Beyond Good & Evil
-
Gold Games 8
(2005) -
Triple Pack: Outland / From Dust / Beyond Good & Evil HD
(2012) -
Ubisoft Action-Adventure Collection
(2005) -
Ubisoft Classic Pack
(2009) -
Ubisoft Classics
(2011) -
Ubisoft eXclusive: Beyond Good & Evil / Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
(2009)
Description official descriptions
In the future, on the planet Hillys, the population suffers from constant attacks from the alien DomZ. The situation is gradually getting worse, as the rate of DomZ kidnapings increases. The Alpha Section forces, who are in charge of protecting citizens, seem to be completely ineffective, not even fighting the DomZ. In the midst of this situation, the secretive organization IRIS alleges that the Alpha Section is involved in a massive government conspiracy, and seeks to expose the truth through journalism.
The player controls a young reporter and photographer named Jade with her companions Pey'j and Double H. After experiencing first-hand a DomZ attack, she is contacted by IRIS, who recruits her as an action reporter. Jade is now tasked with infiltrating the Alpha Section, exposing the government conspiracy, and ultimately finding the truth for herself.
Beyond Good & Evil is an action game with diverse gameplay. Much of the game is based on stealth and puzzles, but there are sequences of racing, shooting, combat, and platform action. Jade fights with her staff and also uses various abilities to execute long-ranged attacks and solve puzzles. Many of the puzzles require switching between the characters and using their special abilities; often it is necessary to coordinate the actions of two characters to achieve precise co-operation that leads to a puzzle's solution. Besides hostile areas with puzzles and enemies, there is also a city and other friendly areas to explore, where various items and gadgets can (and sometimes must) be bought. There are several mini-games and even an online ranking system (used by entering codes online after they are assigned in-game when the game is saved).
Spellings
- За гранью добра и зла - Russian spelling
- 撕裂的天堂 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
- 神鬼冒險 - Chinese spelling (traditional)
- 超越善恶 - Ubisoft Store Chinese spelling (simplified)
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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)
318 People (219 developers, 99 thanks) · View all
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| Music Composed and Performed by | |
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| Technical Manager | |
| Jade Engine & Tools Developers | |
| 3D Research | |
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| Animation Tools Developers | |
| [ full credits ] | |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 87% (based on 105 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 309 ratings with 16 reviews)
The Good
- lovely graphic style & character design
- fitting soundtrack
The Bad
- too linear
- not much exploring to do
- too easy
- the sophisticated gamer may find the whole experience "too shallow"
The Bottom Line
Well, this game was for a long time on my list of games to get my hands on as it was considered to be a insiders tip.
To my disappointment this game didn't catch me.
The controls and interactivity with the world and during fighting are limited to actions that can be done with one or two buttons - you don't have really the freedom of doing much more than needed. My personal feeling is that you can't really explore the world - but rather follow a more or less a "given" path through the game and just pressing some buttons here and there to perform "predetermined" actions as you advance.
The photo shooting task becomes dull after a while.
The cartoon setting and the characters are modeled quite good - and the voice acting is pretty good too - some characters like the Reggae listening rhinos are quite memorable.
But in an overall view the game is boring - during puzzle solving and also during fighting. Sorry, but this game is only average.
Windows · by cosmo ruski (39) · 2011
It is waaaaay beyond good. (and evil)
The Good
So many things, how can I summarize all these great things?
Well, I could start off that this game is extremely fun.
This game also has insanely good graphics, amazing music and cool characters.
My favourite character (other than the main character) is Double H.
The Bad
There are only 2 things I didn't like about this game.
I'll sum it up in two words: short and repetitive.
The Bottom Line
I own this game, but all I have to say is you CAN NOT describe this game, even when you've experienced it. It's just that good...
You have to play it to believe it.
GameCube · by Mattz1010 (14) · 2004
Courageous as Snake, destined as Sora, and gorgeous as Rayne makes the essence of Jade.
The Good
One of those games I run away from ever since the first time I heard about it. Yet this game shares a lot in common with another game I approached with same method, only to accept it as masterpiece once I opened the package, Kingdom Hearts. This is probably the only (or at least one of a very few) game that I didn't have any sound problem when playing, must be 'cos it didn't feature any cinematics with typical movie format, but I was pleasantly surprised nevertheless. The world is quite detailed and creates a feeling like the one in Anachronox, enough to explore, yet every step makes a new adventure. Only this time, main protagonist is really a beautiful gal if I do say so myself, Jade's the name. Along with her friends, and a handful of jokes, she'll drive you forward like no game before it. Controls are really nicely balanced for PS2 controller and work real nice without giving you trouble of memorizing too much stuff to do. This game makes a unique experience mixing stealth, arcade, adventure, with a nice touching yet simple story.
