The Dreamcast prototype of Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles dated October 19, 2000
This prototype of Evil Twin : Cyprien's Chronicles Dreamcast is dated October 19th 2000. This prototype version is 8 months earlier than the one of June 25th 2001 (detailed analysis on this page) and precedes the commercial release of the game by 16 months.
The batch of GD-R in which this build of Evil Twin was dug up has caused significant problems with data extraction. Perhaps the dump is not perfect, which could alter the correct functioning of this version.
The game developed by the studio In Utero (article dedicated to this French company) complicated to explore freely without advancing in the story of Cyprien and visiting all the maps. The comparisons were made with Playstation 2 and Dreamcast prototypes, which also have a level selection screen (inactive in the final version).
General information
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The game launches directly on the title screen without going through the animations of the publisher Ubisoft and the development studio In Utero.
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This build has no loading screen while the other has the same as the Master. The loading progress is measured in percentage on a black screen like in the Dreamcast version of Jekyll and Hyde.
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The audio, both the musical themes and the sound effects, is not implemented. When you know how important music is in a game, it's a shame.
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The default language of the title is French. Since you can't access any option in the main menu except "Start", changing the language is impossible. Attempting to select another option will return the game to the title screen.
Île de Jocelyne/barbe à papa
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Two options in the main menu do not exist in the final version. These are "Continue" and "Exit". The text of the seven options displayed on the screen is not highlighted by the use of bold type
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The photo shown in the main menu features two additional individuals who will be scribbled in white during the commercial release of Evil twin: Cyprien's Chronicles.
Dreamcast Prototype (Oct 19, 2000)
Dreamcast Prototype (Jun 25, 2001)
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Only three islands are playable out of the eight that make up the game. As on the previous prototype, to access it you have to choose the island and the map of your choice from the level selection screen. You can play the "Island of the Demis", "Vince's Island" and "Jocelyn's Island", each named after one of the members of In Utero (ex: Jocelyn Trimedy). For the more curious, he reveals with some of his former colleagues whats went on behind the scenes during development of Jekyll and Hyde (read here).
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Contrary to the prototype of June 25, 2001, the maps of the "Island of the Demis" are all playable except one, "Training Vince", which makes the console crash. The "Village" level often appears on a black screen, you have to play it many times and cross your fingers to load it correctly.
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A watermark visible in-game, with the In Utero logo, mentions the title as being in Work in Progress.
Île de Vince/Buble
Île des Demis/Alchimiste
Some important characteristics of the levels
Some levels on the three islands like "Kitchen" on "Jocelyn's Island" make the game reset. "Vegetable Garden" on "Jocelyn's Island" loads on a screen with a turquoise background. "The central island" of "Vince's island" loads on a screen with a black background. Despite this, you can interact with the game, for example, by opening the inventory. The "Beach" map also has load problems, you'll see !
Many levels of the prototype are not finished. The camera sometimes gets lost and does not follow Cyprien anymore. The graphics are not final, with textures problems (this may be due to a dumping problem). There is no cutscene of introduction or progression in the levels. The bugs are numerous. The young child can't meet, during his adventure, his companion, the NPC Wilburn.
Île des Demis, center island (Oct 19, 2001 DC prototype)
Île des Demis,center island (May 04, 2001 PS2 prototype)
Île des Demis/Arrive
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Île des Demis/Training Stéphan : The camera remains fixed on the area where Cyprien appears.
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Île des Demis/Village : The camera acts strangely and takes time to settle on Cyprien, when it doesn't simply screw up. The color of the wooden boards covering the floor tends to green and not brown as in the final version. If you take a closer look at the scenery in this area, you can make out blue/orange delimitations, like pieces of a puzzle that are not well put together (bug!). If Cyprien ventures to the left of where he appears in the level, he is pushed back to his point of origin, perhaps by a paranormal force that does not want him to investigate there !
Dreamcast Prototype (Oct 19, 2000)
PS2 prototype (May 04, 2001)
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Île de Vince/Swamp : During the development of the game, changes were made to make the level easier and more accessible. In the final version, a rock will be placed between the water lilies to facilitate the passage from one flower to another. In the DC build of October 2000, the rock has still not been added.
Dreamcast Prototype (Oct 19, 2000)
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Dreamcast Prototype (Jun 25, 2001)
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Île de Vince/Center : Weed does not cover the water-filled ditch. Wilbur is hiding on this prototype. He is shy, he does not dare to show himself !
Dreamcast Prototype (Oct 19, 2000)
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Dreamcast Prototype (Jun 25, 2001)
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Île de Vince/Arene : Part of the map will be adjusted later with the addition of flying mushrooms to add a touch of exploration to this part of the level. The row of mushrooms on the left will be removed. In the final version, other changes will also be effective in this area.
Île des Demis/Training Stephane
Île de Jocelyne/Îlot Central
Île de Vince/Plage
Île de Vince/Termitière
Dreamcast Prototype (Oct 19, 2000)
Dreamcast Prototype (Jun 25, 2001)
Île de Jocelyne/Cave
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Île de Vince/Termitière : As for "Village", a blue background (bug) delimits the perimeters of the level.
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Île de Jocelyne/Cave : The backgrounds are not displayed. Cyprien appears on a black background. He can move, jump or transform into Super Cyp. He will meet a long-nosed NPC who usually triggers a cutscene on the retail version. There are other non-player characters around.
In the game
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Pressing the "START" button during a game, with a pad plugged into port B of the console, resets the level.
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Cyprien carries in his inventory the maximum number of each item. He can thus transform into Super Cyp whenever he wants without having to collect the necessary items to do so. His number of lives reaches the ceiling of 99. Anyway, the boy doesn't need them because he is invincible unless he falls into a hole or a precipice.
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Once the inventory menu is open, the "Left" trigger switches to the other menus available from that window. Usually the "Right" trigger is used to do this. The level map (or island) presentation menu is missing in this prototype
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The "Load" window in the inventory menu contains non-selectable pre-saved games. When trying to load them, the game quits by returning to the title screen. This is normal since the "Exit" option (not present in the final) is highlighted in this menu.
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The player interface differs from the final version, especially for the bar in the upper right corner of the screen.
If the prototype is not necessarily interesting to play, it allows us to see all the improvements made to the camera system when the game is released.
You can download the Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles Dreamcast build below
Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles (Oct 14, 2000 Dreamcast Prototype)
All actual dumps for the 4 (1 functional only) Dreamcast prototypes of Evil Twin. This archive (18 GB in CUE format) is intended to be preserved only.
If you want to learn more about In Utero and Evil Twin, this article is dedicated to it : "The memories of Evil Twin: Cypriens Chronicles, the nightmare is within reach of the dreams of In Utero".
Special thanks to :
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Omar Cornut for providing this prototype of Evil Twin. Do not hesitate to visit his website : SMS Power
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Vince for the English translation of the article.
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Jérôme Firon for the correction of the text in French.
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