A Look At Sands of Destruction’s Original, Darker Scenario

In Sands of Destruction you guide Kyrie and his companions on a quest to destroy the world, a stark change from most RPG storylines where you’re trying to save it.

“So, for this game in particular, Kato’s original scenario actually came back saying… In the final game, humanoids are ruled by the ferals, the beast men. The humans were food for the beast men in the original scenario, and there were scenes in there where the beast men would actually eat the humans,” Ryoei Mikage said to Gamasutra in an interview.

Due to rating concerns, the story was altered. Instead of being dinner, humans are feral slaves. “Obviously, that would be rated Z in Japan. But for an RPG on the DS, the board felt that it would be more appropriate for the actual gameplay content to be something that even kids can pick up and play.”

The switch was also a profitable move. Sega turned Sands of Destruction into an all ages mixed media franchise with an anime series and manga. Still, I’d like to see Image Epoch’s scenario fully realized someday. Perhaps, a Sands of Destruction director’s cut in the future? Yoichi Shimosato, Producer at Sega, also said “the original idea would have been more fun and compelling.”