Ever thought a certain game or system existed but then found out it didn't?

[Segataritensoftii]

In 1997, I was a small lad of 5 who happened into the bookstore one day and found a strategy guide for Crash Bandicoot 2. At the time, the only game system I knew about was the N64, so I automatically assumed that this was covering the N64 version. (I even thought is said N64 on the cover) I also thought it had exclusive features where you went into Castle Cortex instead of his space station and fought Jet pack Cortex like a regular boss. He would charge and shoot at you and you had to use your spin attack to fend him off.

 

9 years later, I went on a search for this mythical N64 Crash Bandicoot 2. All searches I made on Google turned up nothing, but I was still convinced that it existed. Then one day, I thought to myself, "This can't exist. After all, Naughty Dog's been with Sony ever since 1995, before the N64 was ever even released." and the game was forgotten.

 

Have any of your minds ever played tricks on you to have you convinced that a certain game or game system exists? Ever felt bummed when you found out it never existed? Heck, I'm still looking for a mythical Amiga version of The Incredible Machine, even though it probably doesn't exist.

Edited July 2, 2007 by Segataritensoftii

[2600Lives]

I absolutely SWEAR that I saw the Lobo game for sale at Wal-Mart (I think it was the SNES version), but no ROM dumps of it exist, and DP has no listing for it. I KNOW I've seen this game before, in fact, when I saw it, I was with a buddy of mine and we talked about how even though it sucked, I'd probably end up getting it anyway (I'm a huge Lobo fanboy).

[Atariman]

Very few times have I ever thought that something existed when it really didn't. Even those times, I was pretty skeptical. There was this kid at my school who claimed that he had a video game system that would play "everything". He "couldn't remember" what it was called but said it would play everything from the 2600 on up to the Genesis. Of course, I wanted proof - he eventually pulled out the classic "well, it broke and my dad sold it" line.

 

Recalling this to my roommate awhile back resulted in us having a BS contest between ourselves - I believe that my first one was something along the lines of "Did you know that if you plug a SNES game genie into a Genesis game genie that you can play SNES games on the Genesis? You totally have to have the 32x and SegaCD plugged in because they have extra RAM and processors that are needed to run the SNES games". He came up with "if you wire a gameboy printer to a USB port, when you plug it into the computer, it will come up as an HP plotter that can print out really high resolution stuff. You just have to paste the little strips together".

 

We went back and forth about this for quite some time. It was quite entertaining. The catch was that everything we said was something that our dads had that broke, and was eventually sold.

 

I always hated the kids that came up with these BS stories - and the idiots who truly believed them and spread them around as truth.

Edited July 2, 2007 by atariman

[nintendo]

I remember back in the days of the NES, a game magazine mentioned Black Tiger was going to be released for the NES. I think they even had a screen-shot of it. To my dismay, the NES version never saw light of day. I also thought there was a NES versioin of Speed Rumbler for sale at a Toys r Us. Or at least they had a "coming soon" card for it. Anyone else recall that? Maybe it was all just an elaborate dream I had............

[shadow460]

Yep, I still think a version of Virtual On: Operation Moongate exists on gold CDs, and it's playable with Windows 98.

[Scumdogg]

I absolutely SWEAR that I saw the Lobo game for sale at Wal-Mart (I think it was the SNES version), but no ROM dumps of it exist, and DP has no listing for it. I KNOW I've seen this game before, in fact, when I saw it, I was with a buddy of mine and we talked about how even though it sucked, I'd probably end up getting it anyway (I'm a huge Lobo fanboy).

 

 

Man, if there was a Lobo game, i'd know about it. I'm a huge Lobo fan, even got "MAIN MAN" tattooed across my knuckles. And if you ever find a ROM dump of a proto or something, i do expect you to share.

Edited July 2, 2007 by Scumdogg

[2600Lives]

Many moons ago, I talked a comic shop into letting me have their "You bend it, you bought it, Fanboy!" Lobo poster. That's gonna look good in my eventual gameroom...

