Throwback Thursday: Primal Rage

Happy Thursday Gamers! Today's vintage video game was one I recently picked up for a steal: Primal Rage.

Primal Rage is a versus fighting game that was developed and released by Atari for arcades in 1994. The game takes place in post-apocolyptic "Urth" where beasts fight to control territories in the new world. Players are allowed to choose from 7 beasts, 4 which are virtuous and 3 that are destructive. Each character has their own special set of 3 attack moves and abilities and are thought to be inspired by the original Mortal Kombat characters.

Throughout the game, the beasts must fight against the computer or another player to conquer the world and gain worshippers. Human worshippers will gather around the fight to support their god in battle and can also tossed around or eaten to regain strength. Eating an opponent's tribesmen will gain strength while eating your own will result in a penalty. The humans play a minute role in the game, but add a sense of humor to the fights.

Soon after the arcade release of Primal Rage, various ports became available for home consoles and computers. Unfortunately, none of them match the quality of the original because copyright prohibits any effort to perfectly emulate the arcade version. In addition, members of the original programming team display no interest in going back to the game to decode the original ROM encryption.

Primal Rage enjoyed a small period of success despite the diminished quality for home gaming and complaints of graphic violence. It inspired a comic book series from 1996-1998 and even a sequel: Primal Rage II. Unfortunately Primal Rage II was cancelled but the original set precedents for future gaming and remains a piece of gaming history. We at GGR love Primal Rage and therefore welcome it to the vault!

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GGR hopes all of our USA readers had a great Independence Day!