Iznogoud
Platform: PlayStation
Publisher: Microids

The Basics

Iznogoud, from Microids, planned to combine all the elements of an action game with traps to avoid, various secrets to find, and a puzzle game with riddles to solve. Iznogoud had a cartoon look and would have featured a wide cast of characters you'd meet on your quest. A huge single-player world would have been furnished for you to thoroughly explore.

WHAT HAPPENED?
The game Iznogoud quietly slipped out of the light shining on US shores but came to fruition in Europe. It's probably for the best that it was never released in the US.

Jewels of the Oracle
Platform: PlayStation, Saturn
Publisher: Sunsoft

The Basics

Jewel of the Oracle did arrive on the PC, but never found its way to the PlayStation. The story: Archaeologists unearthed an ancient region where people were trained to use the now-lost skills of logic, reason, and, most importantly, magic. Contributor Eric San Juan wrote of the PC version, "Jewel of the Oracle was a Myst-inspired puzzle game that made it to the PC but didn't complete the leap to the Saturn. The theme behind the game, according to the packaging, was 'Only one legacy remains of the civilization known throughout the Fertile Crescent before the Sumarians. People of extraordinary intellect, their pursuits were of the mind instead of conquering and fighting. They built a secret complex to train and practice their skills of logic and reason. Using technologies and ancient magic long since forgotten, they constructed devices of incredible ingenuity. Those who entered the domain of the Oracle and resolved all the tasks set before them went on to greatness. Those who failed... were lost forever. This structure, lost to the archeological record, has been sought for millennia but never found... until now.'

What this means, in plain English, is that you are going to solve puzzles. A lot of puzzles. Rather than follow the 'mysterious place with a mysterious past' formula that Myst popularized, Jewel OTO used its backdrop as little more than an elaborate excuse to throw puzzle after puzzle after puzzle at you, all of the sliding-tiles/matching items/moving blocks variety. Think of those wooden-block-and-pegs puzzles you find on the table at Denny's or the brainteasers found in the back of the Sunday paper and you know exactly where this game is coming from. There is no plot to speak of, just wandering from stumper to stumper.

Like Myst, it boasted top notch graphics and snazzy-looking (for it's time) stationary screens that you moved to and from via mouse clicks. Unlike Myst, it featured smooth scrolling animation - which actually looked quite nice - when journeying from screen to screen rather than the slide show of the former game. Also like it's better known predecessor, Jewel attempted to add a sense of ambiance through spooky and mysterious sound effects. A nice effort was made in this department, but they were never on par with other puzzle games of the time."

In addition, this almost-existing single-player combination game would've have featured 3D-rendered graphics with a photorealistic quality, excellent sounds, and quite a few interactive puzzles.

WHAT HAPPENED?
Unknown.