Chiquititas: The Magical Journey (lost build of unreleased Wii game; 2008-2009)

Logo of Chiquititas: The Magical Journey

Status: Lost

Chiquititas: The Magical Journey is an unreleased videogame for the Nintendo Wii, developed by Biodroid Productions, a defunct Portuguese company, presumably between 2008 and 2009.

The game was based on the Portuguese adaptation of the juvenile telenovela Chiquititas, originally produced and aired by the Portuguese channel SIC between 2007 and 2008.

Chiquititas

Chiquititas is an Argentinian television show of the telenovela genre originally created by Cris Morena in 1995 for Telefé. It has been broadcast and adapted with great success in multiple countries over the years, such as Romania and Mexico. The franchise was particularly popular in Latin America and Brazil, featuring revivals of the novela and the production of several extra seasons.

In Portugal, Chiquititas follows the story of Madalena (portrayed by Marta Fernandes), a rigid CEO. Madalena was secretly pregnant seven years before the events of the show, and her father, ashamed of her carelessness and worried about her daughter's professional future, took away her baby right after she gave birth by telling her that the child had been stillborn. However, Madalena is later told that her baby, of unknown sex, was actually alive, and that her father had placed them at the strict Du Monte Orphanage. She then assumes the secret identity of Lili, a cheerful nanny inspired by Mary Poppins who starts working at the Du Monte Orphanage in order to search for her missing child.

At the Orphanage, Lili befriends the children (the "chiquititas") by being kind and listening to their problems, whilst teaching them how to sing and dance and how to make a stand against the cold Orphanage's management. While trying to find out which one of the "chiquititas" is her biological child, she also falls in love with Lucas (Nuno Pardal), the Orphanage's chef who, just like her and unlike fellow employee Laidinha (Sofia de Portugal), treats the children with love and respect.

In the Portuguese version's finale, the boy "Minorca" (Tiago Delfino) is Lili's son, altering the plot of the original Argentinian script.

Several real-life products based on "Chiquititas" were sold in Portugal, such as CDs, dolls and books.

Announcement

Chiquititas: The Magical Journey was announced for the Nintendo Wii console on February 11, 2008 on the popular gaming website IGN. It was soon covered by other sources, such as UOL, from Brazil.

A press release from SIC (one of the main investors and producer ), Biodroid and Cris Morena Group (detector of the IP; shortened as CMG) was published on May 2008 on both Biodroid's official website and GameOver, a Portuguese portal dedicated to videogames and affiliated with SIC.

Development

Chiquititas: The Magical Journey was developed for the Nintendo Wii by Biodroid. The game was a result of a partnership between the studio and SIC, as well as Emergent Game Technologies, the company behind "Gamebryo", an engine for game developers. Emergent This game engine was used by Biodroid in Chiquititas for the Wii, and was used as a case study by Emergent.

The first playable build of the game was developed in just a week thanks to Gamebryo, despite it being Biodroid's first Wii game ever. According to Emergent, pre-production began as soon as August 2007, one month after the Portuguese version of the show Chiquititas started to air on SIC.

The first level of the game was developed on PC before the Wii's devkit even arrived, and was ported to the Wii in one single afternoon. The game was built to be playable with the Nunchuck controller. Besides Gamebryo, it was reported that the team used tools such as Autodesk Maya 2008, Softimage XSI with COLLADA and FMOD audio.

By summer 2008, the game was reportedly completed and on polishing state, with Emergent stating it would be released during Fall 2008.

Other Platforms

Chiquititas: The Magical Journey was announced as a Wii title. It was the sole platform listed on Biodroid's website and only Wii gameplay footage is confirmed to exist as of November 2023.

Despite this information, other console builds (not counting with the first level developed on PC) may have been built.

Emergent's case study document mentions a Nintendo DS "cross-platform capability", although no more details about it were provided. No reference to a DS version was found in other sources.

