Hidden content you wish was in the final game

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So if you browse places like TCRF.net, watch videos on Youtube or in some cases, do your own research on a game, you’ve probably noticed some things that were cut from the final version of a video game and ultimately were not used. That said, I am sure you have seen some hidden content you wish that had been added to the game in the end, but wasn’t

Well this is the place to discuss it! Hidden content in video games you wish had made it to the final version. It can be about any video game of course or earlier versions of said game really. Just make sure what you’re posting about is actually unused in the game. ;)

If you wish to talk about hidden content you're glad wasn't included, go here.
 
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Allow me to take a second and plug the "infield" layout of Special Stage Route X. There were super-banked corners, tunnels you could drive upside-down in, it looked like a playground of the Tomahawk and Red Bull cars. That's still the biggest case of an unused layout I'm super upset never made it into the final version of any Gran Turismo.
 
Allow me to take a second and plug the "infield" layout of Special Stage Route X. There were super-banked corners, tunnels you could drive upside-down in, it looked like a playground of the Tomahawk and Red Bull cars. That's still the biggest case of an unused layout I'm super upset never made it into the final version of any Gran Turismo.
I'm with you on this one. It's a shame it wasn't included and it's an even bigger shame it's not accessible even with hacking, it was totally removed from the game and not playable in any sense of the word. I undoubtedly would have had a lot of fun with this track had they included in the game. Hopefully a future GT title will get it, but who knows. :indiff:
 
The original planned map for Burnout Paradise.

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GT2 also had a lot of cars cut from the final game, and GT5 had all the tracks from GT4 playable as well in the game files.
 
Twisted Metal 2012 had DLC content planned, but ultimately opted not to include it. A real shame because my favourite vehicle from Head On (Twister) was included, and I really wanted to see what those tornados would look like on the big screen.

You ain't kidding! I am seriously dumbfounded I didn't post that sooner. :dunce: This is something I really wish had made it into the game because this game could certainly use more content. Of all the cars, Twister is also the one I'd be most excited for as well and I am with you, I want to see those tornados! :P Though I have a feeling given how TM2012 handled the faster vehicles in the game, this one is going to be super weak with it's armor, much like Crimson Fury.

Theirs some concept art of Mr. Slam that was evidently planned. Theirs mentions of Spectre being planned as well, David Jaffe even said they made a model for it, though some say Spectre was replaced with Kamikaze. :irked:
I don't know if this counts, but I kinda wish that in GT5 we got the winged "Car of Tomorrow" Nascars. Would have looked good racing on the road courses in my view.

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I guess it would count because it was shown in some prerelease footage of the game. I always thought the "Car of Tomorrow" design was better anyways.
 
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Multiplayer mode in 007 Tomorrow Never Dies.
Played this game as a kid and loved it, but I got frequently dragged away from it by my brother to play a 2 player game at times when I'd much rather play this one. Something that frustrated 10 old me at the time was this game was only 1 player, therefore I could not play it if he came around wanting to play with me and was forced to play something else. Fast forward roughly 10 years later when I'm in my 20's, to add salt to the wound, I found out a multiplayer mode was planned for this game, but ultimately never made it to the final game. This bums me because not only would it have solved that problem I had as a kid, but it would have been fun and added some much needed content to a game that is WAY too short.

While I may not have said problem anymore, in fact my brother won't be living with me much longer :guilty:, this is still something I wish the game had and it's a pity it was never in the final game. Only thing that remains of them is images and to my knowledge, nothing more.
 
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Battlefield 1 was going to feature submarines.

Battlefield 3 was going to feature the F16, Apache AH64 and the SU37 Flanker.

Battlefield 4 was going to have snowstorms and more night maps.

Midnight club LA was originally going to have Ferraris and Porsches.

Midnight club 3 was going to have BMWs.

Gran Turismo 2 was going to feature Ferrari, Mclaren, Porsche and Lamborghini.

