Naruto: Battle for Leaf Village

After a hurricane and power outage, we now return to a regularly scheduled update.  Just in time for Naruto's return to Toonami/AS, here's the best Naruto game Cartoon Network ever put up on their website:  Battle for Leaf Village.

Play Naruto: Battle for Leaf Village @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Select one of many levels.)

This is one of Toonami's more complicated games.  Each level has its own XML config file which controls enemy waves and map tiles.  Another file controls enemy and player stats such as maximum amount of health and the amount of damage attacks cause.  Naruto can collect different weapons for a more powerful attack, but with a downside that the weapon must recharge before reuse.



(Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?!)

If Naruto proves a success in the new Toonami, then in four years we may get new episodes. And then who knows? Maybe a new game... that's not on a PlayStation or XBox.

Naruto: Ninja Survival

Naruto and the gang return for this near exact duplicate of Star Students.  The only real difference is that the game takes place later in the series during the forest test sequence.

Play Naruto: Ninja Survival @ Toonami: Lost Data
(Sakura: somewhat more competent than Naruto.)

There's not much to say other than it was difficult to upload due to the FTP program screwing up the file transfer.

Naruto: Star Students

The Naruto series received four web games or so, nearly matching the likes of Dragon Ball Z, Justice League, or Samurai Jack.  However, since Naruto came later in Toonami's life, it's games were relatively more complicated and consisted of multiple files (Flash SWF, MP3s, and XML config files) as opposed to lone Shockware DCR files.

Star Students is a vertical scrolling action game.  Choose from Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura.  Collect blue orbs in order to use special attacks.  Fight Haku and Zabuza.  Play the almost identical sequel:  Ninja Survival.

Play Naruto: Star Students @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Naruto keeps his hands stiffly at his side while three ninjas attack him. This is probably why he had such problems passing tests.)

And don't forget to watch new episodes of Naruto on Cartoon Net... er... Disney X... er... DVD!  Support both the creators, VIZ Media, and the straight-to-DVD market!

Gauntlet of Doom

Superman and Batman team up to take down some sort of menace... alien twins who may or may not be from the comics.  They definitely aren't from the cartoon shows.

Given that Superman is super-humanly strong and nearly invincible, it seems a little unfair to make Batman fight polar bears.

Help Batman punch polar bears @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Superman could probably squash these into red paste.)

Use the Bat-computer @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Superman does not think highly of Bruce's Bat-computer.)

It's not necessary to play every episode of the game.  Nothing is shared between them.  The choice of hero doesn't even seem to matter.

New Archive File

Since MegaUpload went down, a new game archive file has to be posted somewhere.  It doesn't include just games anymore, but anything Toonami or Cartoon Network-related.  Most items were found in the Internet Archive, but an English copy of Hi-Hi Puffy Treasure Island and a Megas XLR game were retrieved from foreign Cartoon Network websites.

Mediafire should be a good host for now: 
http://www.mediafire.com/?rbmt9kfblep72wl

Some new content in the archive includes:
Batman & Superman Adventures:  World's Finest:  Gauntlet of Doom.
A Megas XLR game (Final Battle -- from a non-U.S. Cartoon Network website).
A Moltar comic (from http://nightmare-hq.com/Toonami/).
A Transformers game from the Toonami UK website (Battle for Megatron).
A Teen Titans game (Battle Blitz).
Hi-Hi Puffy Treasure Island and Ninja Rock (Not Toonami, but some fun games).
Scuba Jo-Jo game from the Powerpuff Girls.

Plus any non-game content that wasn't included in the earlier version.

Samurai Jack - Rave Slaves

(a.k.a. The Game I Forgot About)

Jack trades in his normal outfit for a raver outfit. He trades in his sword for punches and kicks in the style of Brazilian dance-fighting. It goes without saying, he's also traded away his dignity.

Play Samurai Jack: Rave Slaves @ Toonami: Lost Data

(The one game in which Jack isn't permitted to fight back.)

Why was "Jack and the Rave" made into a game when there were better episodes such as "Jack and the Ultra-robots" that could make better/more popular games? I don't think anyone will ever know now...

Samurai Jack - Way of the Warrior

Another game that corresponds to the pilot episode/series of Samurai Jack. The training montage from the pilot is turned into a set of five mini-games. All are good, but are of varying difficulty.

Play Samurai Jack: Way of the Warrior @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Samurai Jack trains to rescue Princess Zelda.)