[gdement]

A long time ago I saw a screenshot of the upcoming River City Ransom 2 for the SNES. I think it must have been on the back of my brother's SNES box. I was pretty intrigued about that and it stuck in my mind. Years later I remembered this and assumed it must have come out but I had missed it (I wasn't into SNES so this seemed plausible). So I looked around on the internet, and no, the game doesn't exist. There's some Japanese version but that's totally unplayable if you're not Japanese. For such a great game I'm amazed how little followup RCR ever had.

[Segataritensoftii]

Very few times have I ever thought that something existed when it really didn't. Even those times, I was pretty skeptical. There was this kid at my school who claimed that he had a video game system that would play "everything". He "couldn't remember" what it was called but said it would play everything from the 2600 on up to the Genesis. Of course, I wanted proof - he eventually pulled out the classic "well, it broke and my dad sold it" line.

I think Action Enterprises had a system planned called the Action Game Master that would allow you to do just that. Now, more than a decade later, the Onestation, a very bare bones cartridge based system from china (the cartridge IS the game system ) has fully realized the concept of the Action Game Master. A portable system capable of playing games made for almost every system on the planet.

 

I always hated the kids that came up with these BS stories - and the idiots who truly believed them and spread them around as truth.

I was one of those kids. A friend of mine kept telling me all sorts of outrageous lies like that there was a cartridge that turned your game boy into a portable Xbox, that there was a Homestar Runner cartridge for GBC and GBA, and that there was a system called the Gamecubed where you were actually inside the system and the door, walls, floor, and ceiling were screens. And to think I believed every one of those. Now, I'm a bit more cautious with what I am to believe, but I can still get pretty gullible sometimes. Edited July 2, 2007 by Segataritensoftii

[TJR]

I could've sworn I saw Xybots, by Tengen, for the NES, for sale at a mall record store back in the late '80s. Later I found out that although Xybots was supposed to come out for the NES, it never did. I must have seen it in a magazine or a Tengen catalog and somehow the connectors in my brain created a memory of seeing it on a store shelf.

[Gabriel]

I absolutely SWEAR that I saw the Lobo game for sale at Wal-Mart (I think it was the SNES version), but no ROM dumps of it exist, and DP has no listing for it. I KNOW I've seen this game before, in fact, when I saw it, I was with a buddy of mine and we talked about how even though it sucked, I'd probably end up getting it anyway (I'm a huge Lobo fanboy).

 

Didn't Simon Bisley do the Lobo art in the 90s? You might be thinking about the utterly horrible game Weaponlord, which I think Bisley did the art for. Once you see one really pale muscled guy with wild hair wearing chains, you've seen them all.

 

What I call the "dark and messy" art style which Bisley used was somewhat popular around the closing of the 16 bit era and the beginning of the Playstation era. Loaded featured the same sort of look.

 

Now that you mention it, I could have sworn I saw a Lobo game in a Playstation longbox. Maybe I'm just misremembering one of the comic book covers. One of my friends was really into Lobo back in the early 90s.

[2600Lives]

No, it wasn't Weaponlord. I rented that one out of curiosity (and to be honest, it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, especially in vs. mode). It was around the time that Wal-Mart had switched to using those weird display cases that sort of reminded me of the way they display posters at most mall stores, with little swinging door like displays.

 

And Bisley's work is still totally awesome. Not only is he himself cool, but I've always dug his loose and free style (and NOBODY draws big-ass guns like Bis, man). I've been collecting Heavy Metal since I was in high school, and to this day, I get giddy when I see he's got a strip in it.

[AtticGamer]

Sim City for NES, saw at CVG , thought it existed but it was ported to SNES.

[Segataritensoftii]

Sim City for NES, saw at CVG , thought it existed but it was ported to SNES.

Actually, a Sim City was planned for NES, but it was later scrapped to get people to buy the SNES instead.

[Scumdogg]

No, it wasn't Weaponlord. I rented that one out of curiosity (and to be honest, it wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be, especially in vs. mode). It was around the time that Wal-Mart had switched to using those weird display cases that sort of reminded me of the way they display posters at most mall stores, with little swinging door like displays.

 

And Bisley's work is still totally awesome. Not only is he himself cool, but I've always dug his loose and free style (and NOBODY draws big-ass guns like Bis, man). I've been collecting Heavy Metal since I was in high school, and to this day, I get giddy when I see he's got a strip in it.

