The music is pretty brilliant as well as fitting.

I expected something like Tomb Raider Legend mixed with some photography and for the most part, that's what I got but I didn't expect as much combat as it has and it's not half bad. I didn't think I would even like the photo taking aspect especially with a GC controller but I ended up using it immensely (it's not always required).

There isn't really platforming or even a jump button unfortunately but I can tell that the people who put this together are gamers and put care into it because it's gleaming with personality and doesn't fall into common traps a lot of other games do. Take sidestepping for example, normally you can easily fall off the edge and many deaths in general are unjustified due to poor controls or poor execution. I never felt that with this game, sidestepping along an edge is literally just holding forward on the control stick, you don't get stuck, it's not insanely slow, and the puzzle like nature is actually pretty nice.

The vehicle controls are actually pretty accurate, I was easing through a minefield without breaking a sweat, the problem is the jumping and shooting. There's a certain boss you have to beat with the hovercraft (a few times) and it's hard to shoot at because you have to keep everything under control at once while keeping up with the boss.

Perhaps one of the defining features of this game is its tone. I would consider it an "inbetweener" it seems kid friendly for the most part but it's rated T for Teen, it has a dark side, which is mainly saved for the end but it's sprinkled throughout and not something I would expect to see in an average game style like this with its cartoony nature. Coming from the same guy who made Rayman, it starts to piece itself together, I can see why it's a cult-classic but I feel like you'd have to play it in order to see fully, especially with the sequel looking vastly different from this one.

For a good amount, I felt on top of the game because I had so many units, yet I never felt "underchallenged". Now, let's talk about the title. I'm not sure, why it's called that, I had a few fears with this game such as it being too edgy or raunchy for its own good but I don't believe any of those initial fears came to fruition. I would even play the sequel if it ever comes out. That ending boss was also pretty cool gameplay-wise.

one of the most early-2000s games of all time (it's a near-perfect juggling act of so many elements that were staples of sixth gen games - collectathons, secret areas, platforming, cartoony visuals etc. with none of them overpowering or overused) and also one of the most "french sci-fi" games of all time (even if i didnt know this were a ubisoft joint i'd still have pinned it as a product of glitzy, millennium-era, luc besson-y fifth element-y type shit). was genuinely impressed with how well this blends a multitude of genres, nails them all, and manages to stick out as a truly one-of-a-kind endeavor - which i wish i'd have known when i passed on it years ago, mistakenly assuming it to be another bland action platformer. better late than never i guess

Beyond Good & Evil is a fantastic title. I’m not even trying to say that the actual game is amazing, but that the title itself is just wonderfully evocative. It pairs beautifully with the box art of the hero standing not with a gun, but with her camera, ready to capture the horrible truths at the foundation of a futuristic city. It lets your imagination run wild with the possibilities of what you may discover, and that’s exactly what bit me when I started playing. This game is hardly like what the box promises, striking a tone that’s more comedic and fantastical than it is mysterious. You spend a lot of time with quipping sidekicks, doing basic platforming and hitting fantasy monsters with a staff instead of uncovering dark truths. The stealth and photography that seemed like the main selling point are only a small portion of the game, coming to a total of about five pictures required over the course of the entire playthrough. It’s not that this difference from what was advertised makes the game bad, but it’s essentially a different form of the “is it a good sequel” problem. If a game sells itself in a way not reflective of the actual product, can people be blamed for being disappointed in spite of the game’s merits? If I played this game in a total contextual vacuum, I would simply pass it off as a mediocre fantasy platformer with a couple interesting ideas, but the product being so different from the more interesting version that was advertised cast a pall over my enjoyment. I kept waiting and waiting for the Beyond Good & Evil I had in my head, but it just never ended up happening. With how development of the sequel has been going, I’m starting to think that will be the main thing these games have in common.

I was seriously impressed that Ubisoft of all companies managed to make something this good once upon a time. BGE has a surprisingly great soundtrack, fun gameplay, smooth setpieces, likable characters, well-written dialogue, and a compelling story. Collecting pearls is enjoyable, especially since they provide substantial upgrades, are frequently necessary for progression, and rarely require going through repeated or uninteresting content. Taking pictures of animals is also fun since the creatures are pretty unique and it gives you pearls. The combat is simple and most of the game is pretty easy to breeze through but killing enemies feels good enough to make up for the lack of difficulty. The stealth sections require more thought and balance out the braindead nature of the combat. The game has a nice enough artstyle for a gamecube game and the atmosphere of the world when traveling was wonderful. There were some frequent audio bugs where voice lines would overlap or cut each other off. The only other issues would be the game not really telling you that you need to get a flight stabilizer before the domz would attack the lighthouse, the last phase of the final boss being a big pain in the butt, a tad too many stealth sections, and the game ending on a cliffhanger that probably won't be resolved any time soon.