In the quiet town of Blackwyche the Sabre Wulf amulet rests after being rescued a few years ago by the explorer, Sabreman. Sabrewulf once rampaged the lands, a wild beast causing chaos and destruction and spreading horror to all on the earth. The Amulet sealed the animal within a statue and kept him safely locked away, until now.

Dr. Doolittle-Goode has broken the amulet and released Sabrewulf unto the world once again for his own evil plans. This leaves Blackwyche and all the surrounding land in disorder, and the Mayor calls for help from the now more elderly Sabreman to catch both foes. Without his old saber he will have to find new weapons on his journey to hunt down Sabrewulf and the eight amulet pieces once again, along with catching the new enemy.

Characters he will meet on this quest include Charlie Atlas, who has spent years of his life charting the regions around Blackwyche and may have a new invention to help with your travels. The town librarian Connie-Anne can aid you in finding information if there is something you need to research. Another townsperson is Wesley Snaps, who likes nothing better than taking photographs and if you purchase a camera, you will find he has much knowledge to share. Cookie is another habitant of the town but also owns the travelling shop “Curiosity Creature Emporium” and there is no doubt you will see him on your travels.

Last updated: 05/15/2001 by Max Lake

After we started this preview ages ago, some wondered if Rare referencing an old franchise really merited preview coverage. Thanks to “Milhouse” of yesterday’s “Metroid Prime” fame, we now have a new clue to add to the puzzle, just in time for E3.

Let ‘er rip Milhouse:

Do you remeber in BT there was small hints about a possible new SABRE-WULF games on the cube.

After my lucky find ( metroid prime ) yesterday, i dig a little more and

boom :

Rare just register yesterday ( 14 mai ) 2 domain name:

SABREWULFGAME.COM

SABRE-WULF.COM

2 exclusives in 2 days, damn I'm good :D

milhouse

Awesome Milhouse! After your luck yesterday, we decided to post this seconds after it hit our mailbox. Makes ya wonder what Rare’s going to show at E3, eh? Could the GC Sabre Wulf game have anything to do with the Rare secret game PGC recently broke news on? (i.e. girl taking animal powers…) We should be finding out this week!

Another quick Sabrewulf thing – after we started our Sabre Wulf preview, an old pal Philip Bee in the UK (ex-64 Source) got in touch awhile back to tell us he played the original SabreWulf and there was more than one game with the explorer. He also said that at the end of the one of the games, the explorer turns into a wolf -thereby explaining the connection to the KI character Sabre Wulf.

Last updated: 01/10/2001

Way, way, way back in the early 80s, the beloved uber-developer now known as Rare was a much smaller and lesser-known entity known as Underwurlde. However, the group was still making some highly acclaimed software for the primitive consoles available at the time.

One such game was Sabre Wulf, a colorful title that appeared on early systems such as the Commodore 64 and the UK-only Spectrum. Released in 1984, Sabre Wulf featured a small explorer making his way through a jungle maze, fighting for survival against numerous wild animals with his sword, all the while searching for four pieces of a magical amulet. The game was well received and even garnered a "Game of the Month" accolade from Your Sinclair (as listed in Rare's look back at Sabre Wulf). Still, as time passed and the company began to grow, Sabre Wulf was left in the past, seemingly living on only in the memories of old-school gamers.

Or maybe not… In Banjo-Tooie for N64, world seven of the game involves freeing a jungle explorer trapped in ice. Once you thaw him, the explorer remarks "Why, I've been frozen there since 1984!" It turns out the lil' guy is the same fellow from Sabre Wulf! To prove it, he goes to a tent marked with the original Sabre Wulf logo and remarks "I wonder what new adventures await me?" Sleeping away, he answers his own question, muttering: "Zzz… Perhaps I'll ride a Dolphin!"

Every Nintendophile knows that "Dolphin" was the codename for GameCube, so it's almost certainly a reference to Nintendo's next system… And a hint that Sabre Wulf might be having an all new adventure on it. It's either that, or this guy has a stranger attraction to marine life than Troy McClure on the Simpsons! Apparently, the Banjo team have claimed that they are a little "Kazooied" out and may take a break from the series before beginning a third installment for GameCube. So maybe, just maybe… The next project from Rare's BK team may be an updated Sabre Wulf for GameCube.

IGNCube, who originally reported this also suggest that this hint might be a reference to Killer Instinct series, noting that the series' ferocious wolf character is also called "Sabre Wulf." It's a good point but although the Planet would definitely love to see Killer Instinct 3, it doesn't make sense to bring back a classic character to trumpet the return of a newer franchise than his own. Still, all of this doesn't necessarily mean that Rare is developing a version of Sabre Wulf for GameCube… Rare could just be messing with our heads. They're certainly pretty good at it!