Dinosaur planet is a Nintendo 64 game not yet released by Rare that has finally evolved Star Fox Adventures for GameCube. But thanks to Forest of Illusion’s conservationists, it’s now possible to play the unfinished, original title. A buildup of the game from December 1, 2000 – well into the development cycle – was retrieved from a disc purchased from a private collector.
Screenshots of the game include Fox McCloud; as noted by Eurogamer, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto was reportedly influential in pushing the developers to turn the game into a Star Fox title. Digital foundry ‘s John Linneman loaded up 20 minutes of gameplay, and here you can also see Fox replacing one of the original game’s intended protagonists, Saber.
Forest of Illusion notes that ‘the game will not currently work 100 percent perfectly on any emulator. Expect lots of graphic issues with shadows and lighting, and some slowdown. However, it should work well with flash cards. Flashcars can run games on the original N64 console hardware
The influence of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is clear, but it is very interesting to look at the moody atmosphere that Rare has worked on before Dinosaur planet has become Star Fox Adventures on the GameCube. Forest of Illusion also uploaded the game to the internet archive.
February is a month of jewelery for Rare’s fans; earlier in February, the canceled Xbox 360 remake of GoldenEye 007 was leaked on the web. Like Dinosaur Planet, it is very playable despite being incomplete.