Tonic Trouble

Tonic Trouble is a video game by Ubisoft Montreal, based on the Rayman series. It is a traditional 3D platformer, in which a magic potion spills on the Earth and causes vegetables to become living killers. Due to poor controls, sloppy graphics (on the N64 version), and not being quite as eventful or environmentally interesting, the game did very poorly. The N64 version of the game is a port of the PC version. The N64 one had many noticeable differences, like a substantially different opening due to the lack of processing power needed to render cutscenes and different music in certain places. The game was going to be released before Rayman 2: The Great Escape but eventually was released months after. The Game Boy Color version was only released in Europe.

It was released on the Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64 and PC.

Additionally, a beta version for the PC was released as Tonic Trouble: Special Edition, published by Guillemot. This version featured very different level designs and control scheme. It was given away by Compaq with new computers running Windows 98 in parts of Europe. A few differences are the additional guards not encountered in the Retail Version, larger and more open level designs, silver spades instead of thermometers for health power ups, and the lack of a final boss.

Story
The game begins with Ed, the protagonist, cleaning up the spaceship he is on. In the PC version, he is contemplating giving a present to his girlfriend. While he is working, he finds a can full of a strange substance sitting on a table, and drinks it, but doesn't like the tastes, which tastes horrible, and forces him to spit some of it out onto the floor, and some screws on the floor to come to life all of a sudden and unbolt themselves. Depending of this, Ed either disposes of the can out a garbage chute, or accidentally drops it out of an open door caused by the screws.

The can falls to Earth and lands near a man named Grögh. He notices the drink’s mutagenic properties when it transforms the surrounding environment; when he drinks it, he is pleased with the results. When Ed’s superiors find out what happened and discover that it was Ed’s fault, he is ordered to clean up the mess he made.

Ed is to travel to Earth to retrieve the can, so that the scientists on the ship can make an antidote for the liquid. With the help of the doc and his daughter, Suzy, Ed gathers the parts required for a machine that will catapult him to Grögh's Kingdom. Ed enters Grögh's kingdom and confronts Grögh, who is driving a fearsome robot; in the end, Ed defeats Grögh and gets the can back from him.

Different Intros Between PC and Nintendo 64.

Nintendo 64:

Ed is a clumsy alien janitor, who one day is cleaning on his spaceship. Ed finds one bug that avoids his duster, so he goes after it, trying to squash the bug constantly. He finally kills it, but is tired out, then sees some tables with various things on them. Ed picks up one that looks like a can and drinks it. Only to find that it tastes horrid, he spits it back out but the weird substance lands on some screws, which come to life and unbolt themselves. The strange tonic rolls through the new hole before Ed can grab it. On earth, the viking Grögh is napping near some sheep. The tonic falls and wakes him up. A small drip of the tonic falls out of the can, to fall in some water. The results are, fish that have become sharks, flying sheep, and weird colored water. Seeing this in action, Grögh takes a sip for himself and loves the results. Agent xyz tells Ed off and at Ed's trial, is told to repair the damage(this part is only mentions in words). Agent xyz informs Ed of the doc, the pharmacist, and Suzy. When Ed lands on earth, it is on a snowy mountain. He finds one part of the ship has detached and decides to use it to ride down the mountain.

PC:

An alien janitor is shown un-regarding his work, trying to confess his love for another with a flower and box of possible chocolates. He hears a noise and pretends that it is his love, trying to fin the right words for if she says yes. Only to find that another alien of the same species named Burk is there and has heard Ed's previous comment about him being a shmole. Ed screams in alarm as Burk chases him with a pipe, and after heading through a door, Ed pauses and hits the button to close it with his box. Burk runs into the wall and Ed escapes through some unknown hall. After the scary situation, he starts breathing hard, and looks at his flower to see that all the pedals have fallen off, so Ed cries with his head down. When he looks up, he sees some weird objects including a can. When he looks at his flower as the last pedal falls off, Ed decides to drink the can for the sake of it. But when a terrible sensation happens in his mouth, Ed spits out the liquid onto the ground. Some bolts near the substance come alive all of a sudden and unbolt themselves. Incredibly shocked by this, and when looking back, seeing that the can is leaking some odd flash from itself, Ed screams in terror and runs around. Then he stops and looks straight at some depositor. Without a second thought, he runs to the depositor and slams it in, grateful to be rid of the stuff. A short while before, on earth, a bar lady seems to be fed up of someone and kicks him out for drinking for free. This chum turns out to be Grögh, (the main villain in Tonic Trouble) and doesn't even seem to understand quite what's going on. When the tonic falls from the sky, Grogh notices as it lands right in front of him. Seeing a glimmer of the ship Ed works on, Grögh thanks it forgetfully. He drinks it, but finds it strange tasting, then comments to it being no ordinary beer, starts floating and changing very suddenly, and screams in fright. The can is seen dropped and has leaked a little bit into a stream nearby. The water changes, a small piece of land in the middle changes to polka dot red, some hills turn into building that fly seconds later, and right after is the bar Grögh was kicked out of with the exception of it having legs and acting like a chicken. The tonic floats and Grögh grabs it in his new uniform, saying that this time drinks are on him and everyone's going to get a taste, as he laughs evilly. The camera scopes out of the scene to find that Ed and a court are watching. The judge states the rules Ed has broken and goes on to lash out at him. Ed is sentenced to repair the damage done. The camera changes to a general who explain a plan to retrieve the can from Grögh. The plan consists of Ed in a miniature spaceship launched through a tunnel towards Grögh's tower and activate a automatic claw to grab the can from Grogh, then return back to base. When the plan is in action though, Ed tries to activate the claw by pushing a button, but can only see that the spaceship does not respond. Ed tries to do something at the point by breaking it and hears a women performing opera is heard from the tower. Before Ed enters, the woman screams in fear and runs away as Ed crashes through the room. Fortunately, the claw comes out but seconds late. Grögh, upon seeing Ed, gasps and ends up being hit in the side of the head by the claw, then choked briefly. By this point, Ed is almost out, and when the claw grabs onto a bolted piece of the tower next to the window, it pulls so hard that Ed falls behind the tower. The spaceship lands on a snowy mountain, and when the general is through a rough transmition, and is telling Ed that he is on his own, but is unsure of whether Ed is even there, Ed is bewildered, and when the stars scream in horror and flee, one last piece of the ship lands abruptly in his mouth very painfully. Ed uses this piece to slide down the mountain. A person named the pharmacist joins the viking Grögh and makes a powerful substance out of the tonic named groga (although not mentioned until much later). Once at the end, Ed meets Suzy, who is the daughter of the doc. The doc can help Ed on his quest, but has been captured by his robot suitcase. His toasters have gone bonkers as well. After being freed from his own prison, the doc tells Ed he can create a machine that can launch him into Grogh's palace. However, Grögh's henchmen have already raided the docs machine, so Ed must find and collect parts of the machine that were stolen. Ed finds the parts and is launched into Grögh's castle. All the guards in the area go after Ed, but are no match for him and his excellent skills when he already pulls through to find that one guard disassembled a bridge. Ed overcomes this by using all the powers he has gotten and finds Grogh the hellish in a giant robot resembling the can that started the whole nasty event. Ed defeats Grogh never the less after a chase and knocking him in a pit, where they begin to fight to the end. Grögh explains that when he found that can, it was going to be so much fun but then the pharmacist came in and ruined it with his groga plans and marketing plans. Nothing was satisfying anymore. Ed promptly takes the can and celebrates by dancing. Suzy finds Ed and the two become lovers.

Characters
Agent Ed: Agent Ed is an alien; good but a little bit stupid. He has to repair his disaster. He is voiced by David Gasman.

Suzy: She is the daughter of the Doc and Ed's girlfriend. She is helping Ed in his adventure.

The Doc: Once free, the Doc, father of Suzy, helps Agent Ed to go to Grögh the Hellish's Castle to get his can back by inventing a machine.

Grögh the Hellish: Grögh the Hellish is the main antagonist of the game, he is now the master around the world and Agent Ed must stop his reign.

Agent Xyz: Another character who helps Agent Ed; this is a newspaper guy who explains to Agent Ed how to get through his adventure.

Burk : He is the former father of Ed. He tries to hurt his son, but fails when he crashes into a door.