The Bad
The main title of this game is simply beautiful but is scarcely used in the game itself, think they should've released a single with several different version of that tune along with the game, would be a great plus. Making of featurette under extras looks like patched up fast and finishing before it started with not much to offer. On top of all that, ending wasn't that delightful, especially with 'so called' open ability for a possible sequel.
The Bottom Line
Features you may expect to find in this game:
PlayStation 2 · by MAT (241351) · 2012
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Beyond Good & Evil appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Jade
Jade's character design is actually based on her French voice actress Emma De Caunes.
Nietzsche
In an interview on LadyGamers.com, Tyrone Miller explains how the game relates to Nietzsche:
Many people assume that Beyond Good & Evil is a reference to the Friedrich Nietzsche book by the same name. Although you could probably make an argument – this game really has no connection to the German philosopher. As an action reporter, players need to investigate beyond the superficial facts of what is good and what is evil – which is dictated through government propaganda in the game. The player has to see what nobody else can see, what is hidden to the people of Hyllis. This theme is relevant to issues we face today – understanding the reasons behind the apparent facts.
Promotional websites
The publishers registered the websites for both the iris network (www.irisnetwork.net) and the Hyllian gov. (www.hylliannews.com) both featuring promotional material and assorted stuff.
Save games code
All the saved games in Beyond Good & Evil are marked with an "Internet Code". The purpose of this code is two-fold, first it enables you to go to the official website and check your ranking against all the other BG&E players in the world. Secondly, upon completion of the main game, you'll be able to use your saved game code on the official website and obtain instructions on how to go about obtaining missing MDisk #13 within the game.
Soundtrack
- In the Beginning
- Dancing With Domz
- Home Sweet Home
- Hyllian Suite
- Mammago's Garage
- Isle de Noir
- Mineshaft Madness
- Say Cheese, Fellas
- Akuda House Propaganda
- Ancient Chinese Secrets
- Don't Fear the Reaper
- Fear the Reaper
- Fun and Mini-Games
- Funky Bar 100
- When Domz Attack
- Slaughterhouse Scramble
- Sneaky Jade Suite
- Organic Beauty
- Violent Jade Suite
- Heart of Darkness
- Metal Gear Domz
- Something Completely Different
- Behind Enemy Lines
- Free Your Mind
- Thoughtful Reflections
- Enfants Disparus
- Above and Beyond
- Unacceptable Losses
- In Hot Pursuit
- Sins of the Father
- Redemption
In February 2004, Ubisoft released MP3s of Beyond Good & Evil soundtrack to NintendoInsider.com. These are still available for download, but as of April 2005, downloaders must register with the web site and go to the Members-Only Board to receive a frequently changing password.
Title
According to Michel Ancel, the game was originally to be named Between Good & Evil, but the marketing department did not like that name, so it was changed to Beyond Good & Evil.
The original title I gave the game was Between Good & Evil (see my first logo included) - which the marketing department didn’t like back then. For me, the meaning of this title is that you are always in the middle of an internal and external conflict, based on our conception of good and evil. In this game and in our world, propaganda thinks in our place; tells us these are our enemies and these are our friends. When you go beyond the appearances, you discover your own truth. That’s the theme of the game and marketing finally accepted this title, and just replaced the between by beyond, which fits better with the vast universe and story.
Awards
- 4Players
- 2003 – Best PC Action-Adventure Game of the Year
- 2003 – Best Console Direction of the Year
- 2003 – Best PC Music of the Year
- 2003 – Best PC Direction of the Year
- 2003 – Biggest PC Surprise of the Year
- EGM
- February 2006 (Issue #200) - #171 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time"
- GameSpy
- 2003 – #3 Game of the Year
- 2003 – #2 GameCube Game of the Year
- PC Powerplay (Germany)
- Issue 06/2005 - #8 Likeable Secondary Character (for Pey'j)
Information also contributed by Big John WV, Mark Ennis, Sciere, Terrence Bosky, WildKard, WindowsKiller and Zovni.
Analytics
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Related Sites +
-
Beyond Good & Evil
Official Web Site -
Beyond Good & Evil Revolution
A Beyond Good & Evil fansite forum -
Developer Interview
Xequted interviews Michel Ancel about Beyond Good & Evil. (March 5, 2004) -
Download Page
Obtain the Windows Patches from this UbiSoft's download page. -
GameFaqs Guides
Strategies and Walkthroughs for BG&E on all platforms -
Khryon's Walkthrough for Windows version
posted on Gameboomers.com
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Kotario.
PlayStation 3 added by Lain Crowley. Xbox 360 added by Sciere. Xbox One added by MAT.
Additional contributors: Jeanne, Zack Green, Sciere, Ilya Atkin, Klaster_1, firespot, lasttoblame, Paulus18950, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Plok, FatherJack, 一旁冷笑.
Game added December 11, 2003. Last modified March 17, 2025.