An old Atari game called Action 52 has such a sordid and amusing backstory to it that I won’t even delve into it here. There’s too much to be said about this $200 game not worth the plastic it was shipped in.
What I’d rather talk about is its spiritual sequel Cheetahmen II, a massive paradox of computing power. It was manufactured, but never shipped. It was coded, but never tested. Everything about it sucks, but the music is unbelievably good. You can tell all the budget went into one really good song. The digital media surrounding it is in shambles and the music that accompanies the later levels (unreachable except by ROM hack) is a braindead remix of the original. Since that music is inaccessible by normal means, this game has a perfect 10 for music! It has gained quite a following in Japan (Warning! Extra creepy YouTube!), bringing to mind the old T-shirt slogan I’M A STAR IN JAPAN.
If the Japanese can’t turn you on to this game, you have no soul. Download it here. Don’t worry, it’s guilt-free; the company went under 15 years ago. Wonder why.