The Judge : He is the uncle of Agent Ed and states that Agent Ed is guilty and must repair the damage done.

People in the Court: They are watching the tv of Agent Ed's can leaking odd flash.

The General: He is the grandfather of Agent Ed. When Agent Ed's ship loses control, Agent Ed is his own, but must get the can back.

The Elephant: He is best friends with Agent Ed, who needs to get the can back.

The Bartender: He is a firm brother to Agent Ed.

The Insane Patient: He is the nephew of Agent Ed.

The Pharmacist: He is Grogh the Hellish's assistance.

The Singing Woman: She is Grogh the Hellish's wife, who sings a song, but screams when she sees Ed, and runs away.

Enemies
Tomatoes : Tomatoes either skip or roll around. Tomatoes can't die unless they hit a wall or fall off where they're rolling.

Torches : Found in almost every level. They're round, red, mechanical, and a short white tube that resembles a flame thrower sticks out of it. About half of the base is attached to the wall. Fire comes out of the tube. Torches spread fire for only 3 seconds and then stop for 6. It's assumed that they are some type of security.

Cobs : Met after fixing a popcorn machine, Cob confronts Ed as an act of rebellion along with others. Cob can be easily defeated by moving in front of targets when he spits a seed at Ed, which bounces off and hits him. Then he falls apart and pops in the lava below him. If Ed revisits this place, another cob will take the previous place.

Robosuitcase : Robosuitcase is a not so intelligent robot that has gone haywire. Even though the only weapon he has is a duster, that is more than Ed can say for himself at the moment. Robosuitcase is defeated by Ed because he is lured onto a switch which requires someone heavy to activate. The switch raises a grate covering a popcorn/crunch depositer turning Ed into Super Ed, who then pummels Robosuitcase.

Carrots : Carrots spin around at a high speed in spots and if hit, will move around. The more common and slightly stronger ones are purple.

Beanstalks : Beanstalks throw their beans which explode when they hit ground. Sometimes, beanstalks can leave their beans and let them only explode when something comes near it.

Boxing Mushrooms : Boxing mushrooms wear shorts and fight hand to hand. If Ed brings out his peashooter, the mushrooms will spin on their heads quickly towards Ed.

Turnips : Turnips use pitchforks to attack. Turnips are only fought at the entrance of vegetable HQ. One hits tomatoes at Ed near the entrance to the glacier cocktail but can not be fought.

Jalapeño Pepper : Only found once in the vegetable HQ. Jalapeño pepper can only be hurt if Ed eats the popcorn/crunch turning into super Ed.

Electric Spike Balls : Electric spike balls appear more commonly in each level later on. They float above the ground and sometimes move in patterns. If Ed touches one, they explode. They're most likely meant for security.

Electricity : Electricity is either a small ball that hovers in a pattern or two balls across from each other that create a line of it in between. It is found in almost every level, maybe as some type of security.

Helling Guards : These are Grögh's henchmen. They are very strong, shirtless men who have long, wavy mustaches. Guards are filled with hot air. A lot of them are armed with shooters resembling toilet plungers. There's an exception of their weapons being replaced with pistons shooting sharp ice at the glacier cocktail. When Ed defeats one, they inflate and pop. All types of guards have goggles that cover up their four eyes.

Flying henchmen : Flying henchmen mostly fly in one spot shooting at whomever is against them. They fly using propeller caps just like the ones Ed collects at the north plain.

Cyborg henchmen : Cyborg henchmen attack with electricity that they control. Electrical conducts are used to charge them up. Cyborgs cannot be hurt except on their back because of their open flaps.

Old teeth : Found only in the reverse pyramid, these teeth will attack Ed by chomping him and move doing so. They take three hits before falling apart. If Ed brings out the pea shooter, they will turn invisible and stand still.

Mummies : One of the few enemies that talk, the mummies are fought all at once in their wheelchairs. With the exception of the first one which is seen at the end of a long gap filled with poison water shooting bugs through a blowpipe. If a mummy is hit once, they'll roll away for a while.

Levels
In the PC version, whenever a loading spot came up (because N64 cartridges can play games without that need) at the beginning of each level, there is a map shown of that location as a loading screen. If Ed is going to talk to someone, then the loading screen is of that person shown in drawings too.

