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!
OutSider is a cancelled “open city” motorbike racing game that was planned in 1996 for the Nintendo 64. Players would be able to freely ride around the city, escaping from chases and resolving different missions. As far as we know the project was never officially announced, but in June 2021 a former developer shared some images on Twitter. The name of the company is blurred out in the document, but it seems the developer worked for Hudson Soft in the ‘90s, so this could have been one of their strange but fascinating N64 projects.
When it was conceived OutSider was quite an original racing game, but it seems after Climax Entertainment released Felony 11-79 / Runabout in 1997 the team decided to cancel the project, possibly because it was too similar to it or not as fun to play.
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Tank Assault is a cancelled third person shooter that was in development by Wicked Witch Software, planned to be released on Nintendo DS. The game was based on their eponymous mobile app, trying to find a publisher interested in releasing it on the portable console market. The team created a playable demo using their own 3D engine, which looked quite impressive for running on the DS hardware.
Some details were published on their old website:
“The game draws on themes from the real world game titles such as Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 4, Counter-Strike or Operation Flashpoint. This demo is a range of possible games from Arcade First Person Shooter, to Combat simulation, to Squad based Real Time Strategy with local or online multiplayer features!
Many styles of gameplay will have players finding themselves fighting with or against their friends on a local connection or online in an open map or as team-mates fighting cooperatively through hordes of AI soldiers and vehicles. The multiplayer game and maps will vary from modified versions of single player maps to unique battlefields designed for warring parties.
The modern world with its trouble-spots and current conflicts gives plenty of scope to base this game off a real scenario or even to make a very compelling scenario out of imaginary countries and regions. The time period can vary as well with modern warfare games easily converted into Vietnam War, post-modern or even WW2 games.”
As far as we know Wicked Witch Software never found a publisher and Tank Assault had to be canned, along with their other games for Nintendo’s portable consoles: War Monster DS and War Monster Game Boy.
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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!
Jibaku-kun: Zero no Ki no Kajitsu (ジバクくん 零の樹の果実 ワールド) is a cancelled Action RPG that was in development by Enterbrain and Media Factory for Game Boy Color. The game is based on a manga / anime series by Ami Shibata and gameplay is kinda similar to the Tales Of series: players can explore the world and its cities, talking to NPCs and resolving quests, while fighting monsters in side-scrolling combat.
This is one of the playable GBC prototypes that was found in the Nintendo Gigaleak in September 2020, so luckily it was preserved: a few screenshots and gameplay footage are available online.
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