If you know anything about the world of anime, chances are you know of the greatness of Akira. Originally released in 1988 and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira is a great example of well-made anime movies. From it’s great story to it’s amazing visuals, this became an instant classic in no time, and one that is always held high in the world of early otaku. Weirdly enough, not many efforts have been made to turn the cyberpunk world of Akira into video game form.
There was an early Famicom title by Taito, which was only released in Japan, and a pinball spin-off for the PS2 named Akira Psycho Pinball. Besides the previous games that were mentioned (and the Commodore Amiga game), there weren’t many games planned for console exclusivity (at least that we knew of) until now.
Thanks to Unseen64’s YouTube channel, we now know that there was an Akira game in development for the Genesis/SNES, as well as the SEGA CD. Looking into it, the game was in development by Black Pearl Software (Responsible for the port of Total Carnage on SNES) and THQ (Publishers of the Sonic Advance series, among others). Although it was apparently canceled, it looked like a decent project.
The game was going to combine a couple of different styles, such as a motorcycle stage, a first person segment, and a side scrolling and shoot em’ up stage. Graphically, the game looks on point as well, capturing the feel of the anime, and having animated sequences too. Not much else has been unearthed besides this footage, so I do not think much will come of this, but it does look cool, and it is nice to see a project that was in hiding for a while now. Hopefully the prototype is found at some point.
