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[VGEsoterica]

If you know me at all you know I love ferreting out video game prototypes / alphas / betas that ARENT available for anyone to enjoy, acquiring them and then letting EVERYONE who can enjoy them do just that. But I will tell you...these research projects tracking down the rare and obscure are NOT EASY. They take time, patience, following lots of dead ends and generally money changes hands. It's lonely work lol...but rewarding

So Fixel (the dev of the 3DO ODE that just came out) and I decided we needed more eyes on the project and what better way to motivate a hunt than with bait? So we decided to offer up a bounty for M2 software we know existed at some point in time. Games with playable builds previewed in magazines / videos back in the day, or other bits of software that we know ONE person has and refuses to do anything with but hoard. Because hoarding is no fun right?

In the end all this rare gaming history deserves to be brought to life and enjoyed by as many people as possible and not left to rot away in private collections where it will be lost to time. So...if you have any ideas...I am all ears

Also GAF....what's the one prototype you WANT to find. That one game you know exists and you'd love to play if someone would just stop sitting on it for themselves alone

 

[ManaByte]

Also GAF....what's the one prototype you WANT to find.

Saturn Tomb Raider II (which was apparently very closed to finished when Sony bought the franchise exclusivity).

 

[Mahnmut]

Saturn VF3 which was finished and sent to duplication. Also Earthbound 64.

 

[AV]

The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Wisdom. Or, as it would have been known here, Oracle of... something.

When they were developing the two Oracle games there was a third planned. The complexity in having three separate games release at the same time that interacted with one another using a password system proved too complex, so they scaled it back to two.

They're my personal favourite Zelda games and SOMEWHERE, Nintendo or Capcom are sitting on SOME kind of incredibly early development build of that third game. I'd be absolutely fascinated to see how far they got with it. Probably not far at all, but that's my entry.

 

[anthony2690]

I'll probably give your 3DO videos a watch soon, as it's a system I've never owned or really ever seen anything off, so I'm mildly curious.

I watched some of Sega Saturn & Capcom CPS videos in the past many years ago, just realised it was the same channel, when browsing your content

 

[baphomet]

15 years ago I could have named so many prototypes I'd like to see the light of day. Thankfully over the years a huge amount of the "big" ones have finally been released. Assembler is a good reason a lot of the stuff out there, actually made it out. Miss that place.

It be cool to see the prerendered version of Guilty Gear show up. Something like Kirby Bowl, Wave Race 64 with the boats, or the Sonic 1 demo thing would be cool too.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Saturn VF3 which was finished and sent to duplication. Also Earthbound 64.

Earthbound 64 stings hard because you know builds exist somewhere

 

[VGEsoterica]

15 years ago I could have named so many prototypes I'd like to see the light of day. Thankfully over the years a huge amount of the "big" ones have finally been released. Assembler is a good reason a lot of the stuff out there, actually made it out. Miss that place.

It be cool to see the prerendered version of Guilty Gear show up. Something like Kirby Bowl, Wave Race 64 with the boats, or the Sonic 1 demo thing would be cool too.

yes lots of prototypes have finally seen the light of day and that has been great

 

[daffyduck]

Black Tiger/Capcom NES

Honourable mention:
River Raid/Activision Super NES

 

[VGEsoterica]

Black Tiger/Capcom NES

Honourable mention:
River Raid/Activision Super NES

couple solid choices

 

[Trogdor1123]

Has the n64 Ff6 “remake “ ever made it into the wild?

 

[Mahnmut]

Has the n64 Ff6 “remake “ ever made it into the wild?

I think it's out there but it was only meant to be a tech demo running on a SGI computer during E3 and such, that was supposed to give an idea of what the N64 would deliver. Like the Killer Instinct cabinet was supposed to be a taste of what could players expect on the N64 (called Ultra 64 back in the day). Spoiler alert : N64 performances were FAR from these examples.

 

[nush]

Saturn VF3 which was finished and sent to duplication.

It wasn't finished, so it didn't go to duplication. However it does exist.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I think it's out there but it was only meant to be a tech demo running on a SGI computer during E3 and such, that was supposed to give an idea of what the N64 would deliver. Like the Killer Instinct cabinet was supposed to be a taste of what could players expect on the N64 (called Ultra 64 back in the day). Spoiler alert : N64 performances were FAR from these examples.

