Primal Rage is a versus fighting game developed and published by Atari Games. It was originally released in 1994 as an arcade video game. It was later ported to numerous home consoles (such as PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo) and PC. Primal Rage was also included in Midway Arcade Treasures 2. Toys, comics, and other merchandise were also produced. Image File history File links PrimalRage_ArcadeTitleScreen. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Atari Games was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari Inc. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Atari Games was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari Inc. ... 1994 1994 in games 1993 in video gaming 1995 in video gaming Notable events of 1994 in computer and video games. ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... This article describes fighting games in which opponents face off in a battle. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games and other entertainment software in the United States and Canada (officially adopted by individual provinces 2004-2005). ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... The Sega Mega Drive ) was a video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The original Amiga 1000 (1985) with various peripherals The Amiga 500 (1987) was the most popular variant of the Amiga. ... 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (most commonly referred to as the 3DO) is a line of video game consoles which were released in 1993 and 1994 by Panasonic, Sanyo and Goldstar, among other companies. ... The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released in November 1993 to rival the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a powerful next generation platform. ... The Game Boy ) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo,[1] released in 1989 at US$89. ... The Sega Game Gear was Segas first portable gaming system. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES and Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australasia between 1990 and 1992. ... A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... An arcade system board is a standardized printed circuit board or group of printed circuit boards that are used as the basis for multiple arcade games with very similar hardware requirements. ... Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6. ... Motorola Inc. ... The 68EC020 is a microprocessor from Motorola. ... A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i. ... Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), better known in the electronics industry (and popularly) as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology. ... A computer display monitor, usually called simply a monitor, is a piece of electrical equipment which displays viewable images generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... This article describes fighting games in which opponents face off in a battle. ... Atari Games was an American producer of arcade games, and originally part of Atari Inc. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... The Sony PlayStation ) is a video game console of the 32/64-bit era, first produced by Sony Computer Entertainment in the mid-1990s. ... The Sega Saturn ) is a 32-bit video game console, first released on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America and July 8, 1995 in Europe. ... The Sega Mega Drive ) was a video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988, North America in 1989, and the PAL region in 1990. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ... Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is the second collection of classic arcade games published by Midway for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. ...

Storyline

In Primal Rage, a meteor strike has devastated the earth; civilization has been utterly reduced to rubble and mankind has regressed into tribes of Stone Age dwellers. Into this new radiation-scarred world, primitively referred to as "Urth", primordial rainforest has covered the land and numerous new species have evolved. Among these are giant mutated apes, and reptiles that have regressed on the evolutionary scale back into dinosaur-like beasts. An extinction event (also known as: mass extinction; extinction-level event, ELE) occurs when there is a sharp decrease in the number of species in a relatively short period of time. ... Central New York City. ... This article is about modern humans. ... Stone Age fishing hook. ... Radiation as used in physics, is energy in the form of waves or moving subatomic particles. ... A rainforest is a forested biome with high annual rainfall. ... Look up giant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In biology, mutations are changes to the genetic material (usually DNA or RNA). ... Families Hylobatidae Hominidae Apes are the members of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates, including humans. ... Orders  Crocodilia - Crocodilians scary crocodiles. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ...

Other ancient dinosaurs, having been in suspended animation for 65 million years (due to one of their number, Vertigo, being held in magical imprisonment on the moon) have finally awoken from their eons-long slumber after the last extinction level event which originally killed off most of the dinosaurs. Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. ... Magic Circle by John William Waterhouse Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers. ... For other moons in the solar system see natural satellite. ... Look up eon, Eon, EON in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An extinction event (also extinction-level event, ELE) is a period in time when a large number of species die out. ...

Out of their ranks emerge seven creatures who wage war for control over the new world; they are torn between those who wish to keep peace on Urth, and those who attempt to plunge the world into further chaos for personal gain. These creatures have otherworldly or supernatural abilities and each is said to represent a different aspect of nature i.e. life and death, fire and ice; and they are considered to be a "god" of their respective sphere. There are four "Virtuous Gods" and three "Evil Gods". To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Life (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A forest fire Fire is a rapid oxidation process that releases energy in varying intensities in form of light (with wavelength not also in the visual part of the spectrum) and heat and often creates smoke. ... Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902 Ice is the name given to any one of the 14 known solid phases of water. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For other uses, see Evil (disambiguation). ...

