During the ’90s, many different companies were crowding the popular fighting games scene. Among these companies was Atari Games, which released Primal Rage in 1994. The game saw players take control of various gods, from giant apes to dinosaurs, as they battled the others for domination of the globe. The game featured a cast of characters such as the frozen Kong, Blizzard, and the Cobrasaurus, Vertigo, all animated using digitized stop motion figures. The game was a major success for the company, which geared up for a sequel when they were suddenly bought out and made a part of then-Midway Games, and further plans were scuttled.
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Perhaps now, nearly 30 years after its original release, is the time for a reboot of this forgotten series. Technology has certainly improved since the original game released in arcades, and Netherrealm’s could truly bring the gods of Urth back in style. The original game was a slog to make because all the fighters needed to have a model created and then film the model through every frame of animation, much like Mortal Kombat did with Goro back in the day, but newer technology means a version made today wouldn’t need such a thing. Imagining the game returning under the same graphics or engine as recent Mortal Kombat titles is almost a dream, but one that is absolutely possible.
With the recent resurgence of monster movies, too, the market is ripe for Primal Rage to capitalize on trends. Monsters like Godzilla and King Kong have made hugely successful comebacks in recent years, showing that audiences still love them. There’s no better atmosphere than that to usher a monster fighter back into the spotlight again, capitalizing on all that attention. Ed Boon himself tweeted not long ago to ask fans if they would be interested in a kaiju fighter, potentially teasing such a return for the series.
Netherrealm has shown it can handle other IPs with its own properties, so perhaps that same magic could be applied to Primal Rage. Given the current love of monsters and monster movies, one could only imagine the wide range of exposure Primal Rage could achieve now. There could be tie-in comics, action figures or perhaps even a movie if things go well enough. There are many fun, marketable concepts in Atari’s old fighter, and it would be great to see that taken to the maximum when it would be most beneficial to do so.
The bottom line is that Primal Rage deserves to be remembered. While it may not have been as popular as Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, it was still a cultural milestone. The fighting scene isn’t too oversaturated that smaller properties can’t co-exist, and there’s no better example of this idea than 2013’s Killer Instinct. That series hadn’t seen a new entry since the second game, and the reboot proved a massive success. Primal Rage could do the same if handled right, modernizing the series while adhering to what made the old game so loved back in the day.
There are many good reasons to bring Primal Rage back. From the current media climate to technological gains, and even to the success of other games doing it, there is a lot in a reboot’s favor now. Netherrealm Studios owns the rights from back during the Midway days, and if anyone can bring this titanic brawler back, it’s them. All of it blends into the perfect storm of reasons for why Primal Rage needs a comeback.