Freak Boy and Protoype Cartridge

Sometimes fate isn't on the side of game concepts and their makers. An idea might just not pan out, or get caught in a vicious cycle of corporate choices. The latter, according to an article at Unseen 64, happened to "Freak Boy," a prospective N64 title that was under development by Zono Incorporated and Burst Studio. Virgin, the publisher, had requested the game be remade from the ground up twice before ultimately canning the project in the late '90s.

The history of the game that never was may very well have stopped there, but a savvy game hound has found what is reportedly a prototype cartridge in Guildford, UK. The find was said to be made in September at a car boot sale (what many in North America might call a flea market), alongside two other prototype carts that were not picked up. They were titled "casino" and "mario 2," so we might not necessarily blame the buyer for leaving them behind.

The buyer has posted a playlist of short video snippets, the first showing the Virgin logo jiggling in all its 64-bit glory. Later footage goes on to show the game itself, which features some form of creature with the ability to take up various pieces onto his body and use them elsewhere to blow stuff up and make pathways. We have uploaded a few of the nine videos below.

Do you think Freak Boy could have flown back in the day had it been fully realized? If you're interested in seeing more, be sure to check out the full article from the archivists over at Unseen64.

[source unseen64.net, via unseen64.net]