Gameplay

Primal Rage is a traditional two-dimensional fighting game in which two players select characters to battle each other in one-on-one combat or a single player finishes a campaign of fights against the CPU over increasing difficulty. A total of seven characters are available for players to select from (as listed below). Each dinosaur has his or her own specialized set of attack moves and abilities. In the game, the object is to deplete the opposing character's health meter as fast as possible. Dimension (from Latin measured out) is, in essence, the number of degrees of freedom available for movement in a space. ... CPU can stand for: in computing: Central processing unit in journalism: Commonwealth Press Union in law enforcement: Crime prevention unit in software: Critical patch update, a type of software patch distributed by Oracle Corporation in Macleans College is often known as Ash Lim. ...

After the opponent is defeated, a brief moment is allowed for the player to perform a fatality that finishes the adversary in a more dramatic fashion.

While fighting, human tribesman will move in the background and worship their gods during battle. This allows for the dinosaurs to toss them around or devour some to regain strength.

Unlike most fighting games, where "special moves" are performed by moving the joystick, followed by pressing one or more buttons, Primal Rage features a system where the player holds down certain buttons, then performs the joystick movements. Later revisions of the arcade game added the ability to perform "special moves" the more traditional way of motion followed by button presses, but kept the original method as well.

Characters

The Virtuous Gods

• Blizzard: Blizzard is one of two ape-beasts, the God of Good. He was frozen in a glacier for millennia and was released by the meteor. He lived high up in the mountain and descended down to the ground when threated. A noble and heroic yeti-like beast, Blizzard wishes to undo the damage caused to Urth by both the meteor and the warring gods. Many of his abilities focus around the manipulation of ice and cold. Blizzard is the leader of the Virtuous Beasts, and his animal power and age-old wisdom makes him almost unstoppable.

• Armadon: A ceratopsian dinosaur, and the God of Life, Armadon is a Virtuous Beast and fights to defend Urth and prevent its destruction. His genetic makeup appears to be part Chasmosaurus and Ankylosaurus. The tail tip is a combination of the ankylosaurus tail club and a stegosaurus' thagomizer. Armadon has the easiest combos.

• Sauron: The second of the two Tyrannosaurus rex dino-beasts also being the tallest character and God of Hunger, Sauron's immortality only lasts while he devours human flesh, as he suffers from an insatiable appetite. In spite of this, he is not evil, but is in fact one of the Virtuous Beasts, but the anti hero of the group. He can dish out the most damage of all the dino-beasts.

• Talon: Talon is based on Deinonychus; he is the God of Survival. One of the Virtuous Beasts, Talon is the patriarch of a huge family of raptors and is fiercely protective of it. It is for their sake that he plunges into the war. Talon is the fastest character in the game and is a favourite among many. Talon is also the shortest character, and numerous ranged attacks by taller enemies will simply miss him.

Families Hylobatidae Hominidae †Proconsulidae †Dryopithecidae †Oreopithecidae Apes are the members of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates, which includes humans. ... “Abominable Snowman” redirects here. ... Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902 Ice is the name given to any one of the 14 known solid phases of water. ... Look up cold in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Groups Psittacosaurus Coronosauria Ceratopia (ser-a-TOP-ee-ah) or Ceratopsia is a group of ornithischian dinosaurs which evolved during the Cretaceous period in what is now North America and Asia. ... Species Chasmosaurus (KAZ-mo-sawr-us) is a ceratopsid dinosaur genus from the Upper Cretaceous Period of North America. ... Binomial name Ankylosaurus magniventris Brown, 1908 Ankylosaurus (pronounced or , meaning stiffened lizard) is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur, containing one species, . Fossils of Ankylosaurus are found in geologic formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period in western North America. ... Species Marsh, 1877 (type) Marsh, 1887 Gilmore, 1914 Stegosaurus (IPA: ) is a genus of stegosaurid armoured dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian to Early Tithonian) in what is now western North America. ... Now this end is called the thagomizer, after the late Thag Simmons. ... The Man with No Name, an often cited example of an anti-hero, played by Clint Eastwood The term antihero has a variety of definitions, ranging from unconventional heroes, a protagonist lacking heroic qualities or even one possessing traits antithetical to the traditional hero. ... Binomial name Deinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969 Deinonychus (IPA ) meaning terrible claw (Greek δεινος meaning terrible and ονυξ/ονυχος meaning claw) was a jaguar-sized, carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur species from the Early Cretaceous Period. ... Species V. mongoliensis Osborn, 1924 Velociraptor (IPA: RP , GA ; meaning swift thief) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 83 to 70 Ma (million years ago) during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. ...

