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DETAILED DESCRIPTION:
The Warlocks of the Fates is a 1995 one-on-one fighting game designed by Astec-21
(Amusement Soft & Technology 21). It would have been their first NEOGEO title for the
system, but was ultimately cancled. One very unique characteristic about this game is
that most fighting games have the ROUND TIMER and LIFE BARS for the players located at
the top of the screen, yet this game has them located on the bottom. In fact, the only
other arcade fighting game which I can think of that has this unique layout is Konami's
1993 Martial Champion.
It appears that SNK may have assisted with the development of the game, as they are
actually co-credited on the title screen, but to what extent is completely unknown. The
game was 100% completed, as proven by the complete walkthrough video that was posted
back in 2012. Among the lost neogeo games, this one is the least obscure and the most
well documented. As a result, it has the lowest perceived value of them all.
INFORMATION TIMELINE:
-- April 1995 -- French Magazine CD CONSOLES mentions Aztec21 in a short article.
-- May 1995 -- Japan magazine NEOGEO FREAK publishes a 2 page spread with screen shots.
-- June 1995 -- The unreleased title document says Warlocks is shown at the Tokyo Omocha Show.
-- June 1995 -- NEOGEO FREAK Magazine runs a 4 page spread with screen shots and artwork.
-- July 1995 -- NEOGEO FREAK Magazine runs a 2 page spread with screen shots and box art.
-- August 1995 -- French Magazine CD CONSOLES publishes a short article with screenshots.
-- January 2005 -- emulated screen shots are provided and shown which proves the games' rom data has been dumped and is functional on an emulator.
-- March 2012 -- a sample cartridge is found and put on display in a Japanese video game store.
-- October 2013 -- 2 internal SNK videos are posted by Myaatan on nicovideo in Japan which proves the rom data was complete & fully functional.
-- January 2021 -- a news press video clip is posted to Twitter showing it at a 1995 Japan show.
-- August 2022 -- more emulated screen shots and software product number NGM-077 confirmed.
CURRENT STATUS: SAFEGUARDED
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