The Warriors, a PS2-era video game adaption of the 1979 film of the same name, was never Rockstar Games’ biggest hit, but it was well-reviewed at the time. And according to a source, a Game Boy Advance port of this cult classic Rockstar game was nearly finished before being canceled.
Released in October 2005, The Warriors was a faithful adaption of the original ‘70s film about a small gang having to make their way across a treacherous New York City and back to their Coney Island home after being framed for murdering a popular criminal leader. It featured gritty action set in a dirty and dangerous NYC. The game captured these vibes perfectly, even bringing back some original actors to voice their characters. Sadly, the Xbox 360 was released a few weeks later and overshadowed the already niche game from Rockstar. But over the last 20 years, the game has developed a cult following and is seen by many as one of Rockstar’s best creations. And according to a new report, we almost got a GBA port of this underappreciated brawler.
Recently, Time Extension reported that while talking to a former Rockstar Games developer, they learned about the existence of a Warriors GBA port, something that was previously undocumented. The Warriors did receive a PSP port, but sources told the outlet that Rockstar was originally planning to port the game to Nintendo’s popular handheld device using the same engine the company used for its well-received Max Payne GBA port.
“We were going for four-player co-op using the link cable and stuff. We finished the game. It was actually fucking fun to play,” one source reportedly told Time Extension. “But there it sits never to be released because that’s when the PSP was gaining momentum and we weren’t really seeing good returns on Nintendo. Nintendo at the time didn’t like promoting M-rated games. We were comfortable in Sony land, so we went with The Warriors direct port on PSP.”
According to the outlet, someone who worked on the port actually still has a copy of the unreleased GBA version of The Warriors. Sadly, it is unlikely to ever be released due to legal issues and Take-Two’s lawyers. Still, it’s wild to know that in a different timeline, kids could have been beating up NYC gangs on their GBA between rounds of Super Mario.
In other news, hey Rockstar Games, you should do a basic remaster and port of The Warriors and bring it to more platforms. Heck, bring it to the Nintendo Switch and finally give the world a portable Nintendo console version of this classic brawler.
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