Marvelous Entertainment

Kaio: King of Pirates [3DS – Cancelled]

It is not the first, but one of the more memorable failures in Keiji Inafune’s growing history of cancellations and shortcomings: “Kaio: King of Pirates” was announced for the 3DS in 2011, and was planned to not only be a launch title for Nintendo’s wildly popular handheld, but also to spawn an own multimedia franchise with anime, manga and toys. The project was the first game that Comcept, Keiji Inafune’s new studio, should develop after he left Capcom. Looking for an alternative way to achieve his visions and free himself from restrictions, he decided to found Comcept and Intercept, two new game development companies to work on his own ideas and titles.

Kaio: King of Pirates was the first game to be developed by Comcept and Intercept. Marvelous had acquired the rights to fund and thus publish the game. It was planned as the first part in a trilogy of games that would recount the infamous Romance of the Three Kingdoms tale, similar to other Japanese games like Dynasty Warriors. In this case, the scenario was that of pirates, ships and sea monsters, albeit with the twist of anthropomorphic characters. The main character Sangokushi is a penguin, and in the trailer one can spot numerous other animals such as lions, snakes, parrots, cats and even dragons. There is not much else to be found on the internet: the first and only trailer with English subtitles from 2011 is everything that is left of Kaio: King of Pirates.

Gameplay was planned to be quite like the Dynasty Warriors series, with the ability to pick up and play for longer sessions without problems. This is also one of the reasons why Keiji Inafune chose the 3DS as main platform, as opposed to mobile phones. The game was announced almost around the same time that the 3DS was unveiled, and was planned for release in 2012. Later, it was delayed to 2014, before being cancelled by Marvelous in the beginning of 2015. The company stated it had lost around 3.8 million dollars (or 461 million yen) in the 4-year-period of Kaio’s development.

Keiji Inafune has since turned to crowdfunding for his newer projects, but it seems the former Mega Man-talent cannot reach the glory of his past projects: Mighty No. 9, despite being a successful Kickstarter campaign, has received rather mixed and average reviews after release in 2016. Other Comcept games are Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z from 2014 for PS3, X360 and PC, as well as the Microsoft Studios-published ReCore, which also released in 2016 for PC and Xbox One. Let’s hope Inafune’s bad luck will end soon, because his next project Red Ash: The Indelible Legend is described as the spiritual successor to the Mega Man Legends titles. Despite causing some controversies in its Kickstarter campaign, which ran when Mighty No. 9 was still in development, the game is planned for a 2017 release on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

Article by kazuhira64

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Dark Empire [GBA – Cancelled]

Dark Empire is an unreleased RPG that was in development by Marvelous Entertainment for the GameBoy Advance. This project was previusly unknown, untill an auction for its prototype was posted by Sample_Seller on Ebay in June 2009. As we can read from the item description:

DARK EMPIRE for the Gameboy Advance !!

RARE ORIGINAL SAMPLE/PROMO VERSION !!

FIRST ONE EVER FOUND !!

Will run on any US Gameboy Adance system. Original promo/sample game was never released or completed, game is playable but only around 30% complete. Very good graphics for Gameboy Advance, you have a world map, a castle you can go to and a village. Ingame text is Japanese, developer most probably Marvelous Entertainment.

It’s fun to notice how the developers used some real photos (as one of Mel Gibson from the Braveheart film) as placeholders for the characters avatars in the game, before the final ones were finished. The gameplay would have probably been like a traditional RPG / SRPG, and looking at one of the photos added in the auction it seems that there were some 3D scenes too (maybe for the combats?).

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Bakumono Characters Yasai De Pon! [DS – Unreleased in Japan]

Update: this game was cancelled in Japan, but released in USA as Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming!

Bakumono Characters Yasai De Pon! is a cancelled puzzle game that was developed by Marvelous for the DS. It featured many characters and locations of Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, known in Japan as Kimi to Sodatsu Shima.

Nintendo Everything made a post with some info about BC in 2009:

  • Puzzle game
  • Move vegetable panels on touch screen
  • Trying to get Koro-pok-guru to collect the vegetables for points and more time
  • Vegetable panels grow over time
  • Creatures are only able to move between adjacent ripe panels
  • Golden vegetables can be cleared regardless of the ripeness
  • 12 characters from Bokujou Monogatari Kimi to Sodatsu Shima are in the game
  • More points for collecting vegetables that the characters like
  • Wireless/download play
  • No release date
  • 3,990 yen

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Reel Fishing: Life & Nature [DS – Cancelled]

Reel Fishing: Life & Nature is a cancelled fishing simulation that was developed by Marvelous for the DS. Controls aside, the game was probably going to be identical to the released PSP version. Here is the official fact sheet of RF:

Reel Fishing: Life and Nature is a return to nature fishing! Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or have yet to cast your first line, Reel Fishing: Life and Nature will make it possible to experience fishing as it was meant to be…as it should be…in mother nature. Learn basic and advance fishing techniques from the Fishing Master. Experience a magnificent 3-Dimensional fishing adventure with beautiful environments, life-like fish and soothing environmental sounds!

  • A wide range of fishing locales from wide-open lakes to dense, lush green forest!
  • Fish in real time with varying weather conditions and daylight patterns.
  • 25 fresh water fish in detailed 3D!
  • Over 100 different pieces of tackle!
  • A one-of-a-kind fishing simulation, unparalleled to any other!
  • Multi-player Ad Hoc Mode with customizable settings!

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