Games That Weren't^®

1995 Ocean Software

Platforms: Super Nintendo

The Horde was a near-complete Super Nintendo port of the well-known 3DO action-strategy title developed by Ocean USA, and was slated for release in 1995. Coverage in EGM2 Volume 1, Issue 10 suggested the game was approximately 90% complete, with a planned release window of Q2 1995, before it was ultimately cancelled.

Players took on the role of Chauncey, a lowly servant rewarded with land and the sword Grimthwacker after saving the king’s life. The task was to defend this territory from the Horde, which are small, aggressive creatures that devour crops, villagers and most importantly cows. Gameplay centred on balancing real-time combat with economic management, earning enough gold each year to pay taxes and retain ownership of the land.

According to EGM2, the Super NES version retained nearly all of the gameplay elements of the original 3DO release. Although the SNES hardware could not support the 3DO’s full-motion video sequences, including appearances by actor Kirk Cameron, magazines noted that their absence did not significantly detract from the experience. EGM in particular stressed that the game’s appeal lay in its mechanics rather than its cutscenes, describing the SNES conversion as both faithful and enjoyable.

The SNES edition was reported to include the following features:

• A ¾ overhead perspective, combining real-time sword combat with strategy and town management
• 25 distinct levels, each introducing new environmental rules and challenges
• Spoken voice samples, including archers calling out lines such as “You can count on me!”
• A password save system instead of battery-backed saving, noted as being difficult to read
• Configurable options, including difficulty settings, lives, continues, button configuration and sound tests
• Multiple defensive strategies, such as masonry walls, moats, archers and teleportation for emergency responses

The port also preserved many of the original game’s more unusual mechanics, including dizziness caused by excessive sword swinging, instant-kill enemies in later stages, terrain-specific restrictions (such as swamps and protected forests) and penalties for failing to follow level-specific rules.

Despite the loss of full-motion video, EGM concluded that the Super NES version compared favourably with its 3DO counterpart and would have offered players a deep, quirky and highly replayable experience. It seems staggering therefore why the game was not actually released – but looking at the date, it could be that it was all a bit too late in the SNES’ life and Ocean didn’t feel they would recoup enough money from sales.

We hope to learn more some day and hopefully even find a prototype of somekind. If you know anything more, please do get in touch.

With thanks to MSR1701 for highlighting and Archive.org for the scans!

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