Nintendo

Boo! [SNES/MD – Cancelled]

Boo! is a cancelled platform game that was in development by Micropose for the Super Nintendo, Genesis / Mega Drive and Amiga in 1994. As we can read on the website of Boo!’s producer Stuart Whyte:

Designed by Richard Lemarchand, Boo! was a side on platformer inspired by Sonic and Mario, we wanted to create a universe with the central character being a cool ghost called Boo who’s default method of attack was to shout “Boo!” at an enemy to scare him away. Working with Keith Scoble (from Cosgrove Hall and creator of Jamie and the Magic Torch and Dangermouse) we built a great game… but unfortunately, due to rocky financial times at Microprose, we never had the money to release – so the game has been lost in time

You can find more info and screens in this article by SNES Central!

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GB Rally 2 Advance [GBA – Cancelled]

GB Rally 2 Advance is a cancelled racing game that was in development by Raylight Studios for the GameBoy Advance. Only an early demo without sound was created, thanks to their Blue Roses Engine for GBA. It’s curious that despite the 2 in the title, there wasn’t actually a GB Rally 1 available commercially because it went unreleased on the GameBoy Color. Same fate shared by the sequel.

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Xenoblade [Wii – Beta]

Xenoblade, originally known as Monado: The beginning of the world, is a jrpg developed by Monolith and released for Wii in 2010 after four years of work.  In the first beta trailer and in the gallery below, we can see an early version of the battle HUD. Also, in the final version treasure chests are different looking and they can obtained only by defeating enemies, while in the beta they could be found in the overworld too.

However, the most interesting thing about this beta is a large unused map, originally located between Makna Forest and Eruyt Sea, that can be briefly seen in one of the final build cutscenes and which it was removed from the final game, even if it is still possibile to explore it by modifying some internal files. It is largely incomplete and deserted, but it was one of the first areas shown in screenshots, so it must have been created at the beginning of the development. For more informations check the video below and a gamefaqs topic.

Thanks to KEK8 for the contribution!

Also, some hackers found a few debug items and an explorable test-map with a big Xenoblade sword (similar to the one in title screen). Check this topic on GBATemp for more info!

In a 2012 interview with Siliconera, director Tetsuya Takeshi admitted that he tried a turn-based system before sticking with real-time battles:

“I did experiment with a turn-based system that included the ability to see the future, but it didn’t go very well.”

The story seems to have changed quite a few times also.

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Firearm [SNES – Cancelled]

Firearm is a cancelled 2d action game developed by Malibu Interactive which  was planned to be released for Snes and Genesis. Nothing much is known about it, apart that it was based on the eponymous comic. In 2010 what it looks to be a test build of Firearm was uploaded on the internet. This version includes only two stages and it is barely playable. It seems that the game was dropped very early.

Scans by snescentral.com.

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Gauntlet [DS – Cancelled]

Gauntlet DS is the cancelled chapter of the popular hack and slash series, that was in development at Backbone Entertainment and it would have been published by Eidos Interactive / Midway Games. The game should have been released in October 2008, but after its initial announcement, the project vanished from their release list. There’s not any official statement, but it’s possible that Gauntlet DS was canned for economic reasons.

The bankruptcy of Midway Games, owners of the Gauntlet license, could be one of the reasons behind the game’s death. The game would have had local wireless and online four-player mode, 40 maps, and voice chat capabilities. We really hope that in the future a playable version of this game could be leaked and preserved, it looked like an awesome coop-game!

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