It was Different
Or as different as you can be in AAA games. Depending on your outlook, Scalebound was pretty much Monster Hunter meets Devil May Cry, neither of which are really bad things in and of themselves. Devil May Cry is fun, and Monster Hunter is fun, and you could certainly see a bit of both in the slices of gameplay that Platinum and Microsoft showed us. Thankfully, they snatched more from DMC than just a white haired protagonist, they also grabbed the tone and humor with him.
Right from the start, it was clear that playing as Drew with his dragon Thuban would try to have the same amount of ridiculousness that Dante’s adventures have sported. Giant monsters? Check. Flashy action? Double check. A character design that looks both dorky and distinct? Yeah, those were all in there and, combined together, made for an interesting mishmash. But the footage we saw of it made it all blend together in that classic Platinum way. Plus, those headphones were pretty cool. Wonder if they would’ve been included in the collector’s edition of the game…
First Time for Everything
Platinum has more or less had a good track record with their games. One of their debut titles, Bayonetta, is regarded as one of the best action games in recent years, with its sequel taking equal amounts of praise. Other titles such as Metal Gear Rising, MadWorld, and Anarchy Reigns have their flaws, to be sure, but they’re still regarded as generally fun games with solid followings. (In the case of MGR, fans have demanding a sequel to that more than any recent product in the Metal Gear universe.)
Scalebound is, for better or worse, the first game of theirs to get the axe. On one hand, being 13-1 is pretty impressive for a studio that’s only been around since 2009. On the other hand, having that black mark, even if it’s just one, isn’t a good look for you. Platinum was by no means an untouchable developer, but as more news about the game’s cancellation surfaces, there are going to be those looking to remind everyone that Scalebound was the supposed Golden Goose that couldn’t deliver, either on their end or Microsoft’s.
Boy and Beast Bonding
Right from the start, one of the things that Platinum Games and designer Hideki Kamiya made clear about Scalebound was that the bond between Drew and Thuban was the core of the game. This didn’t just extend to the simple stuff, wherein more abilities (both in terms of traversal and combat) would be unlocked as the two characters bonded throughout the course of the game. Their lives were quite literally tied to each other via the health bar; if Thuban fell in battle, then so would Drew, and vice versa. Even the simple act of being able to ride Thuban was planned to be locked off at the beginning, presented as something you would have to earn the right to do once the two of you understood each other.
It’s easy to think of How to Train Your Dragon when discussing how the bond between these two would’ve progressed. Thuban may lack Toothless’ adorable charm or clipped fin, but it makes up for that in being Trico levels of enormous. 2016 saw the release of The Last Guardian, which everyone knew would nail the bond between boy and beast. But the surprise hit to that established trope was Titanfall 2’s dynamic between Jack Cooper and BT-7274 in its single player campaign.
It wasn’t likely that Thuban was ever going to talk in Scalebound–or at least, not with the eloquence or deadpan delivery of BT–but The Last Guardian and Titanfall 2 could’ve served as glowing examples for how to handle the dynamic between Drew and his dragon. It’s the little touches that can make a game, whether that’d be petting Thuban after a well fought battle or pressing a button to unlock a short burst of dialogue between the two as Drew does his own thing.
Xbox Loses an Exclusive
The Xbox One isn’t exactly slouching in terms of exclusives, but they aren’t doing well either. Compared to their distinguished competition, they may have the most middling lineup of the three; Nintendo has pretty much the entire world in their pocket in some way or another, and Sony’s doing pretty well with their own IPs and early access to DLC from third parties. Microsoft has Halo, Gears, and Forza, sure, but two of those came out weeks after one another in 2016. Despite referring to themselves as the “greatest lineup in Xbox history,” it’s hard to feel like that when you’ve got something like ReCore, which Microsoft talked up a big game about, but then didn’t fully deliver the goods on.
Scalebound was looking to change all that. The Xbox One doesn’t do well in Japan, but given that the project was an action RPG from one of the most well known Japanese developers in the industry, its release undoubtedly would’ve turned heads over there. Here in the west, Kamiya has garnered a beloved fanbase, thanks both to his recent output of games, and his pretty funny Twitter account. A pedigree like that means you’re pretty much set when it comes time to market the game and need an attention getter along the lines of “from the creator of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta!” to put in your trailer. At least, one would think that would be something you’d put in your trailer, but now we’ll never get the chance to find out.
Dragons and Magic, Bro.
There are several truths when it comes to video games. One of them is that dragons are awesome, and it’s something that multiple games have covered over the years, but only for real in one way. Namely, you don’t really get a chance to be or interact with dragons unless it’s a dark fantasy game where they’re these ancient and evil beasts of a time before man, in the vein of Dark Souls III or Skyrim. Spyro used to be the best dragon of them all with his 90’s attitude and sarcasm, but he’s now a thing of the past, given that his present doesn’t look so good.
Of all the reasons to be excited for Scalebound, its fantastical world of Draconis was something that looked enchanting. It had color and flourish in a way that just popped, with Thuban and the other dragons in the world (or from other players) taking the spotlight. There were flourishes such as Drew’s arm matching the color of Thuban’s skin–whether he was close to death or would change depending on other factors.
The developers frequently said that Draconis had a giant mushroom that was the foundation for all life in the game’s world–think the Force in Star Wars, but here named Pulse. It’s a silly thing to get excited about, but just the name of it indicated that we were going to be transported to a fantastical world where dragons were more than the backdrop for a dark fantasy setting. Just the idea of making your way to that mushroom with Thuban to absorb some of the energy or to take pictures would’ve been awesome. Going along with the fun tone and fantastical world, bringing the magic back to dragons would’ve been one of the highlights of Scalebound – one we’ll sadly never get to see.
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