About a year ago, it came to light that Red Fly Studio – the studio responsible for porting the two Force Unleashed games to Wii – was at one point working on a new Star Wars game that would be focused on Darth Maul. The game would've aimed to flesh out Darth Maul much more as a character and would've taken many cues from the Batman Arkham games. Unfortunately, LucasArts kicked the bucket before the project could be completed and this brought the project to an indefinite halt.
Dan Borth – a developer at Red Fly – recently took to Reddit to conduct an AMA regarding their cancelled Darth Maul game. He claims that they're currently trying to resurrect the project and that they're getting very close to having something that they can pitch to EA:
We have been burning a candle for this game since it was killed in hopes we can get it turned back on again. IF that is to happen we need to approach EA with a demo that will impress them. I think we have that or are close to it. Still it is completely not up to us.
While it does look like this game will be made multiplatform if it gets greenlit, it was in production for the Wii U at one point and it's certainly possible that the Wii U would be included in this fresh run at the game. In an effort to sweeten the deal, the team may turn to crowdfunding as well, to gauge interest and ensure that the game will be at its best:
Sure it's a good idea but it's all up to the IP holder. "They" are usually against it because it it doesn't fund it will hurt the IP/Brand. "They" are usually for it when they are more concerned about the money.
There is already millions into the game. A crowd funding effort could put more in and then "hopefully" the risk would be lowered enough for them to Green Light it.
What do you think? Would you buy the Darth Maul game if it came to Wii U? Do you think the team will be successful in reinvigorating this project? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source reddit.com]
Comments 77
This would be pretty exciting if it turns out to be a legit thing. Here's to hoping
I didn't play Force Unleashed on the Wii, but they really didn't have that good material to work with, if they just ported the 360/PS3 versions then there's not much they could have done, those games were pretty bad IMHO. Doing some research they seem to develop these licenced games that turn out to be sub-par: Ghostbusters, Thor and the Out of the Shadows game of the TMNT series which wasn't very well received. So...we can only hope they will actually do a better job with this if it goes through.
I hope it happens, being a Nintendo exclusive would be awesome, but I doubt it, beside, didn't Disney give the exclusive rights for Star Wars games to EA? So you can probably kiss a Nintendo console release at all, goodbye...
Time to see that unprecedented partnership in action!
The ship has sailed. Everyone's trying to forget the prequels, what with The Force Awakens on the horizon and all.
I really don't care, but since it's EA, it's not gonna happen. Simple as that.
I'm not a fan of Star Wars in general. Darth Maul is the only thing I like from that universe. Vader is kind of meh to me. So definitely, a game focused on Maul could be a good thing.
...Can I have a new pod-racing game instead? o.o
I would be tempted by this. I enjoyed the force unleashed games on the Wii and considering they did those ports they might do well with their own game...
At this point, any SW game for a Nintendo console would be great news to hear. But the fact it could be a Darth Maul one with cues taken from the Arkham series would be that much sweeter!
I hope it's revival is successful though, there's no way it could hurt the brand like EA's "Battlefield: Star Wars Edition."
@DarthNocturnal I had the PC version, but it was too buggy at this point on new computers so I couldn't play it without it crashing randomly. Wished they would release it on the VC...and yeah, I've no PS3/4...don't plan on getting one either. lol
@MrSeitaro force unleashed was better on wii than 360 and ps3
I would be very happy if this came to wiiu I love darth maul and really enjoyed force unleashed, especially on the wii.
@DarthNocturnal really? I thought the Wii version was the best. Especially next to the PS3.
Could this game be the one to utilize Wii MotionPlus to finally give us the proper motion-controlled lightsaber game we've all been asking for since the Wii was first revealed? This is probably our last chance to get one.
By the way, I also agree that the Wii version of Force Unleashed was better. However, we shall not speak of Force Unleashed 2. That game had much worse gameplay and a lousy story (that was at least made decent by the more fleshed out novel) that left us with many questions that were never answered after it got the sub-series canned. The canon reboot was helpful in this case.
yes. give darth maul a game! he'z the only GOOD episode 1 character
yes. give darth maul a game! he'z the only GOOD episode 1 character
What I would personally go for is bringing the finished, yet never released, Rogue Squadron trilogy meant for the Wii. Factor 5 may be no more, but it would be nice if whoever has a claim over that to talk with Nintendo about bringing it to life on the Wii U as a Wii digital title, since there's practically a 0% chance of it being remade for the system.
I don't get why anyone would think Maul's so cool. He's only got two things going for him: he wields a double-ended lightsaber, and he's rocking Shadow the Hedgehog's color scheme. There's nothing interesting about his character because there's hardly any character there to begin with! Tell me one good reason why Maul would deserve his own game.
@allav866 You just answered your own question. He had ZERO character development in the one Star Wars movie he appeared in. The character is virtually a blank slate, imagine what they could do with that!
