Skies of Arcadia, released in Japan as Eternal Arcadia, is a RPG developed by Overworks for the Dreamcast and published by Sega in 2000. Skies of Arcadia Legends, a port with some added content, was released for the GameCube in 2002. Legends was also in development for the PlayStation 2; however, it was cancelled shortly before the GameCube release. The game’s story focuses around Vyse, a young pirate in a Jules Verne-inspired fantasy world, and his friends as they attempt to stop the Valuan Empire from reviving ancient weapons with the potential to destroy the world. [Info from Wikipedia]
In these images we can see a series of early concept arts for the characters, with different design from their final versions and a more “serious” look. In the screenshots from the beta build, there are some places that look weird (as the screen in the jungle) and some scenes (as Vyse on the japanese roof) that were never used in the released game. Can you find more differences?
Grandia 2 was originally released on Dreamcast in 2000, but it was announced a couple of years before and Game Arts published a few beta screenshots that show how they wanted the game to look in the end. Some parts were changed in the final game, as noted by Nicholas:
The only notable thing that stood out in the beta pics is that the magic spells seemed to be rendered using the games graphics, where in the finished product the spells are presented in 2D animation and sometimes computer-generated animation. I didn’t see much in the debug mode that stood out, except it appears that Ryudo, the main character, can be equipped with his sword (around 4:32). This is impossible in the finished game as no one walks with their weapon drawn in the overworld map.
Below you can also see the video from the debug menù of Grandia 2. If you notice more differences, let us know!
1/4 RPG (also know as One Fourth RPG) is a cancelled Action RPG that was in development by FromSoftware for the Playstation 2 (with a rumored Dreamcast version) in 2000. The game was shown at the Tokyo Game Show 2000, as you can see from the video below, but it soon vanished from their release list. As we can read on the (now dead) GIA Website:
The peculiar name is derived from the make-up of the party of heroes. Four different characters (selected from a pool of seven or eight) comprise the team at one time, but you actually play as a fairy guiding the four characters into battle. In a system akin to Valkyrie Profile, each “fourth” of the party (i.e., one character) can be selected via a different controller button, then moved into place with the d-pad. Attacks apparently are used automatically; your goal is just to keep the four heroes in the right place at the right time. Up to twelve enemies can appear on screen at once, so expect some large battles.
According to a report from IGN, 1/4 RPG was placed on “indefinite hold” in 2001 and From Software moved their resources to other projects. The game was never released.
Super Paper Mario is a Platform/role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems, a division of Nintendo. It was originally set for release on the Nintendo GameCube but then it was released for the Wii. It is similar to the previous two Paper Mario titles and the Super Mario Bros. for the Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The game will combine side-scrolling 2D gameplay with free roaming 3D graphics and to a somewhat lesser extent, RPG elements. – [info from Wikipedia]
Also to note that in the Wii version the 8-bit sprites are in their original colors from the NES, but the Gamecube version had them in “modern” colors. Thanks to Cubivore10 for the contribution!
As it happens with all the new consoles, a lot of interesting titles are initially announced in the first few months, but sometimes those titles never see the light. That exactly what happened with Gold Star Mountain, an action rpg, that was presented officially at the Spaceworld 2001. This game was in development at From Software and it had an interesting feature: the ability to capture, breed and collect lots of monsters to use them as a support in combat.
Sadly the project was never finished, and it soon vanished without traces. In the few screens and video released we can see an early build of the game, where the combat system was not fully implemented yet. Probably this project was cancelled because it was seen as not enough profitable for the company.
[spoiler /Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano/ /Nascondi la versione in Italiano/]Come succede per tutte le nuove console, il periodo che ne precede il rilascio è sempre caratterizzato da annunci di titoli interessanti, che però spesso non vengono alla luce. E’ il caso di Gold Star Mountain, action rpg presentato ufficialmente allo spaceworld 2001, proprio a pochi giorni di distanza dall’uscita del Gamecube. Almeno nelle previsioni, il titolo From Software doveva presentare una caratteristica, che lo avrebbe differenziato sensibilmente dai classici del genere: la possibilità di catturare, allevare dei piccoli mostri per utilizzarli in combattimento.
Se vi suona leggermente familiare, direi che è assolutamente normale, visto che siamo nella sezione gamecube di questo sito. Ad ogni modo, la versione beta mostrata (che è possibile vedere anche nel video), sembrava ancora nelle fasi preliminari, con il sistema di combattimento non ancora implementato perfettamente. Il comparto tecnico, animazioni a parte, lascia a desiderare anche per un titolo di prima generazione. Tenendo in considerazione anche le difficoltà, nel creare e nell’integrare la parte dedicata alla crescita dei mostri, non è particolarmente complicato immaginare i motivi della cancellazione, avvenuta pochi mesi dopo.[/spoiler]
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