Doc's Cave You must free the doc because his creations have become crazy. At the end, Ed confronts the monster holding the doc, robosuitcase, who talks a lot like a caveman. Once defeated, Ed finds his first tool/weapon. A stick he can whack with and pull levers by sticking them in where the handle should be.

Vegetable HQ You must collect 6 springs on this level. Upon entering, a beanstalk confronts Ed, telling him that he stands no chance. A short while later, though, Ed proves him wrong after knocking him into a lava pit along with a non talkative tomato named ketchup. After this defeat, Ed must work a platform crossing many electrical devices and then fight a jalapeño pepper. After bringing back the spring, the doc gives Ed the peashooter.

North Plain You must collect 6 propellers on this level. A lot like the south plain, except with many gaps. Grögh has taken over the north plain and reformated it like a castle, complete with guards. This level introduces proppeler guards who use proppelers on their head to fly. After giving the doc the proppelers, Ed receives the ability to fly with his bowtie.

Canyon You must collect 6 jumping stones on this level. Ed meets a flying elephant that can talk at the very beginning of this level. The majority of this level having lava below, Ed has to fly most of the way across. Two most common obstacles are giant pieces of wood and Gröghs henchmen, who wait on small pieces of land. When Ed gives the doc the stones, he is rewarded with a fishbowl that can be used to swim underwater.

Glacier Cocktail You must collect 6 feathers on this level. Ed talks with a bartender at the very beginning of this level. The newly found groga substance is tested here on henchmen. Because of that, some of the ones Ed encounters think they're ballet dancers. It is said that some think they are ostriches too but this is never seen and probably was only put in because of the feather searching. This level introduces the electrical robots guards too. Ed sees that one of the gears to open the door leading to the end is missing. He must raise the water then freeze it and then melt it to raise it twice. After Ed delivers the feathers, the doc gives him the chameleon power, which allows Ed to transform into anything on the picture of an octanagle platform.

Reversed Pyramid You must collect 6 dominoes on this level. Ed talks to a seems to be an insane patient at the very beginning of this level as well as throughout the whole level. Ed must get past a giant cat, dozens of spikes, old teeth that attack anything moving, boulders, and old wheelchair mummies (meant literally due to their mom like appearance). After Ed gives the doc the dominoes, he gets the new improved pogo-stick. It allows Ed ability to wrap around it while hopping across hot coals and stomp the ground very hard.

'''Pressure Cooker You must collect 6 piggy banks on this level. Ed meets the pharmacist at the very beginning of this level. This is where some of the tonics experiments are held for research. Being the most technical level, Ed must work with the machinery in order to get where he is going. Some talkative guard sees Ed and locks a door blocking his path. Ed uses his chameleon power to disguise himself as a piston, then squishes the guard. Half way through, Ed has to discuise himself as Grögh to trick someone but turns back to himself after passing though a door. When the guard finds out that it was Ed, the guard makes Ed cross through a lava deathtrap. After pulling through, Another guard tries to flood him out. Lastly Ed transforms into a box, seeing that a guard is kicking them through a hole leading to the exit. But one of the alive vegetables suddenly appears and takes the last pig. After leaving, the doc informs Ed that he has struck a deal with agent xyz to get Ed gets unlimited ammo for the peashooter.

Magic Mushrooms Hideout Although, only technically a level, the hideout is quite difficult. The majority of the level is spent riding down huge metal pipes with electricity and gaps. At the end, Ed fights the magic mushroom himself, who also had a plan for ruling the world, much so the same as all the other alive vegetables.

Grögh's Castle It is always raining at the castle. When Ed enters, he is confronted by all the guards in the general area. Ed makes it through to find that when he almost got to Grögh, one guard moved all the platforms to get there with. Afterwards he finds Grögh in a giant robot version of the can that started the whole mess. He gives chase to find that all he can do is run. Ed outruns the robot but it turns out he's at the end of a lava pit with Grögh coming slowly closer to squish him. Then the fight finally comes to the end match. When finally defeated by Ed and a combination of his bow tie, peashooter and stick, Grögh loses all means of defence against Ed.