Nes / Famicom

Glove Pilot [NES – Cancelled]

Glove Pilot is a cancelled NES game that was in development since late ‘80s by Mattel for their classic Power Glove motion controller. Players would move their hand to use on-screen levers and buttons, flying a space fighter, fighting enemies and analyzing the environments of alien planets.

The game was originally listed alongside with other Power Glove titles (Super Glove Ball, The Terror of Tech Town) in a Mattel promotional booklet, then talked about in a few gaming magazines (such as Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 2), but later quietly vanished with no more information than a short description and a single screenshot:

“The instrument panel is displayed on the video screen. It is a complex cluster of dials, gauges and switches. And you are in control. Activate the Power Glove and you actually “reach” into the game screen to control your interplanetary fighter. Every motion of the Glove is transmitted directly to the control panel, as you are in command of a mission that will test your skill to the limit.

You will salvage wrecked fighters by accessing their control panels through your own. You will take soil and atmospheric samples, analyzing for hazardous material. You will scan rock formations for precious metals. And, of course, you will pilot your fighter into battle, with advanced weapons systems at your fingertips. Six exciting worlds await the pilot with speed and skill to meet the challenge of Glove Pilot.”

In the end only two games created specifically for the Power Glove were ever released by Mattel: Super Glove Ball and Bad Street Brawler. The other 3 games announced (Glove Pilot, Manipulator Glove Adventure and Tech Town) vanished forever after the company and the market lost faith in the accessory.

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Brain Bender (Migraine) [NES – Cancelled]

Brain Bender (AKA Migraine) is a puzzle game that was in development for the Nintendo Famicom / NES. Players had to move mirrors to deflect laser beams in the right order. A single screenshot of this lost game was found in a japanese magazine, but not much is known about it. Gremlin Interactive developed a Game Boy version that was released in 1991, but we are not sure if it’s the same game nor if Gremlin was also working on the NES edition.

Thanks to Celine for the contribution! 

Meiro Daikatsugeki Pata Pata Panic [NES / Famicom – Cancelled]

Meiro Daikatsugeki Pata Pata Panic (迷路大活劇ぱたぱたパニック) is a cancelled puzzle game that was in development by Varie Corporation for Nintendo Famicom / NES. It’s quite an obscure lost game and there’s no information about it online, but a promotional poster was sold sometime ago on Yahoo Auction Japan, so at least we can see artwork and some tiny screenshots. Varie officially announced the cancellation of their game in Famitsu magazine (December 22, 1989).

If you can find something else on Meiro Daikatsugeki Pata Pata Panic in old japanese magazines, please let us know!

  

Dai Mao ZARK Densetsu [NES / Famicom – Cancelled]

Dai Mao ZARK Densetsu (大魔王ZARK伝説 – Legend of the Great Demon King ZARK) is a cancelled side scrolling action RPG that was in development by J & U for Famicom (NES) around 1990. Previews and screenshots of the game were published in Japanese magazines at the time, but it quietly vanished and today not much info remains about this game. By looking at the few screenshots available it seems you could use your horse to move through different levels in an overworld map similar to the one seen in Super Mario Bros 3, and each stage had some fantasy enemies to fight.

As noted by Chris Covell, this may have been somehow related to another cancelled Famicom RPG titled “Off Zarken”: if you can read Japanese and would like to translate the main details found in these photos, please leave a comment below!

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Monster City Naga (Irem) [NES / Famicom – Cancelled]

Monster City Naga (魔獣都市ナーガ – Maju Toshi Naga) is a cancelled JRPG that was in development by Compile and it would have been published by Irem for Nintendo Famicom (NES). It was quite an ambitious project for its time: it would feature an internal clock to track real-life hours (similar to Animal Crossing), so NPCs could move and act according to the time of day.

Japanese websites seem to indicate the game was completed, but never released for unknown reasons. In november 2020 some screenshots were found and shared on Twitter (thanks to Heimao!). By looking at these images the main protagonist looks a bit like the one from the manga “Bio Booster Armor Guyver”, but as far as we know they are unrelated.

Apart from its interesting real-time mechanic, gameplay seen in these images seem on par with classic 8-Bit JRPGs: world and city exploration, talking to NPCs and turn-based battles against monsters.

If you find more images or details about Monster City Naga in old gaming magazines, please let us know!

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