Primal Rage II is the sequel to Atari’s pre-historic/dinosaur fighting game Primal Rage. The original game hit arcades in 1994, but this sequel was never officially released. The below pictures are from a rare prototype of the game and cabinet.
Primal Rage II feels drastically different from its predecessor. For starters, you’re no longer fighting as dinosaurs. Instead, you battle it out as… cavemen? Primordial humans who were essentially food to the fighters of the first game are now the combatants of the second. But you can “Primal Rage” into the dinosaurs and giant gorillas of the first game by using a meter. It’s a different type of gameplay style that works, but is not quite the same feel as the first game.
The clay-like animation is still present, as well as the general sense of violence, but everything feels a bit more tame.
Perhaps it was due to being a prototype and not a complete game, but Primal Rage II wasn’t really that fun. Fortunately the original Primal Rage was literally right next to this cabinet, so I could get this stale taste out of my mouth quickly.
*Played at Galloping Ghost arcade in Brookfield, IL – 2019
