Prototype, Beta, pre-release and cancelled games

[Yousef]

 

[Ikagura]

There was going to be a 3D version of Kirby's Dream Course for N64 called 'Kirby Bowl 64' there are a few short clips of it here:

I think it got turned into Kirby Air Ride.
Here's some more info on it : https://kirby.fandom.com/wiki/Kirby_Bowl_64

I really like both Kirbys Dream Course and Special Tee Shot so a 3D version seems cool to me.

The Kirby franchise got quite a lot of things going on regarding cancelled products.

Everyone are talking about the trailer of Kirby GCN but a few are mentioning this and the port of Tilt n Tumble on the Gamecube.

And is a shame since the iso is functional.

Still weird how the N64, being fundamentally more powerful than the PS1, still ended up with a horrible game.

 

[Ikagura]

Halo CE's beta builds

Duke Nukem's trailers:

I absolutely love the 2001 one (glad it got leaked).

What Doom 3 could've been

 

[VidiyaGaemer]

The Resident Evil series for some reason is full of topic relevant games, more than any other series I can name right now at least.
There's the unreleased (until semi recently) prototype of 2 called '1.5' that went through several revisions until being scrapped and restarted- it's almost unrecognizable from the final actually released 2. Leon's still in it, but the other character is a motorcycle racer named Elza Walker. Chief Irons was actually a good guy in it and Marvin survives the game- wild. Anyway, the prototype finally made it to the Internet in a pretty interesting story of fans being swindled by a private collector before finding it from someone else. I think it's on CDRomance actually, but you can't actually finish it last I checked as the game crashes at one specific door.
RE4 had it the most; there's the original idea from around '99 that eventually became DMC, then the famous 'hookman' build (called 3.5 usually) that actually had a sick looking gameplay reveal;

RE:0 was originally supposed to be on the N64 before getting delayed until the GameCube; allegedly there was some level of playable builds, but they've never been unearthed and it sounds like this early version was almost identical to the final game anyway.

The Resident Evil 3.5 collective of unfinished material is my Holy Grail of cancelled games. Hope something of those leaks out one day, it's really fascinating and different from what was released as much as I love the final RE4, I'd love to play the beta material one day (if it's even playable)

 

[MRX1992]

I also like to know about protos, unreleased and that sort of stuff, I will recommend 4 sites:
* Hidden Palace
* Unseen 64
* Lost Media Wiki
* The cutting Room Floor

Post automatically merged: Dec 22, 2024

It's always interesting that capcom almost released RE 1 on GBC. The rom is on the internet and it's fully playable (minus the final battle) View attachment 3249
Another one would be Van Buren (the original fallout 3).View attachment 3250The plot of Van Buren revolved around an escaped prisoner who would explore the American Southwest while being pursued by robotic prison guards. The main antagonist was a mad scientist named Victor Presper, who planned on using the prisoner as an inadvertent vector to spread a deadly virus

I really liked the REsident Evil 1 proto for GBC, I even did some achievs for it, I guess that the project was cancelled due that they were already planning RE Gaiden, so they shifted for that game

 

[Ikagura]

I also like to know about protos, unreleased and that sort of stuff, I will recommend 4 sites:
* Hidden Palace
* Unseen 64
* Lost Media Wiki
* The cutting Room Floor

I really liked the REsident Evil 1 proto for GBC, I even did some achievs for it, I guess that the project was cancelled due that they were already planning RE Gaiden, so they shifted for that game

Thanks! I forgot to post the name of all of them.

I really liked Unseen64 thanks to that.

I'd love to see this demo version being leaked

Sure, Return to Dreamland and Star Allies were basically fully-fledged versions of this game but let's be honest: who doesn't want to actually see a game that has sakura trees blooming in the background? And a true Superstar-esque monster making that could be played at any moment.

 

[dropsmegamega]

Thanks! I forgot to post the name of all of them.

I really liked Unseen64 thanks to that.

