How Nicalis Killed The '90s Racer 

Thanks for sharing this video, because it really helps us out! I didn't mention it in the video, but we DID reach out to Pelikan13, Tyrone Rodriguez, and other developers involved in this story. They did not respond or refused to go on record. Again, check out MykonosFan here: ru-vid.com/show-UCAD9iA-4f0c8F2YCxmS887A JOIN THE DISCORD: crymor.tv/discord

Poor Pelican13. Tried to make a new game to escape one shifty publisher, but then fell right into the waiting arms of another shifty publisher with that very game. Hope that someday he can release a game that isn't ruined by publishers.

I knew Nicalis would be evil at the second they bought Cave Story from the beginning...

Crazy how this video doesn't have enough views. This is the only channel I've found talking about this topic & I found it very informative & well made. I hope this channel the best!

Thank you for letting me hijack your channel! I had to make sure someone talked about Sonic on it.

I seem to recall hearing that Matt McMuscles (then of Super Best Friends) mentioned on his podcast that he had spoken to Pelikan about 90's Arcade Racer, given Matt is a producer on The Takeover. Though I never heard the podcast myself, so I cannot personally vet its validity, friends told me that Matt said Pelikan had supposedly tried to buy back the rights to 90's Arcade Racer from Tyrone and was denied. This podcast was long enough ago that I can't even tell you which specific episode it was (sorry, I'm not much of a podcast-listener these days). From my own research, it sounds like when Pelikan started The Takeover, he essentially washed his hands of 90's Arcade Racer and it's up to Nicalis to do anything with it now -- hence why the Kickstarter update page has flatlined. It also means that when Tyrone claims to still be talking to Pelikan, he's lying yet again.

I was an £80 pledge tier backer for 90sAR. Wanted an advertising banner for my website in the game. A website that is now long since dead. They were still using my old logos in the last lot of footage Nicalis showed, despite me sending updated replacement banners for my RU-vid channel instead, back when the Kickstarter still got some kind of updates via Pelikan. A friend of mine ended up working for Nicalis for several years on a game. I'll never forget when he told me he'd sold his idea to Nicalis - 9osAR aside I was very aware of how sketchy they'd been with releases over the years and distinctly remember asking him "are you sure that's a good idea?". Anyhoo, over those couple of years I tried to squeeze for a bit of 90sAR info now and again, with varying levels of success, I even passed new versions of my banners to him, which were supposedly passed on to "the developers", but we never saw anymore promotional content, so who knows if they ever made it a later build. The most I could surmise was Antonis (Pelikan) was totally off the project and they'd /had/ somebody on it at least one point, but seemed very much in development hell. I also remember him telling me the game had become "drift to win" - Because that's what we all wanted, right? Not a game that played like Daytona or Scud Race, but a minigame from Metropolis Street Racer. As for my mate's game? I attended a wrap party for the game in March 2019, at that point the game was left on the shelf for about a year, maybe longer before Tyrone came back to ask for more content to be added to it. It finally came out at the end of 2021. From what I could gather: The management structure at Nicalis seems, to put it best - a bit weird. Tyrone does not delegate responsibility to anybody. He has to sign off on literally everything. It's not like there isn't management below him, but he gets the final say on /everything/. Nicalis appears to be the result of what happens when a flighty, egotistical control freak with the attention span of a goldfish runs a company.

Thank you for this video. I also backed the 90s Arcade Racer, and although I’ve given up on it long ago, I still feel sad the project never materialized as it was so promising. Honestly, Pelikan13 did what he could to mitigate the pain for all backers, by giving away a copy of TakeOver (a great game by the way), but I guess he’s been gagged legally, and that’s why he cannot tell the whole story. I’ll still follow Pelikan13’s new projects with interest because he’s a very talented developer, but I’ll actively boycott Nicalis as they’re a cancer in this industry.

