We Could Be Getting A New Version Of NES Cult Classic Shatterhand

If Tengo Project are involved, I'm definitely interested. Love their work.

@Zuljaras Two years ago, someone wrote one of the most detailed reviews I've ever seen of this game (which is also a cult classic of mine), unfortunately it's only in Spanish.

https://errekgamer.com/2023/01/26/analisis-shatterhand-nes/

I was wondering if they would do a modern update or remake of this one. This was always a bit murky since the Japanese original is a licensed game and the western release was done with Jaleco publishing, so I wasn't sure who owned the trademark. Considering the remakes of past Natsume games, I have no concerns about it. Plus the original game will still be there and still be great.

Regarding this having become a cult classic, I'm part of that. Shatterhand is one of my favorite games on the NES. When I say that, I mean it's basically tied for number one. I really love the game and play it often. I think I've beaten it with every combination I can think of. I didn't know about Shatterhand at the time it was current, though I wish I did. I have since recommended it to a friend or two who got into retro gaming after me and I got great feedback on it.

I discovered Shatterhand through Youtube probably in 2013. I saw a video and thought the game looked like it was made for me. It's rare when a game appeals to me to that degree and it actually lives up fully to my own hype for it, and Shatterhand is one of those games. I had the same experience with King of Fighters 97.

Shatterhand was always one of the bigger question marks on my list because of the paradoxical nature of it's existence. The code was made by Natsume, which is now two different companies that have legally little to actually do with each other (and even less to do with Wade Rosen), but nonetheless pull from the same shared IP history of about 20 games they at one point owned as one entity (Shadow of the Ninja) , and a bunch of games they only localized (Pocky and Rocky).

Jaleco, meanwhile, is much more straight forward: they died and the whole lot was purchased by City Connection. Including anything owned by the international offices.

Shatterhand is a name that only exists because of Jaleco picking up the rights to the game, but not the license. Reports say it was Natsume whi suggested the 50 Shades asset swaps, but the nature of everything was still doctated and approved by the American marketers. I've always operated under the assumption that anything related to that Doki Doki branding would be inherited by CC, however much like the Ricotello mandated bastardchild Shadow of the Damned that Suda51 gets to do what he wants with anyway, did Natsume Atari somehow maintain the rights to all those publisher notes through 2 bankruptcies?

And finally, we had to wait 34 long years to finally enjoy a remake of this wonderful game, in my opinion the best ever made for the NES (forgive me for Shadow of the Ninja and Batman Return of the Joker).
For those who don't know, Natsume had programmed Shatterhand and was going to release it in Japan and America, BUT Angel, which held the license for the Solbrain series, commissioned Natsume to make a game based on the series. Natsume modified the Shatterhand game, and as a result, a "different" version was released in Japan, while in America, we had the game in its purest form.
I knew the rights were held by Jaleco, but with its demise or due to expiration dates, they returned to Natsume around 2009, although they never made it public. With luck, they only released a compilation album with all the songs from Natsume's most well-known franchises (including Shatterhand).
Even so, it's sad that those of us who loved this game had to wait a lifetime to finally enjoy a remake.

Nice! the original is one of the lesser known gems on the NES along with the Power Blade games and Vice Project doom.