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DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
This completely unknown neogeo proto was first discovered in 2015 by Brian Hargrove
(NeoTurfMasta). It is incomplete, unfinished, and has no title screen. But his research did
reveal the games original working title to have been "Dark Seed" which was later changed to
Dragon's Heaven. In addition, the games developer was FACE, who had hired former TECHNOS
programmers that had worked on Voltage Fighter. We know for example of designer Masami Obari
and producer Kengo Asai. In fact, the development board which had the games rom data contained
within was formatted very similarly to Voltage Fighter.
Voltage Fighter (NGM-094) was released in 1995 and the last title released by FACE was
Money Puzzle Exchanger (NGM-231) in 1997. This results in several possible positions on the
list where the games product number could have been. However, it is equally possible that the
game was simply never assigned a product number and would not have been given one until it was
further along in development. And so as a result of that, this proto discovery does not serve
to help with solving the NGM product code puzzle.
It is possible to assemble a somewhat functional neogeo cartridge by merging the partial rom
data from this proto and the missing rom data from another cartridge (such as Voltage Fighter).
It is also hoped that someone will someday attempt to polish the game further and turn it into
a fully playable game. In fact, the games producer, Kengo Asai, was found and Brian even sent
him a copy of the game as a kind gesture. So he would certainly be the best person for the
job, should he ever wish to take on the task.
INFORMATION TIMELINE:
-- September 1995 -- Voltage Fighter Gowcaiser is released for the NEOGEO MVS.
(the development board passed from Technos to Face, still had the NGM-094 product code)
-- 1995 -- A team of Ex-Face & Ex-Technos developers begin work on Dark Seed after Gowcaiser.
-- 1996 -- The project is officially canceled.
-- April 1997 -- Neo Geo Freak #23 interviews a FACE programmer who mentions Dark Seed.
-- March 2015 -- a dead Dragon's Heaven DEV board is purchased from Yahoo Japan Auctions.
-- April 2015 -- Brian rearranges the boards memory cards and brings the game to life.
-- September 2015 -- I was contacted by Jeff Kurtz who was serving as a liason between Brian and myself
in an attempt by Brian to see if a trade was possible. I respectfully declined.
-- April 2016 -- Brian publicly reveals his discovery at the
Midway Gaming Classic and posts about it in the NEO GEO forums.
-- May 2016 -- Producer Kengo Asai receives his sample of the game from Brian.
-- June 2019 -- neo-geo.com member "dragonpt" works on fixing and improving the rom set.
-- March 2022 -- neo-geo.com member "dragonpt" shares his work (S rom) with the community.
CURRENT STATUS: FREELY AVAILABLE \ INCOMPLETE STATE
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