Forgotten Worlds

Capcom

Industry	Video game development and publishing
Founded	May 30, 1979 (1979-05-30)
Founder	Kenzo Tsujimoto
Headquarters	Osaka , Japan
Products	Video games, arcade games

, initially released under the title , is a 1988 side-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Capcom. It marked Capcom's debut on their proprietary CP System arcade hardware.

Plot

Set in the 29th century, Earth has been ravaged by a malevolent deity named Bios, transforming it into the barren Dust World. To counter Bios and his eight malevolent gods, two unnamed supersoldiers are engineered.

Gameplay

Forgotten Worlds allows up to two players to simultaneously control flying, muscular soldiers equipped with firearms. Player 1 uses a long-range automatic rifle, whereas Player 2 operates a short-range wide shot. The controls consist of an eight-direction joystick for movement and a distinctive rotatable "roll switch" button. This roll switch can be turned to aim in sixteen different directions; pressing it fires the weapon. Rapidly pressing it triggers a "megacrush" attack that annihilates all enemies on screen but drains the player’s vitality.

Each player is supported by a satellite module that provides additional firepower and can be rotated independently with the roll switch. Rotating while firing adjusts the satellite’s aim, while rotating without firing changes both its aim and position relative to the player character.

Enemies drop blue coins called Zenny upon defeat, which serve as currency in in-game shops. These shops offer power-ups such as new satellite weapons, health restoratives, armor upgrades, and boss battle hints. Players must select items within a time limit at designated points during stages.

The game comprises nine stages, each concluding with a boss fight. Players are defeated when their vitality gauge is exhausted but have the option to continue.

Development

The development process lasted two years with an estimated budget ranging from to about £5.5 million ($). The project utilized four megabytes of sprite data. Originally conceived as a typical side-scrolling shooter, producer Yoshiki Okamoto sought to create a more imaginative experience. Capcom emphasized enhancing gameplay accessibility by simplifying enemy fire evasion in response to previous critiques. As the inaugural title on CPS-1 hardware, Capcom fully exploited its capabilities. Despite these efforts, the game did not meet financial expectations due to market oversaturation of shooters and increased production costs from a CPS-1 chip shortage.

Home versions

In 1989, Forgotten Worlds was ported by U.S. Gold to several European home computer platforms including Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and IBM-compatible PC. Developed within four months by Arc Developments, the team digitized arcade graphics using a DigiView Gold device and enhanced key scenes such as the God of War and shop interfaces through hand-drawn sketches and digital redrawing.

Most versions for home computers required joystick input, except for IBM PC, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC editions which allowed keyboard controls. Character rotation was controlled by holding down the fire button while moving the joystick left or right. On ZX Spectrum, the game achieved second place in sales charts behind Robocop.

The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis edition was developed by Sega and released in Japan on November 18, 1989, followed by launches in North America and PAL territories. It replicated arcade controls using A and C buttons for rotation and B for shooting. Both players wield long-range automatic rifles instead of differing weapons as in the arcade. This version includes seven of the original nine stages and offers an optional auto-fire feature. It was later reissued on the Wii Virtual Console in 2008.

Sega also produced a single-player version for the Master System distributed in Europe and Brazil. Due to controller constraints, shooting is automatic; rotation is assigned to buttons, with the megacrush attack executed by pressing both buttons simultaneously.

The PC Engine adaptation was published by NEC Avenue in Japan on March 27, 1992 as a Super CD-ROM² title supporting NEC’s specialized three-button controller. The North American release by Turbo Technologies Inc. provided similar control options; when using a standard controller, one button replaced rotation functionality. This single-player port allows selection between two characters from the arcade original.

A planned version for the Capcom Power System Changer was previewed but ultimately never released.

Arcade emulations of Forgotten Worlds have appeared in multiple collections: 2005's Capcom Classics Collection Vol.1 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, 2006's Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed for PlayStation Portable, and more recently on modern systems via Capcom Arcade Stadium available on Nintendo Switch, as well as PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows through Steam. The PS2 and Xbox versions support aiming with the right analog stick. The Wii Virtual Console release of the Mega Drive version occurred in 2008.

Reception

In September 1988, Game Machine placed Forgotten Worlds as the second highest-grossing table arcade game in Japan, outperforming competitors such as Sky Soldiers and Ninja Spirit. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, U.S. Gold projected that the home computer adaptation would exceed sales of their earlier Capcom title Bionic Commando, which had reached 70,000 units sold by early 1989.

The title was met with widespread critical acclaim. Upon its launch, the arcade edition received positive evaluations from publications including Computer and Video Games, The Games Machine, Your Sinclair, and Commodore User. Reviewers often compared it favorably to prior shooters like Capcom's Side Arms (1986), Konami's Nemesis (also known as Gradius), and Sega's Space Harrier.

The Amiga port was awarded a 94% rating by The Games Machine, which commended its visual presentation and its faithful recreation of the arcade experience.

Accolades

During the 1988 Gamest Awards held in Japan, the arcade version secured the prize for "Best Graphics."

The home computer versions were honored with the "CVG Hit!" distinction by Computer + Video Games. Additionally, the ZX Spectrum edition received both the "Crash Smash!" accolade from Crash and the "SU Classic" recognition from Sinclair User.