Released is The Sacred Pools FMV Game PS1 ISO from Sega’s canceled “Erotic Thriller” series

After being postponed for 25 years, the FMV game The Sacred Pools has finally been released. This “erotic thriller,” released by SegaSoft, was in development during the conclusion of the FMV fad. On the PS1, Saturn, Windows, and Mac platforms, it was scheduled for release in 1997. However, the game was covertly abandoned following a dismal reception at E3 1996 and feedback from testers.

The Sacred Pools ISO file for the unreleased SegaSoft FMV game is now available.

Along with the Saturn, Windows 95, and Saturn Dev Station versions, Gaming Alexandria also made The Sacred Pools PS1 ISOs available for download. These can be copied on discs and used with any emulator or real hardware.

Unexpectedly, The Sacred Pools has been available since 2004 in a very early edition. The game’s original name was Rebellion when this prototype was created. But because there was so little information available about The Sacred Pools, no one until today had made the connection.

An associate producer on the game was the source of the release. He received these builds on CDs when SegaSoft was winding down. Amazingly, the discs continued to function flawlessly and no data was lost more than 20 years later.

The game is a sci-fi adventure set in an enigmatic space station. Unfortunately, it’s a little slow, just like many of its FMV rivals. Scene changes are excruciatingly slow, and the gameplay is complicated.

Although nudity was allegedly included in the game, there isn’t much erotic content in this thriller. The space station is filled with scantily dressed ladies, which would have been startling in the late 1990s. It’s less intense than primetime TV these days.

The Sacred Pools had a high production value for its time despite its glaring shortcomings. Its $2–3 million budget was substantial at the time, and for a 90s FMV game, the scenery, costumes, and photography are all of the highest caliber. We appreciate the opportunity to play this time capsule that transports us to a simpler time.