Ubisoft platforming mascot Rayman was as soon as featured within the recordsdata of Past Good & Evil, as proven within the recreation’s just-released twentieth Anniversary Version.
Launched yesterday – after beforehand being made mistakenly obtainable final yr – BG&E’s Anniversary Version consists of an in depth behind the scenes archive of art work, early gameplay movies and making-of footage. After spending a few hours trawling by it final night time, I can verify it is an actual deal with for any BG&E fan.
Under, I’ve pulled out a few of the issues that stood out to me – somebody who liked the sport and has been ready nearly 20 years for information of its follow-up. And if that sounds such as you, nicely, there’s lots extra, together with a number of footage of reduce ranges, to get pleasure from by way of the precise recreation.
Rayman initially had a cameo
For a recreation about photographing odd specimens, it is maybe not a shock that Rayman and BG&E creator Michel Ancel apparently snuck in an Easter egg the place you can discover the limbless hero himself. Alas, Rayman didn’t make the sport’s last reduce. The picture above is taken from a improvement construct of the sport the place Rayman was made totally playable – though this was by no means deliberate for public launch.
Jade was initially Sally
Everybody is aware of BG&E’s protagonist as Jade, however she spent a very long time in pre-production and manufacturing as Sally. Idea artwork and even early placeholder audio strains describe her utilizing this former identify – which was modified as a result of it sounded “too English”. (Oh, and the IRIS Community was initially acronymed SPOON.)
The sport’s heroes have been initially pest management
Jade and Pey’j have been initially deliberate to be working for an intergalactic pest management service, which necessitated them visiting varied areas and ridding them of rats. Certainly, rodents would have been an enemy within the recreation (and their presence within the last model hints at their as soon as a lot bigger position).
Pey’j was a smoker
Round March 2002, Pey’j was given a cigarette that hung from his mouth. Ubisoft says his smoking behavior had been one thing builders wished to discover, however needed to abandon to maintain the sport’s age score down.
Between Good & Evil
Past Good & Evil was initially titled “Between Good & Evil”, even after it was first proven to journalists in the summertime of 2002.
The DomZ have been initially good guys, and we would have visited their residence planet
It is lengthy been recognized that BG&E had initially been deliberate as a recreation with a number of planets. Effectively, certainly one of these was supposed to be the homeworld of the DomZ, the sport’s villains, though in earlier variations of the sport’s story they’d have been a extra harmless race taken over by a special evil species. The DomZ additionally had a far much less menacing look – as you’ll be able to see under.
Jade initially had extra companions, together with a DomZ
Plans for a number of different companions have been left on the slicing room ground, together with that of a DomZ character named Toy’l that lasted till comparatively far into manufacturing. Toy’l would have been encountered late on, as a part of a scrapped mission set on an orbiting satellite tv for pc, and would have been instrumental in Jade studying her true identification. One other reduce character – although left behind a lot earlier – was a brother for Jade.
Jade fought along with her fists till late in improvement
The choice to have Jade struggle along with her Daï-jo employees was made late in improvement, in February 2003. Up till then, fight was hand-to-hand.
And one small tease for Past Good & Evil 2…
The twentieth Anniversary Version’s archive consists of only a single point out of Ubisoft’s long-awaited upcoming successor. “We additionally discover that Pey’j was described as a ‘hybrid clone’ again then,” a improvement observe states, referring to a July 2002 description of Jade’s uncle, “a notion that can very a lot be developed in a future prequel.”
With the twentieth Anniversary Version’s launch, Ubisoft has as soon as once more reconfirmed its dedication to launch Past Good & Evil 2 sooner or later. There isn’t any particulars as to when, nonetheless, and the sport now holds the Guinness World File for the undertaking longest in improvement.
In January 2023, Ubisoft advised Eurogamer that “Past Good and Evil 2’s improvement is underneath method and the group is tough at work to ship on its bold promise.” However the undertaking was a no-show but once more at Ubisoft’s newest showcase.
