Mega Man 4 was released in December 1991 in Japan and in January 1992 in America. Some days ago, Protodude has found an old scan with Electronic Gaming Monthly’s coverage of CES 1991, in which we can see a beta version of Mega Man 4 with a removed Boss (Sphinx midboss?), some different details in the levels and an early Stage Select! You can read more in the original post.
Thanks a lot to Protodude for the contribution!
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Bayonetta is an action game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, developed by Platinum Games in cooperation with Sega, who will publish the title. In April 2009, the official Platinum Games Youtube Channel released an interesting video in which we can see an early prototype version of the game, a build created in about a month of work.
Also, at Platinum Games’ blog we can find various concept arts with early designs of Bayonett’as characters and weapons. In Japanese TV special on the game we can seen even more concept arts, with a blondie and readhead protagonist. At 1UP we can read an interview with Kamiya, in which the talks about the design of the game:
“I had Mari Shimazaki, one of the designers, draw her for me,” the designer said. “She gave me a woman in a full-body black suit with her hair running through her hands. I thought that having black hair and a black outfit would make it hard for the player to see what the character was doing. But I loved that long hair; I could see it flowing in the air as she fought and I wanted to depict that. So we went through lots of minor changes; at one point she had red hair. But at the end of it, we went back to a style that had her hair around her arms, making her look really witch-like — and from there we said ‘Well, why don’t we just have her hair cover her all the way?’ That was how the current Bayonetta was born.”
More beta videos were upload to the Sega Youtube Channel. As we can read at The Silent Chief:
A lot of what’s seen in the videos never made it’s way into the final game, including the ability to ride Bayonetta’s motorcycle throughout a level and use it as a weapon. You’ll also notice that Bayonetta is a bit younger in the prototype footage.
Also, Mystie noticed that:
The models of Bayonetta and the Affinities that were used in the beta/prototype are left within the files in the final release.
In the TGS 2008 trailer, the crumbling clock tower scene takes place in modern times rather than old times, and Bayonetta has a slightly different model. Her eyes are pure blue instead of blueish-gray, the Umbran Watch looks slightly different, and the chains (as well as the belt buckles on her sleeve flaps) are silver instead of gold.
Thanks to Celine & Mystie for the contribution!
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Thanks to the Nights Into Dreams website we are able to see an early video of the game, when the beta had different graphic details and different level layout in Spring Valley. A more recent beta was shown at E3 1996 with some different sound effects and item placement. In january 2009 the E3 beta version (that is the same build of the Japanese NiGHTS Special Sample disc) was somehow leaked online and you can donwload it from the X-Cult mirror! Thanks to MalanTp that has created some videos to compare the beta to the final game, we are able to check all those differences. You can download some hi-quality videos from the beta disc from Segagaga Domain.
Also, OKeijiDragon found some more beta videos from an episode of Sega Video Magazine and it features the initial unveiling of NiGHTS at the Japanese Tokyo Prince Hotel way back in March 26, 1996; followed by an old, rare interview with Yuji Naka, Naoto Oshima, and Takashi Iizuka:
Included in the segment are footage of the game’s early stages of development, including a different stage layout for Spring Valley. Many of the sound effects heard are also very different, and even the music sounds unrefined! Such elements are highlighted in the video though annotations. There has been no translation for the interview, yet.
Thanks to Yakumo for the contribution!
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Elf Saga was a side scroller action game that was in development at Kaiko for the original Playstation. It seems that the project started as an Amiga title, but it was later ported to the PSX. Elf Saga was cancelled by its publisher (Software 2000) after almost 2 years of work.
Thanks to Celine, HDaudioCoYotE and Roberth Martinez for the contribution!
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Foo was an action / stealth game that was in development in 2002 by Idol FX and was going to be published by Singularity Software . As we can read in the original press release:
Set in ancient China, Foo will challenge players to enter palaces and temples in the dead of night, loot them, and escape before the sun rises. Before each game, players will be able to choose a selection of traps to take in with them for hindering the progress of rivals, although every trap component carried will make movement slower and mean less room for hauling treasure. There will be five different characters in the game including a dragon, a tiger, an ape, a panda, and a rat–each with its own unique set of skills and characteristics. The game will also boast a random level generator, ensuring that no two games ever have to be the same.
The game was never finished and it vanished with its developer team.
Thanks to Lord Deathsaur for the contribution!
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