Primal Rage II (also can be known as simply just Rage II) is the cancelled sequel to Primal Rage. It started development in 1996 and was set to be released in 1997, but the game ended cancelled a few months after Atari Games was acquired by Midway. Only one cabinet of the game is known to exist, and it can be found at the Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, Illinois.
As of 02/11/2017, the emulation of the game is fully functional, thanks to YouTube user GruntZilla94.
Overview[]
In the storyline, the original characters had been trapped and were unable to fight against one another directly, so they each selected a representative from their human worshippers to fight on their behalf. These representatives were given the ability to morph into their god's image. New gods were also set to make an appearance, such as Slashfang, a prehistoric fighter taking the form of a Dinofelis, and Necrosan, a living dragon skeleton, who was previously axed from the first game. Although they never got featured in a finished game, these two creatures did get released as toys.
The storyline in Primal Rage II follows closely on the events chronicled in the first game, as it is revealed that the meteorite that once struck Urth is, in fact, an egg holding the dragon beast Necrosan, a terrible monster bent on destroying Urth. To protect their world, the gods unite against Necrosan, but are defeated in the ensuing battle and subsequently imprisoned in a state of semi-suspended animation. The gods then form human avatars for themselves and fight the minions of Necrosan to release them from their prison and battle Necrosan.
When Primal Rage II was cancelled, Atari allegedly felt it necessary to somehow present the story for the sequel in one form or another. Thus, in 1997, a novel called Primal Rage: The Avatars was released, written by John Vornholt.
Characters[]
- Kaze: Avatar of Blizzard
- Tor: Avatar of Armadon
- Keena: Avatar of Talon
- Arik: Avatar of Sauron
- Shank: Avatar of Chaos
- Malyssa: Avatar of Vertigo
- Sinjin: Avatar of Diablo
- Xiao Ming: Avatar of Slashfang
- Necrosan: The final boss of the game
Emulation[]
An early alpha build of Primal Rage II has been floating around the internet for years. However, it has never been properly emulated so the game crashes upon selecting a character. The 558 Mega Byte CHD image that goes with it is also hard to find and only available in a few places adding further to this problem. In March 2017, an individual on the internet made a modded version of MAME, dubbed "MAME4RAGE2", to have the game emulated without any issues.
Videos[]
