Unreleased Akira game discovered

Akira is considered one of the greatest animated films ever created. It has garnered a large fan base worldwide since its theatrical debut more than 30 years ago.  Image Bandai Visual

Until now few, if any, have surpassed the great animated classic film “Akira.” It was so big even during its time that several games based on the movie were released. However, one was lost until a collector unearthed this gem.

Patrick Scott Patterson is a video game historian who hunts down retro video games and salvages them for future generations to enjoy, reports Geek.

Apparently, now defunct gaming company THQ had been producing this lost Akira game for the Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Sega CD, Genesis and Game Gear. According to the game’s creators, it was not canceled but rather neglected due to various circumstances. What first started as a misunderstanding on what could and could not be done on hardware then spiraled out to more unfortunate events that led to the game being forgotten and left to collect dust.

Fortunately four prototype copies have been left behind, and Patterson plans to showcase them in a “Let’s Play” presentation at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, which will be held on Oct. 21-23.  Alfred Bayle

Here is a video of Patterson uncovering the four prototypes: