Primal Rage

n/a

32X Mega Drive Saturn Game Gear
Primal Rage
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega 32X, Sega Game Gear, Sega Saturn
Publisher: Time Warner Interactive (US/EU) Sega Game Bank (JP)
Developer: Probe Entertainment Time Warner Interactive
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Sound driver: Probe/Andy Brock
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad Gear-to-Gear Cable
Genre: Fighting Action/Kakutou Action (格闘アクション), Action
Number of players: 1-2
Official in-game languages: English English Français Deutsch Español Português Italiano
Release Date RRP Code US 1995-08-25 $59.9959.99 T-48426 301108-0150 EU 1995-08-25 T-48426-50 PT 199x MDJ48426 UK 1995-08-25 £49.9949.99 T-48426-50 SE (Rental) 199x PL 1995 219zł219 AU 1995 FPRI07SMC AU (Big box) 1995 FPRI07SMC BR 199x 047130 RU 199x JP 1998-03-26 ¥5,8005,800 T-18614G US 1996-06-14 T-4802H 301108-0120 EU 1996-08 T-4802H-50 DE 1996-08 T-4802H-50 PT 199x STJTW0468 UK 1996-08 £44.9944.99 T-4802H-50 PL 1996 AU 199x US 1995-08-25 $29.9929.99 T-48218 301108-0161 EU 1995-08-25 T-48218-50 UK 1995-08-25 £29.9929.99 T-48218-50 US 1995-11-14 $69.9969.99 84705 EU 1996-03 MK-84705 UK 1996-03 £44.9944.99 MK-84705
Non-Sega versions Amiga (AGA) Arcade Game Boy IBM PC Jaguar CD PlayStation Super NES
ESRA

Primal Rage (プライマルレイジ) is a 1994 arcade fighting game by Atari Games. The following year the game saw ports to the Sega Mega Drive, Sega 32X, Sega Game Gear and Sega Saturn, amongst other platforms, developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Time Warner Interactive, with the exception of the 32X version which, like T-MEK, was strangely published by Sega instead.

The Japanese Saturn release is notable for being the only port of that time to be released under the Midway Manufacturing name, as Time Warner Interactive was absorbed into Midway's home division a few years prior. Said version removes any mention of TWI outright.

A Sega Mega-CD 32X version was planned, but cancelled.

A Sega Master System GG2SMS hack was released in March 2017.

Story

A Meteor strikes the Earth and causes the continents to shift into the shape of a dinosaur skull breathing fire in an event known as the "Great Cataclysm". Sleeping giants of long ago are awakened from their slumber by these events and become gods for humanity to worship. With old Earth in ruins, humanity now sides with one of six gods and one goddess. From the ruins of old Earth comes the birth of New Urth. (That is indeed the correct spelling for this word in game: Urth.) Now, five dinosaur gods and two great ape gods fight to rule the New Urth. Conquering the others' lands in the total conquest for world domination.

Gameplay

Characters

	Sauron
	Talon
	Vertigo
	Blizzard
	Chaos
	Armadon
	Diablo

History

Release

Home console versions of Primal Rage debuted on the 25th August 1995 in the US (backed by an $8 million USD marketing budget) and Europe; dubbed "Primal Rage Day" by publishers Time Warner Interactive. Across all platforms (Mega Drive, Game Gear, Super NES, Game Boy and PC), 1 million copies were sold worldwide on launch day, with higher-end machines (including the 32X and Saturn) having to wait until November 14 for their launches.

For subscribers of the US Sega Channel, as a "limited" version of Primal Rage was made available between the 1st and 24th of August, with the full game being made available for 24 hours on the 25th. On the 26th, a different build of the game was put up, which if completed would present players with an 800 number which could lead to players receiving prizes . 24% of subscribers took part in the event.

