I’d climb a mountain for a Llama!

In 1994 Universal Pictures attempted to revive the forlorn 'Shadow' superhero by virtue of a silver screen adaptation, with Alec Baldwin playing the eponymous leading role. Driving towards redemption for his misguided transition to the dark side, he switches allegiances, turning vigilante to clean up underworld pondlife from the New York streets. In doing so, Lamont Cranston (one of The Shadow's 'true' identities) is brought to the attention of Shiwan Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan, who makes it his mission to destroy The Shadow having rejected his offer to join forces as agents of evil on the road to world domination.

Ocean Software snapped up the gaming conversion rights with a view to developing a single-player, scrolling beat 'em up title in the guise of Streets of Rage, destined for the Atari Jaguar CD, SEGA Genesis, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Progress languished in light of the movie's miserable box office figures, ultimately resulting in its untimely demise. Whilst never officially published, a leaked prototype of the finished SNES incarnation has been in circulation since 1995. Juxtaposed with the largely shunned movie, I assess its relative merits, pondering The Shadow's potential legacy in the playable arena.