Launch Games Nobody Remembers

There are so many things that can affect a new console launch, but possibly the most important thing is to get your launch lineup in place. We’ve seen games launch consoles and become instant classics, but not all launch games are so lucky. For every Wii Sports or Halo, there are plenty of launch games that have faded away more than Steve Brookstein.

 

Crime Crackers – PS1 (Japan)

Crime Crackers was a launch game for the Playstation in Japan, making its debut in late 1994. A first person dungeon crawling game with RPG mechanics, it was definitely a unique looking game, considering the previous generations’ reliance on platformers and fighting games. Crime Crackers saw players take control of a team of three individuals as they move through grid based environments, while taking on turn based battles and some light puzzle solving. The Playstation was looking to set itself against not only the previous generation, but also other fifth generation consoles such as the Jaguar, 3DO and Sony’s main rival, the Sega Saturn. Crime Crackers was a unique and quirky game which would have stood out against the competition.

Sadly, Crime Crackers never left Japan, which of course limited its international following. It didn’t do a whole lot better in its native japan, where it received reviews that would be generally described as ‘mixed’. It didn’t help that developers rushed to push the console’s limits more and more, and Crime Crackers seemingly was forgotten in the avalanche of games that were released in the following years. It did well enough to receive a sequel in Crime Crackers 2, but competing with the likes of Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy 7, well, Crime Crackers never quite cracked it, and that’s a…crime. Maybe a misdemeanour.

Not even Branstons could improve this next cracker. One to confuse the Americans there, but it’s imperative you stick with us.

 

Kileak: The DNA Imperative – PS1 (NA)

Over to the PS1 stateside for Kileak: The DNA Imperative, which has absolutely nothing to do with your cheesiest friend’s favourite Soulcalibur character. A North American launch title when the console belatedly made its way west in 1995, Kileak was an early attempt to bring the first person shooter to the Playstation. The storyline was very mid 90s, involving biological experiments gone horribly wrong. Will we ever seek not to play god? Will we never learn?

Players pilot a -sort of- mech as they make their way around labyrinthian corridors fighting robotic enemies and uncovering the dark secrets of the facility the game takes place in. While I am not giving this the strong sell, it was a unique game. While many other FPS games focussed on Doom-style gameplay, what we’d call boomer shooters today, Kileak was a slower experience based around atmosphere and exploration. For a launch title, it was a great way to show off the Playstation’s ability to handle 3D environments.

Unfortunately, Kileak sounds like a malfunction in a submarine door, and was about as fun. Sure it demonstrated 3D capabilities well, but it was slooooow, clunky and repetitive. Its narrow, featureless corridors lacked visual variety even in 1995, and simply weren’t exciting or engaging. We had seen FPS games on console before this, even had great ones, we’re blowing kisses at you Aliens Vs Predator, the only reason to own a Jaguar. But overall, first-person shooters on console were still in their infancy and Kileak showed that. Considering that only a few years later we’d see the likes of Goldeneye 007 on the N64, it just goes to show how quickly games were moving forward, and Kileak’s dated design was easily eclipsed.

Kileak’s sequel Epidemic, also known as Kileak: The Blood 2: Reason in Madness, was an improvement but didn’t exactly set the world on fire. We’d also get a spiritual successor in the fantastically named BRAHMA Force: The Assault on Beltlogger 9, but there’s no one calling for Beltlogger 10, so I guess this series has been long forgotten. It’d be an uphill battle to keep logging my belt collection. I have so many!

 

Battle Arena Toshinden – PS1 (NA)

Yeah, I can already hear you in the comments typing ‘Battle Arena Toshinden isn’t a forgotten game, it’s a cult classic that fans still love’. But let’s take into account that the last ‘proper’ Toshinden game, Toshinden 4, released in 1999. There are people in the world old enough to perform brain surgery that have been born since the last game. There’s probably more gamers that don’t know Toshinden than do. Painkiller and a back brace please.

Battle Arena Toshinden was a launch game for the Playstation in both the US and Europe. It was a good, but not great, 3D fighting game, which many would claim to be one of the few ‘true’ 3D fighters. Toshinden wasn’t just 3D polygonal characters on a 2D plane though, as you could actually move around your opponent using the shoulder buttons to avoid attacks and get the drop on your opponent. It also had a good cast of characters and some nice design, and would receive rave reviews and sell over one million copies.

Despite only making its debut in 1995, Toshinden would see a quick turn around in sequels following the initial success. Only one year later the PS1 would see Battle Arena Toshinden 2, which was generally fairly similar to its predecessor, but would sell around half the amount of copies. Battle Arena Toshinden 3 landed less than a year on, and would again sell less than half the copies of its predecessor. Finally, Toshidnen 4 would be given a bit more dev time and release in 1999, but it would make little impact, with sales numbers never formally being announced.

Despite several spins offs prior to Toshinden 4’s release, the series would come to a near total halt in 1999. There was a weirdly kawaii Wii reimagining simply called Toshinden years later, but it was so different it felt like a different name with the Toshinden branding slapped on. Weird reimaginings in the 7th generation seemed to come out…like clockwork.

