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Millipede (1982)

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The Nintendo Entertainment System versions of Defender II, Joust, and Millipede were all conceived as part of a failed deal between Nintendo and Atari to distribute the Famicom internationally. Development was outsourced to HAL Laboratory, who decided to publish the games themselves in 1987 after Nintendo took international distribution of the console into their own hands two years prior. One additional title was put together as part of the Atari deal, but it was never released, with none of the parties involved revealing what it was.

Because of the circumstances behind their conception, the Japanese versions of these three games all feature title screens reminiscent of Famicom launch titles, with the copyright information uniformly reading "COPYRIGHT 1983 ATARI". When Nintendo of America exported the games to North America in 1988, the title screens were made more elaborate and the copyright info was updated. The ways of accessing the game's modes are also changed in the North American release; instead of having them all available on the title screen, the player must press Start in Defender II and Millipede to bring up a menu (itself displaying additional copyright information). In Joust, pressing Start skips the menu and automatically begins Game A; the player must press Select in order to access the menu.

The development of Joust as a launch title for an Atari-distributed system would have a prominent knock-on effect on HAL and Nintendo's future. The game was one of the first titles to be programmed by Satoru Iwata, who would go on to become a vital asset to HAL thanks to his coding skills before becoming Nintendo's president in 2002, and his experiences developing Joust would help him program Balloon Fight.

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Also Appears On: Defender II (Game), Joust (Game), Balloon Fight (Game)

Contributed by VinchVolt on November 28, 2023

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The Cutting Room Floor articles:
https://tcrf.net/Defender_II_(NES)
https://tcrf.net/Joust_(NES)#Regional_Differences
https://tcrf.net/Millipede_(NES,_HAL_Laboratory)

Pengo (1982)

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The first two versions of Pengo use "Popcorn" by Gershon Kingsley as the background music, in the third and fourth, they were swapped for an original tune.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 27, 2023

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Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 (2001)

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In a 2001 interview featured in the Capcom vs. SNK 2 Another Play Guide, it was revealed that the team wanted to include Linn Kurosawa from Alien vs. Predator as a playable character, but that they couldn't do it due to copyright issues. Because of this, they went with Maki from Final Fight 2 instead.

At another point, they considered giving Maki a moveset identical to the one Linn has, but eventually decided against it, instead giving her a moveset that more closely matches the one she had in her debut game.

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Contributed by ZpaceJ0ck0 on November 26, 2023

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TimeSplitters Rewind (TBA)

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Partly in response to a petition for the release of an HD version of the original TimeSplitters trilogy, a group of fans were given permission by Crytek to develop a TimeSplitters mod using CryEngine 3. Project lead Michael Hubicka stated that while TimeSplitters 4 was their ultimate goal, they first had to convince Crytek that there was "sufficient demand for the series through [an] HD Collection." The game (titled TimeSplitters Rewind) would combine "greatest hits" elements from across the series, and that although the engine would give the game a modern look they "didn't plan on fixing something that isn't broken.", featuring both story and multiplayer modes and being free of charge on PC. Additionally, there were originally plans to develop the game in Unreal Engine 4, but these were dropped due to concerns that the Unreal version would be unable to use the TimeSplitters IP and would "likely have to rebrand".

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Contributed by chocolatejr9 on November 26, 2023

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Petition:
https://www.polygon.com/2012/11/29/3707228/facebook-group-receives-cryteks-blessing-to-remake-timesplitters

Crytek support:
https://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/3257940/crytek-offers-support-behind-a-cryengine-timesplitters-mod

TimeSplitters Rewind details from The Escapist:
https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/timesplitters-rewind-to-release-with-feasible-amount-of-content-to-start/
https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025244/https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122678-TimeSplitters-Respawns-Onto-PC

Unreal Engine plans:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/timesplitters-rewind/timesplitters-rewind-fan-game-cryengine

Mario's Super Picross (1995)

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The Virtual Console versions of Mario's Super Picross replace three puzzles, likely due to legal issues:

• The likeness of Marilyn Monroe, which was replaced by a tortoise.
• A set of Tetrominos from Tetris, which was replaced by a hermit crab.
• The painting The Scream by Edvard Munch, which was replaced by a chameleon.

Despite The Scream and Monroe's likeness entering the public domain in 2015 and 2012 respectively, the Wii U; New 3DS; and Switch versions of the game keep the replaced puzzles.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 26, 2023

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Version Changes:
https://tcrf.net/Mario%27s_Super_Picross

Marilyn Monroe public domain:
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2012/10/marilyn_monroes.htm

The Scream public domain:
https://qz.com/320717/youre-about-to-see-a-lot-more-legal-versions-of-the-scream

Batman: The Video Game (1989)

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Sunsoft's NES Batman originally had cutscenes using the comic book iteration of Batman, but these had to be scrapped and replaced with digitized renditions of Micheal Keaton's live-action Batman as the game's artist was not aware that the Batman comics and movies were separate licenses. The Joker, however, was always depicted as Jack Nicholson's portrayal, even in prototypes using the comic version of Batman.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 20, 2023

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Tweet with developer quote:
https://twitter.com/SunsoftHistory/status/1415661343450013698

Batman prototype cutscenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtLVxW0T9HE

Elf Bowling 1 & 2 (2005)

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The Elf Bowling series has been the subject of multiple bizarre and unprofessional Wikipedia edits by individuals involved with the franchise, something considered poor conduct on the website.

Elf Bowling co-creator Dan "Ferg" Ferguson created a Wikipedia article under the name "Itzaferg" and inserted self-aggrandizing information about his history with the franchise to its page, as well as adding articles that were soon deleted for his company Blockdot and its lesser known, non-Elf Bowling works.

After this, Matthew Lichtenwalter, who bought the rights to Elf Bowling in 2001, attempted to claim that the portable compilation, Elf Bowling 1 & 2 was "unauthorized" using Wikipedia as a platform, writing a signed quote from himself on the Wikipedia mainpage for Elf Bowling, as well as saying that he "created the series [after]" he bought it out.

"The DS and GBA versions were not approved or authorized by NStorm and were extremely poor copies of the code and art by original creators Ferguson and Bielinski. Myself, along with millions of fans all over the world loved the original artwork of Ferguson in all its pixelized glory and this unauthorized release caused sever [sic] harm to the brand that took several years to recover from." ~ Matthew Lichtenwalter, Commotion Interactive

It seems highly unlikely that the Elf Bowling ports were actually unauthorized, as no legal action was taken, nor did any of the developers or publishers of the release attempt to hide their work on it at any point.

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Also Appears On: Blockdot (Company), NStorm, Inc. (Company), Elf Bowling (Collection)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 18, 2023

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Franchise: Sonic The Hedgehog

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On August 21, 2021, Ken Penders (a former writer for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics) announced plans to license out various characters from the comic that he has claimed ownership of (Prince Elias, Geoffrey St. John, Queen Alicia, etc.). Notably, this list included Scourge the Hedgehog (originally known as "Evil Sonic"), much to the bewilderment of Sonic fans as the character was depicted as an alternate reality version of Sonic (Scourge's original design was, visually speaking, simply Sonic wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses). When asked about this, Ian Flynn stated that (in his opinion) Sega and IDW wouldn't think it was worth the trouble to license side characters from a third party, particularly due to the former's desire to move away from referencing the 1993 Sonic the Hedgehog animated series (commonly known as "Sonic SatAM", and a major influence on the Archie Sonic comics), and that it'd be easier to just make new characters. However, due to an inaccurate secondhand account of Flynn's response, Penders released an outline of the licensing deal insisting that he "really is easy to deal with", and accused Flynn of not wanting to work with non-game characters, despite that not being what Flynn said. The deal itself was criticized by fans due to both its steep asking price ($10,000 up front against royalties for a two year license) and for padding out the list of characters with obscure extras (Lt. Smiley, DYNAMAC-3000, etc.). Further complicating matters, the IDW Sonic spinoff miniseries "Imposter Syndrome" was announced, introducing the character of Surge the Tenrec, who many compared to Scourge due to their similar names and designs. Ian Flynn would later reveal that he had always intended for Surge (and her companion Kitsunami the Fenrec) to appear in the comic since the beginning.

On November 15th, RUSH! Comics announced that in association with Ken Penders, Scourge would receive a four-issue miniseries titled "Scourge the Speed Demon". The comic was immediately hit with backlash from fans due to Penders not only licensing out Evil Sonic, but his Scourge persona specifically, as Penders had no involvement with that version of the character (it was conceived by Mike Pellerito and Patrick Spaziante, and developed by Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley), as well as continuing to blame Penders for the character's removal in the first place. The creative team behind the comic (which did not include Penders, as he merely licensed the character) also came under fire from the fandom: their previous comic, Rush! (for which the company was named after), had included a sexual harassment scene where the hero strips a pair of female villains nude in public because he thought they were hot. More concerningly, the lead artist was discovered to be following a large number of far right accounts (such as Breitbart, PragerU, Steven Crowder, and the Trump family) and had liked some controversial tweets from them (i.e. an Islamophobic tweet from far right activist Paul Joseph Watson), leading many to accuse the artist of being a white supremist. When asked about this, Penders responded:

"I didn't check the political leanings of the people I'm doing business with as I didn't think that was relevant. Nor did I think being a fan of Ian Flynn was relevant when taking on someone to do a job for me. I'm a "give a person a chance" type of guy."

