Beneath the Phanta Sea

=== Prologue ===
Sometime in the year of 1999, production began on a sequel for the acclaimed 1997 video game, Lego Island. In partnering with the Lego Group, Mindscape had gained the rights to produce multiple Lego-branded games. Prior to the Lego Island developers' dismissal, they had been conceptualizing and prototyping a follow-up to the game, titled Beneath the Phanta Sea.
Phanta would have explored the "importance of ecology and environmentalism from an educational perspective". Basically, the game would have more realistic graphics, similar to that of the Unreal games, only better compared to the graphics of that time. The characters would practically be the same as the original Lego Island, and their designs would be about the same as well. The game would focus on missions and minigames, and had a more powerful exploration system to work with. There would be a combat system, platforming and bosses, all mixed into the missions. Other than Kathleen Barr replacing John Morris as Pepper, most of the original cast and crew had returned to work on Phanta.
The game was going to originally be released for the PC like the original game. The developers decided it would be better to port for other consoles at the time, like the PS2 and Xbox.
The plot is as what you'd expect from a Lego Island game. There would be characters introduced that would later appear in The Brickster's Revenge, most notably Pepper's love interest Sky Lane, who was unnamed at the time. Like Pepper, she would be red-haired, but with a red hairpiece on her head. She would be voiced by Mae Whitman. The developers had considered adding a two-player mode so players could hook up extra controllers and play as Sky.
Returning from the original game are Mama and Papa Brickolini, Valerie Stubbins (the lightning-fast jetski girl), Nancy Nubbins (the cowgirl of the Octan Station), The Infomaniac and Bill Ding, among others. In addition, Captain Click the ghost pirate would appear for the first time.
The PC build was finished by December of 2000, and Mindscape was planning to show Lego the pilot reel of the game. What they saw on screen was described as "surreal, realistic, and strange." Lego shut the project down, ended their partnership with Mindscape and dismissed the entire LI staff. They claimed it was because of "political issues". They had to hire a new studio, Silicon Dreams. The studio was aware of the original Lego Island and Beneath the Phanta Sea but decided to build a new concept from scratch.
The final build of "Lego Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge" was released to the public in March 2001, for PlayStation and PC. The Xbox and PS2 ports were scrapped. Fans complained that the game was too far from the original game. All the voice actors were replaced, there were multiple islands to explore, only one-player, and no bosses and missions, just minigames. The design was nothing like the original, almost bland and boring. The lip sync was bad and the game seemed buggy.
I was the producer of both games, the overseer of the developers beneath director Wes Jenkins. It was my job to make sure nothing went wrong with the games, and I thought we had a good release ahead of us. I received a CD from the studio a couple of weeks back, presumably as a reward for at least trying.
The jewel case the CD came in was blank. The back only had a picture of Wes standing next to a life like statue of the Infomaniac taken back when we were in the studio. The CD itself only had "LEGO Island 2 - December build" on written in black marker, with "LEGO" being the box Lego uses for their logo. I put the disc into my Windows 98 and found two files: a readme file named "BEFORE YOU PLAY" and a zip file. I opened the readme first, and this is what it says:
"This game is a playable prototype build of BENEATH THE PHANTA SEA: LEGO ISLAND 2. It is finished and is currently playable to developers. NOT FOR SALE TO THE PUBLIC.
Have fun!
-Wes Jenkins"
I assumed this was intended to inform developers that the game was not yet released and is still in development.
I extracted the zip file onto a folder in the desktop, then looked at it. There were several files a game would contain, including data, movies and the game itself, an executable file. The game was called "LI2.exe" and had an icon similar to the original game's icon, only with a "2" added. I clicked on the game and waited for the next thing to pop up on the black screen.
It is hard to think about what happened in the next couple hours, what made me cut Wes off for a few years, those disturbing sights I saw, that which I may never forget again. I will try and recollect what happened in what was supposedly a nightmarish, twisted vision on what was supposedly Beneath the Phanta Sea, a much darker take on the whimsical, happy world of Lego Island.
=== The Game ===
The game began with the usual animation of 1x1 Lego bricks coming together to form the Lego box, followed by the Mindscape mountain from the first game, albeit smoother and with better quality. Then there came a colored drill with "BINK VIDEO" on it, and finally, a warning screen stating:
"This game is still in development, but is pretty much finished and ready to play. Do not release this to the public! This is a scrapped build due to various reasons! Take this seriously and play with caution! OR ELSE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!"
Now that made me a bit unnerved. What could it be that would make me play with caution? I was about to find out.
After a few seconds of a loading screen, the title screen came up. It was like the Information Center from the first game, only it was 3D models and not a sprite. Above the map was a banner "LEGO Island 2: Beneath the Phanta Sea" with the LEGO box and the usual red-orange typograph. The Infomaniac was there, greeting me with "Welcome to Lego Island!" in his usual cheery voice. I moved my cursor around, now a cartoony design, over the objects in the room, which highlighted as I passed over them.
The Big Blue Brick Book was "Story", the radio was "Extras", the map was "Minigames", and as always, the "i" was "Options". The backdoor was "Quit Game". The sights made me quiver in excitement, seeing a scrapped project act like it was released. I selected "Story" and hit "New Game" afterwards.
