Gone But Not Forgotten 4: Even More Game Cancellations That Still Sting

There's nothing worse as a gamer than following the development of a game you're so excited about, then all of a sudden the developer/publisher announces that the project has been put on hold, or worse, cancelled. Okay, maybe losing your save files to a corrupt memory card back in the day is worse, but work with me here. Anyway, the feeling of utter disappointment is immense. Like with part one, part two, and part three of this continuing series, these cancelled games that were once hyped, whether by many gamers or a select few, still manage to make those that were following them wince.

Silent Hills (PS4)

A dream team of Metal Gear's Hideo Kojima and famed Hollywood director Guillermo del Toro was behind Silent Hills, a psychological thriller of a horror title that saw an amazing, exciting, and downright scary demo, P.T., for PlayStation 4 owners. However, after Kojima's tumultuous departure from Konami, the developer opted not to continue the game's development, though it said it remained dedicated to the franchise. This was a tremendous blow to many Silent Hill and horror game fans, as the demo had brought such hype and excitement. The announcement of the cancellation of this promising project was like a blow to the gut, taking the wind out of many fans' sails.

Eight Days (PS3)

Eight Days was a game being developed by Sony's SCE London Studio and was set across the eponymous eight days. Not only that but it was intended to be set across eight different states. The choice of two characters would have been offered, one good and one bad, and the two would eventually cross paths and work together. Eight Days was cancelled along with The Getaway, and the main consideration for cancelling the former was because there was a lack of an online component. I don't know what that says about the current state of the industry where a very compelling and engaging game gets cancelled despite being far along only because there's no online component to it. It's very disappointing that Eight Days was cancelled and still hurts to this day.

Dirty Harry (PS3, 360, Wii, DS)

It recently came to light that along with the Dirty Harry game that The Collective was working on for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, developer Sensor Sweep was working on a port of that game for the Wii and Nintendo DS. Unlike the HD console versions, the Wii and DS versions would have offered a very pleasant-to-the-eyes cel-shaded look. However, Sensor Sweep was not cut out for console development, having only worked on handheld titles in the past. Thus, the SD versions, along with the HD versions, would all eventually be cancelled by publisher Warner Bros. Forgive me for this joke ahead of time, but I guess Warner Bros. didn't feel lucky, punk.

Cosmic Walker (Wii)

Developed by the non-defunct Gaia, a company founded by Kouji Okada from Atlus (his prior credits include a good amount of early titles in the Shin Megami Tensei series), Cosmic Walker was revealed in a sizzle reel of Wii games near the end of 2008. The game was set to be a space exploration game where characters would roam through zero gravity areas. It looked darn appealing, but years passed and no word of the game's fate was uttered. The radio silence continued until the studio's unexpected closure in 2012, thus hitting home the point that Cosmic Walker got its legs cut out from under it, thus walking no more. (I'm proud of that analogy.)

Sabreman Stampede (360)

This next game hurts a bunch because it was essentially cancelled twice. Sabreman Stampede's original form was the planned GameCube game Donkey Kong Racing. However, as we all know, Microsoft wound up purchasing the developer Rare when the founders of the company let go of their shares and Nintendo didn't buy them. Thus, Donkey Kong Racing became a cancelled game, but Rare would still use some ideas from that title towards a racer starring their old school character Sabreman, an old explorer with a killer 'stache. However, like many projects and concepts from Rare after being bought by Microsoft, Sabreman Stampede would end up being yet another cancelled game, unfortunately. Maybe after Sea of Thieves or some time in the future Rare will return to this concept.

Bonk: Age of Extinction (PSN, XBLA, WiiWare)

Originally planned for an early 2010 release, the planned digital download for WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStation Store, Bonk: Age of Extinction, was being developed by Texas-based Pi Studios and was to be published by Hudson. The familiar hard-headed caveman Bonk would move around 2D worlds with 3D models, using his head (literally) to smash prehistoric foes. Offering different, new power-ups such as the ability to shoot fireballs, this revival of Bonk seemed to have everything going for it. That was until Hudson pulled the plug on the project, leaving many a-Bonk and 2D platforming fan seriously let down. There's a cruel irony in the subtitle of this game, as Bonk is now an extinct franchise.

Gone But Not Forgotten 3: More Game Cancellations That Still Sting

Time to open up some old wounds, ladies and gentlemen! When a game you're hyping is suddenly cancelled, whether it's with an official announcement or worse, quietly never talked about again, it's an emotional blow that takes something out of your soul. Perhaps I'm waxing poetic here, so I'll just say that a game cancellation for something you're hyped about takes its toll on you. That's what this series of articles is all about, games that were cancelled, either ceremoniously or not, that still hurt to this day. If you'd like to check out the first and second installments of this series, check them out with part one and part two. Now, let's open up those wounds!

