Lost Levels Forums

The time now is Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:09 pm

Journey to Silius/RAF World changes +dev story?
Goto page 1, 2  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Lost Levels Forum Index -> Video Game General
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Carnivol
gay dickhead


Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 576
Location: confirmed

PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 8:43 am    Post subject: Journey to Silius/RAF World changes +dev story? Reply with quote

Howdy...

This game has bothered me for a long time...
Not 'cause it's hard, not 'cause it's totaly awesome...

But what's the deal with this game anyway?


The story seems as fishy as it gets...

+the various version of this game has minor changes...

Like, the first boss, in one version (don't remember if it was in the Japanese, Euro or the US) doesn't shoot when it flies low.

And the main character has different graphics.

The title screen/name is ofcourse different between the English and Japanese...


My guess for this game is that Sunsoft was making a Terminator game, 'cause iirc, at one point, they did have the license for Terminator.
The gameplay, bosses, enemies, settings, everything seems to point out this as a game based on Terminator.

Sunsoft had other DC/Super Hero licenses... so it just seems "very likely" that this was gonna be Terminator...


Anyone that got something to add to this?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BMF54123
Staff
Staff


Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 743
Location: Henderson, NV

PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:08 am    Post subject: Re: Journey to Silius/RAF World changes +dev story? Reply with quote

Carnivol wrote:
Sunsoft had other DC/Super Hero licenses... so it just seems "very likely" that this was gonna be Terminator...

Not "very likely"...it WAS going to be a Terminator game. The first CHR bank is comprised solely of the original Terminator copyright text.

I have a page dedicated to it at my site if you want to see for yourself.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Carnivol
gay dickhead


Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 576
Location: confirmed

PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2004 10:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, that was quick ^_^


Say, anyone got any more media from the old T days, or are those two images there "the" only images that was released?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Johnny Undaunted



Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Posts: 306

PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm kinda curious if the game was always meant to have the Terminator license or was that just for the localized release? I've seen a flyer for the Japanese version (Raf World), it had the unarmored guy from the US version in the screenshots.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BMF54123
Staff
Staff


Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 743
Location: Henderson, NV

PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm pretty sure it was always meant to have the license, and would have remained a U.S. only release (since it was based on a U.S. movie franchise) had the deal not fallen through. The Japanese ROM still has the same Terminator copyright in VROM, including the "Licensed by Nintendo of America" part.

I'm convinced they had the license up until the very end, and did a quick hack job to remove all references to the movie. Slap John Connor or that Reese guy in place of the main character, and you've got a passable Terminator game. Heck, the last boss even looks like a Terminator.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Carnivol
gay dickhead


Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 576
Location: confirmed

PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 8:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This game has some of the most awesome music in the world!


And the gameplay's awesome too!




And yeah, they propably just did a quick title-screen job and that was it... (and evt. removed the Terminator theme from the game... as I suppose it must've been in there somewhere)


But something tells me that the game would've gotten a Japanese release, no matter what...


Japan + robots = true
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ArnoldRimmer83
Staff
Staff


Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 540

PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BMF54123 wrote:
I'm pretty sure it was always meant to have the license, and would have remained a U.S. only release (since it was based on a U.S. movie franchise) had the deal not fallen through. The Japanese ROM still has the same Terminator copyright in VROM, including the "Licensed by Nintendo of America" part.


I imagine it would've eventually been released in Japan too. I mean Batman and Gremlins 2 were both released over there.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tongueman



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 631
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, I agree with you guys about Silius... it's one of my favourite games, primarily because of the music. And did you ever notice that the end of the intro cinema music sounds suspiciously similar to the familiar Terminator theme song? (That metallic clanging march...)

Here's a little bit more info (probably for BMF's cutting room floor):

There is some unused text which probably would have gone in the ending. At ROM location $11707 in Silius, there's the encoded text "FATHER, LOOK! OUR COLONY'S COMPLETED NOW."

Also, the Japanese version's proper name is "Rough World". The "RAF" that we always see does not contain an "A" but rather a phonetic sound. The title [rʌf] is the phonetic representation of "Rough". (Take a look in the Japanese version's sound test if you don't believe me.)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Johnny Undaunted



Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Posts: 306

PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 12:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BMF54123 wrote:
and would have remained a U.S. only release (since it was based on a U.S. movie franchise) .




Yeah, because I'm pretty sure Americans are the only ones that watches big budget films made by Hollywood studios. :p

In all seriousness, you have no idea how popular Hollywood films are in Japan.[/img]
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
BMF54123
Staff
Staff


Joined: 28 Aug 2003
Posts: 743
Location: Henderson, NV

PostPosted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Er, okay, yeah. I totally blocked out all those other movie games for some reason. I must've really been out of it last night... -_-

</pathetic excuse>
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Carnivol
gay dickhead


Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 576
Location: confirmed

PostPosted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Also, the Japanese version's proper name is "Rough World". The "RAF" that we always see does not contain an "A" but rather a phonetic sound. The title [rʌf] is the phonetic representation of "Rough". (Take a look in the Japanese version's sound test if you don't believe me.)