Ultra 64 wasn’t even the same type of hardware.

Nintendo 64 used a MIPS where Cruisn was a TMS32031 DSP from Texas Instruments.

Not to mention the graphics on N64 were from SGI.

KI at least used MIPS but still Nintendo slapping Ultra 64 on either set of hardware was…interesting

 

[nush]

Assembler is a good reason a lot of the stuff out there, actually made it out. Miss that place.

I was going to link you up

Obscure Gamers News

Find all the latest news & reviews from OG here!

www.obscuregamers.com

Then I saw the message just posted last month. They really didn't do a good job migrating the community from Assembler if they are now closed due to low activity because nobody knows that's where they went.

 

[nkarafo]

I think it's out there but it was only meant to be a tech demo running on a SGI computer during E3 and such, that was supposed to give an idea of what the N64 would deliver. Like the Killer Instinct cabinet was supposed to be a taste of what could players expect on the N64 (called Ultra 64 back in the day). Spoiler alert : N64 performances were FAR from these examples.

I mean, the og Killer Instinct Arcade used a Hard Disk to store around 90MB of data. And KI2 used even more, about 120MB.

The N64 version uses a 12MB cart. There is no way in this universe they could make it look remotely close to the arcade with that kind of storage. Especially when the og game uses 2D sprites and assets almost exclusively, with very few exceptions. And 2D assets can't be compressed without losing quality.

However, the N64 hardware itself should be able to handle a near perfect looking port, if there was enough storage. KI Arcade isn't really anything special, it just uses a lot of pre-rendered stuff and tons of animation frames. Even the backgrounds are prerendered in the same way. I believe any of the 5th gen consoles could handle this game (if they had enough RAM which they didn't). But the N64 wouldn't really need as much RAM if it used a big ROM cart anyway. Such big cart was never released though, the biggest ones were 64MB. Which would be enough for a much better looking port than the one we got.

The Cruisin USA Arcade though, yeah. That board was more powerful than the N64 hardware.

 

[Mahnmut]

Ultra 64 wasn’t even the same type of hardware.

Nintendo 64 used a MIPS where Cruisn was a TMS32031 DSP from Texas Instruments.

Not to mention the graphics on N64 were from SGI.

KI at least used MIPS but still Nintendo slapping Ultra 64 on either set of hardware was…interesting

That’s what I meant : it wasn’t even the same hardware. Sorry if it wasn’t clear in my post.

 

[deriks]

Saturn Tomb Raider II (which was apparently very closed to finished when Sony bought the franchise exclusivity).

Not reaaaaally exclusivity, but ok

 

[Quasicat]

For me it was StarFox 2. I remember seeing previews in EGM saying it was 90% complete and was getting released in late 95/early 96. I was so excited and then…nothing. This was before the internet so there was no talk about it. In college, I saw a guy playing it on a PC and immediately played it. At this point, StarFox 64 had come out and StarFox 2 seemed disappointing compared to it.
I have since finished it on SNES Classic and I would have loved to play it in the 90s.

 

[consoul]

Resident Evil 3.5 (Hookman)
and
Eyedentify

 

[CamHostage]

This thread had me thinking about that original/beta version of Half-Life 2 that was stolen, (this thread, and also the Valve Source Titles Leak,) but that actually got out there.

Duke Nukem Critical Mass was a tantalizing one, because it exists and is on a shelf but was in a protected library, not to be accessed. Duke PSP was finally was ripped in 2022.

Eyedentify

Nobody knows what that game was ever going to be (or if it was ever more than just a concept video,) but something with that kind of in-game cam video infusion would be a nice effect if there ever was a game which had a use for it.

 

[ManaByte]

Not reaaaaally exclusivity, but ok

It was exclusive for the entire console generation. Here’s the press release:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Signs Exclusive Deal with Eidos for Tomb Raider Franchise; Lara Croft Videogames to Be Exclusive to the PlayStation for Game Consoles​

Official Press Release - September 18, 1997

Released in November 1996, the original Tomb Raider game from Eidos Interactive and Core Design, was one of the best-selling videogames of all time with more than 1.5 million units sold for the PlayStation game console worldwide. Marking its one-year anniversary with a highly-anticipated sequel, Tomb Raider 2 is scheduled for release in November 1997.