Maverick Hunter X (PS3, 360)

We kick this third look at cancelled games with some Mega Man X action. Developed by several folks who had worked on Metroid Prime, Maverick Hunter X was pumped and primed to be Capcom's attempt to create a similar game. Played in a first-person perspective with the ability to scale walls, Mega Man X was in an all-new form for this perceived reboot. However, as Mega Man lead director Keiji Infaune left the company, this project was scrapped. Thankfully, all of us can view this footage of what could have been a fantastic entry in the series and a new era of Mega Man games.

True Fantasy Live Online (XBX)

A collaboration with Level-5 and Microsoft, True Fantasy Live Online was met with feverish anticipation from the moment it was unveiled. Offering an expansive fantasy world allowing for thousands of players to inhabit it simultaneously, the promises made by both companies involved sounded too good to be true. Unfortunately, they very much were too good to be true. A combination of Level-5's inexperience with online gaming and Microsoft's continued demands made for a partnership that quickly unraveled at the seams. The project was officially cancelled, and the two sides left with a bit of equal bitterness.

Star Fox 2 (SNES)

Nintendo and Argonaut Games worked together on this direct sequel to 1993's Super Nintendo classic Star Fox. It was to feature new vehicle types, two new Star Fox team members, and an upgraded use of the Super FX chip, allowing for unparalleled 3D on the Super Nintendo hardware. The latter was the reason this basically complete game was shelved, never to be released in official capacity. Star Fox 2 was set to release in the summer of '95. However, it seemed this projected date was too close to that of the launch of the Nintendo 64. Thus, Nintendo decided to not release the game, wanting the next Star Fox to use highest caliber graphics possible that only the N64 could provide.

Crash Team Racing 2010 (PS3, 360, Wii)

Planned for development in 2010, a prototype for an all-new Crash Team Racing was being devised by High Impact Games, most notably the makers of various PSP spin-offs of acclaimed PlayStation series like Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Secret Agent Clank, and Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, to name a few. Before the prototype could be completely 100% finished, the publisher Activision cancelled the project. However, there is footage of the prototype and game in motion. The cancellation of this 2010 incarnation of Crash Team Racing was a rolling snowball in the number of cancellations surrounding the Crash Bandicoot IP, including a Nintendo DS racer by Renegade Kid and a new 3D platformer in the series. Nowadays, Crash Bandicoot sits at home reliving his best days and old adventures on his busted PS1 and watching commercials starring himself. He now weighs 408 lbs.

Toe Jam & Earl 3 (DC)

While the funky duo of Toe Jam and Earl did arrive for a third installment on the Xbox, that finished product and the original vision of the game on the Dreamcast are two entirely different beasts. While the Xbox game is more of a traditional 3D adventure, the Dreamcast game was much more in line with how its Genesis predecessors behaved and played. The so-called "rough cut" is available to play, and you can do so and find more information about the project at this link, courtesy of Eurogamer. Do you think in a parallel universe the finished Dreamcast would have been more intriguing than the released Xbox game?

Mega Man Mania (GBA)

Bookending this edition of Gone But Not Forgotten is a double dose of Mega Man. Around the time that Mega Man Anniversary Collection, which contained all eight mainline classic Mega Man games, was announced and later released for the PS2, GameCube, and later the Xbox, Capcom also had plans to release a companion collection for the Game Boy Advance. This would have been a compendium of Mega Man's handheld adventures from the original Game Boy. Months upon months turned into years with little information regarding Mega Man Mania (here's footage in the form of a trailer), the compilation in question, until it was sadly and silently killed off, much like the Blue Bomber is with Capcom today.

Gone But Not Forgotten 2: Game Cancellations That Also Still Sting

Oh, what could have been... That's a statement that dances around in my mind, taunting me at every waking hour. GAH! ...Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but no doubt you've followed a game from its initial announcement with feverish anticipation only to have it unceremoniously cancelled down the road. It's like a sucker punch to the gut when that happens, and that is what Gone But Not Forgotten deals with, cancelled games that I still feel the sting from. This is the second article in the series, so if you missed the first, check out this link. With that out of the way, let's get depressed and disappointed together! Yay!

