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Cancelled Video Games That You Really Wanted To Play


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What cancelled video games would you really want to play? For this thread's purposes, let's say that being able to play the cancelled game wouldn't mess with the "video game timeline." For example, listing Fire Emblem 64 as a cancelled game that you'd want to play wouldn't alter the timeline and erase Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and the FE games after it from existence.

Kirby GCN would definitely be my top pick, specifically the "4 players with helpers" version (though the "storybook graphics" version would be a good second pick for me). I was really interested in back in the day, especially for the 4 player co-op. Even though we've got Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby Star Allies, I'm still interested in seeing all of the concepts that were lost/delayed-introduced from the game's cancellation, such as Fire Phan Phan and HR-D3.

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Fallout Van Buren would probably have been interesting. Though I doubt it would have done much to sell modern gamers on the antiquated isometric rpg. And I was never all too impressed with 1,2, and Tactics. A lot of Van Buren's material was later repurposed in New Vegas anyway so it's not a big deal as far as the series' history is concerned. But New Vegas is one of my favorite games of all time, so I'm curious as to the DNA behind its production. Especially if the existence of Van Buren doesn't erase New Vegas or the Bethesda era, both of which I think hold merit.

I'll second Kirby GCN. I was there shamelessly making fun of Kirby's console return with Epic Yarn in the late 2000s. Then I ate shoe when I found out Epic Yarn is a marvelous co-op game in its own right despite ditching the concept of copy abilities. I just wanted to play kirby with my friends and I lacked a SNES growing up. It is definitely odd to think of a kirby game getting canned, especially now when it's a consistently hot seller between its main games and spinoffs every year. I have to wonder what made it so difficult to return to consoles in that era following Sakurai's departure. The GBA/DS era of Kirby certainly weren't bad, so I wouldn't say it was incompetence on the part of developers.

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem.

I would say Star Fox 2, but Nintendo eventually released that. Ditto with Mother 1's cancelled international release. Truth be told I didn't end up liking either game, but I'm happy they saw the light of day. So thanks, Nintendo.

And finally, the sequel to 007 Blood Stone. The game's ending set up a sequel that never came to be, and I'll confess I like the game. Definitely one of the better bond games. And I prefer when Bond games aren't just adaptations of recent movies. If Agent Under Fire can get a sequel, why not Blood Stone?

 

Edited by Glennstavos
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36 minutes ago, Aegius_NaTL said:

Star Wars 1313 is the first that comes to mind (usually gets mentioned in this discussion). The vertical slice looked really cool, and having a non-Jedi game is always fun.

 

This.

On the note of Star Wars I also was really looking forward to Star Wars Battlefront 3.

Edited by JimmyBeans
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Nearing the end of my Star Force 3 100% playthrough, I would definitely like to play Mega Man Star Force 4.

Honestly wish I'd gotten into these games when they were still new so I could have played against other people, but I saw SF3 at the walmart and just ignored like a coward and a scrub. Blegh.

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48 minutes ago, JimmyBeans said:

This.

On the note of Star Wars I also was really looking forward to Star Wars Battlefront 3.

Great call. Back in the mid/late 2000's, I remember them talking about integrating land and space combat in the same map. Fast forward to 2020, and Battlefront II (2017) has not even implemented that, as far as I'm aware.

I think it's perhaps more feasible with the new console hardware. So we'll see.

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A big one that comes to mind is Mother 3 on the N64. While the game itself wasn't technically cancelled since it came out in a different form on the GBA, the N64 version of the game was. I think it would've been super cool to have an Earthbound game in a playable 3D space.

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only 2 games come to my mind:
Radiant Dawn's sequel and Inazuma Eleven Ares (it's still in development, but it's basically been changed to a completely different game)

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The Alone in the dark remake as I'm a fan of the series even if the old ones kinda suffer from the classic adventure game trope of puzzles that make no sense both in/out of the context of the game. 

 

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For me, it's a mobile title. Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls. Yeah, I was actually really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, Konami made the baffling decision to do only a soft launch in Canada, and then, for some baffling reason, less than a year later, they just cancelled it. It was beyond stupid.

It's an odd choice, I know, but it's really the only one that I can think of.

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6 hours ago, Aegius_NaTL said:

Great call. Back in the mid/late 2000's, I remember them talking about integrating land and space combat in the same map. Fast forward to 2020, and Battlefront II (2017) has not even implemented that, as far as I'm aware.

I think it's perhaps more feasible with the new console hardware. So we'll see.

It was actually done on the PSP (with a small loading cutscene when you fly to and from space.) with Battlefront:Elite Squadron.