Versions

Mega Drive version

The Mega Drive version of Primal Rage was handled by Probe Entertainment, who had previously produced similar conversions of Mortal Kombat II for home consoles (including the Mega Drive). It is based on version 1.9 of the arcade game.

While Primal Rage on the Mega Drive retains all of the moves from the arcade version (albeit sometimes in slightly altered forms), in order to fit the game onto a 32 megabit (4MB) cartridge, the number of frames of animation were cut drastically. Sauron for example went from 943 frames in total, to around 180.

32X version

The 32X version builds on what was seen on the Mega Drive, though uses the new hardware to deliver more colourful character sprites and more arcade-accurate backgrounds (powered by the Mega Drive, but without the need to reserve colours for elsewhere). Sound effects are also improved.

In this version, the "Okay Right? cheat is removed from the cheat menu.

Saturn version

On the Saturn, Primal Rage is far closer to its arcade counterpart, but still makes sacrifices to better suit the hardware. Some frames of animation are missing, as are certain sound effects, and differences in horizontal screen resolution result in slight changes to sprite sizes (the arcade has an internal resolution of 336x240, while the Saturn version opts for 352x240). The Saturn version (as well as its PlayStation counterpart) add a full motion video introductory sequence.

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Mega Drive version

• Limitations and Changes

The Mega Drive port isn't one of the better ports of the game. While most of the combos from Arcade version 2.3 were carried over, the port is more based upon the older Arcade versions 1.9 or 1.7. This means each character has only two fatalities since the 2.3 fatalities aren't there. Attacks exclusive to version 2.3 were also not included. Also, Talon's Shredder Fatality does what it did in the older versions of the Arcade game. Rather than leaving the opponent standing all mangled and cut up like in Arcade version 2.3, blood just flies everywhere like in the older Arcade versions 1.7 or 1.9. The sprites were scaled to fit the limitations of the Mega Drive hardware, which is often met by harsh criticism. The Color Palletes are also limited as well. Combos work much like that of the 2.3 version but there are some differences. Diablo's Fireball fatality is different than his Arcade rendition. Instead of firing a gigantic but pixelated fireball at his opponent like in the arcade, Diablo fires three small fireballs at the opponent and they spin around the opponent frying them.

• Exclusive Features and Easter Eggs

Although the Mega Drive port had it's problems, it had some exclusive features and an exclusive Easter Egg. The main exclusive feature was to be able to customize the six button controller in options to allow two of the buttons to use one of the character's special attacks. There are three special attacks for each character available on the options to choose from but the player can only play with two at a time on the six button controller. The Easter Egg exclusive to the Mega Drive version involved going to the cheat menu and selecting the option "Okay Right?", then selecting Diablo to play as. Diablo's worshipers would be replaced by a devil with a picture of one of the developer's heads on it. The devil will bounce up and down at the end of the battle regardless if Diablo wins or not.

• Controversy

The Mega Drive version was also controversial. There were reports of the game being removed from the shelves of some stores after a mother caught her 11 year old son playing Primal Rage and executing Chaos' Golden Shower Fatality (which is where Chaos urinates on the opponent with urine so acidic that it melts away the opponent's flesh leaving only the bones.) The mother was so disgusted by this that she not only returned the game but launched a "grass roots" campaign that caused the game to be removed from some stores at various locations, regardless of what system it was on. Even the SNES version which had this fatality censored on it was also removed from store shelves.

Game Gear version

• Limitations and Changes

The game had to be severely watered down in order to be successfully ported. Only some of the moves and combos are present. Each character has only one fatality and Vertigo was excluded from this port. Most of the changes for this port are identical to those of the Game Boy Version of Primal Rage. However, unlike the Game Boy version of Primal Rage which had Golden Shower replaced with a new acidic puking fatality for Chaos, the Game Gear version still had Golden Shower in it. In addition to that, the Game Gear version was in color (albeit less colorful than some of the other versions though.).