The Evil Gods

• Diablo: Diablo is one of the two Tyrannosaurus rex dino-beasts, and God of Evil. This flame-spewing demonic dinosaur wishes to reduce Urth into a nightmarish, magma-filled wasteland entirely devoid of life. He is nearly identical to Sauron's graphic model, albeit somewhat smaller and with a different color scheme. Diablo is quick on his feet and is an excellent distance fighter but is somewhat weak in close range. He is the leader of the Evil Beasts.

• Chaos: The second of the two ape-beasts, and the God of Decay, Chaos was formerly a scientist/witch doctor, transformed into his current state by accident. Chaos is an Evil Beast and is the crudest of all dino-beasts, with moves like Fart of Fury and Power Puke. His Golden Shower fatality (where Chaos dissolves the flesh from his victim with a geyser of acidic urine) was deemed so disgusting that the game was pulled from the market and replaced with a version lacking this fatality. While all the dino-beasts are very vocal, Chaos is the only one that speaks a word. When defeated, he yells out "No!" before collapsing.

• Vertigo: Vertigo is a unique beast based on a king cobra and a Sellosaurus (or possibly a Tanystropheus), Goddess of Insanity. She is one of the Evil Beasts and is the only female dino-beast available. She has the longest reach. The storyline of the game states that her imprisonment in the moon forced the other dino-beasts into suspended animation until the meteor impact. Vertigo is absent from the Game Boy version.

Binomial name Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 Synonyms Manospondylus gigas Dynamosaurus imperiosus Dinotyrannus megagracilis Nanotyrannus lancensis? Tyrannosaurus (IPA pronunciation or ; from the Greek τυραννόσαυρος, meaning tyrant lizard) is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur. ... The demon Satan In folklore, mythology, and religion, a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as an evil spirit, but is also depicted to be good in some instances. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Sellosaurus is a Plateosaur thatlived in Triassic Europe, 225 mya. ... Tanystropheus was a 6 metre (20 foot) long reptile that dated from the middle Triassic period. ... For other moons in the solar system see natural satellite. ... The Game Boy ) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo,[1] released in 1989 at US$89. ...

Homage

As originally printed in an issue of GamePro in 1995, there is evidence to suggest that each character is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a fighter from the original Mortal Kombat lineup. The individual traits, personality, and special moves of each character resemble those of a counterpart in the Mortal Kombat lineup. For example, Armadon's power of electricity is like Raiden, Blizzard has freezing attacks that disable the opponent like Sub-Zero, Diablo has a distanced attack which drags the opponent near and breathes fire like Scorpion, Talon has a flying kick resembling Liu Kang's, Sauron has moves which produce shadows, similar to Johnny Cage, Vertigo being a lone female character and performing ring-shaped projectiles are similar in nature Sonya, and the barbaric nature and cannonball move of Chaos is comparable to Kano. ^{[citation needed]} Cover of the May 1994 issue. ... Sarcasm is the making of remarks intended to mock the person referred to (who is normally the person addressed), a situation or thing. ... Mortal Kombat was the first entry in the famous Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway, released in arcades in 1992. ... Raiden (also Rayden) is a video game character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ... Scorpion is a fictional character appearing in the Mortal Kombat video game series. ... Liu Kang is the main character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ... For the Modernist composer, see John Cage. ... Sonya Blade is a video game character from the Mortal Kombat fighting games series. ... Kano is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. ...