 

6 hours ago, JimmyBeans said:

This.

On the note of Star Wars I also was really looking forward to Star Wars Battlefront 3.

Battlefront:Elite Squadron on the PSP was actually made with assets from Battlefront 3 as well as the plot...the problem is that..well, it kinda showed how it was probably rushed and made with assets from a canned game (The DS version actually had more plot, presumably from cut scenes they didn't get the voice acting done with so they couldn't keep in the PSP version since it had voice acting which means the PSP version has a very disconnected story.) kinda showed, it was a bit medicore, I don't think Battlefront 3 would have been mediocre but Elite Squadron was, the leaked footage of the original battlefront 3 definitely shows alot more plot than what was in the PSP Version.

It kinda reminds me of Dead to Rights 2, in that they clearly got a different studio, threw the unfinished assets from the original canned sequel at them and told them to make a game with it. (And in Dead to Rights case, they made an barely over an hour long psp spin-off, with those same assets which means actually playing Dead to Rights 2 and the PSP game will gave you Deja Vu since they were clearly both given the same unfinished levels so you'll literally go through the same areas from time to time.)

Edited by Samz707
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Steambot Chronicles 2 (Bumpy Trot 2)

I think Steambot Chroincles is a really fun flawed gem on the PS2, with a lot of sandbox-feeling (Choice and Consequence) for the pseudo Action-RPG is wanted to be. 

The thing that stops me from calling it a good game and recomending it is... well everything involving the actual Steambot itself - which used ACTUAL tank controls, and a game could lag painfully whenenver expositon effects, including basic range weapons, were used (didn't help that the setpiece big army fight took place in a sandstorm).

There was a PSP  sequel/sidegame called Steambot Chronicles:Battle Tournament (which had better combat, but stripped down the non-combat part of the game) but any of hope of the sequel coming out ended with the total dismantling of Irem's video game division.

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Dungeon Keeper 3 would be the big one. The series was great until EA decided to be EA again and murder it.

Also I heard that there were plans for a Dragon Age 3 in Tevinter but that the development was completely rebooted at some point. Considering Tevinter is the most interesting nation that kinda stings. 

Edited by Etrurian emperor
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  • 2 weeks later...

Maverick Hunter X series: One of the few cancelled video games that actually hurt my conscience. MHX1 had a lot of potential and could've sold well if it wasn't released in the PSP's early life, but terrible platform, timing and market choices led any future projects to be cancelled. Which is a shame, because they'd remaster the graphics and revamp some poorly implemented gameplay ideas from the original X series games. Whenever I see the Megaman X mobile game with its engine, I cry on the inside for what could've been.

Golden Axed: One of the next-gen reboots of classic SEGA games that were cancelled. I loved Golden Axe back in the day and I'd love a new, GA3-like game.

Mother 3 (Nintendo 64 version): I'd be very curious for a Mother game with a 3D environment.

Scalebound: Looked good, at least.

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I'd have liked to see later Mega Man: Powered Up titles, keeping the playable Robot Master hook of the first MMPU. Really, why isn't that a standard feature of Mega Man games nowadays? Though maybe not make the music sound so saccharine, that kinda ruined Cut Man, Guts Man, and Fire Man's songs.

I think it'd be sweet if they let you play as Robot Masters from previous games in later games via save data reading or through unlocking via the shop. And yes, there would be unique dialogue for every possible Robot Master matchup in each game. The MM1 RMs could comment on the MM2 RMs being based on them. Certain RM relationships could be explored, like Toad Man's fear of Snake Man ("Gah! S-stay back, you creepy serpent!"), Guts Man and Stone Man's friendship ("Sorry Guts, we're just working for two different bosses, is all.") or Freeze Man's respect for Ice Man ("Ice Man!? THE Ice Man!? This is an honor! Show me your mastery of ice! Freeze me solid!").

Additionally, each playable Robot Master would be strong against one Robot Master from each subsequent cycle, and weak against another. Fire Man for example does well against bosses weak to fire such as Wood Man, Blizzard Man, and Burst Man, while he himself is weak to water and ice weapons like those used by Bubble Man, Wave Man, Blizzard Man and Freeze Man. Some Robot Masters might gain new secondary weapons or fighting moves to account for situations in which their primary weapon won't work, like in the case of Fire Man vs. Heat Man or Ice Man vs. Freeze Man. Heat Man absorbs fire and explosions, and Freeze Man absorbs ice, so Fire Man gains a kick attack which deals good damage and knocks his opponents back but has short range, and Ice Man gains a spin attack similar to Top Spin. And yes, Pharaoh Man would gain a punch attack.

