New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Xenosaga [PS2 – Beta]

yota
16-04-2008
2 Comments

Xenosaga is a rpg trilogy for the Ps2 that was developed by Monolith Software. Originally, however, it was meant to be a saga of six episodes, but after the poor sales of Xenosaga II Namco decided to close the series in 2006 with the third installment. In the trailer of the first Xenosaga, embedded below, we can see that some cutscenes were slightly changed in the final version or removed and later inserted in the sequel. Also, the game was supposed to be released on two dvds, but at the end the producers opted for a dual-layer.

Xenosaga II was instead heavily cut after the original script, created by the scenario writer Soraya and the director Tetsuya Takahashi,was completely rewritten. In 2005, Soraya listed in her website what got removed:

  • Ziggy’s past history (as seen in The Pied Piper)
  • U.R.T.V.’s past history (as seen in the Episode II)
  • Shion’s past history with Febronia
  • Jr’s rapid growing
  • Both juvenile and grown-up Jr. switching available in the battle
  • The ghost of the old Miltia
  • The death of Sakura
  • Brief reunion with grown-up Citrine
  • Gaignun vs Zohar emulators
  • Jr.’s transformation/overdrive
  • Jr. & Albedo vs U-DO vs KOS-MOS 3rd armament
  • Shion’s spiritual seeking/witnessing/awakening
  • The truth about KOS-MOS
  • Conversation between chaos and the red cloak man
  • Conversation between Nephilim and the boy with the blocks
  • An antimatter annihilation of Albedo

Almost all the story sequences were later restored in Episode III and in Xenosaga I+II for DS.

Two other games related to Xenosaga, Xenosaga: Frontier and Xenosaga: Exceed, of which we know nothing, were also cancelled.

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Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Code: Inferno [PS2 – Cancelled]

Celine
16-04-2008
1 Comment

CODE:Inferno is a cancelled action RPG that was in development for the Playstation 2. In mid 2001 From Software announced its software lineup for all the major consoles of the time. Among the titles cited there were some that never seen a commercial release like Gold Star Mountain and Gaia Blade.

Another game that would be cancelled soon was CODE:Inferno for PS2, an action-RPG where players assume the role of a masked warrior named White Demon, who wields a giant cross called the Holy Key as his weapon. Little else is known about this mysterious project but you can see some artworks that appeared back then in a japanese magazine.

Thanks to Susumu for the translation of a Famitsu article.

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Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

The Getaway [PS2 – Beta & Concept]

U64 Staff & Contributors
16-04-2008
12 Comments

The game originally began life on the 32-bit PlayStation, off the back of Porsche Challenge. After having made an acclaimed circuit driving game, Team SOHO – like many other developers at the time – felt that a free roaming vehicle game was an interesting concept worth exploring. The title was prototyped and playable missions were made, but it then evolved into a Playstation 2 (PS2) project. However the original code was kept and there was talk of including it on the finished game, which would ultimately not happen. Apart from several screenshots printed in the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, the original version would never see release.

The hype surrounding the project began in earnest just before E3 2000, when a series of screenshots were published online. They revealed an amazing level of detail, clearly showing the very identifiable streets near Team SOHO’s studio. Though it has been argued that these shots were actually mock-up pre-renders, it is possible that they were taken from actual PS2-spec hardware running in real time. However, it is clear that these early screen shots include vehicle and character models which are more detailed than those in the final game, as well as higher-resolution textures and a much greater level of anti-aliasing than may be possible on PS2 hardware. [Info from Wikipedia] You can see these early PS2 screens in the gallery below.

As David has made us to notice: “The Getaway had alot more cars in the beta version, but some of the companys didn’t want part in the game, (probably because of the controversy over killing and GTA styled games) and were removed from the final version.”

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Playstation 2 (PS2), Sony

Breaker [PS2 – Cancelled]

U64 Staff & Contributors
16-04-2008
3 Comments

Breaker is a cancelled online coop shooter that was in development by Tecmo for Playstation 2. Players would cooperate in a 4-man squad vs hordes of toothsome xenomorphs, with an arcade based weaponary set. The only footage released for the game was probably from a target render and Breaker soon vanished from Tecmo’s release list, without any official reasons. We can speculate that PS2’s online network was not popular enough to justify the investment in this kid of game.

[Thanks to David Costa Mano and Ross Sillifan for the contribution!]

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GameCube, Nintendo

The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures [GC – Beta]

U64 Staff & Contributors
16-04-2008
1 Comment

zelda4salogo.jpg

At E3 2003, Nintendo showcased two Zelda games that would make use of the Game Boy Advance connectivity, Four Swords and Tetra’s Trackers. In December of the same year, it was announced that the two games would be sold together on a single disc, Four Swords +, along with a third game, Shadow Battle. Four Swords Adventures was released in Japan with Hyrule Adventure, Shadow Battle, and Navi’s Trackers as three individual games bundled together.

In Navi’s Tracker (formerly planned as Tetra’s Trackers) multiple players use a combination of the television screen and Game Boy Advances to search for members of Tetra’s pirate gang in an attempt to gain as many stamps as possible within a given time limit. Action takes place on a Game Boy Advance used by each player, while the television screen shows a basic map and Tetra narrating the action. Unlike most other Zelda games, players can enter their name and choose their gender; however, they play as one of the Links regardless. A single-player mode is also available, which allows players to either collect alone or compete against Tingle, the aspiring fairy found in other titles in the series such as Majora’s Mask and The Wind Waker.

It was later announced on June 7, 2004 that Hyrule Adventures and Navi’s Trackers would be sold as two separate titles in the United States, while the retail status of Shadow Battle was still unknown. This decision was later changed – Hyrule Adventure and Shadow Battle would be bundled, while Navi’s Trackers would not be released in the United States. [Info from Wikipedia]

In the beta version of “Four Swords Adventures” it appears that Nintendo had planned on using the Link sprite from “Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past”, but later changed it to the new “Toon Link” character design, as seen in the GBA version of Four Swords. The sprite was less detailed in the early build and looked like it was from an SNES game, but the final version’s Link sprite was improved.

Gabrielwoj have found an unused sprite of the Old Styled from the SNES game. Let’s see it:

Located at: GC4Sword/result.arc -> timg/link_dot_01_test.bti

Thanks to Jay for the english corrections!

Also thanks to Gabrielwoj for the unused sprite!

You can find more info about Zelda: Four Swords Adventures in the Zelda Wiki!

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