When a console enters its twilight years it isn’t uncommon to see late releases vanish and re-emerge on the system that supersedes it. It’s generally known a few N64 games made the jump to the GameCube, such as Resident Evil 0, Eternal Darkness and Star Fox Adventures. Technically we could include the third-person shooter Riqa too, although that was overhauled completely before becoming 2003’s Rogue Ops.
When it comes to examples of Super Nintendo games that ended up on the N64, it’s tricky to name even one. Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie did begin life on the SNES under the guise of Dream – a pirate adventure starring a young boy named Edson – but so many changes occurred during its transition from 2D to 3D that it’s doubtful barely a line of SNES code remained. Mortal Kombat Trilogy is another sometimes considered, yet there’s nothing online to suggest it started life on the SNES. Star Fox 64 meanwhile certainly had elements of Star Fox 2 in its DNA, but again, was an N64 project from the ground up.
Indeed, the N64 represented such a huge leap in technology that it isn’t a surprise to see much in the way of console generation spillover. Nintendo likely wouldn’t have taken kindly to seeing SNES-style games on the N64 either, wanting the console’s capabilities to be used to their fullest. Mortal Kombat Trilogy was perhaps the exception due to the franchise’s vast popularity in the west.
Would you believe though that one game in development for the N64 ended up on the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) instead? Puzzler Cu-On-Pa is quite possibly the only example of this, making it a real oddity. Not only was the N64 version shown to the press, but it was advertised and had a release date too.
Cu-On-Pa began life on the PC as Endorfun, published by Time Warner Interactive in 1995. Like all good puzzle games of the era the concept was simple yet complex. To wit: a coloured 3D cube must be moved around a grid, matching its face colour with the colour of the tile underneath to make them vanish. Clear the grid and you’re off to the next stage. Imagine Capcom’s Devil Dice with colours instead of numbers and you’ll get the gist.
Endorfun managed to gain a bit of traction, not only reviewing well but gaining additional press coverage due to featuring subliminal messages (or “positive affirmations” if you prefer) while you play. The idea of a game feeding into your psyche was novel for the time, giving it attention outside of the regular video game press.
It seems that Japanese developer T&E Soft, best known for the Hydlide role-playing series and their lineage of golf sims, took a shine to Endorfun and saw the potential in bringing it to Japan, with the new name Cu-On-Pa. Versions for the N64 and PlayStation were announced for 1996, with the N64 release planned for September – three months into the system’s lifespan. Magazines featured previews along with screenshots, and two page adverts were published brandishing the N64 logo. Even some western magazines covered it in their news sections. Said screenshots showcased a more muted colour palate than the PC original, with backdrops far less psychedelic. In fact, the N64 version was mostly shown with dark backgrounds.
Despite spending money on promotion, the N64 version of Cu-On-Pa never materialised. In its place a Super Famicom version was released, hitting Japan on 20th December 1996. It’s easy to imagine this being quite a surprise to anyone following its development and build-up to release. Imagine Sony showing off a new PS5 game, only to put out a downgraded version on PS4 instead. Quite the predicament.
The fact that Cu-On-Pa is a relatively simple puzzle game, and not a complex 3D action title, obviously played in the favour of the downgrade. A lot of groundwork was likely transferable too, such as the layouts for each puzzle. However, it is worth noting the game’s accomplished visuals – the cube remains a 3D object, while the grid retains its isometric viewpoint and has transparency effects and scrolling backdrops. Even today, it remains quite appealing visually due to its fresh style.
This Super Famicom version was reviewed by the UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine in their April 1997 issue (yes, the official UK mag covered imports, presumably due to their rivalry with Super Play) who duly noted that it began life on N64. They stated that N64 version would have had a four-player mode and 200 puzzles, whereas this Super Famicom downgrade was single-player only and had its puzzle count reduced to 100. They concluded that it was “a good little game which should keep puzzle fans entertained for months” but could only muster a 64% review score, while mentioning that an N64 version would have been overkill.
We can only speculate why it never reached the N64 despite being quite far into development. T&E Soft may have felt that the N64’s small user base would have resulted in poor sales, and that a SNES version would be more profitable – even though the console was well into its twilight years. They may have also feared that the N64 was about to be hit with another delay, or perhaps simply felt that a puzzle game would fare better critically on the SNES rather than the N64. It’s doubtful that the N64’s cartridge limitations led to its cancellation as nothing here screams complex. It’s also doubtful Nintendo believed it wasn’t a good use of the hardware, as Shogi and Mahjong games launched on the platform during its early days. It’s all a bit of a mystery, which only further amplifies how much of an oddity Cu-On-Pa is.
Image sources: Moby Games, @VGDensetsu, Unseen64.