| Thea Realm Fighters | |
|---|---|
 Promotional E3 1995 flyer | |
| Developer(s) | High Voltage Software |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Corporation |
| Platform(s) | Atari Jaguar Atari Jaguar CD |
| Release | Unreleased |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Thea Realm Fighters (TRF)[1][2] is an unreleased fighting game that was in development by High Voltage Software and planned to be published by Atari Corporation on a scheduled October 1995 release date exclusively for both the Atari Jaguar and the Atari Jaguar CD add-on.[3][4][5]
The player takes the role from any of the playable characters to defeat other characters before SurRaider, a powerful warrior from another dimension, attempts to conquer Earth and add it to their vast empire.[6] Originally announced in January 1995,[7] Thea Realm Fighters was one of the many fighting games developed in response to Mortal Kombat and the series' popularity during the 1990s, featuring digitized graphics and characters, with some of them portrayed by known martial artists from the Mortal Kombat series and even the plot bears striking resemblance to Mortal Kombat II.
After several delays and expenses, Atari Corporation cancelled the game in January 1996, a decision that was seen by the video game press as an indication that the company was preparing to drop support of the Jaguar, particularly as one of the other games, Black ICE\White Noise, was also cancelled at the same time.[8] The game was close to completion before it was cancelled, according to one of the game's programmers.[9] Although never released, various playable prototypes of the game have been showcased at multiple Jaguar-dedicated festivals such as the JagFest 2K1.[10] In 2016 and 2017, several ROMs were leaked online by video game collector Nicolas Persjin.[11][12][13]
- ^ W. Harding, Craig (September 6, 1996). "THEA REALM FIGHTERS (SUR RAIDER'S GALACTIC CHALLENGE) A.K.A. TRF - Trademark Details". justia.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
- ^ W. Harding, Craig (September 6, 1996). "THEA REALM FIGHTERS (SUR RAIDER'S GALACTIC CHALLENGE) A.K.A. TRF Trademark Information". trademarkia.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ D. George, Gregory (May 9, 2001). "Lost Games: Thea Realm Fighters - We've unearthed another lost Jag title". ataritimes.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ Gore, Chris (August 1995). "The Gorescore - Industry News You Can - Upcoming Jaguar Software Titles". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 79. L.F.P., Inc. p. 14.
- ^ "ProNews: CES ProNews Flashes! - Atari Update". GamePro. No. 68. IDG. March 1995. p. 156.
- ^ "Press Releases - ATARI PRESENTS NEW SOFTWARE TITLES AT "FUN 'N' GAMES" MEDIA DAY". atarihq.com. July 20, 1995. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ "Coming Attractions for Atari Jaguar". TheFreeLibrary.com. Business Wire. January 6, 1995. Archived from the original on 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ "ProNews: Atari Axes New Games". GamePro. No. 79. IDG. February 1996. p. 17.
- ^ Reutter, Hans (January 12, 2001). "Unreleased Or Unfinished Jaguar Games - Thea Realm Fighters". cyberroach.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ Thompson, Clint. "JagCube's Jagfest2k1 Report". jagcube.atari.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ Persjin, Nicholas (November 14, 2016). "Thea Realm Fighters early demo pre-alpha". AtariAge. Archived from the original on 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ Persjin, Nicholas (November 21, 2016). "HVSCMAZE". AtariAge. Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
- ^ Persjin, Nicholas (January 8, 2017). "Thea Realm Fighters Alpha Version". AtariAge. Archived from the original on 2018-04-02. Retrieved 2018-06-14.