I assumed the "Two-Player" mode was for the Minigames.
The game opened with an introduction cutscene of sorts featuring Pepper delivering pizzas and stunting ramps, as usual. The "Papa's Famous Jalapeno Red Pepper Anchovy Double Garlic Pizza" is now called "The Special", presumably to make it simpler to understand. Everybody ordered different things from the Pizzeria, including the Special. Of course, Pepper delivered an Anchovy pizza to the Brickster. He learned well from the previous game. After he leaves, Nick and Laura are seen chatting about a rumored artifact hidden in the Phanta sea, a massive trench located several miles away from the island. The Brickster overhears the conversation and quickly comes up with a plan to escape his cell. The cutscene ends with a shot of the Brickster laughing with fire in his eyes, which creeped me out a bit. Seeing the wacky nature of these games, however, I pressed on.
The gameplay began with a tutorial showing all the controls, lead by the Infomaniac himself. You could change between First-person and Third-person modes using the "C" key, and you can now control the camera using the mouse. The arrow keys retained their functionality as player movement, and you can jump using the spacebar and interact with objects with Ctrl. Shift was used for sprinting and vehicular drifting. Alt would bring out the skateboard, which you could use to ram through obstacles, enemies and stunts. The Enter key was for the combat system, a slew of karate like moves. Speaking of combat, the tutorial threw a few enemies at me. They were like skeleton minifigures, only with a metallic texture. I assumed these were Mindscape's design of the Brickster Bots from the final product. 
Once the tutorial ended, I noticed that the scenery had changed to night. I didn't notice that the game had a day/night system, yet it seemed obvious to me for no reason. An arrow pointed me to my first mission.
=== Mission 1: NIGHT SHIFT ===
I knew I had to watch the Brickster to ensure he wouldn't escape. I headed toward the jail, and I talked to Nick using Ctrl, starting the mission. Another cutscene played, where it was revealed that the Brickster had snuck a screwdriver and was planning to use it for his breakout plan. "NIGHT SHIFT" turned out to be a minigame, reminiscent to Red Light, Green Light. I had to hold off the Brickster until time ran out. Pepper was sitting in a chair near the cell door sleeping, and the Brickster is trying to sneak out. Pressing spacebar would wake Pepper up, scaring the Brickster back into the cell, which automatically locks itself. This would go on for three minutes, with the Brickster progressively getting faster as time went on. He had become so fast I had to hold the spacebar to keep Pepper awake.
After the level ended, I got a red brick for beating the game on one try. You see, you get three tries to complete mission standards, and if you lose all three tries, you have to start the level over. Like every PC game at the time, the game automatically saves after every mission you complete, including the tutorial.
=== Mission 2: HOT BUZZ ===
This minigame was inside the Information Center. It was basically a trivia game themed like a game show, where I had to answer questions asked by the Infomaniac. The questions were practically easy, with only 14 questions. Here are a few examples:
"Who created the Brickster?"
"What does LEGO mean?"
"When was this game made?"
"Who is the mayor of the island?"
Of course, getting at least 12 questions right earns you a red brick. This is one of the minigames without tries. I tried to see if I got anything wrong, and when I did, Pepper was electrocuted. I was surprised that this would happen in a kids game, yet I continued to press on thinking I would still get the red brick if I didn't get anymore questions wrong.
=== Mission 3: FIRE ME UP ===
Located near the police station, this mission begins with a cutscene of the Brickster finally making it out of jail, and attacks a nearby guard. He takes off the body parts and uses them to disguise himself as the guard, then leaves. It then cuts to a shot of the guard's head, which is all that is left of him. His eyes were x's and his mouth had an expression of pain. The next morning, Captain D. Rom believes that the Brickster has gone missing since the breakout. He orders a manhunt that extends across a dozen mile radius - with the Phanta Sea's location in the area. Because of his heroics from the first game, Pepper is fronted and leads the team. His girlfriend, Sky is finally introduced as a partner for Pepper's goose chase. The cutscene ends with Pepper and Sky in a submarine looking for the crazed schmuck.
This level has you shooting at targets with the mouse. The targets in question are sharks, large walls, mines and enemy submarines. Left click sends powerful Lego missiles at the spot where you aimed the crosshairs, and if you hit a target, it blows up. The walls explode into a hundred bricks, while the enemies are reduced to scrap, body parts, and blood. Not a lot of blood, but still visible. If a target hits the submarine, it loses some health. If your submarine is destroyed, you lose a try. Again, you get a red brick for a run without losing any tries.
The game lets you replay levels you already completed, so I figured it be best to retry this level, to see if I could get anything else. The Yellow and Blue bricks from the first game are back as well, given depending on how many tries you lost during that game. Again, they don't overwrite the red brick on replays. You get yellow for losing one try, and you get blue if you're down to the last try. What got to me the most was what happened if you lose all the tries.