"Random Guy" that Tyrone replied to, here in the comments. I was shocked to see he actually replied to me with almost no hesitation when I was suspect of the 90s GP, and I sent that tip into GoNintendo for the intention of having the word spread that the game was hopefully alive. Unfortunately, it seems I was kinda duped, as the author of that NWR report calling out the shitty April Fools joke about the game was asking where the game was too, and so was the very guy who helps in this video (Mykonos). They got 100% ignored yet he kept on replying to me, likely because I asked more "innocent" questions and my friendly nature made it seem like I wouldn't have a problem with his answer. Even in this basic regard, even as someone who's reviewed lots of their games for my review website for two years now, I can't help but feel anger about this whole project and especially the recent allegations as a whole. Hell, you know Guxt, which you may very well be the first person to mention in a full-length video on Nicalis? I was HYPED as hell for that. I'm a mega score chasing fan, and I bought Ikachan because I wanted Pixel's work to be supported that wasn't just CS. Lo and behold, the spring date goes and comes and I find out Ikachan is a pile of crap that has no replay value or challenge and they didn't even bother to add anything new to beef it up. But looking into Guxt that game at least had a scoring system as was fun, so I was eager for it. I ended up finding out about the game's delay from the freaking NeoGAF post where it was basically Tyrone going "oh i don't like hearing people complain about my games so because I don't like it we won't release it!!!" They never put Ikachan out in Europe either, probably for the same reason. (because people in NA didn't like the game and he didn't like that feedback) That pissed me off but despite that I usually gave them the benefit of the doubt even when people talked about how they supposedly took the Cave story rights from Pixel. (which honestly, I still don't fully believe 100% as there isn't any sort of statement from Pixel's side of things and he RT'd stuff about the Switch version when that came out as if things were normal, but I do find it irksome how Nicalis is treating it as a thing they fully made with all these cameos when they didn't.) But the 90S GP thing? That infuriated me. I supported NWR with that article and when that Tweet about Mr Tako came out, i was even more mad as that game was so charming and needed that patch for the sake of the extra polish. But then Tyrone just made lame ass excuses about why the game didn't do well so they weren't going to bother and fix it, and that's when I asked about 90S GP since I tried pointing out how people don't really trust them when they talk about waiting on something. I don't know why he ended up fully replying to me on that, but he did and now I feel a bit irked that I didn't ask about Legend of Raven as I forgot it even existed. When the Kotaku report came out I was not at all surprised that they ghosted people and I was pretty much done with them. I hoped it would lead to a shakeup as I know some Nicalis devs who are really nice people, but it seems that Tyrone's MO for this is to just ignore it, pretend it never happened and throw everything related to this incident under the rug. This is apparent when he came back to Twitter both on his company and personal account and BOTH pages hide every last comment mentioning his racist history or the company's ghosting of clients. I really hope people don't fall for it just because he's holding physical copies of Ikaruga and PS4/Vita games hostage, (A rumor broke in a discord I'm in that he was mad about the eBay leaks for Vita stuff so he just is holding off on releasing those until LRG finishes their last batch of games so they can release the TRUE last batch of Vita stuff) but honestly I wouldn't be surprised. This was an excellent video and I gladly subbed without hesitation. Gonna do my best to share this around as well.

I started to feel like the only person acknowledging the Yatagarasu situation, so thanks a lot for spreading the word.

This is a sad tale for me. Post Outrun 2 (and post Yu Suzuki), most of the main developers at AM2 have since retired or moved on and the very notion of a great quality arcade racer moved on in step. Was really hoping this would see the light but nope. My only hope now is if Sega/Sumo digital pick up the assets. Anyway, great video and you've earned a sub, young man.

Fantastic video. I was one of those 700 backers. Never got any money back. Nicalis are absolute fucking wankers, I was so excited about the 90's Arcade Racer and they just took a massive shit all over my aspirations. The footage of the game that's been released looks so great, why in fuck are they just sitting on the game and doing nothing with it??? Why do they refuse to communicate with anyone about what's happening with it???

As someone who's waited for 90s Arcade Racer (or 90s Super GP, mind you) I feel disappointed at how things turned out for that game and moved on from that. This video revisited those memories, but this time I now have an idea who the culprit and the real victim is. I feel sorry for Pelikan13 as he wanted to make this amazing game but had to fall prey to what could be one of the worst in the indie scene. I'm glad that Pelikan13 continues his amazing work on another project.

