New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

Microsoft, Others, PC / MAC, Xbox

Battle Rigs (Rage Software) [Xbox, PC – Cancelled]

monokoma
30-11-2020
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Battle Rigs (AKA Construction Derby) is a cancelled vehicular combat game that was in development by Rage Software Sheffield around 2000 – 2001, planned to be released for the original Xbox and PC. At the time the team was mostly known for their work on Gun Metal and Incoming, proving their skills with first person and third person shooters. In Battle Rigs players would have been able to build their own sci-fi tank / spaceship to fight in single player and online multiplayer deathmatches.

While Battle Rigs was never officially announced before being canned, former Rage developer James Sutherland found a playable prototype of their lost project and shared one screenshot on Twitter.

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Others, PC / MAC

Caravan (Parallax Arts Studio) [PC – Cancelled]

monokoma
30-11-2020
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Caravan is a cancelled “Funny Adventure Shooter” that was in development by Parallax Arts Studio around 2004 – 2005, planned to be released on PC. The game was set in a fantasy middle east world, somehow similar to the Arabian Nights, but with a more comical point of view. While at the time Parallax Arts shared some screenshots and footage on Caravan’s official website, today those files seem lost forever (were uploaded in Flash and Archive.org did not save them properly. If you are able to restore those files, please let us know!).

At least some details on the game’s story can still be read:

“Caravan is the adventure of a young sluggard hopelessly fallen in love with a beautiful princess. The game starts at the moment when a fugitive Genie penetrates into the fellow’s head. The Genie has managed to escape from a wicked Magus, a fire-worshipper, who illegally catches magic creatures and turns them into slaves. Having found a refuge in the main hero’s mind (this is the only way for a Genie to feel safe from the Magus and his supernatural servants), the Genie offers a bargain to the fellow. The deal is the following: the Hero has to destroy an alchemical laboratory and set Genie’s friends free. In exchange, the Genie will help him to marry the Princess.”

Nintendo, Nintendo 3DS

Tobe! Dragon [Nintendo 3DS – Cancelled]

monokoma
30-11-2020
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Tobe! Dragon (Fly! Dragon) is a cancelled air-racing game that was in development by Amzy for Nintendo 3DS. Announced in 2015, the game quietly vanished without any screenshot or footage released until it was officially cancelled by the company in 2019. We assume gameplay would have been similar to Mario Kart, with characters riding their dragons to race and using special moves to slow down their opponents. We hope there could be some screenshots published in japanese gaming magazines, but at the moment we did not find any.

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Nintendo, SNES + Super Famicom

Nandemo!? Taihoman [Super Famicom – Cancelled]

monokoma
24-11-2020
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Nandemo!? Taihoman (なんでも!? タイホマン) is a cancelled action platformer that was in development by Namco around 1995, planned to be released on the Super Famicom / SNES. A short preview of the game was also published in EGM (April 1995 issue), but in the end the game was never released in any region. It seems gameplay would have been similar to Kirby and MegaMan, with the robotic protagonist (Taihoman) being able to absorb abilities / fuse with other objects to gain new skills.

“The robot cop from a popular manga bounces into side-scrolling action! Taihoman is an unbelivably advanced mech who has been designed to combat an inept criminal syndicate. He can fuse with many devices to gain powers, line a fan to fly, a lighter to spew flames, a battery to zap foes and even a pop machine to bombard enemies with cans of cola!”

To promote the game Namco also released a Nandemo!? Taihoman manga by Taku Koide and phonecard, with a proposed anime by Sunrise that was also canned (only a pilot seems to have been seen by industry insiders).

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Others, PC Engine / PC FX

Uesugi Genjin (Bonk Strategy) [PC Engine – Cancelled Concept]

monokoma
24-11-2020
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Uesugi Genjin (possibly related to Uesugi Kenshin, a japanese feudal lord lived in the Sengoku period of Japan) is an undeveloped war strategy RPG set in the Bonk (PC Genjin) series, that was proposed by Red Company / Hudson among many other joke / potential titles in Gekkan PC-Engine magazine. Bonk creators would often appear in the magazine to show their weird ideas for new games, but most of them were just funny gags that were never intended to be fully developed.

Only a few of them (as it happened with RPC Genjin) got more attention, some mockups were produced and even playable prototypes. Unfortunately we don’t know how much Uesugi Genjin was really developed into a war strategy game by Red Company, but at least they shared a single screenshot in the April / June 1991 issue of Gekkan PC-Engine magazine.

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