Unlike the first trailer, the game's second trailer features a PS2 logo at the end. The YouTube caption also features a direct reference to a future PlayStation 2 release. It is to be noted that by 2009, PlayStation 3 had already been out for about three years, and PlayStation 2 was becoming increasingly obsolete in all targeted markets, including Portugal.

Gameplay

Footage, artwork and descriptions of the game were released by Biodroid and Emergent between 2008 and 2009.

The game was first described as a "platform with puzzle elements" brought to life by the spirit of the show, featuring joyful music and colorful elements. Just like the telenovela, the 3D game was aimed at a younger audience. Chiquititas was also reported to have been conceived as a family game, featuring "community interactivity" and several mini-games.

The first images of the game were released on May 2008 and were published on GameOver. These images have since been deleted from the original source and were not archived. A live version of three photos from 2009 were found on Mediavida, a Spanish website, on November 2023, although they are likely screenshots from a trailer. These images feature the character Lili and a blue van on three different locations, with a health bar and a doll counter on the HUD, as well as candy (also with a counter on the HUD) spread through the scenario.

On its official website, in 2009, Chiquititas: The Magical Journey was reported to feature a new storyline, featuring several playable characters and NPCs over twelve levels. One secret level allowed to play as DuMont. Twelve hidden toys needed to be collected over the twelve levels, and the player's goal was to bring the toys to the Orphanage in time for Christmas.

The first trailer was released on November 4, 2008, on Biodroid's official YouTube channel. The game's menu was shown, as well as several minutes of gameplay. The game was showcased in English aiming at an international release, although the character's names, Lili and Lucas, were those of the Portuguese adaptation and didn't reflect the names used by other countries. The players could choose to play as Lili or Lucas, although they could also drive a blue van during parts of the game.

Several locations in different environments, such as the woods or a snowy day, were shown. The game's story was presented to run over the course of four in-game seasons. The platform game featured enemies like magical creatures and the Orphanage's owners. Besides the mentioned HUD, some mini-games, like jumping rope, were also shown for the first time.

The second and final trailer was released on 10 February 2009, again on Biodroid's YouTube channel. This official trailer, once again in English, was shorter than the first one, although it contained title screens and was likely aimed at promoting the game to an audience. The aspect ratio is different, cropping several elements of the HUD such as the health bar. The trailer showcases the same kind of gameplay as previously shown, although it features other segments of the levels.

Release

Developed in Portugal, Chiquititas: The Magical Journey was aimed at an international market. Chiquititas was to be released in countries familiar with the TV Show Chiquititas, such as Argentina, Brazil, United States or Israel, as well as generic videogame markets like the United Kingdom, South Korea or Japan. As noted, this international release seems odd due to their adoption of the Portuguese characters' names and appearance, which were different from the ones featured in other versions of the telenovela.

The game's first trailer, published in November 2008, aimed at a 2008 release date. This matched the information provided by Emergent that the game would be released in the Fall of 2008.

However, the game wasn't released in 2008. The final episode of the novela Chiquititas was aired by SIC in September 2008. This resulted in a missed opportunity for the studios, since The Magical Journey was to be released along with the show to benefit from a popularity boost in the Portuguese market.

A second and final trailer was published in February 2009, this time stating a 2009 release date. By 2009, Biodroid's official website showcased the game with a generic "TBA" launch date.

The game was never released and no more news about the game was published by any source. The game didn't receive any known age rating by a board.

Biodroid went on to announce, develop and release other games unrelated to Chiquititas until its bankruptcy in 2017.

Gallery

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  Screenshot of the game found on Mediavida, featuring Lili in front of a castle.

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  Screenshot of the game found on Mediavida, featuring a blue van in a dream-like scenario and an incomplete health bar.

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  Screenshot of the game found on Mediavida, featuring Lili in some kind of woods.

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  Artwork of the game featured on Biodroid's website.

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  Image of the game found on Emergent's case study PDF.

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  Low-resolution images of a possible map design, found on Emergent's PDF.

Videos

First trailer.

Second trailer.