Saturn version

• Exclusive Features and Issues

The Sega Saturn port is actually nearly the same as the PlayStation port except that it has some exclusive features. The Saturn version featured not only the opening cutscene seen in the PlayStation version but also extra introductory cutscenes for each character. The Character endings are also replaced with FMV's by default. There is an option in the Options menu that turns the FMV's off and makes the game act like other ports. Complete with the Arcade Endings. However, it does not display combo names like the PlayStation version does. It also suffers from long loading times. However, most of the problems relating to music and loading present in the PlayStation version were fixed in the Saturn version and the disc features Redbook audio. (the PlayStation version does as well but the redbook can be rather glitchy at times.) Animations actually work properly and move much faster than the PlayStation port. However, like the PlayStation version, Blizzard's death and win sounds are switched. Some of the sound effects are also missing. The AI is also much closer to the arcade version 2.3. During the final battle, the opponent's skeletons don't stay on the ground after dying for some reason.

• Prototype Dump

drx of hidden-palace.org released an alpha build of the Sega Saturn port of Primal Rage in May 2010.

Production credits

Game Gear version

Time Warner Interactive

• Original Coin Op Development
  • Producer and Programmer: Dennis Harper
  • Programmer Designer: Frank Kuan
  • Art Director: Jason Leong
  • Game Designer: J. Cameron Petty
  • Audio Designer: Jeanne Parson
  • Associate Producer: Steve Riesenberger
• Consumer Development
  • Senior Producer: Ken Humphries
  • Associate Producer: Thomas MacDevitt
  • TWI Testers: Rob Boone, Kevin Filson, Mike Kruse, John Arvay Jr.

Probe Entertainment

• Programmer: Cameron Sheppard
• Artist: Terry Ford
• Musician: Andy Brock
• QA Manager: Gary Patino
• Testers: Nick McGee, Mike Movell, Mark Viccary, James Brown, Cliff Ramsey
• Producer: Robert O'Farrell
• Assistant Producers: James Stewart, Tim Bradstock
• Thanks to: Balor Knight, Keith Burkhill

32X version

For Time Warner Interactive

• Original Coin-Op Development
  • Producer/Programmer: Dennis Harper
  • Programmer/Designer: Frank Kuan
  • Art Director: Jason Leong
  • Game Designer: J. Cameron Petty
  • Audio Designer: Jeanne Parson
  • Associate Producer: Steve Riesenberger
• Consumer Development
  • Senior Producer: Ken Humphries
  • Associate Producer: Tom MacDevitt
  • Testers: Rob Boone, Kevin Filson, Mike Kruse, John Arvay Jr., Brian Fritts

Source:

In-game credits

• Test Manager: Curtis Soldano
• Product Marketing
  • Manager: John Golden
  • Manual: Jon Mongelluzzo
  • Special Thanks: John Fisher and Derryl DePriest
• Probe Entertainment
• Producer: Robert O'Farrell
• Assistant Producers: James Stewart, Tim Bradstock
• Programmer: Cameron Sheppard
• Artist: Terry Ford
• Musician: Andy Brock
• QA Manager: Gary Patino
• Testers: Nick McGee, Mike Movell, Mark Viccary, James Brown, Cliff Ramsey
• Special Thanks: Ralor Knight and Keith Burkhill

• Sega Special Thanks To: Steve Ackrich, Joy Sneer, Jane Chaney, J. Tony Smith, Brian Paw, Steve Goodale, Jeff Gregg, Earl Malit, Curtis Clarkson

Source:

US manual

Magazine articles

Main article: Primal Rage/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

UK print advert

Mega Drive BR print advert

FI advert (1995)

Print advert in Game Players (US) #0807: "Vol. 8 No. 7 July 1995" (1995-0x-xx)
also published in:

• GamePro (US) #73: "August 1995" (1995-xx-xx)
• VideoGames (US) #79: "August 1995" (1995-0x-xx)

Print advert in EGM² (US) #15: "September 1995" (1995-0x-xx)
also published in:

• VideoGames (US) #81: "October 1995" (1995-09-19)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #75: "October 1995" (1995-xx-xx)
• VideoGames (US) #82: "November 1995" (1995-10-24)

Print advert in Player One (FR) #57: "Octobre 1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Print advert in AS Magazin-Video Igrice (YU) #15: "Novembar 1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Consoles + (FR) 76 83 Game Players (US) 62 GamesMaster (UK) 82 №33, p46/47 Joypad (FR) 81 MAN!AC (DE) 68 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 90 Player One (FR) 73 Sega Magazine (UK) 84 №22, p90/91 Sega Power (UK) 91 №70, p42-44 Sega Pro (UK) 79 №50, p50/51

	79
Based on 11 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 70 Consoles + (FR) 76 Cool Gamer (RU) 70 Digitiser (UK) 83 Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U 75 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 70 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 62 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 75 GamePro (DE) 47 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 78 Joypad (FR) 81 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 68 Mega Force (FR) PAL 75 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 74 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 90 Next Generation (US) 25 Player One (FR) 73 Players (BR) 69 Power Up! (UK) 88 Secret Service (PL) 80 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 78 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 84 Sega Power (UK) PAL 91 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 79 Sega Mega Drive Review (RU) 74 Sega Megazone (AU) 89 Super Juegos (ES) 73 Todo Sega (ES) 90 Top Consoles (FR) 65 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 86 Videogame Advisor (US) NTSC-U 75 Video Games (DE) PAL 68 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 70

	74
Based on 33 reviews

Primal Rage

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover

Mega Drive, SE (Rental)

Mega Drive, FI
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU (bundle)
Cover
Cart Primal Rage

Mega Drive, RU/CIS (Buka)
Cart

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Digitiser (UK) 79 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 76 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 80 GamePro (DE) 47 GamePro (UK) 92 Joypad (FR) 86 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 63 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 83 Sega Magazin (DE) PAL 62 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 88 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 82 Todo Sega (ES) 86 VideoGames (US) 70

	76
Based on 13 reviews

Primal Rage

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Game Gear, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

32X version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GameFan (US) 83 MAN!AC (DE) 68 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 80 Sega Power (UK) 79 №78, p54/55 Sega Pro (UK) 72

	76
Based on 5 reviews

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score GameFan (US) NTSC-U 83 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 80 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 80 Sega Power (UK) PAL 79 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 72 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 70

	77
Based on 6 reviews

Primal Rage

32X, US
Cover
Cart Manual

32X, EU
Cover
Cart

Saturn version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source Famitsu (JP) 48 №485, p35 Fun Generation (DE) 50 GameFan (US) 66 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 79 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) 60 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) 50

	59
Based on 6 reviews

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 48 Fun Generation (DE) 50 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 66 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 75 Hobby Consolas (ES) 86 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 71 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 79 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 53 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 43 Secret Service (PL) 65 Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL 60 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 50 Total Saturn (UK) PAL 57 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 60

	62
Based on 14 reviews

Primal Rage

Saturn, JP
Cover

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, PT
Cover
Disc

Saturn, AU
Disc

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 e78a4d28 MD5 e1efc5804d3360e7b19f7542219bf964 SHA-1 5084dcca51d76173c383ab7d04cbc661673545f7	4MB		Cartridge (EU/US)
?	CRC32 2a34b5c7 MD5 1ce6a2d5b50098cbcc9f166f2cc44fba SHA-1 6d193840463722ed141ed503c2cfc7ae0077ce35	512kB		Cartridge (US/EU)
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	374,219,664		CD-ROM (EU)	T-4802H-50 V1.000
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	370,980,960		CD-ROM (JP)	T-18614G V1.300
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	595,168,896		CD-ROM (US)	T-4802H 301108-0120 V1.000
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1996-02-12					Page
?	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1		1996-03-10					Page