Time Diver: Eon Man

Title screen of Time Diver: Eon Man
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Taito Corporation Nitra Corporation
Platform(s)	NES
Release	NA Canceled* (scheduled for 1993) AS 1994 (unofficial)
Genre(s)	Action game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Time Diver: Eon Man is a Nintendo Entertainment System video game developed by A.I. for Taito. Despite being completed in 1993, it was never commercially released. The game is completely finished, receiving a four-page strategy guide and review in issue 45 (February 1993) of Nintendo Power. Despite this, the game eventually disappeared from the Pak Watch section and was subsequently unproduced. Time Diver: Eon Man started life as a sequel to Wrath of the Black Manta, according to an interview the Game Developer Research Institute conducted with the game's planner.

Story

Earth, 60 years into the future. The world is virtually crime free thanks to the Clear System invented by Kane Nelson, scientist extraordinaire. That is, until a secret organization called Romedrux decides to challenge the system by unleashing a plague of crime. In order for them to succeed, they'll need to prevent the Clear System from ever being invented, and that means eliminating Kane or his ancestors. Los Angeles, 1993. Dan Nelson thought he was an ordinary student living in LA until the day he found himself under attack by Romedrux warriors. During the attack, Dan learns about his future son, Kane, and vows to protect his family past, present, and future. It's a race through time in this new sci-fi thriller from Taito!^[1]

Levels

Time Diver: Eon Man had five levels set at various points in time. These include the opening level Peaceful 1993, the Wild West, 1882, Devastated 2052, Devastated 1993, and a Peaceful Utopia version of 2052. An unusual feature (for the time) was that, with the exception of the first level, the stage order is randomized; allowing for some variation when playing through the game multiple times.

Power Ups

Level 1: Peaceful 1993

Weapons
Laser: Default weapon you start the game with, useful against bosses
Digger: Allows you to dig through the ground in some areas and kills enemies that touch you
Earthquake: Kills all enemies on screen except bosses
Stop Watch: Temporarily stops time for enemies
Flash: Kill all of the enemies on screen except for the bosses, which take damage

Items
HP Restore: Dropped by some defeated enemies, restores health points
Weapon Restore: Dropped by some defeated enemies, restores weapons points
1 Up: Dropped by some defeated enemies, gives player an extra life

Versions

There are three known versions of this game. The first two are identical except that the title screen is slightly different. The third was silently released into the Asian game market as Time Diver Avenger by a company known as Nitra. The only differences were the title screen, instances of "Eon Man" altered to "Avenger", the copyright listed as 1994 and the Taito logo changed to Nitra.^[2] It is unknown if Nitra was another company that bought the rights, a subdivision of Taito developers, or simply a group of hackers who got a hold of a prototype copy of the game.

Reproduction
In 2010, a reproduction of the prototype was made available on NintendoAge.com.^[3] Only 250 copies were produced.

References