 

Clockwork Knight – Sega Saturn (NA)

Okay, enough about Sony for a minute, there were plenty of other consoles out there during the fifth generation.

Clockwork Knight was a launch title for the Sega Saturn, making its debut alongside the console in May of 1995 in North America. A side-scrolling platformer, players take the role of a toy knight nicknamed Pepper, and fight their way through household based levels against other toy enemies. Clockwork Knight used the power of the Saturn to use high quality 3D rendered sprites, a-la Donkey Kong Country, alongside some nice looking 3D graphics on a 2D plane. It was well received by critics, and generally got good reviews. So good in fact that Clockwork Knight would receive a sequel only months later, with Clockwork Knight 2 getting a Japanese release in July of 1995, which also got good reviews.

So, what went wrong? It’s hard to say. Sales data wasn’t really released back in the 90s so it’s difficult to know how well Clockwork Knight, and its sequel, actually sold. One thing that is for sure, was that the 2D platformer was on borrowed time in the mainstream with 3D platformers coming to the fore. 2D platformers felt dated, and Clockwork Knight’s design didn’t help this. Only a few months later the Saturn would get Bug!, while not a full 3D platformer, it allowed you to move in more than two directions. Simply moving left to right was old hat, and while Clockwork Knight was certainly a looker and holds up well today, there’s a reason why we never got Clockwork Knight and the Secret Rings. Or even Clockwork Knight: Rise of Lyric.

Add in the fact that the Saturn itself was hardly a smash hit, and it’s no surprise that Clockwork Knight missed a…trick.

 

TrickStyle – Dreamcast (NA)

The certain aesthetic that the Dreamcast embodies still looks great today. Those chunky, clean polygons left quite an impression, one that no other console ever really emulated. Sadly, when it launched in 1999, aiming to fix some of the mistakes of the Saturn and the six million Mega Drive add-ons, it did so in the middle of Playstation fever. The console had taken the world by storm and gamers were still enjoying the PS1, while waiting for the PS2. Which meant many of its decent launch games could have made this list.

We settled on TrickStyle for our choice, an original hoverboard racing game with a stylised name that absolutely dared dyslexic people to try their very best. The sci-fi racer set players on futuristic tracks located in real world inspired locations such as London and Tokyo. Those trademark graphics oozed style, and it was a technical showcase for the Dreamcast. It helped that it was developed by Criterion Games, who would later go on to create the Burnout series. We’ve talked about that a few times.

Despite its design and technical excellence, TrickStyle proved to be a little shallow. While fun, the game lacked depth, and replayability. The short lifespan of the Dreamcast also didn’t help TrickStyle’s chances of building up a fanbase, and with the Playstation 2 and Xbox both becoming dominant players in the gaming market, TrickStyle, as well as the Dreamcast, died a sorry death.

However, you don’t need to sleep on TrickStyle. You can still live out your Marty McFly fantasies as the game actually debuted on Steam to seemingly zero fanfare back in 2017 and costs less than a fiver. Judging by the lack of reviews, it hasn’t been a success on Steam, but it really is a game you should give a go, though obviously it’s not giving something like SSX a run for its money.

 

Smuggler’s Run – PS2 (NA)

This may shock and surprise many of all four of our younger viewers, please, give us your knee cartilage, we need it, but there was a time that Rockstar Games was more than just GTA Online content.

Back in 2000, developer Angel Studios, who would later become Rockstar San Diego, and publisher Rockstar would release Smuggler’s Run as an ideal launch title for the long awaited Playstation 2. Smuggler’s Run would be the perfect launch game for the Playstation 2, with an expansive open world and fast paced gameplay. There were three maps, three different game modes, with 32 missions to complete over the course of the campaign. It was very well received thanks to its open form gameplay, something that was relatively new to console gaming at the time.

So why does no one speak of Smuggler’s Run? The world simply moved on. It’s hard to describe how quickly the gaming world was moving back around the turn of the century, but gaming moved on fast, and open worlds became more and more complex, which left the fairly basic world of Smuggler’s Run behind, despite how impressive it was at the time. Rockstar would soon launch Grand Theft Auto III which revolutionised the open world gameplay experience and would become the gold standard for the genre. Quite simply, there was no need to go back to the fairly basic, empty worlds of Smugglers Run, and its sequel. Rockstar focussed on more complex open world fare as the years went on, such as Bully and Red Dead Redemption, and Smuggler’s Run faded into obscurity.

 

Cel Damage – GameCube (NA)/Xbox (NA)

We’ve got quite the rarified twofer for you here, as Cel Damage not only crawled its way onto Bill Gates and The Rock’s adopted son, the obelisk known as the OG Xbox, but it also struggled when it coincided with the launch of the Nintendo GameCube too.

There are probably quite a few of you doing that Leonardo DiCaprio thing upon hearing the name “Cel Damage.” It’s a pretty small club, but a proud one, as even in 2025 Cel Damage is one of the most eye-catching car games out there.

