Sissy Analyzes Random Things: Chicken or Egg: Carnage or Brawl?
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I cannot let this game go, and I hate it. It has a special place in my weird little heart now.
Anyway, the reason why I've continued to investigate this is for one simple reason: nobody knows which game came first, either. Most people think that Cyber Brawl came first because... well, it's the Japanese version. Others think that Cosmic Carnage came first because it was released before Cyber Brawl.
So, let's investigate. What did come first? We'll use a number of factors for this one.
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The Release Dates
Long story short?
Cosmic Carnage: Yes, it did release before Cyber Brawl.
However, it was not released on November 21, 1994, so don't believe
Wikipedia on this one. If it was released on that day, that would've made it a
launch title since the Genesis 32X was also released on that exact same day in
North America. It was actually released in December of 1994, as shown by
this
page in Electronic Gaming Monthly. The other versions (European/PAL) were
released starting in February of 1995.
Cyber Brawl: January 27, 1995. The Super 32X was released on
December 3, 1994. However, note that booting this version up also nets you a
copyright year of 1994.
The release dates alone won't help here, since a code can cause both games to switch to their alternate counterparts... unless you're using the PAL version. Let's continue.
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The Story
Yes, it's the same premise in both versions (four survivors of two different ships duke it out for one escape pod). But there's one small problem in the case of the story for Cosmic Carnage...
The in-game story and the game's manual do not tell you that the ships will explode at all. You are only told that the life support systems are fading and the ships are useless, so it might come as a surprise that an explosion will occur, regardless of the ending that you'll get.
At least Cyber Brawl's story mentions the warning of an impending explosion. Also, according to the manual for it, the game apparently takes place in the year 2768, which certainly explains Ray's 1980's exercise like outfit in her official art. Unfortunately, I cannot read Japanese, so if anyone can translate the darned thing that's on Sega Retro, I'd be grateful.
Anyway, the story alone could give a lot of proof that the Brawl is the original one. But since this was a game that was rushed to completion, is it really that simple?
I mean... if you get the bad ending in Cyber Brawl, it will say that you're the winner of the carnage. Yeah.
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The Prototypes
We'll be using the prototype pages from Rage Quitter 87 and The Cutting Room Floor for this analysis, though take note that the former link has more screenshots for a better look. The latter link has a glance at how the original Cyber Brawl in-game story was written before it was polished up.
RQ's page does have everything in detail, but I'll use the parts that are important for this analysis.
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September 6, 1994 Prototype
While it's obvious that the Cosmic Carnage logo and characters are implemented here, there's some evidence that points to some parts of Cyber Brawl:
-For example, while you see Zena-Lan, the lifebar says "Ray" for her, which
is her Japanese name.
-After the characters are selected, the stage select screen will have four
stages for "Human" and "Alien". In Cosmic Carnage, everyone is an alien.
(Also interesting is that there's a stage select here, since the final game
doesn't have a stage select of any kind.)
This gives the hint that the characters in Cosmic Carnage were being made quickly, while Cyber Brawl is the "skeleton" of sorts.
September 21, 1994 Prototype
The main things to notice here?
-The Cosmic Carnage story is in.
-The Cosmic Carnage characters now have their proper names.
Another hint that the Brawl is the "skeleton".
September 26, 1994 Prototype
-The story to Cyber Brawl is in... sort of, along with a beta logo. It gets
cleaned up later.
-Set your emulator to Japanese, and you'll get to see Jake, Ray, and Naruto's
human counterpart for the first time.
-Unrelated, but kills are finally implemented here. By the way, the kills are
shown on the back of Cyber Brawl's actual Super 32X box!
Basically, the Brawl is finally being implemented and is no longer a "skeleton".
September 28, 1994 Prototype
-The title screen for the Brawl gets updated.
-Unrelated, but somewhat notable for a previous analysis. Text is now added
before and after a fight. Aside from the text that says "[Character] Win" in red
(the final changes it to blue, and it'll say "[Character] Wins" instead), the
remaining life here is known as "life force". Perhaps that may have been a hint
towards a certain Remaining Life theory?
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Naruto's Head
I know, I know, it sounds like it makes no sense, but bear with me on this one. This odd theory is rather simple to test.
Head to Cosmic Carnage. Naruto is depicted as a shadow being with no hair whatsoever on the character select screen.
Now try to knock his armor off so that his head is revealed. After that, win with him, since the screen zooms in on the victor for each round. (It'll be a lot easier if it's a 2 player mirror match since his stage doesn't have outer space or just plain darkness as a basic background.)
Do you notice something? Yeah, it's hair. Just like his Cyber Brawl counterpart.
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Prototype Box Art
This image on Sega Retro is the only source that I know of that has this art. If this is
indeed true, then that's definite proof that the Brawl was meant to be the original version
all along.
(Update: September 23, 2021: According to
The 32X Memorial, that
is indeed the prototype box art, as explained near the bottom of the
"Packaging/Box Art" section.)
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The Estimated Conclusion
The prototypes basically had both games being worked on at the same time, with Cosmic Carnage showing more of what was completed. However... Cyber Brawl was shown as the "basic skeleton", and you can see pieces of Cyber Brawl in Cosmic Carnage. If you believe the prototype box art, then it'd be safe to assume that Cyber Brawl was actually the original one.
Basically, it looks like the chicken (Cosmic Carnage) had to be forced to run around before the egg (Cyber Brawl) could hatch, thanks to the rushed development and their respective release dates. It also shows on the back of each game's boxes; Cosmic Carnage just has prototypes with thinner lifebars and no names under them (which could hint at a prototype that's even earlier than the September 6, 1994 one) . On the other hand, the back of the Cyber Brawl box shows the finalized product.
Have a look at the Carnage's back here, and the Brawl's back here.
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Now, if Cyber Brawl was the original one... then what's the reason for the change from three humans to three aliens?
If I had to make an educated guess... this game was released in 1994. Congressional hearings on video games and violence were a hot button topic at the time, and I'm pretty sure that Sega didn't want to send more spokespeople to testify on their behalf again. Granted, while Sega didn't develop the game, they still published it, so fingers would probably be pointed at their direction. Also, the ESRB was created only a few months before this game came out, so Cosmic Carnage ended up being rated T for "Animated Violence" and "Animated Blood and Gore". Contrast that with the 32X release of Mortal Kombat II which was rated M for "Realistic Violence" and "Realistic Blood and Gore" as shown here.
And contrast all of that with Cyber Brawl's rating... "Nenrei Seigen 18 Saiijou", which basically meant that the game was designed for folks over 18. Have a look at the front of the box that shows the rating here. An explanation of Sega of Japan's ratings at the time are here. Yes, those ratings were used before the CERO ratings that Japan has today.
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I guess with every possible factor, it does indeed look like the original game is indeed Cyber Brawl. Regardless, they're both the same game, just with different names. There's no wrong answer on which version you personally prefer to play.
But seriously, it's still a brutal game in single player mode. Just take the soundtrack and run.
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