@DarthNocturnal You caught me. I pretty much only watch the actual films. When I was a kid I read the Young Jedi Knights novel series, and that's really as far as I've gone into it.
If you really want to impress EA, make sure there's lots of microtransactions and season passes in it.
@MitchVogel That's a good point, and well made. I still don't understand how he has a fan base, but then again, just about everything has one. I'm sure the 10 Jar Jar Binks fans across the world are screaming for the obnoxious gungan to get his own game.
If this Nintendo exclusive is made, it will skip Nintendo.
@allav866 I think it's because he's so memorable. Think about it; this crazy looking demon guy showed up with a double lightsaber and then was killed before we could learn anything about him. I know that I'd certainly like to know more about him!
Never gonna happen.
@MitchVogel If only he had stayed dead. [sarcasm] Thanks a lot, "Clone Wars!" [/sarcasm] Even with the cauterization, I still don't get how he survived without important organs like his kidneys or half his digestive system. Surely Zabrak physiology isn't that different from humans.
@BulbasaurusRex Nanomachines, son!
If it gets the green light, and that's a big IF!
It will never see a Nintendo console, or have EA changed their policy for supporting the WiiU?
as soon as I read they intend for it to be multi platform my first thought was "Oh so they'll port it to every 7th and 8th gen console except wii U" we all know what third parties are like when it comes to multiplat games.
EA?
Well there goes any chance of it ever coming to a Nintendo console, then. :/
@CB85 I thought so too. I mean, how can this even come to Nintendo with a third party developer in mind?
@Artwark It can't. If it were 3 years ago, perhaps. But now, no chance at all, not even a tiny one.
I don't see why there is any suggestion this would come to Wii U if EA were involved. Like most other 3rd parties, EA gave up on Wii U long ago. They will never release another game on Wii U and nobody would surely think otherwise. And frankly with strong rumours of NX next year I'd be surprised if anyone beyond Indies would start development on any new Wii U games now. Such a shame as such a great console.
Theres several other games I'd rather see resurrected.
"...something that they can pitch to EA."
The end of that sentence tells you immediately it'll never be released on a Nintendo console.
Reason this wouldn't be on a Nintendo console: EA.
Reason this wouldn't be on a Nintendo console: EA.
@Aerona But Darth Maul was the one good thing to come out of the prequels!
Day one for me if it comes to Wii u!! Please let this happen!
EA? Welp, it won't be coming to the WiiU...
EA means no chance in hell for a wii u game. I'd even put money that many Third parties will still avoid NX until it has a large install base.
Where would he fit in the old and new SW timeline. From what we know in the old timeline he was only trained for a little while before being supposedly killed, coming back as a spider robot, then as cyborg, and then killed again in the most mundane way as possible. The new timeline pretty much ends at him being killed and that's it.
@Lord Did auto-correct turn "3rd" into "Thursday"? Or maybe "Thurd" w/ a typo of "u" instead of "i"? Never seen that one before, and I make a lot of typos and have seen a lot of weird auto-corrects. Nintendo usually auto-corrects to Nitrated which is why it's always wrong, I'd rather have Nintendo spelled wrong than Nitrated.
Don't see why anybody would start working on a Wii U game now w/ NX on the horizon. And w/ dev kits out it is on the horizon, like it or not. Maybe the yearly sequels like Just Dance, but not anew game.
I do think it could be a good stand alone game. Maul is better than that dweeb in Unleashed. Kids sitll want to be Maul for Halloween due to the dual saber. My kid only wants 3 DI toys - Vader, Oshako and Maul. Not even Yoda or Boba Fett. Though that Yoda toy is a travesty to my memory of him so I can't blame him for that one, and I think you have to b over 30 to like Boba.
But the Maul character could take on a life of his own. Kinect games, games like Deadpool - still not sure how he manged his own game. Don't even need Star Wars in the title, just call it "Darth Maul Lives" and have him be recreated as a clone from cells like every other character in Star Wars over the past dozen years. Kids dig the Sith.
@rjejr quality auto correct! Third to Thursday great work!
As for the Star Wars films well 1/2/3 where awful with 1 holding a small amount of love due to maul and the use of the force. Rather than the political stories and cgi trash of 2/3 the fact he turned his back on the original cast and writers as Hollywood stepped in to guide Lucus through a new over to top trilogy meant we where always destined for what we recieved, I had heard that Lucas went back to one to remove the puppets and replace with cgi. From what I can see 7 is true to the original 4/5/6 and Disney are trying to repair the damage caused by 3 with additional films bridging the gap between 3/4.
I really hope this comes to light
@MrSeitaro Actually, the Wii versions of Ghostbusters, Thor and TMNT were better received than the HD versions.
Also, Red Fly only developed the Wii version of Force Unleashed 2. The former was done by (the now defunct) Krome studios. Though the sequel was debatable, many saw the original Wii version of Force Unleashed to be the best version. I own both versions, and I can definitely say that Krome's efforts were superior; not only did it have exclusive levels and multiplayer modes, but it just felt better to play. The HD version was quite frustrating at times - Starkiller's lightsaber felt like a wiffle-ball bat, and the magnetic troopers were perhaps the most frustrating enemy is the history of gaming.