PGR2 was going to feature Maserati and Marcos cars and the BMW Z3M Coupe
 
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The Mercedes Benz CLK-GTR Race Car in GT2.
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It evidently existed at one point in development and was a car that was planned for GT2. It appeared in screenshots from an early version of the game, but sadly it was cut from the final, which some say was due to the NFS license, and their is absolutely no trace of it's existence anywhere in the game. We sadly don't have demos containing the car at all beyond these screenshots. And it's a pity because not only is it a nice car, but it probably would have been good competition for the GT-1 Race Car and such. I undoubtedly would have had some fun with it had it been included in the final game and I hold hope one day a demo will surface containing the car and it can be ported to the final game.
 
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The Polyphony Digital X1 (fan) in GT5.
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So this was a car that was originally planned to be in GT5, but from what I read, it was cut from the final game due to something about its name being similar to that of the BMW X1. (correct me if I am wrong) A leftover thumbnail exists in the final game and that's about the only trace of it in there. However, thanks to Thom Lee, he recently obtained a prototype of the game from 2 months before GT5's release and we actually get to see this thing in full and as someone who has toyed with the car myself, I can say it's quite interesting!

While it has some similarities, it has some distinct differences that set it apart from that of the X2010's. It has no Red Bull branding anywhere, a number on the nose, and some other visual differences with the body. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about it is it has this HUD that is projected on the windshield of the vehicle which looks pretty neat but sadly was not used on any of the Red Bulls we got in the final game, or in GT6.
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Another interesting thing about it is when using the interior cam, the windshield is actually darker and thus gives you the feel you're actually inside the car. Whereas the X2010's in the final just feel like they don't even have a windshield at all. Not only that, but the X1 has a different transmission sound that in my opinion sounds better. Needless to say, it's not the same.

While I still like the Red Bulls we got in the final game, I still wish we had gotten this car too because it has quite a few things going on that I think it did better than what we ended up with. Seeing it alongside them would have been great.
 
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Lost Fleet's music from the April 25th, 2000 prototype of Spyro Year of the Dragon.

So a prototype of this game surfaced very recently and theirs A LOT of interesting differences between this and the final game, this being among one of the most interesting ones in my opinion. The music for this level is very unique and completely different from what we got in the final game. It's pretty somber and parts of it fit the level pretty dang well. Though I do think some of the heavier instruments, namely the guitar and drums, feel a little out of place for the game, I still really like this theme overall. Sadly it was never used in the final game.

What we got instead, in the Greatest Hits version of the game anyhow (which was the most finished), was a remix of the music from Shelia's Alp. It's not bad, certainly not as bad as the community makes it out to be, and it does still fit the level. However, it lacks the spooky tone the beta track had and just seems a little too happy in contrast to the level design. Compared to everything else Stewart Copeland did in this game, it seems a little lazy given it's just a remix of Shelia's Alp with some extra stuff thrown in, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of time restraints.

I still like what we got in the final though because it does work and maybe it's nostalgia, but I wouldn't want to replace it entirely. Like, maybe they could've used it in one of the areas outside the main level and use the Shelia's Alp remix somewhere else kind of like how Enchanted Towers was and I think it would have worked. However, I do think the beta theme would need to be changed some to conform with the rest of the game's soundtrack because the drums and guitar feel a little excessive and out of place in comparison to the rest of it. Given they did that with Sgt. Byrd's Base and Frozen Altars theme, it would make sense. Either way, I just wish this theme was used in some form or another because it's pretty good and it's unfortunate we never heard anything like it in the final.
 
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The Polyphony Digital X1 (fan) in GT5.
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So this was a car that was originally planned to be in GT5, but from what I read, it was cut from the final game due to something about its name being similar to that of the BMW X1. (correct me if I am wrong) A leftover thumbnail exists in the final game and that's about the only trace of it in there. However, thanks to Thom Lee, he recently obtained a prototype of the game from 2 months before GT5's release and we actually get to see this thing in full and as someone who has toyed with the car myself, I can say it's quite interesting!

