KYSKREW, the forgotten cancellation of the Dreamcast
Let us pay tribute to the members of "Hydrdragon " who worked voluntarily on this aborted game. The project, as you will see below, had gone beyond the stage of a simple amateur project to take on a professional dimension. They were young and passionate !!!
When we talk about canceled games, we always think of headlines like " Soul Reaver 2 " or " Half life (read here) ". No one, including me first, remembered the track " Kyskrew ". However, it did exist, the project was even relatively advanced. Like the big Unreleased Blockbusters, let's give this article back its nobility and thank the development team for the work done.
This release will offer you the preparatory work on the game, the script, concept art, sketches and above all magnificent music. I don't know if everything that existed is now gathered here or if there are still other things. Who knows ? This file will perhaps be the subject of a continuation!
So I want to put this game forward. Unreleased buff folks like me have neglected it for too long and it comes close to getting it lost forever.
Design :
Kyskrew was an RPG intended for the Dreamcast. Its release date was scheduled between fall and winter 2001. The game was initially a fan-made project before taking on much larger proportions. We can compare it to Homebrews these days. In 20 years, he gradually fell into oblivion.
The title was in development at Dragonhydre later renamed Cristal Dream , a small independent French team made up of around twenty members at the height of the project. They met on different forums and decided to set up a development team. Some spent sleepless nights working on it sacrificing years of their studies. Originally from all over France, most of them have never met, they exchanged via IRC. They were planning to make it free exclusively for the Dreamcast.
Organigrame of the team:
Guigui alias Toranokiba
Scipt - History - Level plan
Krine
Level plan
Irine
Assignment of work
by Junker
Sorting then uploading
Imagina
Hybrid
Silk
Nova
(Character Design
Oroshykyo
Storyboarder
DC Design Master
Palmito host
Espilonia host
Limubai Shinji
sound elaboration
Animation Coding
John smith
GFX motor
The dwarf
Peripheral and sound engine
Doc 101
Event
Amigaman
The project was progressing rapidly and was being talked about on the internet. He gained notoriety. Magazines like "Dreamzone" , "Joypad" or "Gameplay RPG" devoted articles to him. The boss of the team had even gone to GameOne !!!
Extract from an interview 2
The White Lady coming to the end of its life, Dragonhydre decided to move the game to Playstation 2. They even considered a Game Boy Advance version. The Dreamcast version looked pretty good. However, they restarted the project from scratch. Following internal conflicts between the members, the structure broke up. The game was abandoned and got lost in the twists and turns of the internet where only a few traces remained.
Kyskrew was to use a real-time combat system for normal enemies and then turn-based combat during Bosses. Several classes of characters were planned: knights, magicians and thieves. An internal clock system alternated days and nights. 40 hours would have been necessary to finish it.
The Lore:
Extract from an interview 1
To better understand the story, you have to dwell on his Lore. He was complex, not easy to follow. The game was meant to be deep, at the same time it is normal since we are talking about an RPG here.
Farnel Mansion Concept Art
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Before 1353: Perpetual wars on the different continents of Farnel between the three families Montigny, Alzaks, Yarnel.
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In 1353: End of the war between the Alzak and the Montigny. Darion the hero of this war becomes King and founds the Great Kingdom. On the day of Darion's coronation, the Alzaks suffered a surprise attack by soldiers from Montigny who did not want peace. We think the Alzaks are all dead but no one is sure.
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In 1354: Creation of the Unification Treaty rallying the 3 families of the Middle Continent. Marriage of Darion I with Countess Constance. Birth of Darion II to Tyrel, the future heir to the Great Kingdom.
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In 1361: Inauguration of the first school in Tyrel, the capital of the Middle Continent. Meanwhile, the continent is undergoing an unprecedented wave of looting. The military school was built on the former lands of the Alzaks in their memory.
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In 1371: Death of Darion 1st. The dolphin is too young to ascend the throne, because he is only 16 years old (it takes 19 years to reach it). Beginning of the 3 years of Regency of Constance, Queen of the Kingdom.
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In 1374: Ascension to the throne of Darion II. The second day of the 9th month Ghalien becomes the day of the royal feast (day of the coronation of King I and II). Creation of the Treaty of Alliance with the Amazons.
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In 1376: Marriage between Darion II and the Duchess Aleona de Valice. Creation of a Treaty of Alliance with Valice. Queen Constance dies the same year.
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In 1378: Birth of Darion III and death of Aleona during the birth of Darion III. A war breaks out between Aqualis and Pyral. It will last 5 years. A man named Khalaar approaches the King, he then becomes King's Counselor and tutor to the young Prince.
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In 1379: Marriage between the Duke of Yarnel, Farlk and a young woman from Parm, named Dulcia. Meanwhile, Khalaar, gets hold of the Prince and manipulates the King. Khalaar orders the King to send the Duke of Yarnel to the Aqualis front.
