If you were a kid who grew up in the ’90s, you’ve probably watched more than a handful of episodes of Animaniacs. The Warner Bros.-produced cartoon ran from 1993 to 1998 and received well over 250 episodes. And, you can bet there were many video games out there to accompany Yakko, Wakko, and Dot’s animated antics.
In fact, there were nine different games between the SNES and DS eras, in fact, but a tenth, long-lost one has recently been rediscovered and preserved online (thanks, Time Extension!); Animaniacs: Hollywood Hypnotics, which is now fully preserved and playable online thanks to the efforts of Hidden Palace, MrPinball64, and Billscat-socks.
The 2D platformer, which mixes in puzzle-solving elements, was originally due to launch in 2003. It would’ve been the first Animaniacs game on the handheld console, but production woes, an insolvency procedure at Full Fat, and lack of a new publisher meant that the project was quietly cancelled.
As you’d expect, Pinky and the Brain are at it again, and in their quest for world domination, they’ve planned to turn the Warner Bros. Water Tower into a rocket, and in-turn have hypnotised all the actors and crew members at Warner Bros. That leads the Warner Bros. siblings, who are immune to the hypnotisation, to stop the evil duo’s plans and save the studio.
After its cancellation, Hollywood Hypnotics was essentially thought lost for years, despite numerous screenshots and box art being available to view online. And according to Hidden Palace, not even the former developer knew if the game was actually finished.
But yes, folks, it was basically done, with the whole game all the way to the final boss now playable online. Some visual inconsistencies and “rough around the edges” moments aside, this is essentially the game we were meant to get over two decades ago. And you can see just how it runs in a brief gameplay video from GreenShield below!
Hidden Palace has also shared two early builds of another Full Fat Games release — Justice League: Chronicles, which did in fact get a full release.
All of these releases are extremely important for video game preservation, particularly the Animaniacs game, which we all thought was lost media. Credit to the fans and communities who work tirelessly to ensure these projects are not lost to time.
Will you be checking out the prototype for Animaniacs: Hollywood Hypnotics? Let us know in the comments.
