Here is an exclusive early access look at the rebirth of an iconic 1990s Super Nintendo game that never saw release back in the day, with Nightmare Busters Rebirth. Pix’n Love Games and Aurora Game Studio have spent the past 4 years breathing new life into the title with this wonderful remake, which includes input and guidance from the original creators – due for release on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation platforms.
If you’re not aware of the background story of the original game – Nightmare Busters was originally developed in 1994 by Arcade Zone for the SNES and was to be published by Sony before focus was switched to their new PlayStation platform.
It later saw a release of sorts with Flynn’s Adventures on mobile in 2004, with a prototype being leaked around 2010 according to SNES Central, and eventually getting a physical release in 2013 thanks to the Super Fighter Team. Now Pix’n Love and Aurora Game Studio are unleashing their own take on the game in 2025, as well as something special for SNES fans too.
The premise of the game is that an evil Tyrant has assembled a nightmarish army to seize control of the kingdom. Luckily, Flynn and Floyd, two leprechaun brothers and skilled nightmare hunters armed with magical cards, are here to stop him! And so begins a fast paced run and gun game, feeling similar in some respects to Gunstar Heroes and Ghouls n Ghosts.
A Kickstarter is due to launch sometime this May 2025, where you can back this new HD remake of the game, but also special reproductions of the original SNES game with an Ultimate version, with various bug fixes, new game modes and optimized for either 50 or 60Hz based consoles.
With the HD edition you’ll be able to play locally with up to two players simultaneously, as well as building your character by choosing your secondary shot, three super powers and a passive ability. Based on your performance on each level, you’ll be awarded with a ranking – which will encourage replayability to achieve a coverted S++ rank. As you can see, I still need a lot of practice to get anywhere near that!
So far, I’m really impressed with the quality. The rebirth is respectful of the original title, with the addition of enhanced visuals (all hand drawn), animations and wonderful sound tracks throughout. It’s clear that a lot of love and passion has been put into the development so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing the final game. Its great to see new life being breathed into once cancelled and lost titles in this way.
The demo you see here should be made available to the public very soon too, so you can see the promise for yourself. Good luck to Pix’n Love Games and Aurora Game Studio and we wish you all the best from Games That Weren’t!
- Main site: https://nightmarebusters-rebirth.com/
- Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pixnlovegames/nightmare-busters-rebirth-0