I'd love to see this demo version being leaked

Sure, Return to Dreamland and Star Allies were basically fully-fledged versions of this game but let's be honest: who doesn't want to actually see a game that has sakura trees blooming in the background? And a true Superstar-esque monster making that could be played at any moment.

It oddly feels more ambitious than anything HAL made after, maybe with exception of Forgotten Land. I wonder if it was Sakurai the director of the game. These very unique 3D environments and some of its enemies never made it to later games.

Post automatically merged: Dec 22, 2024

And talking about nintendo...

Yeah, I realize its rough, the project was too ambitious for the N64 and should have waited for the gamecube for a much needed upgrade, but so much was cut/changed in order to move it to GBA instead. Really wish someday this is leaked along with the original script so fans can recreate it.

 

[Yousef]

@Ikagura @dropsmegamega honestly that Kirby adventure game looks pretty sick

 

[Ikagura]

It oddly feels more ambitious than anything HAL made after, maybe with exception of Forgotten Land. I wonder if it was Sakurai the director of the game. These very unique 3D environments and some of its enemies never made it to later games.

Post automatically merged: Dec 22, 2024

And talking about nintendo...

I don't know because officially Sakurai quitted Hal lab after Air Ride but he could've done the first draft of the game.

Sadly, 2D platformers were pretty much dead in the early to late 2000's because of 3D ones replacing them in the late 90's. You cannot allocate as much into a side scroller than a fully 3D collectathon.

This is also why the entire decade had Kirby games only on handhelds with either spinoffs or games not developed by HAL (like Flagship's Amazing Mirror and Squeak Squad).

Glad that indie resurrected 2D platformers but only rare exceptions were Mario and DK.

RTDL on the Wii was quite big for a late Wii game though. Maybe not as ambitious as Forgotten Land in term of scope but still a great entry.

 

[MRX1992]

 

[Ikagura]

Sega really are unlucky with Castlevania...

 

[Another Iori]

 

[MRX1992]

Sega really are unlucky with Castlevania...

Yeah, Bloodlines was the only one, there was Master of Darkness for SMS & GG which was a great clone of Castlevania

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Half-life for Dreamcast still hurts.

It would have been such a perfect fit.

 

[Ikagura]

Half-life for Dreamcast still hurts.

It would have been such a perfect fit.

I played this one but honestly it wasn't that great with a pad.

The PS2's DualShock is much better for that.

 

[loopy]

Although to be fair, the Playstation 2 also supports keyboard and mouse, specifically on Half Life even.
So I guess the PS2 still wins this one.

 

[Ikagura]

View attachment 5963

Although to be fair, the Playstation 2 also supports keyboard and mouse, specifically on Half Life even.
So I guess the PS2 still wins this one.

Glad that I could emulate a Dreamcast keyboard and mouse for that game.

I'm still fascinated by the Spaceworld 2001 trailer of Super Mario Sunshine

 

[dropsmegamega]

I'm still fascinated by the Spaceworld 2001 trailer of Super Mario Sunshine

no wonder the game shipped with only 7 worlds! they keep remaking then from ground up

 

[Ikagura]

no wonder the game shipped with only 7 worlds! they keep remaking then from ground up

Yeah... I'd love to see a leak.

 

[Mr. SyS]

A nearly complete build of Star Wars: Battlefront 3 for Wii dropped last week. You need a special build of Dolphin to play it.

 

[brighter]

the Sega of America FY97 report mentions a Saturn port of Elder Scrolls Arena

Sega Fiscal Year 1997 Brand Review : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

A peak inside Sega of America during fiscal year 1997 (or in non-financial terms, 1996). Contains a sketch of their E3 booth, business plan, brand strategy,...

archive.org

was intended to release in August of '96. this was written in April. means it was cancelled less than six months out ;-; what I wouldn't give...!!

 

[stealthRUSH]

Fake Down

Millennium Fire

Monika no Shiro

Psy-Phi

Gun Beat (Treasure), Puyo Korogashi (Compile), Cyber Clash (Crystal Dynamics), Free Runner (Rebellion)