Sonic X-treme (SAT)

Sonic X-treme was set up to be the first original Sonic the Hedgehog game for the ill-fated Sega Saturn. However, development hell plagued the game, as did the illnesses of two of main designers. Sonic X-treme went through plenty of alterations and versions before it was ultimately cancelled for good, one of which being the tube-like level designs where Sonic could run on walls, shifting the gravity in the process. The game was intended to use a unique fish-eye lens camera to make the game even more of an eye-catcher. Perhaps the remnants of Sonic X-treme can be seen in last year's Sonic: Lost World released for the Wii U.

Heavenly Sword 2 (PS3)

The original Heavenly Sword was a great success sales-wise, performing well enough to cross the million sale threshold. However, the development duties of its sequel were handed over to a new team, outside of the original developer, Ninja Theory. Meanwhile, Ninja Theory started work on a reboot to the Devil May Cry series. SCE Cambridge was the new team in charge of Heavenly Sword 2, but they were soon restructured and absorbed by Guerilla Games. As it stands now, Heavenly Sword 2 is but a wish from fans of the series, and while the creators say that hope isn't totally lost for a sequel, the likelihood of a new entry is quite low. Not very reassuring, huh?

Maximo 3 (PS2)

Maximo 3's cancellation is a case of poor sales of a predecessor meaning the halting of development for a sequel. After the critically acclaimed Ghost to Glory in 2001 and Army of Zin two years later, both titles released on the PlayStation 2, it's a darn shame that the latter didn't sell anywhere near enough to justify a third entry to cap of the trilogy. Perhaps the games' old school challenging gameplay turned off plenty of potential players, thus dooming a chance for a third game in the series. Well, at least we'll always have Ghosts to Glory and Army of Zin, right?

Bomberman (3DS)

Bomberman was one of the first games shown for the Nintendo 3DS. However, the developer Hudson Soft was purchased by Konami, who proceeded to cancel the game. As a huge fan of Bomberman 64 and its sequel, The Second Attack, the news of this inspired game hit me pretty hard. Not only was the game looking just like a great successor to those two Nintendo 64 classics, but since the game's cancellation, Bomberman as a series has been all but silent in recent years. It was only recently a smartphone game for Japan was announced, offering the old style Bomberman gameplay. It's not a replacement for what the Nintendo 3DS game could have been, but at least Konami isn't totally keeping Bomberman on hiatus.

Chocobo Racing (3DS)

Like the Bomberman project, Chocobo Racing was another tentative title shown during Nintendo's 2010 E3 press conference. Little is known about the game outside of a few screens here and there, but coming off the Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing inspired PlayStation One original, I can't help but feel saddened by the game's cancellation. It's not like competitive mascot arcade racers are in as steady supply as say, first-person shooters, so Chocobo Racing's 3DS entry would have been a welcomed addition to the gaming landscape.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2 (GCN, GBA)

Finally we look at a death-by-Nintendo-of-Japan Kirby game for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube,  a sequel to Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. The original Game Boy Color title used accelerometers in the game's cartridge to allow players to tilt the game system to move Kirby around labyrinths full of enemies, collectibles, and obstacles. As a huge fan of the original, the existence of a new Tilt 'n' Tumble excited me greatly upon seeing it in an issue of Nintendo Power. Now, all that is left of the game are old screenshots and some footage, a painful pair of reminders of what could have been.

Gone But Not Forgotten: Game Cancellations That Still Sting

Oh, we're sure you know the feeling. That feeling of the world being pulled out from under you... That feeling of your heart ripped right out of your chest... It's a miserable feeling. Yes, we're talking about being extremely hyped for an announced game only to have it shelved forever. As gamers for over twenty years, we've experienced more heartache and subsequent depression over game cancellations than we care to admit. Okay, perhaps we're being a little melodramatic here... Okay. Maybe a LOT melodramatic, but the point still stands. The following is a group of games that we just think about what could have been... After you've read our picks, feel free to share your own in our comments section below.

Mega Man Legends 3 (3DS)

Capcom... you rat bastards. The company set up a website where fans could vote on a myriad of game-related options, such as character design choices for Mega Man Volnutt and new character Aero. However, Keiji Inafune, heralded as Mega Man's creator, left Capcom in 2010. The game's development team made it clear that the game would continue to be worked on. A prototype version of the game for the Nintendo 3DS's eShop was supposed to be released, showcasing the gameplay through ten missions. Eventually Capcom cancelled the entire project, disappointing fans, the development team, and Keiji Inafune in the process. While Capcom won't give fans their desired dose of Mega Man, Keiji Infaune's Mighty No. 9 looks to step in and give fans what they want if Capcom won't.

