New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

Spooky [N64 – Cancelled]

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Spooky is a cancelled action game that was in development by ICE (International Computer Entertainment), shown for the first time in October 1997, but later vanished without any official statement. The gameplay was going to be somehow similar to Freak Boy, another unreleased Nintendo 64 game. The player would had to save a bizarre alien world, from the menace of the “ArchMorph”, an evil alien race survived after a major disaster. The screenshots in the gallery below seem to be taken from a target render, as the graphic looked a bit too much nice for a N64 title.

As in Freak Boy, the protagonist would have been able to mutate into three different forms, to resolve puzzles and to fight better. In the game’s levels we had to collect 30 pieces of a mirror, to be able to “absorb” the evil Arch-Morph, transform into it and be able to win the fight. Sadly Spooky was never finished, probably because ICE never found a publisher interested in the project and the N64 software market was in serious decline at the time.

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Toon Panic 64 [N64 – Cancelled]

Toon Panic was a multiplayer brawler / arcade fighting game for Nintendo 64, in development at Bottom Up. It was meant to be similar to Power Stone or Rakugaki ShowTime, but it was later cancelled because of bankruptcy of the studio. A proto was sold some years ago on a japanese auction, and finally leaked to the public on the 3 December 2008, thanks to Team Carrot / No-Intro. “Unfortunately the game is far from being complete. There is a nice intro with cool music, no main game, a multiplayer mode but without IA and some debug features.” The Final Fantasy 8 images in the characters select screen were just placeholders.. a weird choice from the developers.

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DT 64 (Bloodmaster) [N64 – Cancelled]

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We dont have many informations on DT 64 (also known as “Bloodmaster”): the game was supposed to be an Card RPG with an interesting connection-mode between the 64DD and the Game Boy. The game was in development by Marigul and Media Factory and probably it would have been published by Nintendo. The player had to collect a series of cards to use them in combat as in Magic The Gatering.

DT 64 was shown at the Space World 1999 in a non-playable form: there was just a logo and some text , with the GameBoy Link Cable,  that would have been used to connect the two Nintendo consoles. The GameBoy could have been used as a controller for the 64DD game, to check the card statistics and share data with a presumed Bloodmaster GB version. The two games, one for the 64DD and one for the GB, would had exchanged data to integrate parts of the story and unlock new levels / cards. Players would have been able to  play online with the 64DD Randnet Network, to trade cards and complete their collection.

In a scan from a Japanese magazine, we can read (thanks to Ultrama82 for the translation!): “A controller with a brain.” Even if the translation is not accurate because an ideogram is hide by the reflection of the light, making it unrecognizable, the concept is certainly intriguing. Sadly DT64 was cancelled and it vanished without any more screens or info.

italian_flag.jpg [spoiler /Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano/ /Nascondi la versione in Italiano/]Non si hanno molte informazioni su questo DT 64 (conosciuto anche con il sottotitolo di “Bloodmaster”): il gioco avrebbe dovuto essere un CARD RPG con interazione fra 64DD e GameBoy, sviluppato da Marigul e Media Factory. Il giocatore avrebbe dovuto collezionare una serie di carte ed utilizzarle nei combattimenti, un po’ come succede in Magic The Gatering.

DT 64 è stato presentato allo Space World del 1999 in forma non giocabile, attraverso una vetrina che mostrava il Link Cable, capace di unire le due console Nintendo. La console portatile avrebbe potuto essere utilizzata come controller del gioco, per osservare sul piccolo schermo le statistiche raccolte ed interagire con una presunta versione GB di Bloodmaster. Le due versioni, quella per 64DD e quella per GB, scambiavano fra loro i dati, per integrare parti della storia e nuove situazioni. Gli utenti sarebbero stati in grado di estrarre i dati della propria partita, collegarsi online con la rete Randnet del 64DD e scambiare le carte raccolte in DT 64 con gli altri giocatori in rete, per completare la collezione.

Nella terza immagine, dalle scritte in giapponese si legge: “Un controller con un cervello”. La traduzione è probabilmente errata perchè in un ideogramma c’è il riflesso della luce, che lo rende irriconoscibile, ma il concetto è sicuramente intrigante: quali idee avevano in mente per il gioco? Quali funzioni avrebbe permesso di realizzare il GameBoy come “controller intelligente”?

