays longer than its length suggests.
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GAME INFORMATION
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WHERE TO PLAY
The original copy or emulation will be your best bet in playing the original version.
Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)
Loose: $8
Complete: $23
New/Sealed: $72
COVER ART
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GAME OVER
Why You Should Play This
So is James Pond worth tracking down today? It predates the wave of mascot platformers that Sonic helped popularize, and it has a real sense of humor about its own premise.
Just temper expectations going in. The puzzle solving can be obtuse in spots, a few enemies are hard to spot in time, and the pacing lags compared to faster platformers from the same era. This is a game best enjoyed in short bursts rather than one long sitting.
There is no official modern re-release of the original Underwater Agent, unlike its sequel Codename Robocod, which has popped up on platforms from PlayStation to Switch.
For now, Pond's first outing remains a time capsule from a very specific moment in gaming history. It is goofy, occasionally frustrating, and oddly charming once you settle into its rhythm. That combination is exactly why it is worth a look.
Small note: Last Tuesday’s newsletter hit a big of a snag and most people didn’t get it. Ugg, that open rate is LOW lol. It might be in your spam folders. I decided I’ll rerun it at a later date. Sorry about that!
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