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In 1380: Khalaar organizes a ball in honor of Darion and he invites Dulcia to this ball. Khalaar takes advantage of Aleona's death and Farlk's absence to push Darion II to conquer Dulcia's heart.
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In 1381: A child born in Yarnel following the incest between Dulcia and Darion II, his name is Kyle.
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In 1383: The war between Aqualis and Pyral ends. Many soldiers perished (Khalaar is at the origin of this war, because he is one of Gainer's disciples ...). Farlk returns from the war wounded, when he returns home, he makes the discovery of the one he believes to be the father. The Treaty of Alliance between Aqualis and Pyral is signed, Farnel is unified!
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In 1386: Duclia mysteriously disappears and nobody knows what happened to her. Farlk, already upset by the disappearance of his wife, learns that Kyle is not his son and that Dulcia cheated on him during his absence.
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In 1387: Farlk raises Kyle as his own son and time flies by. One day, during an excursion in the forest in the north of the continent, Farlk and Kyle lose their way and emerge in the middle of the night in front of a strange weather. Farlk finds Dark, the wise old man. He will learn that Kyle is the Chosen One.
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In 1401: Dispute between Kyle and his father. Farlk wants Kyle to join Tyrel's military school to become a knight. Kyle joins the ranks in the middle of the year and he meets Rylke.
The synopsis:
At the dawn of time the struggle of good against evil was being prepared. "Eloïnia" , the Goddess of Creation and Love was opposed to the Gods of Hate "Gainer" . Coming out of a fierce fight, the Goddess triumphed and imprisoned Gainer's spirit. Unfortunately, a fragment of the contaminated soul of the God of Hate escaped from his prison and reincarnated as a human being to take revenge and destroy the world. The plot was laid !!!
We were to lead a young rebel by the name of "Kyle" enraged at being forced by his father to enlist in the Military School of "Tyrel ". There he will learn to wield the sword with dexterity to fulfill his destiny and save the planet "Farnel ".
"Desert temple"
Realistic architectural creation, realized and orchestrated only from precise documents.
"Underwater city"
Scene mainly performed via multitexturing and many light effects affect the environment ...
The continent sketch
The story :
In order to immerse the player in the game, the structure of WaterDragon wanted to offer a 3-step introduction unlike other RPGs which were 2-step. This is how he saw her:
BEFORE THE GAMEPLAY:
Heroes concept art
Sketch building
The barracks modeled?
1 = Cinematic presenting the characters with rhythmic music as for a fighting game.
We saw the Heroes one after the other, then a few Villains. The end of this cutscene ended with a fight between Kyle and "Darion" , the shock of their sword making a large white flash, then cut, the choice "start game" was selectable.
2 = Prelude showing the creation of Farnel and the fight of good against evil.
The Hero was chasing a light and coming up to a sword. By removing it from its base, the title Kyskrew appeared.
DURING THE GAMEPLAY:
3 = Cinematic in full 3D showing the barracks, zoom arriving on the room where the gameplay begins!
Two days of training passed allowing the player to get acquainted with the environment of the game. At the end of the second day Kyle and "Rylke " had to go to bed, the obligatory training going to begin. As it was going to last 3 months, the team did not want to be satisfied with a "3 months later".
Once asleep, a cutscene was triggered, showing Kyle's dream. The idea was to see the training of the two friends over the days and months as well as their progress (with nostalgic music). You have to have played Suikoden 2 to fully understand. During this cutscene, the name of the staff scrolled.
It was a class break from a storytelling point of view. Once the cutscene was over, he wanted to put on the famous "3 months later" seeing Rylke and Kyle waking up to go to practice (like there hadn't been a cut). The game resumed.
The adventure began by opening with a conversation between Kyle and Rylke to introduce these two characters. The lines of dialogue for this sequence were planned as follows:
Kyle concept art
Rylke concept art
The modeled chamber
Sketch room
"[The game begins after a small cutscene showing the entire military complex and then gradually zooming in on Kyle and Rylke's lit bedroom]
[Dark night, no music, only sounds, hoot, crickets, wind in the leaves]
[Rylke is sitting on his bed, and Kyle is lying staring at the ceiling]
Young man: It's been two hours that we are supposed to sleep ... But I can not sleep! Tell me, since the call this afternoon you haven't said a single word. Looks to me like your name is Kyle, is that it? Me, it's Rylke!
? :…
Rylke: You don't seem like the type who likes to talk about your life. I don't want to disappoint you, but it's a safe bet that we're going to be together for a little while, so the least thing might be getting to know each other a bit, right?
? :…
Rylke: Alright, as you wish.
