The past week is proving to be a good one for fans of abandoned Nintendo games. Just a few days after Rare’s original version of Star Fox Adventures, the unreleased N64 game Dinosaur Planet, was leaked online, footage has emerged showing off what would have been a portable entry in the long-dormant Black and White series.
For the uninitiated, Black and White was a strategy-simulation series created by Fable creator Peter Molyneux and Lionhead Studios where players got to play as a god tasked with ruling over the people of the game’s world. Debuting in 2001, it garnered much acclaim for the depth of gameplay that gave players the freedom to be as benevolent or tyrannical a god as they wanted.
While that’s what the series is known for, a newly-uncovered Nintendo DS spinoff called Black and White Creatures would have taken things in a different direction. As shown in early gameplay footage provided by YouTube channel PtoPOnline, the game would have focused on tending to and interacting with the series’ unique avatar-like creatures. It’s clear that the game’s developer, a studio called Full Fat, had set out to capitalize on the immense popularity of the Nintendogs series during the DS’ lifespan.
What isn’t immediately clear is why Black and White Creatures ultimately never saw the light of day, but no doubt longtime fans of the series will appreciate being able to see something new. It’s been sixteen years since the most recent title, Black and White 2, and with Lionhead closing in 2016 and Molyneux moving onto other projects at his new studio 22Cans, a revival isn’t likely anytime soon.
Luckily, fans of the studio’s legacy do have something to look forward to, since Microsoft and Playground Games are currently working on a new Fable game, which should be released within the next few years.
Source: Nintendo Everything