#5 Thrill Kill
Another iconic video game title that did not see an official launch that still widely known about and playable is Thrill Kill. Developed Under Paradox Development and published by Virgin Interactive, the game was in developed for a release in 1998 for the PlayStation platform. This game was notorious online for being brutal, much like Mortal Kombat and also featured sexual suggestion materials. This caused the game to receive an AO rating, but despite the rating, development continued.
Overall, the game follows a group of fighters who take on manifestations of their evil inner being. All of the fighters were murdered previously to the game starting and as a result, they are entered into a tournament in hell with the last person standing receiving a chance to be reincarnated. Development went smoothly and at the time of its cancellation, the developers had already finished the game with just weeks away before it was set to ship.
The problem was that their original publisher, Virgin Interactive had the rights to the game and they were bought by Electronic Arts. Electronic Arts found the game to be too senseless and felt that would damage their brand. Not only were they not for publishing the game, but they also wouldn’t give the rights to another publisher to release the game. Developers who had worked on the game ended up leaking it where it’s quite common to find online and even in physical editions.
#4 Quik The Thunder Rabbit SNES
Back in the early 1990s, there was plenty of video games released into the market that brought attitude and fast action platforming. One of the video games hoping to leave their mark during the era was Quik The Thunder Rabbit. Released in 1994 for the Amiga from development studio Stywox with publishing by Titus France, the game released but didn’t have the grand success that the developers had hoped to reach like Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog.
However, it turns out that there was a chance we could have seen the game release on another popular platform in the early 1990s. A prototype leaked online showcasing Quik The Thunder Rabbit on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System but it’s far from finished. There are bugs and at a certain point within the game, it actually ends up crashing completely. Also, there’s no sound to the game so this build that leaked was likely something the development studio was tinkering around with a port possibly in mind. We’re not sure just why the developers decided to not progress any further but you can at least give the game a try.
#3 Die Hard N64
It doesn’t come to much of a surprise that a beloved and well-received film would receive a video game adaptation. For example, Die Hard was adapted a few times into a video game format but back in the late 1990s, there was a Nintendo 64 video game based off the film franchise. This is a relatively new discovery as there wasn’t any real unveiling to the public or press but in 2017, the N64 version of the game was revealed online. This game was in the works by Bits Studio and slated to launch in 1999. However, it was scrapped, never to see the light of day until an online forum user released footage of the game.
Apparently, this forum user was a developer for Bits Studios back in the day and showcased the gameplay online. It essentially took after the success of GoldenEye with players going through various locations blasting away the enemy. This game wasn’t complete and it was sectioned out across a few different ROMs that featured both fully playable levels along with test areas that developers were tinkering with.
What we know about the cancellation is that the game was too close to the end of the console lifecycle which resulted in scrapping the game and instead focusing on a new version for the Nintendo GameCube. This game did release into the market as Die Hard Vendetta, but it’s certainly neat to see this game’s origin.
#2 Nightmare Busters
Nightmare Busters was developed under Arcade Zone back in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System where the goal was to deliver a run-and-gun style title. The game was based around leprechaun brothers who were fighting against a foe that could infiltrate the minds of children and cause nightmare dreams. During the game’s development, the project was forced to close due to financial issues, but the beta eventually found its way to fans.
Interestingly enough, there was such an outcry from fans to see this game actually come to fruition with a complete title releasing despite the SNES being well past its prime. Despite the age of the console, Arcade Zone along with Super Fighter Team managed to print the game for an official launch years later.
#1 Buck Rogers SNES Game
Buck Rogers was a well-known franchise and during the mid-1990s, there was almost a Super Nintendo Entertainment System game. There’s not a ton of information about the game, unfortunately, but what we can tell you is that development team Loriciel had the rights to produce a game which they were working on. However, they ended up losing the rights during development and from what is known, the development studio decided to not scrap the video game entirely.
Instead, the developers opted to replace the character with their own created protagonist, Jim Power. The game was still mainly the same with being a platformer with parallax scrolling along with being packaged with 3D glasses for gamers to wear while playing to get a greater 3D style experience. Despite the original Buck Rogers character slated to be featured in the game and taken out, there were leaks online of early builds for the game, showing the original version of Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3-D.
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