JFG:
Been looking at the old forum recently and found some old stuff that never made it through due to lack of proper info.
But now I got it!
http://oldgamemags.tumblr.com/post/52581...ember-1999
Originally, Juno and Vela were going to be kids, but after a focus group played the game, they "found it hard to relate the Kewpie doll appearances of the heros." Rare responded with scrapping their old look in favor for the "superhero makeover."
Vela's old model wasn't completely removed, however.
You can still see the kid version of Vela in the
game's cinematic ending, kicking a red ball around.
http://youtu.be/Vw8Lpz7zzKg
Rare's old website mascot, Mr. Pants, makes appearances in the game. His most notable cameo is a cheat called "Pants as Ants" that can be unlocked by collecting 300 Ant heads, which if toggled replaces the standard blue-ants with Mr. Pants. Mr. Pants is also
drawn on one of the walls in a hallway in the Tawfret Castle level.
----
This one's pretty neat:
http://web.archive.org/web/2010050419175...cancelled/
http://web.archive.org/web/2012102500285...e-radical/
There were plans to release a Game Boy Color version of Jet Force Gemini in 2000, but the game was cancelled before it could even be announced, likely because the previous Game Boy Color versions released alongside with their Nintendo 64 counterparts (Perfect Dark and Conker’s Pocket Tales) were received with low interest. In 2006, a prototype of the game was found and was said to be "nearly complete."
In an October 2012 interview, former Rare designer and producer Martin Wakeley said, "Jet Force Gemini on the Gameboy was the only occasion I can remember Rare outsourcing anything. It was being done by Bits Studios and was nearly done last time I saw it, I’m not sure what happened to it."
http://imgur.com/PBuCnrf <---all images so far
decided to just rename the topic, because I got a few Battletoads stuff as well.
-
Battletoads (1994 Arcade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hHCM08QpbI
According to the arcade attract mode screens, Pimple, Rash and Zitz are not even the Battletoads' real names.
Pimple is George Pie, Rash is Dave Shar and Zitz is Morgan Ziegler.
------
Battletoads (NES)
http://www.gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/N...,_Inc..pdf
In a few levels, there are enemies that can steal health by grabbing the energy bars from the health meter directly, as opposed to attacking the player character. According to the game manual, these enemies are
'Vaders, "survivors of the original invaders", the Space Invaders.
-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Staff_of_Karnath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxHssko6lrs
Level 6, called "The Karnath's Lair", is named after a Commodore 64 game from Ultimate called "The Staff of Karnath". The company Ultimate was later renamed to Rare.
------
JFG:
http://youtu.be/K0nRTehtMkU?t=28m55s
(This one is a stretch so I need some input on it!)
Near the end of Goldwood for Juno, there is a final fire fight between Juno and several flying Stealth-Drones. Given the placement of four destructible barriers to hide behind and the horde of "flying alien invaders" shooting back, it is possible this is a reference to the old classic "Space Invaders."