"Core Design and EIDOS have created the most successful original product in years that became a number one hit on PlayStation in the U.S. and Europe last year," said Phil Harrison, vice president, third party relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "The PlayStation console is the undisputed world-leader in videogaming and it is appropriate that two leaders in their field should partner up in this way for Tomb Raider."

"Given the worldwide domination of the PlayStation system, it's a natural for Eidos to partner with Sony Computer Entertainment America and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe," said Mike McGarvey, chief operating officer, Eidos Interactive. "We want our best-selling franchise to reach the greatest number of consumers and the PlayStation and its powerful CD-ROM software format satisfies this demand. The fact that the PlayStation will be the only game console on which you can enjoy the Tomb Raider franchise is a great statement for the platform."

 

[VGEsoterica]

Resident Evil 3.5 (Hookman)
and
Eyedentify

I don’t know if it’s wishful thinking because we didn’t get them but IMO the demos that DIDNT become RE 4 seem so much more interesting game consents than what we got.

Don’t get me wrong. I love RE 4. But those demos…

 

[deriks]

It was exclusive for the entire console generation. Here’s the press release:

Last Revelation on Dreamcast says hello

 

[ManaByte]

Last Revelation on Dreamcast says hello

The Sony exclusivity ended at the end of 1999. The DC port was in 2000, months after the PS One version.

 

[Crayon]

I always wanted to see Monstrous City for PS1.

 

[Scotty W]

I have always wanted to see more Virtual Boy Mario.

 

[deriks]

The Sony exclusivity ended at the end of 1999. The DC port was in 2000, months after the PS One version.

Exclusivity for two games and for two years?! This is more close to a Spotify Trial than ever

 

[Silver Wattle]

This is super cool, all the best of luck to you in finding these nearly non existent video games.

Such a shame that some people hold onto these for selfish reasons, watch these things get lost to time when someone dies and their relatives aren't interested in old games and throw them in the trash.

 

[VGEsoterica]

This is super cool, all the best of luck to you in finding these nearly non existent video games.

Such a shame that some people hold onto these for selfish reasons, watch these things get lost to time when someone dies and their relatives aren't interested in old games and throw them in the trash.

that's exactly what will happen at some point if they aren't preserved sadly

 

[Trunx81]

Is the Eternal Darkness N64 Build somewhere already? Or was it just a tech demo?

 

[nush]

Such a shame that some people hold onto these for selfish reasons

Gotta get paid, if the preservation "Community" put a stone clad guarantee cash payment for most wanted releases they would get them. You want it, throw in 5 bucks to the pool and wait.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

Resident Evil 3.5 (Hookman)
and
Eyedentify

Those waifus

 

[U n i o n 0015]

It wasn't finished, so it didn't go to duplication. However it does exist.

From what I've read over the years is that at most, AM2 was prototyping VF3 for Saturn--a couple characters and stages--but it was nowhere near in full production. I've yet to see any screenshots or evidence that the prototypes are out in the wild. Would love to see them...

 

[nush]

From what I've read over the years is that at most, AM2 was prototyping VF3 for Saturn--a couple characters and stages--but it was nowhere near in full production. I've yet to see any screenshots or evidence that the prototypes are out in the wild. Would love to see them...

It's not in the wild. It's still sitting on a server in SOJ.

 

[Crayon]

From what I've read over the years is that at most, AM2 was prototyping VF3 for Saturn--a couple characters and stages--but it was nowhere near in full production. I've yet to see any screenshots or evidence that the prototypes are out in the wild. Would love to see them...

You can see where it was going in fighter's megamix. The vf characters were closer to vf3 than vf2 with how they controlled and anmated. Only 30fps, iirc. Interesting if saturn could have gone a little longer had things like shenmue and vf3 came out. They arcade racers should have started coming in editions with better performance and more meat on their bones, too. Packages like Virtua Racing was on saturn.

Shit I left this post for hours because I started thinking of saturn virtua racing. I'd always been kicking myself for selling that. So I just went to ebay and bought it again.