This sucks because their switch releases have been some of the best. They went above and beyond to include manuals, stickers and keychains in their physical releases. That said, I don't support their shady business tactics, being ghosted and frauded sucks and Tyrone should resign.

Cave Story, my favorite game is own by a awful company who’s CEO’s Brother is a racist. Well... Gamers, Rise up!!!

He could have partnered to so many good companies. The one fight N rage went with, that one from Momodora/Minoria. Nicalis has to crash and burn

I did not give you permission to make me cry about 90s Super GP today. I cry about 90s Super GP everyday on my own time, thank you very much.

I've become a huge fan of arcade racers over the past few years so I was saddened by what Chris told me about 90s Arcade Racer. Hopefully the clear interest in this type of game will inspire another developer to take up the torch at some point in the future, and the disaster you've described will be a lesson to be cautious about publishers. Knowing that this kind of asshole had so much power in the still-young indie field is...disconcerting, to say the least.

I honestly wish there were more videos covering this, or at least an update on this video. This explains a lot for me personally, especially on why there's little to no support for Studio SaiZenSen's Blade Strangers with the exception of one update which only added 3 new character... One year after the community lost a major amount of players.

Having heard all of that information makes me incredibly mad. They lied to everybody, crushed their hopes and dreams for profit, treat their employees like shit for profit. How can he do that and then get away with it? Why is nobody talking about this to a much greater scale? I just feel like punching somebody after watching this. It's just wrong.

Rewatching. Years later, I'm still mad. And Nicalis are still being cagey as heck.

When I confronted Pelikan on Twitter in a post about the TakeOver (the female character is the flag girl of 90s arcade racer) he only told me to ask Nicalis for further details on 9ps AR. I feel he simply lost ownership on the tm.. I am one of the Backers and to this day I HATE this fucking company to the bone

The problem was Pelikan13 never reaching out to Sumo Digital (or being reached out by them) back then, Nicalis infame was already know by most indie devs, so Pelikan13 took a shot that was not the best to any parties. I hate to say, but this looked truly like a real sequel to Scud Racer/Daytona legacy. Hotshots racing looks fine and plays not so fine, but it is what we have, right?

Still not out yet 2024! Even with the website saying “coming soon”

31:35 nice of you to include your favorite game, Shamu, in the video.

I wish I can manage Nicalis, Inc. and revive The 90s Arcade Racer.

Horizon Chase Turbo is pretty much 90s Arcade Racer meets Top Gear (SNES) but better than anything it could have ever hoped to be.

I'm relatively new to this topic as I only discovered 90's Racer recently, due in part to websites STILL publishing articles showing the amazing years old footage of the WiiU version. This project originally seemed to have tonnes of talent and respect for the games it was paying homage to and I think would've been a runaway indie classic had it been allowed to get off the ground. I sincerely hope and wonder at the possibility of Pelikan simply remaking all the original assets, starting from scratch and creating an entirely new 90's racer game that would have nothing to do with the toxic dead end of a project this has become. That would be the ultimate satisfying ending to this depressing story. I hope he is aware of this video and realises how much support and appreciation for his work exists. People are clamouring to see this project succeed eventually and I really hope we see it emerge eventually in an all new kickass form phoenix style! ;) P.S. Great video! 👍

I was really excited for this game :( nicalis broke my heart

Anyone else still watching this in 2022 like dub tee eff?!

At least we got Hotshot Racing

I didn’t know there was an indie equivalent of EA

It´s now January 2024 and `90s Super GP is still listed as Coming Soon on the Nicalis Website.

The writing of the first part reads as a bit dishonest, the script made it sound like it was within Nicalis' power to cancel Redout or La-Mulana when both games were released independently before Nicalis were involved. The La-Mulana developer "discovered his game had been cancelled" in reality is "[he] discovered a WiiWare port 7 years after release had been cancelled". It still wasn't professional conduct from Nicalis, but the situation could have been articulated more accurately.