Besides, the PS3/Xbox 360 versions used the 'Euphoria' and 'Digital Molecular Matter' engines, which were impossible to replicate on Wii. But really, they made no difference to the gameplay, and Krome's Havoc engine did the job just fine. In fact, you could barely tell the difference.
As for this Maul game... I would be excited under any other circumstance... But... Well...
EA.
@Megumi : I'll second that!!!!
Well if EA didn't have the Star Wars license then maybe it could've happen
Well if EA didn't have the Star Wars license then maybe it could've happen
@DarthNocturnal Really? Could have sworn they said the only that surviving were the movies. Well I guess they could expand more on his Clone War appearances, but really they should just scrap Maul and make bank on a new Sith Lord. Keep the colour scheme, add more bad@ssery.
@allav866 Agreed. Darth Maul didn't really do anything the entire movie until the end, and even then he wasn't that great.
It's not just about money now, it's about continuity.
All games as of last year have to fit into Star Wars cannon, and Darth Maul is kinda MIA in cannon at the moment (post SOD) and we already know his origin (see clone wars [Night Sisters] ).
Doing this would take far to story edits and workarounds that it wouldn't even be the same game, but that's just my thoughts on it.
Sadly I think @Aerona is right. This is merely what could have been. But yeah, I'd buy it if it looked like it was going to be any good! I love Star Wars!
Would be nice if we Wii U owners got something SW related in the run up to Episode VII. We're getting no new game, we can accept that, but surly they could allow the Super Star Wars trilogy (And maybe even the N64 SW games) a rerelease on the Wii U's Virtual Console since we did get the Super trilogy back in the days of the Wii.....
I hope so! Anything that shows Disney doesn't hate the prequels is good in my book. Also, I love Darth Maul so even better!
EDIT: Regarding TFU thing, I may get a lotta hate for this, but I found the HD versions better by far. There were way too many unnecessary changes in the Wii version that it took me out of the experience. Having the first level at night for no reason, dialogue was more rushed (not sure why they had to redo it, etc. I don't understand why they couldn't've just kept the same level design. Or maybe I just have bad feelings towards it because it froze and never worked again.
Obviously the Wii U will be left out because this would be an EA game.
Force Unleashed 1 and 2 were both better on the Wii than on the 360/PS3.
Sadly as EA now have control over Star Wars games for the next decade it is unlikely that we'll see anything on a Nintendo system, although if Star Wars Battlefield is any indication that might not be such a bad thing.
@DarthNocturnal Okay that makes sense. I guess when I originally read it I blacked out at "Only the six movies". Thanks for the info!
@Senate_Guard Hey, Battlefront's not a Battlefield clone just because they're both made by DICE.
This has my interest. If they can make a good Star Wars game and make it for Wii U, I'll love to see it
@rjejr
"Just have it be called Darth Maul Lives"
Rofl lol lol.... excellent. Really really excellent.
Lol do you honestly think this will come out on Wii U?
xD hahaha
It really depends on what they have in mind, but I like the idea of Darth Maul being the main character.
Something along the lines of Jedi Power Battles or Jedi Academy would be cool.
Would be very nice too have a Star Wars game on the Wii U or NX.
worst decision redfly by taking this to Ea
@shani Ea is still throwing a bloody tantrum over not having origin on the wii u
EA has exclusive rights to star wars games for a good few years right?
Even if they DID manage to get this project resurrected, I severely doubt it would stay a Ninty exclusive. In fact, I bet it wouldn't even end up being on a Nintendo console at all, considering the rocky relationship EA and Nintendo currently have.
If it gets resurrected, I doubt it would be exclusive to Nintendo. Still, what I would love to see is the Rogue Squadron trilogy on VC, or a new Rogue Squadron game. I really liked Rebel Strike.
The Force Unleashed on Wii is just an incredible game. It really showed how much fun can be had with the nunchuk's motion control, probably the best game to use that successfully. A joy. Should play it again I love it so much.
Part 3 to force unleashed cook
@DarthNocturnal ea sucks
EA hates Nintendo gamers, so even if they do make it (which they wont), it will be a PS4, Xbone, PC only affair.
"The game would've aimed to flesh out Darth Maul much more as a character and would've taken many cues from the Batman Arkham games."
Yes please.
I'd buy it
@JaxonH I re-read my post and I can't tell anymore if Darth Maul Lives was me being sarcastic or sincere. Well maybe the clone part was sarcastic, there obviously must be a great back story there, Sith apprentice don't just show up, they take time. Would need a different tile though for backstory, Darth Maul: Birth of a Sith. Still no need for Star Wars in the title, Darth Maul is basically Vader for today's kids. And really, what ever famous Darth's are there? Sidious exists, and a few other's, but that doesn't make them famous.
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