 

 

Not to drag this even further off-topic, but you ever see that Lobo cover Bisley did where Lobo's elbow looks like a wang? I'm gonna have to dig that one out...

[nester]

Until yesterday I thought there was a Playstation version of Dragon Warrior IV. I remember reading all about it in the game magazines back in 2001. I guess I just assumed that it got released. I was thinking about it the other day and looked it up only to find out that it was never actually released. I guess that explains why I've never seen one before. It all makes sense now.

[2600Lives]

Yeah, I've got every Lobo that Bis ever drew, and I'm not even really a comic collector. Some of his stuff can be out there at times, but it's still all good!

[Vic George 2K3]

I thought Omega Race existed for the 5200 since it was advertised along with the CBS Videogames 2600 version. Same thing with Solar Fox.

[XCALBR8]

My buddy convinced me that he had a version of "The Simpson's Arcade Game" for his genesis, but when I went over there to play it he had to admit that it was just the PC version. To this day I wish they had a version of that commercially available for the Genesis or SNES.

[Christophero Sly]

I have a distinct memory of renting and playing Road Rash II for the SNES back in the day ('92-'93). Only recently did I find out that the game was never ported to the SNES.

[Lauren Tyler]

I always hated the kids that came up with these BS stories - and the idiots who truly believed them and spread them around as truth.

 

You and me both. I still remember in my second grade class, there was this kid who claimed he had 'Super Mario Bros. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.' And he also claimed to have 'Donkey Kong Baby' with the protagonist being a girl. And then he told me he had 'Arkanoid 3: Doh Returns.' Pfft, I don't get kids sometimes.

 

Even in High School they're willing to do that. I remember when LoZ: OoT came out, several students were trying to pull a fast one on me, saying stuff like 'My dad knows someone who works for Nintendo, so I got my copy early!' To be perfectly frank, I'd think Nintendo would have a policy about employees getting games before release dates. Either way, the fact that some people are willing to stoop that low just because they want to look cool.

[Artlover]

I remember when LoZ: OoT came out, several students were trying to pull a fast one on me, saying stuff like 'My dad knows someone who works for Nintendo, so I got my copy early!' To be perfectly frank, I'd think Nintendo would have a policy about employees getting games before release dates. Either way, the fact that some people are willing to stoop that low just because they want to look cool.

I dunno, this seems perfectly reasonable. Doesn't seem like it would be uncommon that those on the inside to get perks like that.

 

It's only that "My Dad knows someone" bit that is laughably suspect.

Edited August 19, 2007 by Artlover

[2600Lives]

Man, there was a kid in school that ALWAYS had new games months before they came out, but of course, he could never bring them and show anybody. Douche.

 

Artlover...BEST. QUOTE. EVER. Glad to see someone else appreciates the masterpiece that is the Heavy Metal Movie. I have the original mag that that particular comic originated in, too, and it's almost word for word in the movie.

[zeropolis79]

A friend of mine in school would always claim to have stuff that has since been found out not to have been released.

 

For instance, Super Mario Brothers on the Sinclair Spectrum and other 8-bits. Once he claimed Donkey Kong Country was ported to the C64 and he had one of the few exisitng copies. Naturally when asked if he could bring them in to show us, he would claim that he wasn't allowed to take them out of the house and when asked if he would copy them for us if we provided the blank tapes/discs, he would claim alarm bells would go off at the company which made the games if they were copied.

[doctorclu]

Being in Dallas, where a lot of things were developed for the Atari 400/800 in the early 80's, I seem to vaguely remember cool games and even hardware that were promoed, and then I look as gospel they happened after that, but no one remembers them.

 

Or this one is a good one... there was a lot of rumors I heard throughout the 80's that TRON was actually the middle part of a much larger book, and that there was a 1/3rd that happened before, and a 1/3 that happened after that was just as large as the portion that covered the movie material. When I have tried to google this, I find no such thing. I did find a person in Fort Worth selling "The Adventures of Flynn" as a manuscript, but that has faded off too.

 

One more story, when I was published in the Dallas Morning News about being an Atari fan, one guy contacted me and asked me if I had ever heard of a "Vootrex". I said "Must be a Vectrex". He insisted it was not a Vectrex though. That one was interesting.