Samurai Jack's artwork seemed to translate a lot smoother into web games than other Toonami shows. It's either due to the simplicity of vector graphics or that Cartoon Network's own studio did the work and the web side had better support/access to animation frames and artwork.

Samurai Jack - Path of Destiny

This game corresponds to the massive cyborg battle at the end of the pilot movie/episodes of Samurai Jack. It's pretty simple compared to the other Samurai Jack web games. Run around and save people while slashing robots.

Play Samurai Jack: Path of Destiny @ Toonami: Lost Data

(At least the Shift key isn't used to attack in this one.)

Enemies increase in numbers and abilities each level.
Collect bowls of rice to regain health.

Samurai Jack - Code of the Samurai

Code of the Samurai is probably the best Samurai Jack web game. This was part of Cartoon Network's integrate-web-games-with-television-by-handing-out-codes-during-the-show phase. The Total Immersion Events were just large-scale versions of this.


Play Samurai Jack: Code of the Samurai @ Toonami: Lost Data

(The enemies won't stop attacking. Once Jack drops his defense he'll definitely take a hit. Not the best use of the power...)

Code of the Samurai weapon codes:

1. Justice
2. Purity
3. Compassion
4. Courage
5. Valor
6. Honor

Samurai Jack - Cavern Raid

There haven't been many updates, then again, there isn't much to update about a cancelled television block.

I wasn't originally going to collect most of the more common series games. Then I changed my mind mostly because the advertised-laden game sites are terrible

Play Samurai Jack: Cavern Raid @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Even Jack hasn't played this one.)

Ol' Jack finds himself in a cavern. It's just him and his sword versus a bunch of enemies.

Level codes:
Level 2 - UNDERGROUND
Level 3 - SPELUNKER
Level 4 - STALAGMITE
Level 5 - BEDROCK
Level 6 - GROTTO
Last Level - DARKNESS

IGPX Spanish Version

(Play IGPX Spanish @ Lost Data)

The Spanish-version of the IGPX Total Immersion Event game is now up on Lost Data.  This was the original version I found via Googling.  One of those scraper/spam websites hotlinked to the game.  From there, it was easy to determine that one of CN's Latin American sites had this game and an English-version as well.

The only problem is that the win/lose .JPG files are in English.

He-Man Games

Oddly, the only games produced for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were made for the Toonami UK website.  The only He-Man-related item on the U.S. Toonami website was a "Map of Eternia".  Part of that is in the Wayback Machine, but it is mostly broken.

The Courage of Adam @ Toonami: Lost Data
(It would be easier if you could ride the tiger.)

The Courage of Adam:  Race back and forth as Skeletor tries to hit Adam with energy bolts.  Tranform into He-Man and use the shield to reflect lightning ("purple") blasts. 

Lair of the Slime Mutant @ Toonami: Lost Data
(Stupid bug-monsters.)

Lair of the Slime Mutant is quite a bit more fun than Courage, but is fantastically difficult.  Jump platforms and try to kill beasts as they cheat and hit you no matter what.

Kirby 64 Promo Game

Going through the Wayback Machine (yet again), I noticed an odd file called kirby.game.html. Curiously, it appears to be a promotional game for Kirby 64.

Kirby 64 Promo Game @ Lost Data


It's a simple memory game. Upon completion, the player is able to download a Kirby wallpaper. (It appears in the same download area as Toonami wallpapers, so it wasn't a big secret.)

Unfortunately, the Wayback Machine failed to save the wallpaper. However, at least one website saved the file and noted where it came from, and so we know which wallpaper was offered by Toonami.


(Click to view 1024x768 image.)

I don't remember this game from back then. Of course, the Toonami homepage wasn't very interesting until the Intruder premiered and Reactor came online. I probably didn't visit enough...

Toonami Test Track

Toonami Test Track is a racing game that allows the player to select a ship and a paint scheme from one of Toonami's shows. Oddly enough, Inuyasha is also included. However, there do appear to be some different versions of this game with other sets of television shows. The game is still the same no matter what, the paint scheme associations simply change.

Toonami Test Track @ Lost Data


Oddly, this one game received its own promo unlike many other Toonami games.

By now, most other websites claiming to host this game are broken. That's what they get for superficially hotlinking Flash games.

Clone Wars: Planetary Forces

The Clone Wars Planetary Forces game coincided with the Clone Wars 2003 microseries. This was not a Toonami exclusive, but it did air at various points on Toonami. Failing that, at least it aired on a Toonami block somewhere on the planet Earth.

