Nearly ten years ago, Marvel’s Ghost Rider had his own video game that tied into the movie adaptation starring Nic Cage. But that wasn’t the Spirit of Vengeance’s first brush with video game stardom. In 1996, Neversoft and Crystal Dynamics joined forces on a Ghost Rider game for the original Playstation that never made it out of development. Now, rare footage of that has resurfaced online.

In one of the latest episodes of UnSeen64, the history of the first Ghost Rider video game was explored alongside clips of an early demo. Keep in mind, this footage is from an unfinished proof of concept prototype that’s over 20 years old, so it doesn’t exactly look polished by modern standards. This Ghost Rider game was very much a product of its time, and would have used the same game engine of the Skeleton Warriors adaptation that Neversoft did manage to complete. The plan was to make Ghost Rider a 2D side-scroller with 3D background elements that could be accessed by tilting the perspective of the screen. Four years later, Neversoft actually pulled off a 3D superhero game with Spider-Man, which was one of the best Marvel video games at that point in time.

It’s worth noting that the first Ghost Rider video game was just a few years removed from one of the most successful eras in that character’s history. The Ghost Rider game was loosely based on the Siege of Darkness storyline from the ’90s, which pit the title character against Lilith, Zarathos, and Centurious. However, this Ghost Rider adaptation was ultimately abandoned by Crystal Dynamics, and Neversoft was forced to shut it down.

UnSeen64 also recently profiled the Daredevil video game adaptation that met a similar fate. You can watch that episode here.

What did you think about the first attempt at a Ghost Rider video game? Would you like to see a new Ghost Rider game based on the modern incarnation? Unleash your vengeance in the comment section below!

Image: Marvel