While it has some similarities, it has some distinct differences that set it apart from that of the X2010's. It has no Red Bull branding anywhere, a number on the nose, and some other visual differences with the body. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about it is it has this HUD that is projected on the windshield of the vehicle which looks pretty neat but sadly was not used on any of the Red Bulls we got in the final game, or in GT6.
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Another interesting thing about it is when using the interior cam, the windshield is actually darker and thus gives you the feel you're actually inside the car. Whereas the X2010's in the final just feel like they don't even have a windshield at all. Not only that, but the X1 has a different transmission sound that in my opinion sounds better. Needless to say, it's not the same.

While I still like the Red Bulls we got in the final game, I still wish we had gotten this car too because it has quite a few things going on that I think it did better than what we ended up with. Seeing it alongside them would have been great.
IIRC, the Red Bull X2010 was originally called the X1 at GT5's launch, but was changed to X2010 (which I absolutely hate as a name) later down the line.

A few cuts that come to mind:

  • This was already mentioned, but GT2 featured references to Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche in its files, as well as references to a bunch of other unseen cars, such as the Renault Spider Cup Car.
  • Battlefield 1 was going to have a pigeon that had a camera mounted on it that could spot enemy players, and even made an appearance on the test servers. It was understandably cut due to balancing concerns, but it would've been fun to mess with.
  • Battlefield V was, based on data-mined content, supposed to have an expansion at some point that introduced the Eastern Front to the games multiplayer, but support was abandoned well beforehand.
  • Need For Speed Most Wanted '05 had a whole lot of cut content that's revealed via unused voice lines found in the files. This includes, but not limited to, Dynamic Weather including severe storms, Police Helicopters being able to carry weapons such as droppable spike strips, Heat Levels 8-10 (6 is used in the final pursuit and Challenge series event, and Heat 7 is used the the Black Edition-exclusive Challenge Series event), an Airport in Downtown Rockport that would've acted as a no-fly zone for the helicopter (which is referenced in one of the voice messages that you get during the career), and a good number of cars including the R34 Skyline, C6 Z06 Corvette, and TVR (I believe the engine sound file used for the M3 GTR was actually going to be the sound for the Cerbera Speed 6).
  • Most Wanted '12 was basically a completely different game in development compared to the final product, and seemed to be an actual direct sequel to MW '05. There's various YouTube videos that show early development gameplay of the title.
These are more regional differences, but I still consider them cut content from the NA variants:

  • The Japanese version of Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero actually had cutscenes that would play in the first half of the game whenever you unlocked a new section of highway. These cutscenes were never translated and added to the North American version, which is a shame because I think they give a good it of context and light "story" to the game, and make it feel like you're actually progressing.
  • This is fairly well-known on GTP, but the Japanese version of GT2 had completely different physics for dirt racing compared to the NA/EU release. The cars in the Japanese version were much more drifty and seemed to be much smoother to operate overall compared to the more understeery physics that sometimes make it difficult to perform and maintain a slide.
 
Speaking of unicorn Red Bull X cars, the one I really wanted to try was the X2010 5G. Basically X2010 with the fan removed and detuned engine (only 385 HP). It was only available for Japanese players as part of an online competition in GT5.

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More info: https://gran-turismo.fandom.com/wiki/Red_Bull_X2010_5G

We got the X2014 Standard in GT6 and GT Sport, but it has a lot more power than this one. I guess you could use the power restrictor to make it more similar.
 