A closeup of Pepper's body was shown on a black screen. He had blue x's on his eyes and was foaming from the mouth. His eyebrows had the worried expression from the first game, and his shirt and body were torn open, revealing a narrow, tan pole in the middle of his chest. I assumed this was the pole that you put his head on. Blood oozed from the wounds and mouth. After the image faded out, the words "GAME OVER" faded in with a white glare, and "RETRY" and "EXIT" underneath it. The whole thing was accompanied with a music box tune that seemed depressing. I had to vomit after I got the Game Over screen. 
=== Mission 4: FANTASY IN THE PHANTA SEA ===
After you unlock the submarine, go above the Phanta Sea. It turns out the Brickster had built another submarine like this one, and he shot us down. Now I have to get the missing parts in the Phanta Sea. A similar underwater level would appear in the final product. I had to go around the trench, finding parts to repair the submarine. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Phantum anywhere in the level. I did, however, have a boss battle with an octopus and sharks, which I could easily kill with harpoons.
The level has no tries, but you earned a brick depending on how much time you took to get all the parts. From all I know, I clocked in at four minutes and I got the red brick.
Once this level is over, Laura phones you in another submarine stating she and Nick have found the Brickster, carrying some kind of a large weapon which they believed was the Phantum. 
=== Mission 5: BRICKS ARE FOR KIDS ===
Appears right next to Mission 4. This level was the second encounter with the Brickster, and another shooter level. I had to shoot the Brickster until his submarine exploded, all the while shooting down all the other targets. The Brickster didn't bleed, he just vanished. I received the red brick for a flawless run.
Another cutscene played. Everyone presumes the Brickster dead, while a black diver is seen holding the untouched Phantum. He then swims away unnoticed. The gang returns home, only to find that Mama and Papa have gone missing. 
Nick suspects that the Brickster is alive and well with the Phantum and the pizza makers, forcing the crew to build a rocketship to fly to Ogel Island, stop the Brickster and save Mama and Papa. However, Laura reveals an ancient hieroglyphic book containing the extreme power of the artifact, which reveals that the Brickster intends to use it to take all the bricks in the world. Looks like we have more to save now.
Missions 6, 7, 8 and 9 are about training for flying to space, located in various parts of the island. I can't describe them all to you now, for it seems simpler this way. All I know is that these levels are a gyrosphere, a sky gliding level, a rocket defense shooting level and another sky gliding level. If you fail the sky gliding levels, the try loss will be gruesome.
By now, you might recognize these elements, because they came from the final version of the game.
=== Mission 10: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN ===
This mission will be right in front of you when you land on Ogel Island. This is the only platformer level in the game. There are Brickster-Bots to smash and obstacles to jump over. I knew this was going to be a hell of a fight. The health bar from Mission 3 is back, and getting hit from an enemy will remove health. If you lose a try, Pepper will explode in body parts and blood. The level ends when you get to the top of the castle.
=== FINAL MISSION: END THE BRICKSTER ===
This mission begins right after Mission 10, and after a cutscene in between levels. In the cutscene, Pepper confronts the Brickster. I'll show you a script of what is being said here.
"Hey, Peeper Roonie! You're just in time to witness the biggest heist of a lifetime!"
"It's over. Mama and Papa have come home, and I can't be tricked anymore. There won't be a heist."
"Too late! PFFFFFT! The Phantum is ready to fire!"
He fires the Phantum at the Earth, and Pepper watches in horror as every brick on the planet is slowly sucked up into the artifact like dirt to a vacuum cleaner. Pepper, now pissed off at the Brickster, says, "I didn't even get a tip!"
The level has you fighting the Brickster, dodging hordes of now invincible enemies. You can now left-click the mouse to throw hot pizzas at the Brickster, in addition to your karate attacks. Unfortunately, the Brickster is extremely agile and will dodge your pizzas unless you can knock him out first. Once you do, throw three pizzas at the Brickster to take away his health. Do this at least four times to defeat him.
=== Epilogue ===
The ending cutscene had the Brickster end up breathing fire and running around searching for water, eventually banging his head into the Phantum, causing it to overheat and reverse the damages caused. The Brickster finds a nearby bathroom and cools off in there, only to get trapped in the bathroom. Pepper uses a jet glider to jump off the castle, just as the Phantum explodes, destroying Ogel Island. He flies back to Lego Island, where he is greeted happily by everyone, including Sky, who jumps on him and kisses him. The game ended with a shot of the crowd cheering.
Then the credits rolled.
I was overjoyed when I saw my name on the credits, along with many other people who worked on the game. There were songs performed by artists like Korn, Smash Mouth, Good Charlotte and more; I was confused why these artists would appear on a kids game. In fact, I was surprised how dark LI2 was originally going to be, but it kept the charm of the original game. It had a build mode where you could create objects, most notably the submarine and rocket, but I never thought it was more complex until now.
I was plopped back to the main menu when the credits ended, and I quit the game with the backdoor and green and red bricks. Once I did, I heard the Infomaniac say "SEE YOU LATER BRICKULATOR!"
That's when I realized something.
There was originally going to be a bad ending to this game just like the original. I don't know how to get it. Nobody does. Nor do we know what it looks like. I suppose you finish the game with no red bricks?
Maybe I should be happy I got the good ending.
Category:Lego