A video game will often undergo many changes during its development cycle. These changes may be a result of the hardware not being able to handle their ideas for the game, or maybe aspects of the story worked better on paper than they did in motion.
The fact that video games are under pressure from outside sources, such as publishers and rating boards, has meant that some idea changes are forced on the production at a late stage in development, meaning that the creators of the game will have to scramble in order to find replacement ideas that they can implement.
There are times when these radical changes are an improvement on the original ideas presented by the developers, leading to a far more polished product. There are also times when the changes are a bad idea and elements that would have improved a game’s chances at success have been left to rot on the cutting room floor.
We are here today to see which cut story elements would have redeemed bad games and which ones could have harmed classic titles - from the time when The Simpsons almost stole the twist of Watchmen, to the ever-growing harem of inappropriate waifus in Persona 5.
Here are Ten Deleted Scenes That Would Have Saved Video Games (And Ten That Would Have Hurt Them)
20 Saved: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man Stole Watchmen’s Ending
The popularity of The Simpsons tied into the video game console boom of the early ’90s, which meant that there were a lot of terrible licensed games based on the show.
The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man almost managed to buck the trend by stealing the famous ending from Watchmen.
The ending that appears in the retail version of the game is a standard one, with Bartman and Radioactive Man defeating Brain-O the Magnificent.
In the beta version of the game, it was revealed that all of the wrongdoings in the game had actually been caused by Larva Girl, who had faked being a supervillain in order to get Radioactive Man’s attention.
19 Hurt: Final Fantasy VII Was Almost Way Seedier
When Squaresoft shifted development of Final Fantasy VII from Nintendo systems to the PlayStation, they were finally free from the restrictive content guidelines that Nintendo had been enforcing on them for years. This is why Final Fantasy VII has much more adult and violent content than its predecessors.
The Honey Bee Inn in Midgar is one example of a location where the writers realized that they had gone too far and decided to reign it.
The fans have since found unused areas and events within the Honey Bee Inn that were more forward about the inn’s true nature than what is shown in the game.
18 Saved: Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain Lost The Whole Ending
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was an excellent game with a terrible ending. This extends to the final batch of missions, which are essentially retreads of more interesting missions from earlier in the game.
It seems that Hideo Kojima and his team had planned for more content, as there is footage of a cut third act of the game which would have taken place on a new map and would have resolved the story of the young Liquid Snake and Psycho Mantis, as well as revealing the fate of the Sahelanthropus.
17 Hurt: Tomb Raider Underworld Almost Had A Darker Ending
Lara Croft is one of the most iconic characters in gaming, even though she used to gun down endangered animals on a regular basis.
Lara Croft almost did something far crueler in Tomb Raider: Underworld, as fans found an unused ending in the PC version of the game that is far darker than the actual ending.
In the alternate unused ending, Lara Croft is attacked by her nemesis, Amanda Evert, while they are traveling through a blizzard. Lara fires a bullet into Amanda’s leg and leaves her to succumb to the harsh weather, before walking away.
16 Saved: Final Fantasy VI: Doom Gaze Battle Was Almost Better
One of the most frustrating boss battles in Final Fantasy VI involves a wandering creature called Doom Gaze.
Doom Gaze can only be fought on the airship and could only be encountered on a randomly determined part of the world map, meaning it would take forever to find it. You also had to fight Doom Gaze several times, as it had a ton of health and would retreat from battle, causing you to begin the hunt anew.
According to cut dialogue within the files of Final Fantasy VI - the battle with Doom Gaze was going to involve more strategy. You would have needed to use status effects on it in order to seal its abilities.
15 Hurt: Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Almost Had A Strange Scene
Final Fantasy Type-0 was initially only released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan, with no hope in sight for the international fans outside of illegal fan translations.
Final Fantasy Type-0 would finally see a worldwide release when it was given an HD port for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This version of the game cleaned up the visuals and added some content while removing some of the more questionable material.
In the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Type-0, it’s possible to unlock a swimsuit for Emina Hanaharu and spy on her while she is in her room. The suit was totally removed in the HD version of the game, meaning that she is fully clothed during the spying scene, making it less creepy.