The team would later release a statement in an attempt to clarify the situation, though it did not help. Likewise, "Imposter Syndrome" #1 was released, leading many to believe that Scourge was no longer needed due to Surge existing. On November 19th, it was announced that the comic had been cancelled a mere four days after its announcement due to the backlash from the fanbase. Ironically, it's worth noting that while Ken does own Scourge, he's forbidden from making new stuff that looks too similar to Sonic in order to avoid brand confusion. Scourge's design in the cancelled comic looked noticeably similar to Sonic's design (specifically the design from the Paramount films), meaning that by cancelling the comic, RUSH! Comics may have been able to avoid a potential lawsuit from Sega for copyright infringement.

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Contributed by chocolatejr9 on November 17, 2023

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Full story:
https://thankskenpenders.tumblr.com/post/668408799676252160/scourge-the-speed-demon-a-summary

Ian Flynn statement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKCfCR4Qojs&t=1651s

Licensing deal outline:
https://twitter.com/KenPenders/status/1430048623778144260

Example of Scourge-Surge comparisons:
https://www.tumblr.com/dootdootboopedsnoot/660612495212462080

Ian Flynn's original plans for Surge:
https://twitter.com/IanFlynnBKC/status/1461140967692677128

Doom (1993)

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Chex Quest was based on the engine of Doom - the engine could be officially licensed thanks to the game technically not making a profit of it's own as a free game, only profit for the Chex cereal, and the release of Quake rendering the old Doom engine obsolete.

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Also Appears On: Chex Quest (Game)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 17, 2023

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Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren't so Frightening (1998)

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J. Langston III's original name during development was J. Langston Popsicle III, or "Popsicle" for short, but had to be changed due to Popsicle being trademarked by Unilever. Multiple lines were spliced to remove "Popsicle", though one was removed and one was re-recorded.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 17, 2023

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Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (1988)

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In four separate 1989 issues of Video Games & Computer Entertainment, the mail-in game order service Play It Again put up an advertisement featuring a list of games customers could order. Among these is a mysterious title, Yeah Yeah Beebiss 1, which is not the name of any one game - this title would reappear in a separate advert for FuncoLand, under the name "Yeah Beebiss 1". To add further mystery to this game, it was placed between W and X games alphabetically instead of with Y games. There are multiple theories on the status of Beebiss:

•Some believe that Beebiss is a baby-themed game like Baby Boomer, Rai Rai Kyonshis: Baby Kyonshi no Amida Daibouken, or Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa, given that "baby" sounds like "Beebiss" - with Rai Rai Kyonshis being considered the most likely candidate of the 3 for "Rai Rai"'s (A Japanese onomatopoeia associated with China) similarity to "Yeah Yeah", the game's release in 1989, and the presence of other import games on the listing. Rai Rai Kyonshis is generally the most accepted identity of the game.
•One theory proposes that the game was made as a copyright trap to catch which retailers are stealing game lists, something one of the founders of Play It Again confessed to doing, albeit without confirming if Beebiss was among those games.
•A rather strange theory proposes that the game was somehow related to exploring, possibly being Atlantis no Nazo's cancelled US release Super Pitfall II, named for Charles William Beebe, a famous explorer and naturalist
•Another theory suggests that the title was simply a bizarre, elaborate in-joke that both Play It Again and FuncoLand employees were in on.

The myth of Beebiss would inspire the game Yeah Yeah Beebiss II, developed by popular retro gaming YouTuber John Riggs and based on the aesthetic of Rai Rai Kyonshis.

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Also Appears On: Family Trainer: Rai-rai Kyonshis - Baby Kyonshi no Amida Daibouken (Game), Yeah Yeah Beebiss I (Game), Baby Boomer (Game), Atlantis no Nazo (Game), Yeah Yeah Beebiss II (Game)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 17, 2023

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Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008)

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Upon the release of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Ken Penders, a former writer on the Archie Comics Sonic comics, sued Sega and EA for supposedly using Sonic character concepts he had independently trademarked prior - particularly the Nocturnas Clan, a futuristic echidna tribe which he deemed as too similar to his own Dark Legion, a futuristic echidna technocracy. This lawsuit came months after Archie Comics filed their own suit against Penders due to a breach of contract after the trademarking, causing Archie to allow their contract with Sega to expire so they could negotiate new terms for the rights to create Sonic comics. This legal fiasco ended in Archie settling the case with Penders, losing the exclusivity to produce Sonic comics after negotiations with Sega, and causing them to write the "Super Genesis Wave", a super-charged energy blast utilizing the Chaos Emeralds that acted as a massive continuity rewrite where over 500 original characters and concepts created by Penders and other writers for the Archie Sonic comics were retconned. The Sega case on the other hand ended in a stalemate due to the statute of limitations, and will not be able to continue unless Sega uses characters from The Dark Brotherhood again.