Mega Man Universe (PSN, XBLA, WiiWare)

Not pleased enough with kicking Mega Man and his fans to the curb once, Capcom decided to cancel another of the Blue Bomber's projects, Mega Man Universe. Covered in 2.5D aesthetics, Mega Man Universe would have given several nods to Mega Man 2. The most exciting part of the game was the ability to create and share custom levels, similar to what was seen in Mega Man: Powered Up on the PSP. After Keiji Inafune's departure from Capcom, there was total silence from the team behind Mega Man Universe. Eventually, Capcom revealed the game had been killed, like poor Mega Man on a spike trap. The reason for the game's cancellation? "Various circumstances." Well, we, along with many Mega Man fans, were all various types of angry.

Donkey Kong Racing (GCN)

We have listed twice that our favorite kart racing game of all time is Diddy Kong Racing, so the cancellation of a sequel to that game still bums us out. Some footage was shown of the project at Nintendo's SpaceWorld 2001 event. It featured Donkey and Diddy Kong, along with Taj the Genie (who debuted in Diddy Kong Racing) speeding through various settings aboard familiar Donkey Kong Country animal friends and foes, such as Rambi, Espresso, Zinger, and Necky. Due to Nintendo selling off their shares of Rare to Microsoft, Rare turned their attention to making games for the Xbox. This left Donkey Kong Racing in a state of limbo. It's been over a decade now, and we think it's finally safe to say that the game has been cancelled, much to our chagrin.

EarthBound 64 (N64)

A project that was mired with problems, EarthBound 64 was initially going to be a game on the Super Famicom. (Obviously not under that game name.) Development then shifted to the ill-fated Nintendo 64DD attachment for the Nintendo 64. Seeing as the 64DD was an immense failure, the team started work on the project for the Nintendo 64. However, the development team's inexperience with the more powerful hardware, and most notably, creating objects and characters in 3D, led the way to EarthBound 64 (or as it was known in Japan as Mother 3: Butaō no Saigo) being shut down. There is some solace in the death of what could have been a terrific RPG to a system starved for them. The ideas from EarthBound 64 would take root and grow into Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Many mechanics, characters, scenarios and such were built from ideas from the EarthBound 64 project. It's just a shame that no one outside of Japan can legally play it in English.

Dead Phoenix (GCN)

GameCube fans like us know all too well about the infamous "Capcom 5." These were five games that were originally announced as exclusive projects for Nintendo's indigo, black, or spice lunch box (we mean that in a loving way). Three of these games were given ports to other platforms. One stayed a GameCube exclusive (P.N.03), while the other, Dead Phoenix, was, well, dead. That was a huge shame, as the game looked rather interesting. It had a winged dude named Phoenix flying around a 3D space, shooting enemies in a vast fantasy world. Pretty cool, huh? After missing its awaited E3 2003 showing, Capcom put Dead Phoenix's flame out for good.

The Getaway 3 (PS3)

Jockeying for position as Sony's own version of GTA, only set in London, The Getaway 3 debuted in a show reel back in 2005. Oh, we were so innocent back then. Anyway, the preceding clips showed off what people expected to receive once they got the game in their hands-- speeding through London city streets, completing missions, and letting loose plenty of "wanker" bombs. Indeed, The Getaway 3 looked rather appealing to many. Unfortunately, Sony did not see the project as promising as gamers did. It cancelled its London's studio's project to have them focus on less ambitious franchises.

StarCraft: Ghost (PS2, GCN, XBX)

Atypical of the StarCraft series, StarCraft: Ghost was a third-person shooter, which at the time before guns in games were commonplace, it was a welcome adjustment to the franchise. The point of this, according to the developers back then, was that a third-person perspective would give players a closer look into the StarCraft universe. The game was originally announced in Fall 2002. Seeing as it has still yet to surface after its 2006 delay, StarCraft: Ghost is the poster child for "vaporware." While it's not "officially" cancelled, the game might as well be and is very much considered so by most of the gaming media. It's really unfortunate, because of all the games featured on this special segment, it was the most complete.

Project HAMMER (Wii)

Another "it hasn't officially been confirmed as cancelled but it might as well be" game is Project HAMMER, a game that was being designed by Nintendo's NST team here in the States. Shown only once, and that was at E3 2006, the game came off as a beat-em-up, allowing the player and their humongous hammer to slam and smash enemies, buildings, and anything else in their way. The disappointment of this game being silently smashed into smithereens is that NST would go on to make more casual-oriented titles instead of more gamer-friendly titles. They had just come off the success of Metroid Prime Hunters, so it was sad (and still is) to see them taking a different road.