10 Video Game Characters We Can't Believe Got Cut
3. TMNT's Michelangelo - The LEGO Movie Videogame
If there's one thing that writing this article has taught us, it's that the world of licensing is fraught with bizarre rules and regulations.
Take the case of Michelangelo (the turtle, not the literal Renaissance man). The above photo is taken ??? from the video game adaptation of The LEGO Movie, but the actual film. This is because Michelangelo is not an official part of the LEGO Movie Videogame, as Warner Bros couldn't sort out a licensing deal with Nickelodeon for the character to appear in the game.
Even though it was fine and dandy for him to show-up in the film itself.
What's really odd is that the developers actually went to the effort of making Michelangelo fully playable ?????? they found out if they had permission to use him. His code is still in the game's files, and he can still be unlocked by those with sufficient technical know-how.
Between this, Turok and the All Bonds farrago, we do wonder why game developers waste so much time on developing characters before they know if they'll be able to use them. Then again, maybe it's a mistake to expect basic common sense from an industry that's still insisting NFTs are the future...