Hmm... interesting...
I never thought of that
(shame on me, honestly, I kid you not... shame on me)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Smeg
Staff
Staff


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Posts: 1600
Location: beneath enemy scrotum

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2019/07/07/terminator-why-so-silius/

Is that the 3D dungeon from Fester's Quest I see?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
KingMike



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 898

PostPosted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 6:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

They didn't follow the storyline like Mindscape did in their game.
That scene where Kyle Reese threw baseballs at the police force inside the leaky nightclub (I forget its name) was a classic and I'm glad it was included. Can't forget that ending either.

I guess they weren't impressed with Sunsoft's reputation for delivering hits like Freedom Force, Freedom Force and Freedom Force. (and I guess some obscurities like Blaster Master)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Smeg
Staff
Staff


Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Posts: 1600
Location: beneath enemy scrotum

PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sad

If you can't remember the name of the club from The Terminator, then you've probably never listened to this baller jam:

https://youtu.be/-nC5TBv3sfU
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gazimaluke



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2020 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have written a new article about Sunsoft's The Terminator. I wrote the article that was posted a couple of posts up and also got that video on YouTube. Now I have also talked to the designer/main programmer of the game, Masahito Nomura. So what was shown in that early video is a separate game from the Terminator game that became Journey to Silius. The scrapped the first idea and started on a new game from scratch. Read all about it here https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2020/12/09/sunsofts-the-terminator-development-history/
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
gilbert cheung



Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 33
Location: Hong Kong

PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 2:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting read!

If only we know what really happened with Batman for the PC Engine.
Why was it changed to Pac... err... a dot-eating game instead of a side scrolling platformer like the other versions as hinted by some prerelease screenshots? It's still a mystery.

Sunsoft seemed to have some strange history in restarting over development of games, repurposed licenses (Terminator and Superman, though Sunman was not released either), changing A LOT OF things from prototypes (e.g. Famicom Batman's cutscenes) and some odd measures in localisations (Hebereke).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Gazimaluke



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 5:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have asked everyone I have talked to that worked at Sunsoft in Japan about the PCE platformer Batman and no one has even seen that game. The latest person I asked about it was a Mr Kawai, who was in charge of sales at the time. He said that as far as he can remember the maze game was what they were making from the start. The maze game was made at the Tokyo office and not at the Konan office where most of Sunsoft's games where made. He guess that they might have done some early prototying of a platform version and that PR sent that to the magazine but that it then never was used. I am still trying to get hold of someone who worked on the maze game that probably would be able to say more about that other version.

As for the Batman cutscenes. They were cut because they used cartoon Batman for some of them. Yuichi Ueda who made them didn't know he was supposed to only use Batman from the movie so he added some stuff with comic/cartoon Batman. WB said no and they had to remove it. Which also seems to have been the reason they couldn't get the game out for Christmas 1989 in the US. The game was instead released in early January 1990 in the US.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
gilbert cheung



Joined: 25 Nov 2010
Posts: 33
Location: Hong Kong

PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 7:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Still it could be great if more can be learned from the PCE platformer version, be it a primitive prototype (considered that you don't even see enemies in the screenshots) or just a mockup. Even though they may never have any intention in making a platformer the decision in making the maze game was just... odd. It wouldn't look out of place if it used say, Hebereke or Fantasy Zone characters, but would be a WTF moment for many when it used Batman (why?).

Yeah, the cutscene issue in the Famicom version is more or less understandable, but it was a pity as the comic styles ones were quite good (didn't mean the movie versions weren't good).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Gazimaluke



Joined: 14 Oct 2016
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree. I haven't given up on finding someone that knows more about it.
The credits list is hard to work from though

Programmer Egress, Ten Point (only nicknames)
Designer Mr. CB, Kamov Bis, Bogaaan (nicknames)
Music Nobuyuki Hara (dead)
Sound Naohisa Morota (no one knows where he is) , Shinichi Seya (I could ask Seya, but he worked at the Konan office and probably knew little about the development going on in Tokyo)
Supervisor Hiroyasu Eguchi (Eguchi) (dead)
Producer Cho Musou (Kiharu Yoshida, hard to get hold off. I have gotten some answers from him via Sunsoft. But my second round of questions that included asking about the Batman game was never answered. That was three years ago now)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
KingMike



Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 898

PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sure, the Famicom supposedly got out just before Christmas 1989, but that was probably due to Sunsoft making the carts themselves, which would've had a faster manufacturing turnaround than the NES version, which would've been delayed by both Nintendo's manufacturing process on their PCBs as well as international shipping.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Lost Levels Forum Index -> Video Game General All times are GMT
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

RSS


Powered by phpBB 2.0.23 © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group