Traduzione dal giapponese di Ultraman82 [/spoiler]

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ClayFighter Extreme (63 1/3) [N64 – Beta / Tech Demo / Unused Stuff]

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Clayfighter for the Nintendo Ultra 64 was an average fighting game, which had a good fanbase because of the extravagance of its characters.  It was originally meant to be released for the cancelled M2 console (http://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/07/clayfighter-3-m2-cancelled/ for more info), after this projetic was ported to playstation, but the project was later ported to the N64. In the early screens  we can notice that the graphic was much more detailed and definited than the final version: the background scenario and the 2D models were in “high definition” and certainly it could have not run in real time on the Nintendo 64 console. Probably  these images were from a Target Render.  In the beta screens we can even see Hobocop, a bum / hobo / cop / alcoholic that was completely removed from the final version of the sculptor cut, because of censorship. In 1997, Nintendo Power ran an issue with Clay Fighter as the cover story. The scans show some interesting stuff such as unfinished and different level designs, the removed character Hobo Cop, and no mention of Earthworm Jim being in the game. (Maybe Jim wasn’t in the game or was a secret character)

Also, in the second video (uploaded on Youtube by MrSyd), we can notice some more beta differences:

  • resampled voices from older games
  • different sound effects
  • camera moves alot differently
  • life bars are more detailed

In the Clayfighter Prototype there are some beta secret opitons:

  • Game Speed: Normal, Whoa and Are You Nuts?
  • Frosty is a Hosehead: On or Off

Also with the gameshark code 801A2B39 0001 you can find a unused outfit for Kung Pow: Blue with Green Pan.

Lucas used the gameshark code of chose the character for player 1 and when he choose the beta characters but alaways he got Bad Mr Frosty with green hat so maybe originally Frosty had green hat as first color.

All exclusive characters (and maybe some stuff) from sculptor cut was removed due a memory limitation.

Thanks to Cubivore10 and Lucas Araujo for the contributions!

italian_flag.jpg [spoiler /Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano/ /Nascondi la versione in Italiano/]Clayfighter per Nintendo Ultra 64 si è rivelato un piacchiaduro deludente, che ha attirato l’attenzione dei giocatori soltanto per la stravaganza dei suoi personaggi. Le prime foto diffuse dagli sviluppatori mostravano però una grafica davvero magnifica, ben oltre le capacità dell’hardware N64. Fondali e modelli 2D ad altissima definizione che sicuramente non potevano girare in tempo reale sulla console Nintendo. E’ probabile che queste immagini si riferissero semplicemente ad un Tech Demo, sviluppato con più potenti computer, creato come concept per il gioco nelle sue fasi iniziali di design. E’ interessante notare come fra i protagonisti annunciati in origine era presente un certo Hobocop, un barbone / poliziotto / alcolizzato, che potete ammirare nella terza foto in questa pagina. Hobocop è stato completamente rimosso dalla versione finale del gioco, forse per essere un soggetto un po’ troppo scomodo. La censuraaaaaa![/spoiler]

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The Reign of Cats and Dogs [N64 – Proto / Unreleased]

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The Reign of Cats and Dogs is a mysterious cancelled Nintendo 64 game that was in development by Paradox Games, that tried to show it to various publishers to pitch for a contract. There are few info on the game apart from some small screenshots remained on the website of one of its original developers:

A prototype 3D action / strategy hybrid in C + + on SGI Performer, intended to be published on the Nintendo 64. This one has not seen the light of the open market.

As we can imagine from the title, we would have probably had to fight a war between cats and dogs, in an action game with some strategy elements. The prototype did not run on the real N64 hardware, but on a PC  to test the  controls and the interactions with the scenario. The Reign Of Cats & Dogs could have been a fun concept, but unfortunately it was cancelled for the lack of a publisher interested to release the full game.

italian_flag.jpg [spoiler /Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano/ /Nascondi la versione in Italiano/]Questo misterioso gioco è stato un progetto quasi amatoriale, sviluppato da Paradox Games che sperava di convincere qualche distributore a pubblicarlo su Nintendo 64. Le notizie a riguardo sono scarse, ma fortunatamente è stato possibile trovare il sito web del Game Designer che ha lavorato su “The Reign Of Cats & Dogs”, dove è rimasta una traccia del gioco:

“A prototype 3D action/strategy hybrid in C++ on SGI Performer, intended to be published on the Nintendo 64. This one hasn’t seen the light of the open market.”

Il progetto doveva quindi essere un gioco d’azione strategica, probabilmente una lotta fra gruppi di gatti e cani, come possiamo immaginare dal titolo. Il prototipo non girava su vero hardware Nintendo, ma su di un computer in cui testare le varie possibilità di interazione e controllo. Il giocatore avrebbe preso il controllo di una delle due fazioni, combattendo contro l’altra e dando ordini ai propri compagni. Graficamente molto scarno, “The Reign Of Cats & Dogs” poteva essere un idea interessante, ma purtroppo è stato cancellato dal team di sviluppo, forse per la mancanza di un publisher che avrebbe diffuso il lavoro completo. Sarebbe stato inutile continuare i lavori sul gioco, per poi non poterlo vendere nei negozi.[/spoiler]

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