Beyond Good & Evil (video game)

Did You Know?

• Jade's main tools are her Daï-jo combat staff, discs for ranged attacks, and a camera.
• A hybrid live-action/animated film adaptation is currently in the works at Netflix.

Plot

Beyond Good & Evil is set in the year 2435 on the mining planet Hillys, a remote world where rustic European architecture mixes with modern technology and anthropomorphic animals. The planet is under attack by the DomZ, aliens that abduct beings to drain their life force or turn them into slaves. The military dictatorship known as the Alpha Sections claims to defend the populace but seems unable to stop the DomZ, leading the underground IRIS Network to suspect collusion between the two.

The protagonist, Jade, is a young photojournalist who lives with her boar-like friend Uncle Pey'j in a lighthouse that shelters children orphaned by DomZ attacks. Other allies include Double H, a heavily armored IRIS operative, and Secundo, an artificial intelligence built into Jade's storage unit. The main antagonists are the DomZ High Priest and Alpha Sections leader General Kehck, who uses propaganda while secretly abducting citizens to feed the DomZ.

The story begins when a DomZ attack deactivates the lighthouse shield due to lack of funds, allowing DomZ creatures to abduct several orphans. Jade fights the creatures to free the children and, with Pey'j's help, defeats a DomZ monster emerging from a meteor crater. The Alpha Sections arrive only after the battle, prompting Pey'j to remark that they were late as usual.

Development

Beyond Good & Evil was created by Michel Ancel, best known for the Rayman series, at Ubisoft's Pictures studio in Montpellier. The project, internally called Project BG&E, took over three years and involved a team of 30 people. Ubisoft's CEO, Yves Guillemot, was a strong backer and often checked in with the developers. After years of Rayman, Ancel wanted a change.

He aimed to fit an entire universe onto a single CD, with mountains, planets, and towns, making the player feel like an explorer with total freedom. At the same time, he wanted a meaningful story, and believed linear gameplay was the best way to tell it, with freedom existing between story beats. He also tried to create a rhythm like a movie. The game took inspiration from the Miyazaki universe, politics and media, and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Ancel's wife reportedly inspired the main character, designed to be someone players could relate to. The game first appeared at E3 2002, where it was poorly received. Originally more artistic and similar to Ico, it was heavily changed to be more commercial. Jade, first a teenage girl, was redesigned to be stronger and fit her role.

Long exploration sections were cut because Ancel disliked that aspect in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The team felt demoralized, and Ancel said the final game felt more like a sequel than a rework. Before release, playable previews ran in movie theaters. The soundtrack came from Christophe Héral, hired for his film experience after a referral from a director Ancel had worked with. Laetitia Pansanel handled orchestration, and Patrice Héral contributed sound effects and vocals.

Reception

Beyond Good & Evil received generally favorable reviews from critics, according to Metacritic. Prior to release, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and PlayStation Magazine praised it at E3 2003 as one of the best titles on display. The graphics were widely praised: Game Informer wrote that every moment looked as good as a traditional RPG cutscene, with amazing effects and character animations. However, PC Format noted that while some effects were excellent, the graphics otherwise reminded of the game's console roots. 1UP.com and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine cited glitches such as frame rate as irksome.

Edge commended the storytelling and design but criticized the plot as unable to match Jade's initial appeal, becoming fairly mundane without the darkness suggested by the title. SMH called the setting dark, baroque and earthy, describing the game as a very European take on the role-playing genre and one of the best adventure games in years. GamePro called it a jack of all trades, master of none that never lived up to its title. Complaints included control issues and lack of gameplay depth; Game Informer found the controls serviceable but simplistic.

PC Gamer found most gameplay refreshing but called hovercraft races not much fun and combat the weakest element. Edge noted that the gameplay interaction felt hollowed out as an unintended consequence of Ancel's streamlining.

Legacy

Michel Ancel stated his desire to produce a sequel, and Ubisoft announced Beyond Good and Evil 2 at Ubidays 2008. The project was temporarily halted to focus on Rayman Origins. In early 2016, Destructoid published a rumor that the game was being funded by Nintendo as an exclusive to their upcoming console codenamed NX. In September 2016, Ancel posted an image to Instagram with a caption suggesting the game was in development, and in October he stated it was in pre-production, which Ubisoft confirmed.

At E3 2017, Ubisoft showed the first new trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2, announcing it as a prequel to the first game. Ancel confirmed that the 2008 and 2009 trailers were from initial work on a narrative sequel, but during development they changed direction to make it a prequel, making the earlier work from an effectively different game. He also confirmed that rumors of a timed Nintendo Switch exclusive were not true.