Indeed, I could see a punch or kick attack becoming standard for all Robot Masters. Maybe Mega himself could start using the Mega Upper to deal with enemies near and above him, and gain a Mega Slide attack that he can use by charging the buster, holding down, and releasing.

Maybe they should revisit the Powered Up concept as a Collection? We'd have MM1-10 plus maybe I-V and MM&B all in one package. Mega Man Powered Up Collection! Or, if the Powered Up aesthetic isn't your cup of tea, maybe Mega Man: Robot Master Collection, done in the style of MM11? They could even add MM11 in there as well, complete with Double Gear system for different playable Robot Masters.

As a bonus, they could throw in a stage editor and a multiplayer versus mode where 2-4 players can throw down as their favorite Robot Masters. Maybe even add a co-op mode!

Edited by Lord_Brand
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Does a game being rebranded and completely changed from what it was originally supposed to be count as "cancelled"? If so, then I can think of one:

Final Fantasy Versus XIII: this is the game that eventually became Final Fantasy XV, but the original idea for it was very different, as one can see from the very first trailer for it:

Quote

 

 

Apparently, it was going to be a much darker take on the usual Final Fantasy formula. Noctis' powers wouldn't come from being of the royal line, but from having a near-death experience as a child and being chosen by Etro: the goddess of death that the Kingdom of Lucis would've revered and had on their flag and in their art and architecture. Noctis would've also been in Lucis when it came under attack from the empire and taken over, and the fall of Lucis would've been one of the major set-pieces of the game. Instead of Lunafreya being his love-interest/plot-device that gets stuffed in the fridge, a character named Stella (that got replaced with Lunafreya when Tabata took over development) would've been both his love-interest and a reluctant enemy of Noctis with the same powers as him. The combat was also going to be very different; being something more like that in Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy 7 Remake. There were a ton of differences between the game originally envisioned and XV. 

Because I was never really interested in Final Fantasy until about a year or two ago, I didn't find out about this game until well after XV released, but I found Versus XIII very intriguing, and it is a real shame that the game was never made. In this scenario where the game could've released but XV still would've existed, Versus XIII could very well have ended up being my first Final Fantasy game, rather than Final Fantasy 7 Remake. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/8/2020 at 3:20 AM, Yexin said:

only 2 games come to my mind:
Radiant Dawn's sequel

wait FE radiant dawn was to get a sequel? I thought tellius was wrapped up at the end of FE10... Not that i would complain about a sequel of Tellius mechanics

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A prequel to Path of Radiance could have been possible. Not like Tellius wasn't at war well before Ike came along. Heck, maybe the game would have starred Ike's father Greil similar to how Blazing Blade starred Roy's father Eliwood and was a prequel to Binding Blade.

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On 10/31/2020 at 1:49 PM, Zanarkin said:

wait FE radiant dawn was to get a sequel? I thought tellius was wrapped up at the end of FE10... Not that i would complain about a sequel of Tellius mechanics

I believe Yexin is talking about the cancelled second Wii Fire Emblem game, which looks to have been planned as a sort of JRPG / RTS semi-spinoff. Tellius visual assets shown here were likely placeholders (Stefan, Ilyana, and Rhys would be quite an arbitrary party lineup), and it's unknown if the game was actually intended to have any plot or world connection to the Tellius games.

As for me, I would, in fact, love to play a finished version of FE64, since every indication is that it was just a completely separate game from anything that's actually been released. "FE5.5" would be really interesting to see, I think.

On the topic of N64 games, I'd also love to try out Mother 3's original N64 incarnation. I know the core plot wasn't changed in the process of porting the project over to the GBA, but a ton of details were, and I'd love to see that earlier draft of the story.

Also, I'd adore getting to play the little-known canceled fourth mainline Final Fantasy game on the NES. No, it wasn't The Final Fantasy IV We Actually Got, but On the NES; it was its own game, and the SNES FFIV was always intended as a SNES game and was originally planned to be numbered V. According to Hironobu Sakaguchi, NES FFIV was "around 80% complete" when it got canned, and many of its ideas ended up being used in games Squaresoft released in the years to follow, although exactly what those ideas were wasn't clarified in the interview. There are screenshots and a translation floating around for an article about the game in an old Japanese gaming magazine, but it seems that article was entirely speculation about what a fourth NES Final Fantasy would be like written by people who didn't know anything about it beyond just that it was in development, so it's not really indicative of what the actual game was like.

Er... that turned into a bit of a rant, but I love classic Final Fantasy games (particularly the first four odd-numbered ones), so the idea of there being another entirely distinct one that was canceled just piques my curiosity like few other things can.

Edited by Topaz Light
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