The games’ interesting lore, which involved time travel paradoxes and the balance between good and evil, was supposed to come to a head with a Sega Saturn release called Eternal Champions: The Final Chapter. That project was going to feature an excessive amount of possible endings due to the nature of the series narrative and the possible actions of its fighters. Sadly, that ambitious project would not come to be, as Sega of Japan did not think that two fighting game franchises (extremely different as they were) should coexist under the company’s umbrella. Eternal Champions died for good so that Virtua Fighter could remain the only game in town. Well, except for Fighting Vipers, Last Bronx, Sonic the Fighters, and Fighters Megamix, naturally.

Aliens (1987, NES)

14. Aliens (1987, Famicom)

It was a godly trifecta on paper: the action classic Aliens, the NES, and Square. Putting them together seems like a slam dunk. Back in 1987, Square was indeed working on an Aliens sidescroller for the Famicom Disk System, which surely would have led to an NES translation. The project was ultimately canned, but years later, a prototype was discovered and shared on the internet.

What was discovered feels like something that could have been great with more time in the oven. There’s a strong power-up system for both Ripley’s weaponry and ability to jump. The enemies even look great for the hardware, especially for the Queen Xenomorph. At the end of the day, Square seemingly simply felt that the quality was not up to snuff, but with some TLC, there was definitely a better game in there. Years later, Alien 3 went to LJN, who did not have that sense of self-respect.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

13. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

Elseworlds was an imprint of DC Comics that allowed them to tell alternate takes on their various characters, retelling their legends in different settings. It led to a lot of interesting versions of their heroes, like a world where Kal-El’s rocket landed before Thomas and Martha Wayne, leading to a reality where Batman was an unstoppable Kryptonian. Or maybe a world where the Justice League existed in the form of Wild West gunslingers led by Sheriff Diana Prince. One of the most fondly remembered concepts was Batman: Gotham by Gaslight: a 1989 one-shot by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola about Batman existing in Victorian England, bent on tracking down Jack the Ripper.

Day 1 Studios (the team behind MechAssault and the console versions of F.E.A.R.) intended to make a game out of this storyline and sell it to THQ. Unfortunately, everything fell apart when it came time to actually license Batman. Some say that WB simply didn’t like the idea, while others say that THQ (a frequent player on this list) just couldn’t get the money together. It’s a real shame, as there is prototype footage out there of Gaslight Batman wandering through the foggy streets and rooftops of England and it looks really nice. Just watching the physics of the Caped Crusader’s flowing, collared cape is hypnotic.

While nothing would come of the game, Gaslight Batman would at least live on as a costume in Batman: Arkham Origins and the mobile version of Injustice: Gods Among Us. The comic would also get its own animated adaptation in 2018.

Danofgeek