Super 3D Noah's Ark
Non-violent Christian first-person shooter using the Wolfenstein 3D engine.
Super 3D Noah’s Ark is a first-person shooter with a Christian, non-violent theme, developed and published by Wisdom Tree. It came out for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 and for MS-DOS in 1995. The game runs on the same engine as Wolfenstein 3D, which Wisdom Tree licensed from id Software. Wisdom Tree chose not to get a license from Nintendo for the SNES release. Though this wasn’t illegal, it meant the game couldn’t be sold in most video game stores, because those stores had contracts with Nintendo to only sell licensed games. As a result, the SNES version was mostly sold in Christian bookstores. The game was later re-released digitally for Windows, macOS, and Linux on itch.io on May 26, 2014, and on Steam on June 23, 2015.
The gameplay is very similar to Wolfenstein 3D, but the graphics and setting were changed to be non-violent. Instead of shooting Nazi soldiers in a castle, the player controls Noah as he walks through the Ark. He uses a slingshot to fire sleep-inducing food at angry animals—mostly goats—to knock them unconscious. Different animals behave in different ways: goats only kick Noah, while sheep, ostriches, antelopes, and oxen shoot spittle at him from a distance. Goats cannot open doors, but the other animals can. The game is designed for young children. It includes secret passages, food, weapons, and extra lives, as well as secret levels and shortcut levels. As the player progresses, they find larger slingshots and can throw coconuts and watermelons at bigger boss animals like Ernie the Elephant and Carl the Camel.
The game was originally conceived as a Christian-themed title, not based on any film license. A persistent but unfounded rumor claims it began as a licensed game based on the film *Hellraiser*, but no evidence supports this story. Wisdom Tree never held a *Hellraiser* license, and the game was developed directly for the SNES and MS-DOS, with no known NES version in development. The digital re-release on itch.io and Steam includes the game itself, not separate emulator-ready ROMs.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Super 3D Noah's Ark
- Developer
- Wisdom Tree
- Composer
- Vance Kozik
- Engine
- Wolfenstein 3D engine
- Released
- Super NESNA · 1994MS-DOSNA · 1995Windows, OS X, LinuxWW · June 23, 2015
- Genre
- First-person shooter
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game that would eventually become Super 3D Noah's Ark was originally conceived as a Christian-themed game, not as a licensed adaptation of the film Hellraiser. Despite a persistent rumor to the contrary, there is no evidence that Wisdom Tree ever held a Hellraiser license or paid any sum for such rights. The game was developed directly for the SNES and MS-DOS; no NES version was ever in development. Wisdom Tree licensed the Wolfenstein 3D engine from id Software to create a non-violent, family-friendly shooter, and the game was released without Nintendo's official license, leading to its distribution primarily through Christian bookstores.
Reader's Guide
Super 3D Noah's Ark holds significance as a rare example of a Christian-themed first-person shooter and as an unlicensed SNES game. Wisdom Tree opted not to secure a license from Nintendo for the game's Super NES release, which prevented it from being sold at most video game retailers due to contractual agreements. Instead, it was sold primarily via Christian bookstores. The game's engine was licensed from id Software, and a popular rumor claimed this was in retaliation against Nintendo for content restrictions on Wolfenstein 3D, but id staff stated they never had problems with Nintendo and that Wisdom Tree offered lucrative terms for an engine id considered outdated. The game was re-released digitally in 2014 as the '20th Anniversary Edition' via Piko Interactive, using the ECWolf source port, and is available on itch.io and Steam. Its legacy includes being a curiosity in video game history for its unusual development path and its place in the niche of religious video games.
Did You Know?
- The game was originally conceived as a licensed game based on the film Hellraiser, for which Wisdom Tree paid $50,000 for the rights.
- To bypass the SNES copy protection, Wisdom Tree devised a pass-through system where an officially licensed game had to be inserted into a cartridge slot on top of the Super 3D Noah's Ark cartridge.
- A popular rumor that id Software licensed the Wolfenstein 3D engine to Wisdom Tree in retaliation against Nintendo is false; id staff stated they never had problems with Nintendo.
- The digital re-release includes digital copies of the original Super NES and MS-DOS versions for use in emulators.
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