Writing
Retro Revival: Cubivore - Published by N-Philes, Nov 11, 2005
The Scoop
Eat or be eaten. The simple premise of "survival of the fittest" is the focus of Nintendo's Doubutsu Banchou, or "Animal Leader" (known as Cubivore to us honkeys). You take on the role of a young, box-shaped animal left to fend for yourself. As you journey through hostile environments, you feed off other animals not only to survive, but to gain new traits to grow bigger, faster, and stronger. Your initial creature can mutate into 150 different combinations, all offering advantages and disadvantages against other animals (150 different creatures and this isn't Pokémon?) Of course, there's always a bigger fish, so watch out.
Isn't that the cutest devouring animal ever?
No creature lasts forever, so when your time comes, you have offspring! When you and your family line grow strong enough, you take on Alpha, and upon victory you become top of the food chain.
Young ‘uns!
Iterations
Doubutsu Banchou (Animal Leader), GCN, 2002 (Japan Only)
Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest, GCN, 2002 (US), 2005 (PAL)
Notable Appearances
Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN): Described as being from an imaginative cubist world, Alpha appears as an unlockable trophy. The trophy information says that he comes from a "future release".
Nintendo had every intention of releasing this one in North America
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In Japan, Microsoft's Xbox launched on February 21, 2002. To counter this, Nintendo went to retail with their cube-inspired Animal Leader. The game was in development for the 64DD, but was brought over the GameCube once the 64DD platform was scrapped in America. Animal Leader features a simplistic graphical engine, supposedly designed that way so that players could focus on the most important aspect of the game: gameplay. Because of its simplistic graphical design and odd gameplay, Nintendo opted not to release this game in North America. Animal Crossing was fortunate enough to receive full translation, but Animal Leader was looking like it would stay in Japan forever.
Even the blood is square
Then came Atlus. They saw the golden opportunity to bring a Nintendo first party game over to American shores. They took the game, translated it, and released it as the creatively-titled Cubivore. While the game was haggled for its graphics, its unique gameplay helped it to find a niche following.
Revival Potential
By now, you are probably wondering why this recent game is being shown off as a Retro Revival title. Simply, Nintendo should not stuff this one in their vault marked "re-release when portable hardware is strong enough." The concept of a creature-based RPG without a trainer or master is rarely seen in video games, and a simplistic game that anyone could play that is also deep enough for the most seasoned veteran is a rare feat. Cubivore has it all.
This one isn't going extinct
Just because Nintendo chose not to bring this one overseas doesn't mean that it's seen its last breath. The Nintendo Revolution will have a heavy emphasis on online play and creative control schemes, as well as pulling casual and non-gamers in deeper. Cubivore is a concept everyone can get into, have fun customizing to his or her liking, and to top it off, play in a massive multiplayer online format. Would flying and burrowing cubicreatures be feasible with a Revolution controller? Totally. The DS' touch screen would also change and improve interaction between player and cubivore. Imagine drawing your own creature, a la Amazing Island, and watching it evolve on the virtual terrain, or attacking and defending with the flick of a wrist. Lets hope that the Cubivore world doesn't become extinct.
Lineage
Sources: Wikipedia, IGN Cube, Atlus