Thea Realm Fighters

Thea Realm Fighters
Developer(s) High Voltage Software
Publisher(s) Atari
Platform(s) Atari Jaguar
Release date(s) 1995 (unpublished demo)[1]
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Up to 2 players simultaneously

Thea Realm Fighters was an Atari Jaguar game scheduled for Q3 1995 release. This fighting game by High Voltage Software was one of the Mortal Kombat rip offs developed in response to Mortal Kombat popularity.[2] Even though the game was never released, several people have played the working demo of the game at some point and images and video of several builds have been posted online.[1] There are no known copies available publicly and the game has not been emulated.

Overview

Thea Realm Fighters was a fighting game developed on the heels of the popularity of the first two Mortal Kombat games. Like some other examples of games built to compete with Mortal Kombat (most notably Tattoo Assassins) it was canceled before its release. The shrinking market for the Atari Jaguar games potentially contributed to this decision, as suggested by one of the developers.[3] Created by High Voltage Software, the game featured digitized characters, some of them portrayed by martial artists known from the Mortal Kombat games. The plot itself was strikingly similar with the final boss, SurRaider, attempting to conquer the planet and add Earth to his vast empire.[4]

The game was to feature over 25 characters and four different modes with over 30 different backgrounds said to create different combat situations and scenarios.[5][6] After defeating 12 characters the player was to face SurRaider, a powerful warrior from another dimension. At least four moves per character and two special finishers were available.[4]

Unveiled during the January 1995 Consumer Electronics Show and scheduled for the third quarter of 1995,[7] the game was reported to be unpolished and too early to judge, with spectacular backgrounds and lackluster character animation. Only four characters were available at that time, with only one featuring special moves.[8][9]

Characters

The game featured a total of over 25 characters to compete against, including 12 main characters and 12 other special characters as well as several subbosses and five hidden characters. Characters known from available screenshots and press coverage include:[4][8]

Cast

Martial artists involved in the development of this game include:[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Thea Realm Fighters". AtariAge. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  2. "Lost Games: Thea Realm Fighters". The Atari Times. 2001-05-09. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  3. "Thea Realm Fighters". CyberRoach. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Atari Explorer Online, Volume 4, Issue 5". Atari Explorer Online. 1995-07-20. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Coming attractions for Atari Jaguar.". Business Wire. 1995-01-06. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  6. "Jaguar Journal February/March 1994". Jaguar Journal. February–March 1994. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  7. "CES ProNews Flashes!". GamePro (IDG) (68): 156. March 1995.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Atari Jaguar Lost Games". AtariJaguar.Net. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  9. "Atari Explorer Online, Jaguar Edition #3". Atari Explorer Online. 1995-05-20. Retrieved 2010-01-13.

External links