14 Saved: Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows Of Amn - Artemis Entreri Almost Showed Up For A Rematch with Drizzt
The most famous character in the Dungeons & Dragons novels is Drizzt Do’Urden - a drow ranger from an evil society who seeks acceptance on the surface world.
Drizzt is an amazing warrior, but he meets his match in the form of a human assassin named Artemis Entreri, forming a bitter rivalry between the two.
In Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, you can team up with Drizzt and his friends once you return from the Underdark and they will join you during your siege of Bodhi’s lair.
Artemis Entreri was originally going to show up as an ally of Bodhi and challenge Drizzt to a battle. This scene was cut from the game, but it can be added back in with mods.
13 Hurt: Dragon Age: Inquisition Almost Allowed A Male Qunari To Become The Divine
In the world of Dragon Age, the Chantry is led by a Divine, which is a role similar to that of the Pope. The Divine has always been female, with the current holder of the position being Justina V at the start of Dragon Age: Inquisition, with the protagonist acting as one of her closest associates.
It was originally going to be possible for male characters to become the Divine, though it would take a lot more work. It would have been even harder for a Qunari male to become the Divine, but it still would have been possible.
This idea was scrapped due to how much it went against the lore of the series.
12 Saved: Chrono Cross - Magus Almost Appeared In The Game
Chrono Cross is often regarded as a great game but a terrible sequel, due to how poorly the characters from Chrono Trigger are treated. The beloved playable characters from Chrono Trigger are mostly treated to terrible fates.
One character from Chrono Trigger who is absent in Chrono Cross is Magus, or at least that’s what most people think.
It was originally going to be revealed that Guile was actually Magus, who had taken a secret identity in order to join Serge, as he was still looking for his sister.
The Guile/Magus reveal was eventually scrapped, as the addition of more characters to the cast led to the developers becoming concerned that Magus’s true identity wouldn’t fit into the ever-growing story.
11 Hurt: Chrono Trigger Almost Left Crono In The Grave
Chrono Trigger is one of the few games where the main character has to perish as part of the main story. Crono is disintegrated by Lavos during their first battle in the Ocean Palace.
The rest of the party go on a quest to find a copy of Crono and replace him at the moment before he was destroyed.
The original plan for Crono’s fate involved the party finding an earlier version of Crono from the timeline and using him as a replacement, with the knowledge that he would eventually meet his fate and there was nothing they could to save him. The inevitable fate of Crono was removed, as it was deemed too dark for the story.
10 Saved: Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II Almost Had A Droid World
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II was notoriously buggy and unfinished, with most of the game’s conclusion missing. The reason for this is due to the fact that LucasArts forced Obsidian to finish the game up in time for a Christmas release, even though it was nowhere near conclusion.
One of the major cuts from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II was a planet called M4-78, which was populated almost entirely by droids. M4-78 was the farthest from completion, so the developers moved almost all of its content to other parts of the game.
The mission to M4-78 would have involved sending in the droid characters to clear up all of the radiation so that the rest of the party could deal with the Sith hiding on the world.
9 Hurt: Grand Theft Auto III Almost Allowed You To Side With The Wrong People
The developers of Grand Theft Auto III were incredibly lucky when they chose to cut a portion of the game during development.
Grand Theft Auto III was originally going to include a character named Darkel, who was the leader of a gang of tramps. He was going to give out missions where the player was expected to perform really bad acts. The developers cut Darkel because he didn’t gel with the aesthetic of the game.
Grand Theft Auto III was released in October 2001. Had the Darkel missions been kept in the game, then Grand Theft Auto III would have come under fire for including playable missions like this so soon after the September attacks.
8 Saved: Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver Almost Had A Conclusion
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver was one of the best games on the original PlayStation. It seems that the developers realized how awesome the game was during the production process, which is likely why the ending was changed.
The original ending of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver was far more definitive, with Raziel slaying Kain and wiping out all of the vampires in Nosgoth.
This original ending was way too conclusive, so the developers changed it to Kain escaping through a portal to another dimension, with Raziel in hot pursuit. This unsatisfying ending was one of the most criticized aspects of the game.
