Sega

Panic World (Digital Eclipse) [Dreamcast – Cancelled]

Panic World is a cancelled puzzle game that was in development by Digital Eclipse, planned to be released on Dreamcast. Gameplay was similar to Tetris Attack, Puzzle Bobble or Magical Drop, with players trying to combine 4 gems of the same colors to make them vanish, while doing combos to send magical attacks to the other player.

As far as we know Panic World was never officially announced by Digital Eclipse, but a former developer found a prototype and shared a few photos and a gameplay video on Twitter. It seems the team created an early demo before the game was canned because of the failure of the Dreamcast.

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Mortimer in the Big City (Imagitec) [Cancelled – SNES, Mega Drive]

Mortimer in the Big City is a cancelled action adventure that was in early development by Imagitec Design for Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive / Genesis. The project is mostly forgotten today, but a short article about it was published in 1992 on Hobby Consolas magazine (issue 10), with a few details on it’s gameplay (translated with Google):

“Mortimer, who is the “protagonist”, must do everything possible to rescue his girlfriend Maria Mouse from the clutches of Rufus the Rat. There are six levels to explore in which you can find everything: from animals of all kinds to an infinite number of objects, platforms, some humans, puzzles, traps and, above all, bomb-proof action and exasperating gameplay.”

At the time Imagitec developed some fun games such as The Humans and Viking Child, so we can just wonder if Mortimer in the Big City could have been another interesting project. The only Mortimer image published in Hobby Consolas is a concept art, and we don’t know if they ever created a playable prototype before its cancellation.

 

Fanzuforumu / Fansform [Sega Saturn – Cancelled]

Fanzuforumu / Fansform / Funsform (ファンズフォルム) is a cancelled action adventure / 3D platformer that was in development by Nihon MMI Technology around 1996, planned to be published on Sega Saturn. The protagonist was a polar bear with a red scarf, exploring a fantasy world inhabited by fairies, in which players could also enjoy many different mini-games.

The only screenshots available seem to be from a pre-rendered mockup, so we don’t know how it would play or how much of the game was done before its cancellation. We speculate Fanzuforumu could have been similar to other 3D platformers of its time, but unfortunately there are not many details about this lost game, just a short preview published in Saturn Fan magazine (issue 22 – 11/1/1996), translated with Google:

“The main character, Adobe Penchade, is a bear drawn in Polygon. The giller manipulates the cartridge, roaming over the field and adventuring into the world of fairy tales. In addition to the main story, you can also enjoy playing with mini games such as exercises and shooting.”

 

Arms Race (Gremlin) [PlayStation, Saturn, PC – Cancelled]

Arms Race is a cancelled action shooter that was in development by Gremlin Interactive around 1997, planned to be released on Playstation, Sega Saturn and PC. Players would ride a futuristic tank, exploring 12 levels while shooting down waves of enemies. It seems the project was led by Steve Zalud and developed using the Re-Loaded 3D engine.

The story would be set in the distant future, when the Cold War will once again be in full swing between six mega-corporations seeking to take over the world. On behalf of one of these agencies you would set off into enemy territory in order to steal weapons and trade secrets.

Screenshots were published in a few European gaming magazines such as Joystick France (issue 82), Play (issue 16), Mean Machines Sega (issue 52) and Generation 4 (issue 99)

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Puyo Korogashi [Sega 32X, Saturn – Cancelled]

Puyo Korogashi is a cancelled racing game that was in development by Compile around 1995, initially planned for the Sega 32-x Mega Drive add-on but later moved to the Saturn. By looking at concept art published in a Japanese gaming magazine it seems that while racing players had to roll a giant puyo slime / ball (just like in Tamakorogashi, a game in which kids roll balls during sports days at school). Each character had their own way to push the puyo: for example a witch would use her broom, an anthropomorphic elephant would blow it with its trunk and a fish with legs would slap it with its fins. For sure Puyo Korogashi could have been a fun game to watch!

In concept art we also see “question marks doors” with traps behind them: we speculate these would work like those fake doors in “Takeshi’s Castle” and players would have to choose the correct one to pass through. If this was the case, races in Puyo Korogashi could have been even crazier and more unpredictable than other Mario Kart clones.

In the end the game was never released and we don’t know how much was completed before its cancellation.

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