rayman-wallpaper-1

Incomplete Rayman Game for Super Nintendo Uncovered

Written by

Published: October 24, 2016 8:15 PM

An unfinished copy of Rayman for the Super Nintendo, long thought lost for over 23 years, has been found by Rayman creator Michel Ancel.

The Super Nintendo version of Rayman was planned for a simultaneous release for the first Rayman games on the Atari Jaguar, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn back in 1995. The SNES version, however, would feature a completely different graphical style and even special features, such as a two player co-op mode, before the game would be cancelled by Ubisoft in favor of the CD-Rom versions.

Ancel, who last worked on this version of the game over 23 years ago, found a rom of the game in his home. Prior to this discovery, the roms for the Super Nintendo version of Rayman were considered lost.

The working Rayman game on the left, and the Rom in the SNES on the right.
The working Rayman game on the left, and the Rom in the SNES on the right.

Ancel shared his discovery on his personal instagram and got the rom to work on an old Super Nintendo system. Ancel was also able to show off some images of the Rayman game in action, including hints of the co-op mode planned for this version of the game.

Upon finding out the game still works, Ancel stated on his instagram, "[four] people in the world have seen this. We thought it was lost, but somewhere in the cold electronic circuit, something was still alive. And running at full 60fps!!! Should do a Switch version of this."

The SNES version of Rayman in action, with co-op.
The SNES version of Rayman in action, with co-op.


Quick Take

While Ancel is clearly joking about the Switch version, a working rom of a lost game is always a great find, especially when it comes from what may have been one of the first games in a long-running series like Rayman. While it is doubtful a working version of the full game will be released to the public, it is possible Ancel will donate the rom to a museum, or put the rom out to the public. Either way, it helps in preserving another game that was once thought lost, and in my opinion a game like this should be preserved in any way possible. 

What do you think about all of this? Leave your comments below. 

Me smiling
| Staff Writer

A longtime player of games, creator of worlds, and teacher of minds. Robert has worked many positions over the years, from college professor to education… More about Robert