Ubisoft platform mascot Rayman was once featured in the files of Beyond Good & Evil, as seen in the game’s just-released 20th Anniversary Edition.
The anniversary edition of BG&E launched yesterday – after being accidentally made available last year – and includes an extensive behind-the-scenes archive of artwork, early gameplay videos and making-of footage. After spending a few hours wandering through it last night, I can confirm that it’s a real treat for any BG&E fan.
Below I’ve pulled out a few things that stood out to me: Someone who loved the game and has been waiting for news of its sequel for almost twenty years. And if that sounds like you, then there’s plenty more, including plenty of cut-level footage, to enjoy through the actual game.
Rayman originally had a cameo
For a game about shooting strange specimens, it’s perhaps no surprise that Rayman and BG&E creator Michel Ancel apparently snuck in an Easter egg where you could find the limbless hero himself. Unfortunately, Rayman did not make it to the finals of the game. The image above is from a development version of the game that made Rayman fully playable – although this was never planned for public release.
Jade was initially Sally
Everyone knows BG&E’s main character as Jade, but she spent a long time in pre-production and production as Sally. Concept art and even early placeholder audio lines describe her by this former name — which was changed because it sounded “too English.” (Oh, and the IRIS Network was originally called SPOON.)
The heroes of the game were originally pest control
Jade and Pey’j were initially planned to work for an intergalactic pest control service, which required them to visit various locations and rid them of rats. Rodents would indeed have been an enemy in the game (and their presence in the final version hints at their once much larger role).
Pey’j was a smoker
Around March 2002, Pey’j had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Ubisoft says his smoking habit was something developers wanted to explore, but had to give up to keep the game’s age rating low.
Between good and evil
Beyond Good & Evil was originally titled “Between Good & Evil”, even after the film was first shown to journalists in the summer of 2002.
The DomZ were originally good guys, and we would have visited their home planet
It has long been known that BG&E was originally planned as a multi-planet game. Well, one of them was intended to be the homeworld of the DomZ, the game’s villains, although in earlier versions of the game’s story they would have been a more innocent race taken over by another evil species. The DomZ also looked much less menacing, as you can see below.
Jade originally had more companions, including a DomZ
Plans for several other companions were left on the cutting room floor, including that of a DomZ character named Toy’l, which lasted relatively well into production. Toy’l would have been found later, as part of a scrapped mission on an orbiting satellite, and would have been instrumental in Jade discovering her true identity. Another familiar character – although left behind much earlier – was a brother of Jade.
Jade fought with her fists until late in development
The decision to have Jade fight with her Daï-jo staff was made late in development, in February 2003. Up until then, the fighting had been hand-to-hand.
And a little tease for Beyond Good & Evil 2…
The 20th Anniversary Edition archive contains just a single mention of Ubisoft’s long-awaited successor. “We also note that Pey’j was described at the time as a ‘hybrid clone,'” a development note said, referencing a July 2002 description of Jade’s uncle, “an idea that will be heavily developed in a future prequel.”
With the release of the 20th Anniversary Edition, Ubisoft has reaffirmed its commitment to one day launching Beyond Good & Evil 2. However, there are no details on when, and the game now holds the Guinness World Record for project longest in development.
In January 2023, Ubisoft told Eurogamer that “development of Beyond Good and Evil 2 is ongoing and the team is hard at work to deliver on its ambitious promise.” But the project was once again not featured at Ubisoft’s latest showcase.