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IIRC, the Red Bull X2010 was originally called the X1 at GT5's launch, but was changed to X2010 (which I absolutely hate as a name) later down the line.
I think it was, seems like I read that recently and I think it was changed to X2010 in update 1.05.
Speaking of unicorn Red Bull X cars, the one I really wanted to try was the X2010 5G. Basically X2010 with the fan removed and detuned engine (only 385 HP). It was only available for Japanese players as part of an online competition in GT5.
Actually, I think there were 2 variants of it, one with a fan and one without and they can be told apart because one has the Perelli logos and the other does not. Although the power is very underwhelming compared to what I am used to with the others, I do like this car a lot. It looks fantastic, has a great startup sound and unlike the others, it's paintable! Why some of the other X cars weren't paintable is beyond me. It makes sense with the S. Vettel, Prototype and X2011 Prototype, but the stock X2010 in the dealer could've easily done this and it would've worked. Ditto to the X1 I mentioned earlier as well.

At first, I was hesitant to allow this one in my thread since it was in fact used for something, but given it was limited to a certain region and was only around for a brief time, I suppose it fits. 👍 Thankfully this car still exists in the game data and can be obtained via save editing.
 
Speaking of Red Bulls, here's another one I wish we had got:
Red Bull X2010 JP Flag Color in GT5.
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It has a different paint scheme from all the other Red Bull's and a different startup sound as well, but everything else is more or less the same as the X2010. This was added to version 2.00 of the game and according to TCRF, it was probably intended to be DLC for charity but in the end, was never used. Which is a shame because I loved the paint scheme from the first time I saw it, the startup sound is pretty neat compared to the others and it generally was a great car to have that sadly was only obtainable via hacking. It's an even bigger shame they removed it entirely when update 2.12 came out because then if you try to use it, the game crashes. One of many reasons why I hated the update back then and still resent it to this day. 👎

While the reasons for why it was probably cut written on TCRF are understandable, this is easily my most favorite X car they have ever done and I do wish it had been used in some way or another that didn't involve hacking.
 
I haven't finished Phantom Pain yet but I know that there was a different ending that wasn't included in the final game would have given more weight to the ending and more insight into some of the earlier games
 
The Thundergun on Tranzit in Call of Duty Black Ops II.
I read years ago this gun was going to be featured on the map at one point in time as a wall weapon, but what we got instead was the Jet Gun, one of the worst weapons of all of zombies. Not only does it take a long time to gather the parts to build it, but it overheats way too easily, blows up, and has to be rebuilt when it does, and even if it doesn't, you have to wait a LONG time for it to cool down to use it again. It was a great concept on paper, but its execution was terrible and it is widely regarded as one of the worst wonder weapons in COD zombies, and for good reason too.

The Thundergun however is a classic wonder weapon from Black Ops I and later featured in Black Ops III that people tend to speak highly of and it's proven to be a very good weapon in both games. It would have been so great to have the Thundergun in Black Ops II as well because it would have made quick work fending off zombies from the bus and it being a wall weapon instead of a box weapon means it'd be easier to access. It's a huge shame we never got it in the end because it is FAR better than the Jet Gun ever was and had it been added as a wall weapon as planned, I probably would have played the map a lot more just for the sake of using it.
 
Darth Plagueis in Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga.
This was a character that was intended to be in The Complete Saga as a 100% reward but was cut from the final game for some reason and only a few of his files and text mentions exist for him, no character model was created. I really wish we had gotten this one because it would've been neat to see him as a Minifigure since there isn't a lot of material about him at all. One article on TCRF claims he was supposed to be able to do a variety of things and that would've been really cool to have.
 
Cut Pokemon like Greninja and Mega Evolution in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Yep, they were originally meant to appear in Pokemon Sword and Shield, but they were cut from the final versions of Sword and Shield for some reasons such as model issues like Greninja's black eyes. Model issues are part of the reasons why Sword and Shield don't have all returning Pokemon. I hate how Sword and Shield don't have all starter Pokemon while they have all pseudo-legendary Pokemon and all legendary Pokemon. :grumpy:
 
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Warhawk in Twisted Metal Black.
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So this is the final boss in the game and it was intended to be playable in the game but was sadly cut. I have read in some places it was cut due to being too overpowered for multiplayer and basically for being like driving a car in the air. However watching the Twisted Metal retrospective recently, David Jaffe, the creator of the series, talked about this, and although he struggled to remember it all, he says it was cut due to lack of time and the levels generally not being made with him in mind.

