New Cancelled Games & Their Lost Media Added to the Archive

Daraku Tenshi: The Fallen… Beta?

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[Article written by Torentsu]

In 1998 Psyiko’s “Steel Hearts” team released the highly obscure fighter Daraku Tenshi: The Fallen Angels. The game saw limited release in Japan, and even slimmer distribution in America and other places outside the land of the rising sun. Despite this the game was at least “semi” translated and there is a dip-switch option allowing you to change the after battle quotes into English. Perhaps the thing that makes Daraku Tenshi so interesting is the air of mystery that surrounds its development, and the finished product that we got. Thanks to the rise of the internet however, a few more scraps of info are starting to turn up. The general consensus is that Daraku Tenshi was released unfinished (or in the very least rushed). After being lucky enough to play this game a few years ago I created my first character modifier (and my first code for a video game at that). I wanted to check out claims of lost characters in the game, and hopefully play as them. Unfortunately I didn’t find any of the lost characters in the character array, but I did manage to make the bosses playable. You can see videos of this on my old youtube account:

Trigger

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Ni-Oh [PS3 – Cancelled]

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Ni-Oh, a buddhist term for a deva king, is a cancelled game from Koei that was meant to be released for the PlayStation 3 in 2007. The game was set in a warring state era of feuding war lords. The main character was Ni-Oh, a blonde-haired military commander, son of a foreign woman and a Japanese man, that casts himself into a fierce battle to carve destiny. Probably early in the development, Koei have decided to cancel Ni-Oh to concentrate on other projects. [Info from Wikipedia]

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Grandia [Beta – Saturn / Playstation]

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In the archive of Vast Lands of Grandia we can see some screenshots from a beta build of Grandia, which shows some changes from the final version. At this point the story was probably not finished yet, because there were some scenes not present in the released version, like Justin that falls from a rock in the volcano, a tank used against our heroes, Java absent from the cart in the mines and a mysterious rock that resembles a turtle. Other interesting details are the beta battle hud and the unusually high point of view of a city (New Parm?).

For more informations check the VLoG beta page! Huge props to them :)

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Super Paper Mario [Wii – Beta]

This game was originally intended as a Nintendo GameCube game. By summer of 2007, Super Paper Mario was moved to Wii. An early version of the game had a different looking version of the Whoa Zone from Chapter 4. Also, an early screenshot shows Mario under the effects of the Mega Star, but is colored very differently (giving his current colors rather than the initial ones seen in Super Mario Bros.). Oddly, he is shown in his proper colors in the official trailer that was released at the same time, which may imply that the screenshot’s release way simply delayed.

In a screenshot featuring Big Blooper, there’s an odd Pixl that is shaped like a ladder. It never actually appears in the final game. This could be an early version of Carrie. Also, in the same screenshot, Tippi is present, but she was kidnapped by Francis at this point in the game, and by the time she is rescued, also Big Blooper cannot be fought again. Finally, the scene depicting Bowser and Peach’s wedding at the beginning of the game was also slightly different in beta versions; the ceremony would appear to have once taken place in more of a room than an open area, there were no flowers decorating the columns, the rising of the Chaos Heart was surprisingly light, and Count Bleck raised his cloak up earlier than he did in the final version. Plus, in the screenshot, Peach is standing instead of having been knocked over, and Bowser looks normal than shocked. [Info from Mariowiki]

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Rayman 2: The Great Escape [Beta]

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The_IT_08 has wrote a topic in our forum with some beta-screens and a video from Rayman 2 that shows a series of differences. As he says: “Alright in the first picture  there is a level called The Minhir Hills, it is a beta version of it, and this takes place in the second section of this level I think (because the walking shell’s starting point which is now the doghouse is close to the thorn pit). The differences are that there wasn’t a giant orange mushroom in there and the place where the walking shell comes from was not a doghouse. And there was a purple Read more