Also, the concept of two fighters sharing near identical appearances, in this case, Sauron and Diablo, resembles that of Scorpion and Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat. A similar technique was applied to Ken and Ryu of Street Fighter II for the purposes of saving on memory and development time. Ken Masters , his first name is sometimes written as 拳) is a video game character created by Capcom. ...   , also written as 隆) is a video game character created by Capcom, and is the main character in the Street Fighter series. ... Street Fighter II ) is a 1991 competitive fighting game by Capcom. ...

Controversy

As with other bloody U.S. based fighting titles of the time (most notably Mortal Kombat), Primal Rage sparked considerable controversy due to its extreme violence, depicting gory fatalities and the live devouring of humans. The game has been withdrawn, re-programmed and re-released numerous times. According to Victar's Primal Rage FAQ (section 7.4) the June 1996 issue of GamePro confirms that Ellie Rovella of Gilbert, Arizona became enraged when her 11-year-old son bought and played Genesis' Primal Rage, using GamePro's strategy guide to execute Chaos' golden shower fatality. Rovella was so outraged she not only returned the game, but also launched a grass-roots campaign. As part of this, the finishing move was famously censored on the Super Nintendo version by placing a large "censored" bar over the screen when it was performed. Mortal Kombat was the first entry in the famous Mortal Kombat fighting game series by Midway, released in arcades in 1992. ... Sub-Zero performing a Head Rip fatality in Mortal Kombat In the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, a Fatality is a special finishing move that can be used against ones opponent at the end of the final match. ...

Sequels

Primal Rage 2

By 1995 Atari had began production of Primal Rage's sequel, simply titled Primal Rage 2. The game however was never released, due to low sales expectations and other production problems. In the storyline the original characters had been trapped and were unable to fight against one another directly, therefore 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 Slash Fang, a prehistoric fighter taking the form of a Smilodon, and Necrosan, a living dragon skeleton, who was previously axed from the first game. Primal Rage 2 was a video game that was never released,Until 1997 the game was released for playstation. ... Species Smilodon californicus Smilodon fatalis Smilodon gracilis Smilodon populator Smilodon floridus Smilodon neogaeus For the record label, see Smilodon Records Smilodon (IPA: //, a bahuvrihi from Greek: knife and (Ionic) tooth) is an extinct genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that are understood to have lived between approximately 3 million... It has been suggested that European dragon be merged into this article or section. ...

The storyline follows closely on the events chronicled in the first game, as it is revealed that the meteorite that once struck earth is in fact an egg holding the dragonbeast 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. Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. ...

Primal Rage: The Avatars

When Primal Rage 2 was cancelled, Atari allegedly felt it necessary to somehow present the story for the sequel in one form or another. Thus, in 1997, Primal Rage: The Avatars, written by John Vornholt, was published by Boulevard Books. The book's plot tells about what happened to the dino gods 65 million years ago, and then moves into the main story of the gods' reign on Urth renewed, but then the beast Necrosan appears. The book focuses as well on fleshing out the world of Primal Rage, and does so by bringing "the Avatars" to the forefront of the story, they being the humans chosen by their respective gods to channel their awesome might. Each human character has his or her own personalities, often reflecting the gods themselves.

A number of details to the backstory of Primal Rage are made clear in The Avatars. According to John Vornholt's novel the events in Primal Rage take place in the year 1000 AC (After Cataclysm) or about the year 3000 AD according to the Gregorian calendar. The battles of the dinosaurs are referred to as "The Primal Rage". In the novel, the spell used to imprison the dinosaur gods is called the Bonds of Forbidding. Necrosan the skeletal dragon (who is referred to as Necronus on the introductory page) reactivates the Bonds of Forbidding to entrap the gods. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world. ...

References

• Primal Rage Instruction manual
• Victar's Primal Rage FAQ (Site does not allow direct links to individual FAQs.)

External links

• Primal Rage at the Killer List of Videogames
• Primal Rage at MobyGames