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[VGEsoterica]

Recently (October) I got a random email in my inbox with two files attached. An email account from Japan I'd never seen before. Inside were the betas to Kenju and Force Five...two cancelled fighting games for the Sammy Atomiswave. (basically the Dreamcast with a JAMMA edge)

Kenju is finished and it's surprisingly awesome. Force Five was unfinished and it showed. Lackluster fighting engine and no special moves / grapples were programmed in yet. Plus when you beat the game it just froze...zero ending! Super interesting from a historical and preservation standpoint but as a game...meh at best.

Years later a company by the name of Atravita would buy the Force Five assets, "finish" the game and release it on the Sega NAOMI under the title "Jingi Storm : The Arcade". By finish I mean add a few moves, change character costumes AND add in a very weird anime girl mechanic between stages. Def not something that was in Force Five! Not sure why they decided to spend their time on the anime girl aspect and NOT in improving the game mechanics confuses me but...I guess maybe that's what sold games better? lol But it really isn't surprising...Atravita had never made a game before Jingi Storm and never made one after. Not sure if they were even legit developers or just a fly by night publishing company looking to make a quick buck!

The only other example of something like this happening I can think of is weirdly another fighting game....Thrill Kill for PS1 was cancelled and went on to be morphed into Wu-Tang : Shaolin Style.

Curious if anyone has other examples of cancelled games that eventually saw the light of day? Might do more stuff talking about them

But...I'd probably avoid Jingi Storm if I was you unless you've run out of Tekken like 3D fighters lol. Fun to play for a laugh though!

 

[VGEsoterica]

In case you have never seen either. Assuming nobody really has. It's hilarous how much the two games share. Jingi Storm basically changed NOTHING...but they did ass in a "sexy George Washington" character...complete with powdered wig!

 

[Pejo]

There was Thrill Kill. I had a copy of it that ran on my PS1, but I don't remember much about it.

 

[VGEsoterica]

There was Thrill Kill. I had a copy of it that ran on my PS1, but I don't remember much about it.

Thats the one other example I mentioned in the post. Maybe it is the only other one? Bummer Thrill Kill never released...but at least we have the leak!

 

[Pejo]

Thats the one other example I mentioned in the post. Maybe it is the only other one? Bummer Thrill Kill never released...but at least we have the leak!

The only other one I even know about, but I can't find the name anywhere is that really really odd 2D fighter in Japan where you play as a giant disembodied head and really strange other characters. There are probably a ton of 2D fighters that got started/partly finished and never officially released though. I would think that that's an easy genre to build a game for but tough to get it tuned and animated and finished.

 

[01011001]

There was Thrill Kill. I had a copy of it that ran on my PS1, but I don't remember much about it.

yeah people handed that game around back in the day. I remember playing it at a friends house, it was absolutely dogshit xD no wonder it got cancelled, but still an interesting little artefact I guess.

 

[VGEsoterica]

yeah people handed that game around back in the day. I remember playing it at a friends house, it was absolutely dogshit xD no wonder it got cancelled, but still an interesting little artefact I guess.

It's just funny from a historical standpoint a game like Thrill Kill got cancelled due to violence. People were way more sensitive back then. Half of today's games would be cancelled by the old criteria

 

[Trogdor1123]

I remember starvengers as a kid... I loved it so much.

 

[Dane]

Red Dead Revolver was originally a game that Angel Studios did as a commission for Capcom, it had a way more arcadish gameplay as it was inteded to be Gun Smoke spiritual successor. Capcom cancelled the title and Take Two bought the rights, assets and finally the studio and made gameplay changes to look more similar to a TPS of its time. Some of the Capcom staff, such as Akira Yasuda, provided art for the game, which is why is so caricaturate with a japanese style, especially when you look at Red Harlow as he looks like your typical western character designed in Japan.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Red Dead Revolver was originally a game that Angel Studios did as a commission for Capcom, it had a way more arcadish gameplay as it was inteded to be Gun Smoke spiritual successor. Capcom cancelled the title and Take Two bought the rights, assets and finally the studio and made gameplay changes to look more similar to a TPS of its time. Some of the Capcom staff, such as Akira Yasuda, provided art for the game, which is why is so caricaturate with a japanese style, especially when you look at Red Harlow as he looks like your typical western character designed in Japan.

never knew that. Added to the list of asset purchased game releases. Awesome game too!

 

[f~N_CH_1:3:3:3_SushiBoat]

Holy shit, force five lol. I was interested in that back in the day and curious what happened. Thanks for the heads up.

You can find the various versions of thrill kill on usenet.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Holy shit, force five lol. I was interested in that back in the day and curious what happened. Thanks for the heads up.

You can find the various versions of thrill kill on usenet.

Now you know what happened...it became an obscure and weird NAOMI game with kind of a pervy theme lol

 

[Ozzie666]

I remember starvengers as a kid... I loved it so much.

I'm disappointed this thread isn't about Force five with Starvengers, Gaiking, Dan Guard Ace, Spacekateers and Grandizer..

 

[UnNamed]

For Dreamcast we have Half Life and Propeller Arena... but they were never been released.

 

[Blitzmangoman]

Ngl I enjoyed Thrill Kill, lol.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Ngl I enjoyed Thrill Kill, lol.

It was fun to play the leaked final version. Had it come out in the 90's I would have been all about the game

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I could be mistaken, but didn't this also happen with Psikyo's The Fallen Angels? I coulda sworn that got cancelled, but there are some boards floating around. It's getting "finished" for the EXA Arcadia right now.