 

[jufonuk]

The Grinder Wii Demo (the left4Dead style one) yeah it might not end up being the best game ever but I would like to try it.

 

[nush]

I'd always been kicking myself for selling that.

But sir.. it's shit.

 

[Crayon]

But sir.. it's shit.

Someone else was just telling me I might be remembering some things wrong lol. Starting with the performance.

 

[nush]

Someone else was just telling me I might be remembering some things wrong lol. Starting with the performance.

You want the 32X version for a good time, or the Switch version for a great time. Saturn version was made by Time Warner.

 

[Crayon]

You want the 32X version for a good time, or the Switch version for a great time. Saturn version was made by Time Warner.

32x..... Ah shit. I think I remember now.

Memory of the genesis, 32x, and Saturn versions are mixing together in my head.

 

[VGEsoterica]

From what I've read over the years is that at most, AM2 was prototyping VF3 for Saturn--a couple characters and stages--but it was nowhere near in full production. I've yet to see any screenshots or evidence that the prototypes are out in the wild. Would love to see them...

I will have to hunt for it but I believe ONE screenshot exists for a VF3 Saturn version. or what people SAY is a VF 3 Saturn version

 

[Team Andromeda]

WaterWorld for the Sega Saturn which was said to have the best looking water effects around. And would love to see Flying Nightmares for the Sega CD which was said to push the ASIC chip to the max

 

[VGEsoterica]

WaterWorld for the Sega Saturn which was said to have the best looking water effects around. And would love to see Flying Nightmares for the Sega CD which was said to push the ASIC chip to the max

I am sure the movie being a bomb didnt help it

 

[ScHlAuChi]

Wing Commander II - SNES - was completely finished!
Xbox 360 - Frame City Killer - looked awesome

 

[Isa]

Wing Commander II - SNES - was completely finished!
Xbox 360 - Frame City Killer - looked awesome

Dang I didn't know that was a thing, I love Wing Commander and would have loved to play it that way.

I really wanted to try out Enclave 2, I adore the first game on Xbox(and am waiting for that supposed remaster for current gen) and so wanted to play the sequel which was apparently bigger and better in every way even throwing in co-op which makes a ton of sense. Sadly the publisher went under along with the rights iirc correctly and the game was apparently quite far along. I remember seeing screens of it in a mag and reading about preview impressions.

Also Level 5's True Fantasy Live Online. I'd watch the trailer so much and scour the web and mags for any new details on it. I loved the art and bright vibrant world. Shame it never released.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Wing Commander II - SNES - was completely finished!
Xbox 360 - Frame City Killer - looked awesome

Frame City Killer looked like legit fun for sure

 

[theclaw135]

Super Paper Mario for Gamecube!

How about that localization of Class of Heroes 3 abandoned to development hell?

We've seen enough to say builds of Panel de Pon GB and Panel de Pon 64 exist.
Wario Land 2 has a missing build (the original monochrome GB version wasn't released in Japan).

A few other times data/assets have been unearthed, but not quite prototype roms.
Dr. Mario 64 in Japanese was reconstructed (rather than dumped).
Advance Wars Days of Ruin and Go Go Cosmo Cops were hacked to enable their Japanese scripts.

 

[Scotty W]

Saturn Tomb Raider II (which was apparently very closed to finished when Sony bought the franchise exclusivity).

Here’s a video of it running on actual Saturn hardware:

 

[Agent X]

My pick here would be Bomberman Legends for the Atari Jaguar. This would have been an original entry in the Bomberman series, with support for up to eight simultaneous players by utilizing two Team Taps (each of which could accommodate four controllers). Mike Mika (now with Digital Eclipse) and his brother Jeremy have preserved the source code.

Read more about it in this Wikipedia article.

While we're at it, I might as well give shout-outs to a few other Jaguar games:

• Mortal Kombat 3: I think the Jaguar could have handled this game nicely. It would have been nice to see how it could have turned out.
• Return Fire: Could have been a fun romp on Jaguar CD.
• Phear: As far as I know, this is the only Jaguar game listed here that was publicly demonstrated. Although the Jaguar game was canceled, the developers ported it to Nintendo 64 and released it as Tetrisphere.
• Earthworm Jim: I've only heard about this port recently. I don't believe it got very far in development, though.