Ninjanimal

1990 Titus Platforms: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 Ninjanimal was one of the more curious titles listed in Titus’ 1990 release schedules. Planned for the Commodore 64 on tape and disk, the game never surfaced on any platform commercially, leaving many to wonder just what it was meant to be. Thankfully, unlike many unreleased projects, we do at least have a glimpse of what was planned. Prototype builds of the Atari ST version have surfaced over the years, whilst screenshots from the Amiga edition also survive. They reveal a colourful side-scrolling beat-em-up with some similarities to Ninja Rabbits, though with a rather unique twist. Development actually began much earlier, in late 1988, at Legend Software. According to one of the original developers, the initial concept came from the studio’s art director Didier and took inspiration from Sega’s Altered Beast, with players controlling a ninja who had the ability to transform. Several backgrounds were produced and a prototype…