It should be noted, since I've noticed you seem to let on that cave story was "Nicals' game" Nicalis had no part in the development of Cave Story, it was a freeware game infamously made by one person, Daisuke Amana/"Studio Pixel", that Nicalis then licensed the game as well as provided an English localization, as they have with many other games. There is much controversy about this situation, so I would encourage anyone here to do further research.

it's baffling to watch the gameplay footage in this video and hear that this game, which seems to be 90% finished, is languishing on a hard drive at nicalis because they cant figure out a gameplay element that developers had working in arcades 40 years ago with games like pole position and final lap

So this was the fate of that game... (90's Arcade Racer), man I can't believe that I was still waiting for a game (for... 8 years!, lol!) that technically it looks like is cancelled Oh, and by the way, thanks to this video I meet your channel, I really liked your stuff here!.

Amazing video as always CryMor, I really enjoy the gameplay.

I get the feeling Nicalis bought the rights to Cave Story from Studio Pixel and acquired the fan translation patch and released it as their own.

Excellent work all around :)

Lol, imagine trusting a business partner called "Tyrone Rodríguez."

This is a greatass channel

Least we have Hotshot Racing...

Nicalis wasn't actually involved with the first release of The Binding of Isaac, which is the footage used in this video. Nicalis only helped develop Rebirth and subsequent releases.

Oh, wow, what a nice thumbnail, it's so good

I'm still waiting for a patch to fix AI issues preventing me from finishing Tiny Barbarian DX. Now I'm sure it will never come, despite promises.

Great video but... it saddens me deeply to watch the end result of this never coming out. All that work... I'd love a copy of the wiiu code to play myself.

Friendship ended with Ahoy. Now MRIXRT is my best friend.

Damn, this is one hell of a trip, the vitrol is reeeeeeal with this one. Nice work my dudes.

It really sucks that 90s Arcade Racer was ruined and held back by Nicalis, as it had a lot of potential for becoming something special, that is unlike any other racing game these days. Horizon Chase Turbo was more of an 80s racer, Hotshot Racing had a more Virtua Racing style than Daytona USA and Cruis'n Blast was in a league of its own, being an actual arcade racer from 2017. Curse you Tyrone and Nicalis!

The most confusing thing about the video was both the publishering company's name AND its founder have first names. Weird! Anyway, very interesting video on people I've never heard about, keeps you engaged even as someone who doesn't play racing games

Man, this video gave me depression. The April Fools Joke was the worst of all. Ultra disrespectful.

Patrolling the Mojave always brings me back here....

The game will never be released any time soon

I was looking very forward to play 90’s Arcade Racer. It looked everything I hoped for.

This is criminal. There should be a way for backers to take ownership of a game so that it cannot be held hostage by scumbags with an agenda. Just a random thought, but imagine if this guy was paid by Sega to make sure this game wasn't released... pretty sure hitmen exist in publishing to make sure certain ideas, concepts, and products never make it to the public.

Really sad, this game could have been so good. Great video

Oh wow, that was mad as hell. I've been waiting for this game from the start of the KS campaign, and I tried to follow every news what happened with the game. The user who tried the game at the Anime show destroyed my expectations. So f_ckin cringe. I'm gonna avoid any Nicalis related game in the future,. Also, they still teasing us with these really annoying tweets. twitter.com/nicalis/status/1196495845786619905

Being named Nicholas makes this very weird to listen to.

Tyrone has been a notorious shitbag in the Isaac community for years, publicly dismissing fan's concerns in favour of "watching Spongebob" and going on vacations among other things. Afterbirth+ was released in such a embarrassingly bad state that I lost interest in the game for a good while. This has continued with Repentance. While the game is pretty good now, the reason for this is likely due to Edmund and the former Antibirth team doing most of the legwork with actually making the thing. I guarantee you that Kilburn is responsible for a large portion of balance changes, tweaks and polish that came to the game, and yet thanks to Tyrone's meddling they've been pushed out of the public eye in favour of the main Nicalis team. It infuriates me to no end to see the people who actually helped rebuild that game after Tyrone's team destroyed it get little to no credit for it because, well Tyrone is as Tyrone does. I'm very happy to hear Edmund won't be working with him anymore. Good bloody riddance.

26:19 Oh yeah, I thought I heard the name Nicalis before.

