Ubisoft’s platformer mascot Rayman once appeared in the files of Beyond Good & Evil, as shown in the game’s newly launched 20th Anniversary Edition.
Launched yesterday – after previously being mistakenly made available last year – the BG&E Anniversary Edition includes an extensive behind-the-scenes archive of artwork, early gameplay videos and footage. After spending a couple of hours walking through it last night, I can confirm that it’s a real treat for any BG&E fan.
Below, I’ve pulled out some of the things that stood out to me – someone who loved the game and has waited nearly 20 years for news of its sequel. And if that sounds like you, well, there’s plenty more, including plenty of cutscenes, to enjoy through the actual game.
Rayman originally had a scene
For a game about photographing strange specimens, it’s perhaps no surprise that Rayman and BG&E creator Michel Ancel apparently hid in an Easter egg where you could find the limbless hero himself. Sadly, Rayman didn’t make the final game cut. The image above is taken from a development build of the game where Rayman was made fully playable – although this was never planned for release.
Jade was originally Sally
Everyone knows the BG&E protagonist as Jade, but she spent a long time in pre-production and production as Sally. Concept art and even early placeholder audio lines describe it using this previous name – which was changed because it sounded “too English”. (Oh, and the IRIS Network was originally called SPOON.)
Game heroes were originally pest control
Jade and Pey’j were originally scheduled to work for an intergalactic pest control service, which required them to visit various locations and rid them of rats. Indeed, rodents would have been an enemy in the game (and their presence in the final version hints at their once much larger role).
Pej was a smoker
Around March 2002, Peji was given a cigarette that dangled from his mouth. Ubisoft says his smoking habit was something the developers wanted to explore but had to abandon to keep the game’s age rating down.
Between good and evil
Beyond Good & Evil was originally titled “Between Good & Evil”, even after it was first shown to journalists in the summer of 2002.
The DomZ were originally good guys and we would have visited their planet
It has long been known that BG&E was originally planned as a game with multiple planets. Well, one of them was intended to be the home world of the DomZ, the game’s villains, although in previous versions of the game’s story they would have been a more innocent race overrun by another evil species. DomZ also had a much less menacing look to it – 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 one for a DomZ character named Toy’l that lasted until relatively far into production. Toy’l would have been encountered late, as part of an aborted mission set aboard an orbital satellite, and it would have been essential for Jade to learn her true identity. Another cut character – although left behind much earlier – was a brother for Jade.
Jade fought with fists until late in development
The decision to fight Jade with her Daï-jo staff was made late in development, in February 2003. Until then, the fight was hand to hand.
And a little teaser for Beyond Good & Evil 2…
The 20th Anniversary Edition archive includes only a single mention of Ubisoft’s highly anticipated upcoming sequel. “We also note that Pey’j was described as a ‘hybrid clone’ at the time,” says a development note, referring to a July 2002 description of Jade’s uncle, “a notion that will be greatly developed in a upcoming prequel”.
With the release of the 20th Anniversary Edition, Ubisoft has once again reaffirmed its commitment to releasing Beyond Good & Evil 2 at some point. However, there are no details on when, and the game now holds the Guinness World Record for the longest project in development.
In January 2023, Ubisoft told Eurogamer that “Beyond Good and Evil 2 development is underway and the team is working hard to deliver on its ambitious promise”. But the project didn’t show up again at Ubisoft’s latest showcase.