[Rylke lays down in turn]
? :… My name is Kyle… that's my name.
Rylke: You see when you want, it was not difficult! Well Kyle, happy to meet you… Tell me, why are you here?
Kyle: It won't change whether you know it or not ...
Rylke: Ok, ok, it was just to chat a little… Besides, you don't seem to know how to sleep either. Is something bothering you? Problems ?
Kyle:…
Rylke: Oulà! I get it ! Family dispute? I have a knack for knowing what is wrong with people. You know if you need to confide in someone ...
Kyle:… You couldn't shut up a bit! I don't need your comments!
[Voice from next door:]
Voice: You can't be a little silent next door! Some are trying to sleep!
Rylke: It's okay! It's okay ! What a killjoy that one, and to say that we will have to deal with it until the end of the training ...
Kyle: Do you really want to know?
Rylke: From…? Ah, why did you come here?
Kyle: If I tell you, will you promise to let me sleep afterwards?
Rylke: Hey, do I sound like a pain in the ass?
[Kyle turns to him doubtfully:]
Kyle: I don't prefer to answer so…
Rylke: Hahaha, okay I'll leave you alone after!
Kyle: It's because of my parents that I'm here.
Rylke: I was right!
Kyle: Ahem!
Rylke: Oh, sorry, I'm listening.
[a full 3D animation retraces Kyle's memories]
[Kyle's father, Farlk]
Farlk: My son! It would be time for you to enter the Royal Military School! You are not going to stay here all your life enjoying your title of future Duke De Yarnel. As long as I was alive, I wouldn't allow it.
Kyle: It's not for you to decide my fate, father! After all, maybe I never wanted that title! You always want me to follow in the footsteps you have followed, I can never make my own decisions!
Farlk: How dare you! Things have been that way since I inherited his land from my father who himself received them from his father! It is not you who will change everything because you do not agree with it!
Kyle: But father ...
Farlk: Stop complaining like a kid, you've just reached your twentieth year and as tradition dictates, you have to commit to the services of our King!
Kyle: Father, I ...
Farlk: Not a word anymore! This is how things are, and they will remain so! Tomorrow you will report to Tyrel's camp, because I have decided that it will be so!
Kyle:…
Farlk: You can prepare yourself. Go now.
[Back in the bedroom]
Kyle: And this is how it went.
Rylke: I didn't think it could be so bad being a noble. I, who come from a modest family, do not regret anything after what you have just told me.
Kyle: And you, you didn't tell me why you were there.
Rylke: Me? I've always wanted to join the royal army, become a soldier, whatever. It's a bit normal, isn't it? The king protects us and allows us to live decently, and in return, we can return the favor to him by protecting the continent. Do not you think ?
Kyle: You might be right, who knows.
Rylke: Of course I'm right! (to laugh)
[Room next door:]
Voice: You are really noisy! You are going to wake everyone up!
Rylke: It's good! We understand ! Okay… it's hard to admit it, but he's partly right. Tomorrow a hard day of training will begin. Let’s sleep now.
Kyle: Okay, so good night.
Rylke Yeah, good night. "
[They both fall asleep] "
If you do not have gameplay or a Kyskrew prototype, you have to be content, for example, with glimpses like the passage of the forest to read below. It is possible to imagine the scene, the atmosphere and the poetry that could have emerged from the title. By adding music, the charm immediately operates !!!
"little corner of nature" Detailed Lpm_ Low Polygon Modeling_ Scene for real-time 3D use.
"Fairy district"
Lpm scene (~ 10,000 polygons) representing a small medieval cartoony village.
ARRIVAL IN FRONT OF THE FOREST
The player is on the map, once after pressing to enter the drill, a cutscene is triggered.
Two soldiers accompany Kyle and Rylke for this mission, all the officers being on a secret mission on the continent of Aqualis, it is the new recruits who must go on reconnaissance to determine whether or not the rebels have established themselves in the forest and if yes, estimate their number and their provisions in arms and food.
The first small cutscene: The troops arrive by walking towards a huge expanse of trees which happen to be the entrance to the forest. In front of the entrance (a small passage of wild grass and ferns giving access to this mysterious place) the troops suddenly stop (discussion between Rylke and Kyle giving their feeling and their astonishment ...) then they look upwards trying to perceive the deep interior of the forest. At this time, zoom out, to show the immensity of the forest then the troops seen from afar enter the forest. From the inside, a permanent and thick fog stagnates. The sun cannot pierce the thick foliage of the trees, and a heavy and worrying atmosphere reigns there. During this zoom which shows the whole of an almost infinite impression of this forest, there is a short and heavy music with a lot of sounds in the background.
Once inside, little speech between Kyle and Rylke on the boil and near darkness. Kyle is manipulable, and the mystical music of the forest begins.