Fight on either the Light Side or Dark Side. The missions are essentially the same, except with a simple character swap. The one except is the Mon Calamari mission in which the end boss is radically different.

Star Wars: Planetary Forces @ Toonami: Lost Data

(Click to open in new window.)

The hardest level is the Kit Fisto Mon Calamari mission. That's only because the boss is fairly random, unless it falls into a jumping pattern. Then it can be destroyed with ease.

Now, if only Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy were made into a cartoon, the world would be perfect...

IGPX: Fight to the Finish

The second web game that coincided with the IGPX series, FttF is based on racing and fighting.

There's not much I can say about this game because I can't even really beat the first level. I don't know if I even have all the game files, so it might be broken. (The game pre-loads files, so hopefully I obtained absolutely all of them.)

IGPX: Fight to the Finish @ Toonami: Lost Data


I much prefer the original tactics game for the IGPX microseries, even though I can't beat that one either. Racing has never quite been my genre of choice.

If someone out there can beat it and confirm the game fully works, drop a line in the comments.

That Was Good Timing

Not two weeks after those backups, the Toonami.co.uk website is history.

(I'm not too concerned about not backing up Justice League, Batman, and Samurai Jack games as those tend to get picked up by the Internet Archive or are duplicated on various websites.)

And before anyone asks, a lot of those other games (such as the Lego Mars Mission) were broken by the time I got there. It turns out the Mission to Mars game is on Lego's website anyway.

Guess I'll prepare to add the UK games and Planetary Forces to Lost Data.

The Problem with Trapped in Hyperspace

Trapped in Hyperspace cannot be recovered because 1.) the Internet Archive couldn't pick it up and 2.) no public, searchable web page currently has a copy.

In regards to 1.), there's nothing anyone can do about that. The game uses preloaders that the Internet Archive simply can't detect. (loader.dcr downloads and uses gamefiles.dcr, etc.) TiH certainly isn't the first Flash/Shockwave game to be lost because of this.

Point 2.) leaves some hope. There may be some webpage out there hidden from search engines that still exists and has the the game. Failing that, the only place to get it would be from the developers (Pepworks), Williams Street, or possibly from some sympathetic Cartoon Network webmaster.

The game would still have some requirements though. It would need the 3dGroove libraries to play (which I have) and it needs to be on a Cartoon Network domain in order to play, but there are ways around that. I've gotten Powerpuff Girls: Showdown in the Sky to function and it had both these problems.

Video temporarily disabled until I upload a proper replacement ~ 2010-05-08.

Now I just need TiH the game files...

Other Games Backed Up

Although not added to the Lost Data website just yet, several games have been backed up:

• Some He-Man games from the Toonami UK website.
• The Clone Wars (the five-minute short series) game Planetary Forces, also from the Toonami UK website.
• All the Naruto games from the Cartoon Network website.
  

Given the news that Naruto Shippuden will air on Disney XD and that Naruto itself hasn't aired properly on Cartoon Network in months, there is a great risk CN will eventually remove the games. I may put the games up for a test period to make sure they are all functioning.

The He-Man games apparently never appeared on the United States Toonami website. It's one of those UK-only games similar to the Megas XLR game.

I don't know if the Planetary Forces game is playable anywhere else, though I have seen some of the files in the Internet Archive. Just in case, I've backed it up.

Lockdown - Lost Level?

Incidentally, the maker of the game, playerthree, has a page on Lockdown which contains several in-game images. Those images make no sense given the finished game. Was there a special multi-player Level 5?











Their website states:

Tied in with daily TV broadcasts on the Cartoon Network, players were fed a storyline on the TV then directed to the Toonami web site to help out - saving the Absolution spaceship from destruction.

On registering, players were allocated a team to play for, then competed and scored points to boost their team's performance. Daily feedback was given on the teams' overall scores, and new levels unveiled to the masses to continue the saga.

Free movement, parallax scrolling, atmospheric audio and a wide choice of weapons gave this game wide appeal to the Cartoon Network viewers, and generated a great deal of web traffic from the TV audience.

Which doesn't tell us anything. The promos at Toonami Digital Arsenal clearly show the normal Lockdown RPG-game and not playerthree's odd version. If there was a Level 5, it was removed after the Lockdown Total Immersion Event ended.

I played Lockdown when it originally premiered in 2001, but I may have missed one day of play. I can't be sure this level even existed. I assume it was a multiplayer level as that would be the only reason to remove it.