While his reasons make perfect sense, I still wish we could have gotten him anyway. Even if the other levels besides his rooftops aren't exactly designed with him in mind, they could at the very least do what they did with Tower Tooth in Twisted Metal Head On. What Head On did was they created a challenge allowing you to play as Tower Toothy set only in Rome Death Match since his sheer size wouldn't really work well anywhere else. Sure it was a bit limited and it sucks he wasn't usable elsewhere without hacks, but they took advantage of the one level that worked for him and made him playable anyways, and just being able to play with him at all was a great thing in itself.

That said, I feel that provided they have the time, they could very easily do the same for Warhawk and provide a challenge set on his rooftops much like how they did with Rome Death Match for Tower Tooth in Head-On. I mean the level was already designed for him and I think it would work out well if the devs had the time to do this. I ain't touched Black in a long time so there could be more levels than this that may actually work well with him. Regardless, this is one I have always wished had been made playable in some form or another. Would've been pretty neat to be able to attack people with a large helicopter in the game and would've really set it apart from the other games as well. Too bad it didn't happen.
 
The Gr.N/N100-N1000 system in Gran Turismo 7.

Yep, it was originally meant to appear in GT7 according to its announcement trailer. But sadly, it was cut later.

If it stayed in the final version of GT7, we would have had more money bonus.
 
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Indi in Gran Turismo 2.

So many tracks from GT2 I could post that didn't make the cut, but this one I think takes the cake out of them all. This track I feel was meant to be an unlicensed version of Indianapolis Motor Speedway much like how Superspeedway in this game was an unlicensed version of the Twin Ring Motegi track we know. (correct me if I'm wrong) It was featured in a demo of the game and while it's a little unfinished, it's a pretty amazing track to look at and race on. Sadly the only remains of this track that can be found in the final game are its background, which goes unused. And it's unfortunate because this is one of the more interesting tracks in the GT series I can think of and it would have been great to have it in the Like The Wind series. Why this was cut, I don't even know, but it really should've been in the final game.
 
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Monza oval in NFS Shift 2

The section of the track is accessible after going through the haybales on classic Monza GP track but the layout wasn't ever used in any career race, also it isn't listed in Quick Race menu.

Most probably SMS plan was to include this layout but either physics problems or EA deadlines were the reasons for this leftover?! (cause otherwise why bother modelling such a long section?)

 
Piazza del Campo in Gran Turismo 5.

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So this was a track that was featured in a trailer for the game, we even got gameplay of it in some early demos of the game and although it was intended to be in the final game, it was cut due to legal issues. This track may not be much, but I still find it somewhat interesting and I think it would have been fun to race on, especially with other cars and not just karts. Pity, it wasn't included in the final game.

I am hopeful this can still happen though because Nenkai has a mod for the game which brought the aforementioned Polyphony Digital X1 (fan) to the final game thanks to the existence of the QA demo and some tools to decrypt it's files. Provided someone gets a hold of the demo containing this track and it's in the right format, it should theoretically be possible to port it to the final game. However, until that demo surfaces, the most we can do is just ponder on what it could have been had it made it to the final game.
 
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The raging thunder and howling wolves sound effects that play at the beginning of a dog round in Call of Duty World at War.
First off, here is a video with a timestamp showing the sound effects. (language warning)

This one is a bit of a curveball for this topic and an interesting one at that. On the PS3 version of the map Shi No Numa in Call of Duty World at War, it has these sound effects of thunder crashing and wolves howling at the start of the dog rounds, but mysteriously, it was cut from every other system it was released on for some reason. Heck, I even extracted all the sounds for the PC version of the game and it's nowhere to be found! 🤔

I don't know why it was only used on the PS3 version and left out on the rest, but I wish this had been included in the others because I think it makes the start of the dog rounds even scarier than it already is and it sounds awesome! It's also very fitting because the thunder makes sense given how theirs a flash of lightning when the dogs spawn and the howling also works since these are dogs we're talking about here. It really is unfortunate we didn't get this on the other versions or in future titles.
 