They go deeper into the forest and (possibly) discovered an old bridge giving access to another unexplored part of the forest. But this bridge is protected by a strange invisible and magical barrier (which will cause another little discussion of a few lines to wonder what this means).
After some progress in this forest, they arrive in a clearing where they decide to spend the night. A new scene begins, the fire crackling, the bugs but no music ... we can handle Kyle alone, and chat with the other guys in the troop, Kyle will think he saw something in the bushes but still decide to go to bed, the fire stays on to scare away the wild animals. Kyle falls asleep and begins a strange dream, where the world cries out, as he slowly dies ...
The Gameplay:
The different buttons on the controller:
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the A-pad to move around.
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the X button to sprint.
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L + left or right buttons to move sideways (like Zelda Nintendo 64).
The player would learn skills according to his class. He had to assign actions to the buttons on the controller (jump, run faster, magic, attack, defense, techniques). During the adventure, the character would gain new skills. It was not possible to use them all. We should have made the right choice so that each character is as versatile as possible.
A funny sequence should bring the player to familiarize themselves with the Gameplay.
As the call from the Military Academy rang, Kyle and Rylke woke up with a start. In their room, their clothes were gone. Someone must have taken them. They had no other way but to go. look for their suitcases left in the cloakroom in their undress. So that shame does not fall on them and avoid becoming the laughing stock of the establishment, they should not be seen and be present at the roll call in a time limit (10 minutes). During this stage, Rylke was teaching Kyle the different functions of the buttons on the controller. "
An interesting feature, in the inventory menu by pressing “START”, was to offer the game the possibility of equipping the hero automatically in physical defense, it was called the Optimum . ”The player was free to do it manually if he wanted it.
The first fight, serving as a tutorial, was to confront the Commander of the barracks, " Karyle", to Kyle :
A message appears on the screen before starting the first fight "Please configure the buttons!" "" Choose an action to use for combat and assign it to the A, B, X, and Y buttons on your controller. "...
Musical themes:
Karyle Concept Art
Modeled cloakroom
Interior crate sketch
As Christophe , alias Shinji , one of the composers of the music, points out, there was no problem there. They were even ahead. We can also thank him for providing us with backups of his archives. You can follow him on his Youtube channel "Papa Shinji" . Don't forget to encourage him !!!
The musical compositions, they are magnificent.
The compilation of all the music of Kyskrew
To listen to the playlist on Youtube, click on the link below:
Videos :
Video test I presume, before dialogue with Rykle?
The trailer, certainly used on the website.
Video test I presume, demonstration of the fights?
Analysis:
This archive does not appear to be complete. There is certainly a lack of data. It must represent the elements on which Papa Shinji relied for his composition work.
By advancing by deduction:
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In the video "trailer", sketches are unpublished and are not present in the archive. Where are they ?
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Intervention of members on a forum in 2004 "the programming part was not progressing at all, when the programmer decided to get to work, the graphic designer, him, had finished all his boards (he had spent hours and hours there). was proud.) The programmer who could not code the drawings asked the graphic designers to redo them. " Where are these drawings?
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Always on the same forum "The first screenwriter had typed" ko "of text for this project (main plot, ideas for side quests, the background of the characters, files given to journalists and editors). in the project while spending sleepless nights there. He also took care of the design of the gameplay (fights, menus). He sacrificed two years of studies being too involved in the game. Where are all these "Word" files?
A playable version has, in my opinion, never seen the light of day. By browsing the "Engine" folder, it is possible to test small demos by clicking on the "Glut test" and "Glute-1" applications for example.
According to the feedback from "SiZiOUS" , there are no source codes or binaries. On the other hand, there are many sounds in Dreamcast ADX formats.
Maybe we will see more in the future !!!
You can download the entire Papa Shinji archive for Kyskrew here
You can download the entire Papa Shinji archive for Kyskrew here with archive.org
Feel free to look at " other canceled games " that I found. For the most curious of you, I have created a " list of all unreleased from theDdreamcast ".
Similar prototypes (Unreleased) : Agartha (DC) - Emulateur officiel Megadrive (DC) - Castlevania Resurrection (DC) - Half Life (DC) - Dalforce XOP (DC) - Flinstone (DC) - 4 x 4 Evolution PAL (DC) - Ring : L'Anneau des Nibelungen (DC) - Ecco 2 (DC) - Kyskrew (DC) - Propeller Arena (DC) - Geist Force (DC) - Scud Race Tech Demo Dreamcast - Shenmue 2 US (DC) - The Red Star (XBOX) - Heaven's Drive ( version japonaise de Burnout 1) pour PS2 - Jekyll and Hyde (DC) - The Grinch Jap (DC) - Worms Pinball (DC) - Quake 3 Arena version japonaise (DC) - Vectorman PS2