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Also Appears On: Sonic The Hedgehog (Franchise), Sega (Company), EA Games (Company)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 16, 2023

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Archived Archie lawsuit announcement:
https://web.archive.org/web/20101204044934/http://www.tssznews.com/2010/12/01/archie-comics-files-federal-lawsuit-against-ken-penders/

Archived audio recording of Sega case ending in a stalemate:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210327221238/https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view.php?pk_id=0000011455

Supplementary wiki article with more sources and case timeline:
https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Ken_Penders%27_legal_cases

GoldenEye 007 (1997)

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In the Xbox One version of GoldenEye 007, the DK Mode - named after Donkey Kong for changing the proportions of in-game models to those of DK's from Donkey Kong 64 - retains its name. Given that Nintendo were directly involved in the project to re-release GoldenEye 007, with the game having a simultaneous relaunch on Nintendo Switch Online and Microsoft Store, this could be the first time Nintendo has officially allowed their IP to be referenced on a direct rival console.

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Also Appears On: Nintendo (Company)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 16, 2023

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The Faces of Evil Remastered (2020)

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In November 2020, Seth "Dopply" Fulkerson released unofficial remakes of Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon for Linux and Windows. To avoid receiving a cease-and-desist from Nintendo, he made the remakes unavailable for download two days after release.

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Also Appears On: The Wand of Gamelon Remastered (Game), Dopply (Company)

Contributed by chocolatejr9 on November 14, 2023

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Article on fan remasters:
https://www.eurogamer.net/amateur-developer-remakes-cd-i-games-link-the-faces-of-evil-and-zelda-the-wand-of-gamelon-so-we-can-suffer-them-again-27-years-later

Archived tweet:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230714020420/https://twitter.com/thedopster/status/1333232007158116352

Chip's Challenge 2 (2015)

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Chip's Challenge 2 was finished in 1990, two years after the completion of Chip's Challenge and a year after the latter game's release, but due to the IP being sold, it had to wait 25 years to see an official release in 2015, following five years of negotiation over the series' rights.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 10, 2023

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Blue Ninja: Superhero Game (2020)

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As stated in the game's official app store description, Blue Ninja is intended to be a parody of superheroes and "the best of ninja trained spider games". Based on the initial teaser trailer (when it was known as "Superhero Game 2021") featuring a different red and black design from the final game, using music from the film "Spider-Man 3", and the game description's numerous references to "spider heroes", it's very obvious that this game is meant to specifically be a parody of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The visual similarities to Spider-Man in Blue Ninja's early design were most likely changed for the final game to avoid copyright disputes.

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Contributed by chocolatejr9 on November 8, 2023

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Game page:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ComicBookReese.PowerSpider&hl=en&gl=US

Superhero Game 2021 teaser trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iiim3MMi4vE

Sqij! (1986)

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The mutant bird illustration on the box art for Sqij! and Obitus, drawn by speculative fiction artist Tim White, seems to have originated from the 1979 edition of the 1975 book Under a Calculating Star. It is unknown if either use was licensed.

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Also Appears On: Obitus (Game)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 2, 2023

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Article mentioning the asset reuse:
https://www.badgamehalloffame.com/sqij/

Release date of bird cover Calculating Star:
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=7807719382

PaRappa the Rapper (1996)

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In the US PSP and PS4 versions of PaRappa the Rapper, PJ Berri and Katy Kat's Chunky Burger orders in the intro are censored - in the PS1 version they ask for a "giant vanilla frosty" and a "large chocolate frosty" respectively, but in the remastered version they instead ask for a "giant vanilla" and "large chocolate". The subtitles for PJ's order completely omit any drink from his order. This is due to "Frosty" (in the context of a drink) being trademarked by Wendy's. Despite this copyright issue, the claim from Katy Kat that Jet Baby could defeat Superman goes uncensored.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on November 1, 2023

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Nicktoons MLB (2011)

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Rocko from Rocko's Modern Life was intended to appear as a playable character in Nicktoons MLB but was scrapped for unknown reasons, with the only remnants of his appearance being his skeleton and a small black square labeled as his texture. Rocko's Modern Life is the only Nickelodeon show without a playable character to be referenced in the opening copyright credits.

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Also Appears On: Rocko's Modern Life (Franchise)

Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on October 26, 2023

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Dalmatians 3 (2004)

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The box art of Dalmatians 3 shows a character inspired by the animated Disney version of Cruella De Vil. This character does not appear in any of the movies originally produced by Dingo Pictures or its associated re-release video games, with the game disc featuring no human characters whatsoever aside from a jester mascot who appears on the menu screen. The original book character of Cruella De Vil has yet to enter the public domain.

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Contributed by Rocko & Heffer on October 24, 2023

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