Sega

Aero The Acro-Bat [SNES GEN MD – Beta / Concept]

Aero the Acro-Bat is a platform game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft in 1993. Super for the Super Nintendo and Mega Drive / Genesis. At Kombo we can read an interesting article about the game, in which they even shared the original design doc, created by David Siller in 1992. Some of the major differences that we can notice from looking at the design doc are:

in-level missions such as hopping over quicksand and landing in a lion’s mouth that did not make it to the final version of the game.

Not all of these items are in the final version either. The barrel, for instance, appears in a single stage and is presented as a mode of transportation instead of an item worth points.

Unused enemies

The original mission objective screen showed Aero in action as an example on what the player needs to do. While this idea was not included in the original 1993 release, the 2002 Game Boy Advance re-release added a variation of this concept back into the game.

Thanks to Robert Seddon for the contribution!

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The Mask [SNES – Beta]

The Mask is a platform game (based on the film with the same name) developed by Black Pearl Software and published in 1995 by THQ for the Super Nintendo. Early in its development, the game was much different from the final version, as noticed by Mister Syd on the Lost Levels Forum:

Health meter is a series of facial expressions, while the health meter is numerical in actual game.

The Mask’s sprite is completely different in shape, color and design, almost as if this build was completely dismissed and recreated from the ground up.

Visually, I find this the most interesting because it looked like it was going to play more like a brawler than the platformer it turned out to be.

All of the screenshots’ backgrounds are not used anywhere in the final version of the game.

Unused abilities; The Mask has no low-kick, or a (strange-looking) gun that fires projectiles in the game and the mallet is a different color (and pose) but the tornado’s design might of been used in the game.

Some of the enemies in the screen shots I think are actually still in the game, but could be edited a bit in the release; the man with the gun by the bank vault is likely not in the final release though.

The Mask was also planned for the Genesis / Mega Drive, but this version was never released.

Thanks to Celine for the contribution! (scan from EGM #61)

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Free Runner [Saturn – Cancelled]

Free Runner is a cancelled action adventure (?) that was in development in 1995 by Rebellion for the Sega Saturn. There are not many info about its gameplay, but a little background on the story and a couple of screenshots from a target render were found by Rod_Wod in an old Sega Power magazine. It seems that in Free Runner players would had take the role of a cyber hacker, who had to surf the net to investigate a brutal real-world killing. The game was shown (?) in some form at E3 1995.

If you know someone that worked on this game and could help us to preserve more info and media, please let us know!

Thanks to Rod_Wod for the contribution!

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Rollcage (Team 17) [PSX SAT 3DO – Cancelled]

Rollcage is a cancelled racing game that was in development by Team 17 for the original Playstation, Saturn and 3DO. Even if the title is the same, this game is not the same Rollcage (a futuristic racer) developed by Attention To Detail and published by Psygnosis in 1999. Team 17’s Rollcage was a more traditional racing game, with “realistic” cars and tracks from the real world. There are no more info available on this project, but Celine was able to find some screenshots in CD Consoles magazine issue #7. Rollcage was never released on any platform, for unknown reasons.

Unclejun found a video from ECTS ’95 on a cover disc from Génération 4 issue #78 showcasing the game, it was supposed to be the first Daytona USA-like racing game on the PC, featuring a mix of stuntcar and stockcar gameplay and capable of 60fps on a Pentium.

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Angel [Saturn – Cancelled]

Angel is a cancelled platform / action game that was in development by Scavenger for the Sega Saturn. Sadly there are just few info and a couple of screenshots about this lost project, found by Rod_Wod in an old magazine. It seems that players would have took the role of an angelic girl (?), to explore a gothic tower and other demonic areas to stop the devil from ruling the world… or something like that. A demo was shown at E3 1996, but we dont know if it was a playable one or just a video. In late 1996 / early 1997, Scavenger had to close down for economic problems and all the games that were in development in their studio were canned.

If you know someone that worked on this game and could help us to preserve more screenshots, please let us know!

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