I feel like the writing for this video could be trimmed a bit. A few times I skipped ahead 20s or so because you weren't getting to the point. Overall great video otherwise though, well researched and well spoken.

00:02 or owning an Amiga.

Well I can say I hate and. Like Niclas without them I will never played Isaac or cave story on my swich

If this was a style of game that was built well enough IN THE 90's to be beloved enough to want a remake or remaster this badly; how in the hell did they have this much technological trouble making a game that was based on OLD tech? I mean really, the art style. The look; the feel... the music I'd get because lisencing can be a bitch and if you've not got the cash to pay for it, that's a viable snag but the rest... Jesus. Could they come up with more excuses to throw this poor bastard under the bus? If he can take a prototype of Sonic 4 and make it look that much better BY HIMSELF, don't tell me he was the problem. This is just disgraceful, and I'm not even a big racing game guy. Best I can do is occasionally getting my arse handed to me at Mario Kart. As to kickstarter; what you're doing is throwing money down a well, and hoping like hell to get a finished product out of it at some point. Whether you do or not, I'd debate the charge of theft outright - but it's definitely fraud. If it wasn't for the individual choice to make said "backed" Donations to X game, then it would be theft without question. If the project does not bear fruit and no money is ever returned, then yes it's also theft at that point. But it can be a very, very long time to figure out nothing's going to come of it. That's why I have a massive problem with ALL of those sites.

Is the narrator Robert California?

1:50 You're probably aware of this but Nicalis did not make cave story or vvvv. They only worked on the ports for these games and saying they became an indie darling as a result feels a bit dishonest.

bexcuse me the vita is AWESOME

I'm still waiting for their penguin simulator.

DAMN IT, TYRONE

13:15 The subtitles says pounds instead of euros lmao

As soon as you said Tyrone I knew it had to be bad. I've never heard that name in a positive situation. 🤔

Doom sausage man! Found this video through RU-vid recommendation algorithm, didn't realise it was by Moriarty, regular guest on EFAP.

i uh.....i thought this was gonna be a diffrent type of video. still good though

this still bugging me till right now

damn... just damn...

Isnt cave story from 2004

The next voice of Fred from Scooby Doo.

Thrown money at unfinished stuff then cry they essentially got scammed . When will people themselves learn their lesson

I moved on from 90s Super GP. The Nintendo Switch and PC has "Asphalt 9 Legends", which is a better "90s arcade racer". ;)

90's Arcade Racer wouldve been good. Going to look up Pelican13's other projects. Will put Nicalis publishing next to RedDeerGames and other shady publishers.

90's Arcade Racer is still alive?

Where the hell it is

“Destroyed”, but healthier than ever...

So Nicalis are the Bad Guys? well lets burn them

Tyrone sounds like a narcissist too though .

Subscribed then u mentioned resetera and decided to unsub

#Sickburn

How do you actually pronounce "nicalis"? I've heard it pronounced three different ways now.

Sonic 4 sucks... Good thing Mania exists

Yes😊😊😊

"Stop buying these games! Now, join my patreon"

you kind of contradict yourself. you suggest that the reason the game hasn't been released is the fault of Nicalis and give examples of situations where they have been negligent. but then at the end of the video you talk about someone who actually recently played the game and says its garbage. To me this suggests the developer is to blame. Perhaps Nicalis doesn't want to release the game because they know its garbage.

The 90s arcade racer might be dead but to me it’s spirit lives on in games like Hotshot Racing, which to me was its brother in arms 😢

did i make that? my bad... hm... you know... tyrone is someone of a chief strategist himself... so i would trust him too...

My only critique of the vid is your pronunciation of nicalis, every video I've ever watched on them goes (Nigh-Cal-Is) so it constantly distracted me, but other than that yeeeesh, no wonder I never see them outside cave story, Binding, and Ikaruga

This comment is here only to get liked by at least 3 people several months from now. Also I feel like I should probably go remove a number of games from my wishlists.

He is pathetic. Starts making games that in the end are made into finished, released updates to old beloved games he was aping from. Loser.

Not a fan of your narration, I had to use subtitles. Just criticism nothing personal

Cry some more. Could I have some more?