7 Hurt: Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night Almost Had A Much Darker Ending
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night involves Alucard entering Dracula’s castle, as Richter Belmont was nowhere to be found. The Belmont family had traditionally been responsible for whipping Dracula right in his stupid face whenever he woke up, but his absence meant that Alucard had to step up.
It’s possible for Alucard to slay Richter in combat, leading to a bad ending. There was going to be an even darker ending where Maria was possessed by Shaft, forcing Alucard to deal with her, leading to ending where both Maria and Richter were deceased.
6 Saved: Ultima IX: Ascension And The Traitor Nightmare
Ultima IX: Ascension was a notoriously awful end to one of the greatest video game series of all time. This was to due to a tumultuous development cycle, which involved numerous shifts in design and different engines.
The final version of Ultima IX: Ascension was riddled with bugs and had numerous pieces of unfinished content within the code of the game.
One of the unused cutscenes involved the Guardian sending Lord British a nightmare where he saw the Avatar turning traitor and leading an army to take Brittania. This would have sown dissension between the Avatar and Lord British.
5 Hurt: Pokémon Gold & Silver Almost Torched The Franchise
Pokémon Gold & Silver entered development before the series had become a worldwide hit. The original intention was for Pokémon Gold & Silver to be the final games in the series, but these plans were scrapped when it became apparent how popular the franchise was becoming, so the game was retooled.
If the beta version of Pokémon Gold & Silver was turned into the final product, then it would have ended the franchise. The reasons for this involved using the whole of Japan as the region, which would have reduced the possible options for later locations in the series.
There were also scrapped designs for a vampire Pokémon and a voodoo doll Pokémon with a nail through its chest, which likely would need to have been censored in the West. The original designs for Remoraid and Octillery also made them look like a gun and a tank respectively, which also would have caused issues.
4 Saved: Mass Effect 3 Almost Had A Final Boss
Mass Effect 3 may have had the most controversial ending in video game history. This was due to the fact that all of your decisions throughout the series were rendered moot, as you had to choose between three different options to determine the ending.
The last act of the game may have been improved by a final boss battle, but there was none.
The original plan for Mass Effect 3 was for Shepard to battle a mutated version of the Illusive Man, who had been transformed into a monster by the Reapers in order to strike down Shepard before he could use the Crucible.
This final boss battle was scrapped in favor of a dialogue scene with the Illusive Man.
3 Hurt: Kingdom Hearts II Almost Offed Axel At The Start Of The Game
Axel is one of the most popular characters in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. He is a member of Organization XIII who befriends Roxas and acts as a mentor figure to him. Axel would later perish after using all of his life energy to destroy a group of Nobodies to save Sora’s life.
The original plan was for Axel to perish during the prologue chapter of Kingdom Hearts II, but he was so popular with the staff that they decided to postpone his fate until later in the story.
This stay of execution for Axel was a wise move, as he would go on to be just as beloved by the fans as he was by the staff of Kingdom Hearts II.
2 Saved: Resident Evil V Almost Saved Wesker From His Silly Fate
The Resident Evil series has always drifted between serious survival horror and goofy B-movie action scenes.
Albert Wesker became a victim of the goofier side of the series during his final battle in Resident Evil 5. Wesker had been a recurring villain throughout the series and was a powerful foe, yet he turned into a silly looking monster and perished during a brawl in a volcano.
The original fate for Albert Wesker involved him retaining his human form. Chris Redfield would have needed to fly a fighter jet into battle and fire a volley of missiles in order to take Wesker down, which would have been a far more epic conclusion than the silly volcano fight.
1 Hurt: Persona 5 Almost Let You Romance Sae
Persona 5 was possibly the best game of 2017 and is one of the greatest games of this console generation.
While Persona 5 received rave reviews, it raised a few eyebrows when it came to the romance options in the game.
It’s possible for the protagonist of Persona 5 to enter into relationships with several middle-aged women, one of whom is a teacher and another who is his physician.
There is unused audio within the files of Persona 5 which suggests that a romance with Sae Niijima was once part of the game. This would have meant that the protagonist could also romance the Public Prosecutor who was working on his case, who was also too old to be dating him.