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The City Bus from Midnight Club Los Angeles.

So this is a traffic vehicle in both the original and even the Complete Edition and while playable vehicles have the letters "vp" in their internal names and unplayable traffic vehicles use "va", this one somehow has a vp variant alongside its va counterpart. Whether or not this was intended to be included at some point or if it was an accident it became playable is unclear, but it's not obtainable at all by normal means. Save editing or iso mods are the only way to get it now since "Rate My Ride" no longer works due to the server shutting down in 2014. Fortunately, it's not hard at all to get this vehicle in your garage if you're anxious to try it, at least on the PS3 version.

As someone who has played with it before, there is a lot to this thing that I could talk about and due to it apparently not being coded properly, it's not at all what most would expect from it. For instance:
  • It's listed as a class D exotic, but it drives nothing like one. If anything, it's far beyond any D-class vehicle in terms of performance and handles surprisingly well, not at all like I would expect from a bus. Needless to say, the way it drives is very unrealistic for what it is and it's honestly incredibly overpowered, especially with performance parts applied. Though its performance ratings are glitched in the menus, so it's hard to know just how good it really is without driving it.
  • The bus is so big in the garage, that it blocks the menu so you cannot see what you're doing. You pretty much have to be mindful of what you're doing in the garage menu since you can't see it.
  • The cameras are not optimized well for the vehicle and the only effective way to drive it is to use bumper cam.
  • The game for some reason has it coded as a police vehicle and it functions exactly like one to the point even the AI treats it as such, although it lacks the flashing lights.
  • My memory is a little hazy, but I think going to customize it causes the game to crash. Fortunately, you can work around this by installing parts through save editing or changing its car id to something that can be customized. Some customizations I know it can take are custom wheels (wheel paint included), neon, custom license plates, hydraulics, and airbags and I am sure theirs more. It has no body mods of any sort, vinyls do not work and it cannot be repainted.
This is easily one of the more interesting pieces of cut content I have seen in a video game. Again, I don't know if it was ever meant to be playable, but assuming it was at one point, my hunch is that it would have been intended for a certain challenge and it makes me wonder what other traffic cars they may have thought about using. 🤔 Playable traffic vehicles in racing games is something I feel we don't get nearly enough of and having this bus as a playable vehicle would have been an interesting choice that would give the game a little more variety.
 
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LAN Mode in Gran Turismo 5.
One of the greater pieces of cut content I have seen in recent years and probably the most confusing in terms of why it was cut. The mode is exactly what it says it is, it allows you to play via LAN and it even has shuffle racing in it along with a lot of the other features we remember from online play. It works very well as is with the chat feature being the only thing I recall that doesn't work properly and combined with Xlink Kai, it's basically GT5 online again without the need for PSN. Why it was cut, I don't even know, but my best guess is maybe they knew people would use stuff like Xlink Kai with it and fewer people would use the online features.

Regardless, I really wish the game came standard with this, and given how much of it was already finished, this feature should have been in the game, and cutting it was a HUGE mistake. Fortunately, if you have jailbreak or you're willing to mod a PS3 backup, Nenkai's mod restores this feature and it can be used normally in conjunction with the rest of the game and although the chat feature is still broken, it works just fine!
 
ATV's and dirt bikes in Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition.
So these are mentioned in the game's memory and were apparently intended to be in the game at one point, but in the end, we never got them in the final game. While they don't exactly fit in with the theme of the game, I still wish we could have gotten them anyway because it would just be fun having them thrown into the mix. The game already has a VERY diverse list of vehicles and this would just make it even more diverse and give the game even more reason to enjoy it.
 
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