Playing like a mix of Looney Tunes, Twisted Metal, and Mario Kart, Cel Damage is vehicular combat mixed with kart racing. You’re playing in front of a live studio audience, who will all react accordingly when you blow up your mate with weapons of mass destruction from the ACME armoury, like a vacuum! And a nuclear device! Fun!

Unfortunately, Cel Damage can be a little bit cheesy when it comes to the AI, and just how much stuff can come flying at you at once. Imagine if it was the blue shell in Mario Kart, except all the time, and you can’t get your younger brother in a rear naked chokehold to get him to cut that shit out. The poor critical reception, as well as just how many racing games released early on for the OG Xbox, contributed towards Cel Damage being a pretty hard sell.

The game did come to PS2 in 2002, though, which was where most of its audience was found.

 

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom – PS3 (NA)

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom was a dungeon crawler RPG launch game for the Playstation 3, releasing alongside other huge hitting PS3 launch titles like uhhhh…Lair, and another game we’ll get to. Much like other games in this genre, you choose a character class and make your way through dungeons, defeating enemies and gaining experience. Each class, naturally, plays differently, and lets you change things up. It also features co-op multiplayer so you and your DnD loving pals can team up to take on dungeons together. It was one of the few games, let alone RPGs, available at launch, and I’m sure that Sony had hoped that it would fill a niche for RPG fans looking to jump on the PS3 train early.

But being one of the first doesn’t necessarily mean being one of the best, as Untold Legends was held back by linear gameplay, generic design and lacklustre execution. Repetitive gameplay, unimpressive combat and forgettable level design all failed to take advantage of the PS3’s impressive hardware. Critics gave the game mixed reviews at best and it totally failed to resonate with fans, and the PS3 would quickly (well, quickly ish) get some more impressive games over the next year.

As time rolled on, RPG fans would get the likes of Dragon Age and Diablo III, and in comparison, Dark Kingdom was totally unable to distinguish itself. It probably didn’t help that the PS3’s high cost put many early adopters, and by the time they did buy one, Untold Legends Dark Kingdom was deep in the bargain bin.

 

Genji: Days of the Blade – PS3 (JP/NA)

The Playstation 2 was Sony’s biggest success in the console market, and probably always will be. To this day, it’s the biggest selling console of all time. So as you can imagine, it had a fairly thick library of games. Some big hitters that changed gaming, some stinkers that you’d find in only the grimmest of Woolworths, and some…meh. And you can’t spell “meh” without Genji: Days of the Blade…MH.

The original Genji on PS2 was an action adventure game with a focus on Japanese history and mythology, with plenty of hacking and slashing to give you your monkey brain fix. Genji: Dawn of the Samurai was well received, and you definitely will have seen that pretty cool cover on store shelves over 20 years ago. Sony felt that it could have franchise potential, and earmarked a sequel to debut on Sony’s big follow up, the Playstation 3.

It’s a familiar story at this point but the sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade, was not as well received as its prequel and received mixed reviews. With the uptick in power of the Playstation 3, the graphics were impressive, but the Days of the Blade suffered from a frustrating camera and clunky combat. There were also a couple of other issues at play which may have caused this game to be forgotten. As proved with the Playstation 5 Pro, Sony does love a good, exceedingly expensive console, and at release the PS3 cost an eye watering 500 to 600 dollars, depending on if you went with the 20 or 60 gigabyte versions, which probably led a few gamers to steer clear of the PS3 until prices dropped a bit. Genji was more like Genji: Okays of the Blade, and you were never going to rush out to buy it after remortgaging your house for all those sick SD slots.

Also, gamers may have not taken Genji 2 seriously, thanks to that iconic giant enemy crab at E3 2006. God, was that really 38 years ago? Where has the time gone?

 

Godfall – PS5

Not all forgotten launch games are from consoles that launched many years ago. So how about a PlayStation 5 launch title? While it may only be 5 years old, you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who has anything positive to say about Godfall, if anything at all.

Godfall had some serious heft behind it, being published by Borderlands developer, Gearbox. Set in a high fantasy world with sci-fi elements, Godfall featured melee combat with loot collection, like a looter-shooter but an um looter-slasher? That’ll do. Being a PS5 launch title, Godfall had gorgeous graphics and combat effects.

Despite its gorgeous looks, the combat was repetitive and lacked depth, as did Godfall’s loot based progression. Its story was lacklustre, and there’s little to do after completing the main story, and despite being largely single player, Godfall had an annoying always online requirement. The biggest issue with Godfall was that it was just so… *blegh* – I mean to say that it is very bland, and never really had a true identity. Who was this game for? The $70 price tag also didn’t help matters.

The PS5 also had a better choice of games to play at release too, with the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Spider Man: Miles Morales and the Demon’s Souls remake all being better choices to spend your cash on. There isn’t really a strong community behind this game, word of mouth was almost non-existent and the lack of post launch content really helped to confine Godfall to the dustbin for forgotten launch games.

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