GameCube

I-Ninja 2 [Cancelled – PS2, XBOX, GameCube]

The original I-Ninja is an underrated action game that was developed by Argonaut Games and released for the Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube at the end of 2003. The works on the  sequel were started after a few months, but sadly the studio had some economic problems and they had to closed down in October 2004. I-Ninja 2 was never officially announced: only some concept arts remain as a memento of the project.

From the looks of these arts, it seems that the sequel would have been set in the same setting as the original I-Ninja, with a scenario that mixed ancient Japan and futuristc robots, with even more crazier and hardest levels to play in.

Thanks a lot to Tanguy for the contribution!

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Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance [PS2/XBOX/GC – Beta]

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, originally known as Mortal Kombat 5: Vengeance, is a fighting game developed and produced by Midway. The game was released for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube in 2002. Deadly Alliance was the first all-new Mortal Kombat fighting game produced exclusively for home consoles, with no preceding arcade release. [Info from Wikipedia]

At the Mortal Kombat Secrets website we can read many interesting info about the development of the game and its beta differences. Various characters were created for Mortal Kombat 5, but some of them were never used in the final game, as Kai, Dairou, Tiamat, Hachiman, Baphomet, The Evil Masters and Siobhan.

Also, some playable characters in Deadly Alliance went through a lot of changes before their final design, as Shang Tsung, Quan Chi (with a living weapon that never made it in to the game), Scorpion, Li Mei, Mavado and Frost. Early screens of the game are probably just target renders, as the graphic is nothing like the one in the final game. A Water Temple arena was  also planned, but removed from the final version.

You can check Mortal Kombat Secrets for more info!

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Sidhe [PS2/XBOX/GC – Cancelled]

Sidhe is a cancelled Real Time Strategy game that was in development at Kalisto Entertainment from 1998 to 2001.  Initially it was meant to be released only for the Playstation 2, but while the development was still in progress  it seems that they decided to port the game on the “newly released” Xbox and GameCube too. Sidhe took place in a middle east athmosphere, in which the player was a god fighting other gods incarnating into heroes.

A video of the game was shown at ECTS 2001, but it’s currently unavailable: if you still have a copy of this trailer, please let us know!  In the end Sidhe was never finished, maybe because Kalisto did not find a publisher interested in the project.

Thanks a lot to Pierre Mony for the help in preserving some of the artworks that he created for the project and to Gael for the screens with his engine work!

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Rocket Power: Zero Gravity Zone [PS2/GC/XBOX – Cancelled]

Rocket Power: Zero Gravity Zone is a cancelled “skateboard game” that was in development at Visionscape Interactive in 2002 / 2003 for the Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube. It was the “spiritual successor” to Rocket Power: Beach Bandit, a game based on an american cartoon with the same name. In september 2009, Borman from Superior Version was able to win an auction for an early alpha version of the Zero Gravity Zone: you can find more screenshots and info in here!

Thanks to Borman for the contribution!

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Don’t Call Me Max [GC – Cancelled]

In 2002 Prolific Publishing were working on a new platform / action game for the GameCube, known as “Don’t Call Me Max”. The project was going to be  originally published by TDK and later by Destination Software, but in the end it was never released for some reasons. As we can read from the original press release the story was a real masterpiece:

In Don’t Call Me Max! the player takes control of a kangaroo named Max, who has run away from home looking for the circus that his father once traveled with. Max arrives at the Great Circus, only to find that it is a ramshackle, a shadow of its former glory. The circus has been overtaken by the curse of the evil Ringmaster. At the circus Max stumbles into an abandoned tent and finds himself surround by magician’s props. The ghost of the magician appears and gives Max his quest to travel to the magic realms and release the circus clans from the evil Ringmaster’s curse. Max’s only companion is the spirit of his father who resides in the magic staff he carries over his shoulder. Together they must travel through a variety of unique circus worlds, using magic and skill to survive the perils set forth by the Ringmaster. Can Max free the innocent Circus clans from the spell of the Ringmaster, and change the fate of the Great Circus?

Thanks to Hey Hey for the contribution!

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