The Super A'Can was a 4th Generation Taiwan-exclusive home video game console released by Funtech on October 25, 1995. Its lifespan was only 6 months and after being deemed a commercial failure, it was discontinued in April 1996. Nearly half of the planned titles for the system and two peripheral add-ons were cancelled due to the system's failure.
Excluding discontinued peripherals, its biggest developer was Funtech itself with 8 titles total including 2 released in 1995, and 3 released in 1996 (including one joint venture project with Panda), and 3 cancelled titles. Panda Entertainment was the next biggest developer with 3 titles total including 2 released in 1995, and 1 joint venture title with Funtech in 1996. The third major developer for the console was AV Artisan with 4 total games including 2 released in 1995 and 2 cancelled titles. The only other company to work on multiple titles was C&E, which released 1 title in 1995 as a joint venture with Quan Wei Technology but also had worked on an ultimately canceled title for a total of 2 games; interestingly, their canceled title, A Q Lian Huan Pao (阿Q連環炮), was the only one known to make it off the system as it was later ported to the Sega Genesis. Companies that released a solitary game during the Super A'Can's short lifespan were Horng Shen Information Co., Ltd and Kingformation Co., Ltd.. A number of companies had begun developing for the console only for to be cancelled when the console itself failed: These include Dynasty International Information Co., Fun Yours Entertainment, Jackbean Information Co, Stone General Computer, and Tai Ruan Technology.
Ultimately the console supported 1 action title, 1 board game, 1 fighter, 2 platformers, 2 puzzle games, 3 RPGs, and 2 sports games. Its canceled titles included 2 action titles, 1 action RPG, 1 typical RPG, 3 shoot 'em ups, 1 simulation game, 1 that is believed to have been a trivia/game show, and 2 whose genre is unknown.
Reception[]
The failure of the Super A'Can in the Taiwanese market is attributed to its initial costs at release being too high for consumers. Although it utilized the same Motorola 68000 microchip as both the Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and the Neo Geo, it released late as a 4th Generation console, leaving it to compete with 5th Gen consoles such as the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn—all of which were more powerful hardware and were capable of displaying 3D graphics, a commodity at the time.
It lost its parent company Funtech over $6 million USD. Funtech ultimately chose to destroy all of its remaining, unsold equipment meant to go into production & development for the system and sold off all remaining systems to the United States as scrap parts.
List of titles & add-ons[]
Released[]
This section will list games in order of their apparent release date, but will also list serial number as well, which likely indicates actual filing date.
- F008: African Adventures/Fēizhōu Tànxiǎn/Monopoly: Adventure in Africa (Puzzle Game by Panda Entertainment) — released 1995
- F006: C.U.G./Xī Yóujì/Journey to the Laugh (Platformer by Funtech) — released 1995
- F001: Formosa Duel/Fú Ěr Mó Shā Dà Duìjué (Puzzle Game by AV Artisan) — released 1995
- F002: Sango Fighter/Sānguózhì Wǔjiàng Zhēngbà (Fighter by Panda Entertainment) — released 1995
- F003: The Son of Evil/Xié'è Zhīzǐ (RPG by Funtech) — released 1995
- F004: Speedy Dragon/Yīnsù Fēilóng/Sonic Dragon (Platformer by AV Artisan) — released 1995
- F005: Super Taiwanese Baseball League/Chāojí Zhōnghuá Zhí Bàng Liánméng (Sports by Quan Wei Technology/C&E) — released 1995
- F011: Boom Zoo/Bào Bào Dòngwùyuán/Explosive Burst Zoo (Action by Funtech) — released 1996
- F009: Gambling Lord/Dǔ Bà (Mahjong Game by Panda Entertainment/Funtech) — released 1996
- F012: REBEL/Pàn Xīng/Rebel Star (RPG by Horng Shen Information Co., Ltd) — released 1996
- F007: [[Super Dragon Force|Chāojí Guāngmíng Zhàn Shǐ/Super Light Saga: Dragon Force (RPG by Kingformation Co., Ltd.) — released 1996
- F010: Magical Pool/Mó Bàng Zhuàngqiú (Sports by Funtech) — released 1996
Canceled[]
- Add-On: CD-ROM attachment
- Add-On: CPU/Graphics upgrade
- A Q Lian Huan Pao (阿Q連環炮) (Trivia/Game Show? by C&E) — Later released on the Sega Genesis
- Birdcage Yard (鳥籠院) (Action by Funtech)
- Cat Ball Defense Team (貓球防衛隊) (Shoot 'em up by AV Artisan)
- Demon Island (惡魔島) (Action by Jackbean Information Co)
- Dinosaur War (恐龍戰記) (Simulation Game by Funtech)
- Happy Zoo (快樂動物園) (Unknown genre by Stone General Computer)
- Hero Saga (英 雄戰記) (RPG by Dynasty International Information Co.)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (地心歷險) (Action RPG by Tai Ruan Technology)
- Lightning Mobile Unit (雷霆機動隊) (Shoot 'em up by Fun Yours Entertainment)
- Romance of Bōsōzoku (暴走族之戀) (Unknown single-player genre by Funtech)
- Woman Guerrillero (王八妹) (Shoot 'em up by AV Artisan)