Grabbed by the Ghoulies Mini-Scribe Excerpts (2011-2012)
The following excerpts detailing the development of Grabbed by the Ghoulies was originally published on Rare’s Scribes letter page in 2009. We’ve scoured each edition for that year in order to provide you with every mention of the title to be found in Rare’s posted answers in chronological order below.
We’ve also included a link above each heading which will re-direct to the original letters page that the question was featured in should you wish to view it in the original context – otherwise you’ll find that the entries below only focus on answers related to Grabbed by the Ghoulies for a comprehensive listing for any fan wanting further information on pre-release content, hidden easter eggs, abandoned features and development secrets:
Q: I was wandering through the Servants’ Dormitory trying not to get pummeled to death by a Jessie N’ Clyde in Grabbed by the Ghoulies when I noticed a Frankie Goes To Hollywood Shirt on the ground to the right. My question, simply put, is why is there a ‘Frankie Says Relax’ shirt in my Ghoulies? Does the Baron wear it as he flies around in his pantomime plane? Is Crivens a fan of controversial ’80s synth pop? Or does it mean something else entirely?
Relax, don’t do it.
Lance Kolaher
A: We have asked designers. We have asked artists. We have asked Professor Stephen Hawking, Professor Brian Cox and anti-Frankie 1980s DJ Mike Read, or at least thought about it. None of those people confess to any knowledge of the content of this allegation. Either what you’ve uncovered here is a fragment of the most well-guarded conspiracy in human history, or the person who put it there has since left the company. Or, equally conceivably, half the people who worked on Ghoulies have chronic memory rot from years of reality TV, junkfood and alcopops.
Q: Dear Rare,
I’m a big fan of your company and still support it no matter how it has changed lately as a whole. I know it seems silly to request a game (in this case a port), but I do hope I can get some sort of message that tells me if it’s even possible to see this game come back.
“Battletoads, also known as Super Battletoads is a 1994 arcade game developed by Rare and published by Electronic Arts.”
I was thinking that since your partnership with Microsoft (which was quite a long time ago now that I think about it), it may be possible for this game to see the light of day in some way, shape, or form. Whether it be XBLA or Game Room, I (and many others alike) just want to be able to play this game once more… I know with how many e-mails you get you may not even see this message, but I just hope I can get some sort of answer of whether I should just give up on this or maybe even seek out an arcade cab at this point?
Vinny Di Lallo
A: That might be your best option, Lalloskates. It’s possible that arcade Battletoads could resurface, but first we’d have to embark upon another XBLA project, then decide it should be a port of a previous release rather than something new, then whittle the contenders down to the Battletoads series, then pick out the arcade version in particular. Then see if we could untangle whatever rights issues may be knotted around it. Then go looking for the original code and assets, because the availability of that stuff plays a major part in these decisions, and who can say what’s left of Super Battletoads nowadays?
On the bright side, it’s probably more feasible than Grabbed by the Ghoulies DLC. Don’t tell Gregg I said that.