Trivia / Syphon Filter

• Bad Export for You: The European PSP version of Dark Mirror is heavily censored to the degree that entire gameplay elements were removed, and the PS2 port is based on this version.
• Career Resurrection: Was this for Editec, now known as Sony Bend, given they only made two games before this series, one of them being the infamous Bubsy 3D. Most of their games have been critical hits since then.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Lead developer Michael Berlyn has gone on to say that he was not happy with the first game. He even asked for his name to be removed from the credits, though he's still listed under the Special Thanks section.
  • Creative director John Garvin later admitted to suffering from franchise fatigue and opted to kill off Gabe with the aim of not creating any more sequels.
• Distanced from Current Events: 3 was originally going to be released on September 25, 2001. However, due to 9/11, the game release date was pushed back to November 6. In addition, the original cover for the game had Gabe and Lian in the middle of a firefight inside a building with the American flag in the background amidst the virus behind them. Due to the anthrax scare that occurred a week later, the cover and packaging was changed for the North American version.
• Executive Meddling: The Omega Strain was originally going to be a multiplayer-only game. It wasn't until near the end of the game's development that the developers were told to add the single player mode.
• Follow the Leader: Some felt that the first Syphon Filter was poor man's GoldenEye 007 or Metal Gear Solid. While there are some similarities, the first game stood well on its own and eventually became popular in its own right as the series went on.
• Franchise Killer: John Garvin has officially stated that there will be no further Syphon Filter games, due to the relatively poor sales of Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow. Though this may change with the inclusion of an Easter Egg in Days Gone that implies Gabe is alive and the positive reaction it got from fans may possibly encourage Bend to make another entry in the series.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Every entry is now available to download and play on the PlayStation 5, with the sole exception being The Omega Strain and has yet to see a re-release to this day.
• The Other Darrin: Mara had four different voice actress in the first four games. Lian was voiced by Ava Fang in the first game, and then by Zoe Galvez in 2 and 3. Starting with The Omega Strain, almost all the returning characters (except for Teresa Lipan) were recast with more famous voice actors.
• Torch the Franchise and Run: As aforementioned, the relatively poor sales of Logan's Shadow played a part in the series dying off, but even if it was a success, the ending involves the possible deaths of three of the four main characters of the series, which might have made a continuation difficult anyways. This is possibly averted in a very unusual way; in Bend's next game, Days Gone, there is a collectible that mentions, Gabe, Lian, Teresa and Mujari, strongly implying that they all survived the events of Logan's Shadow and making Days Gone a Stealth Sequel to the Syphon Filter franchise.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Pavel Kravitch from the first game originally had different character design in the demo version (wears a headset, wields a shotgun and has a slightly different outfit than common grunts). The final version of the game has him wielding a standard handgun and wearing the same outfit with common grunts. The only difference is Kravitch speaking Russian.
  • Vincent Hadden's taunt voices is available on Syphon Filter 2 game disc, implying that he was supposed to be playable in Player Vs Player mode. However, due to unknown reasons (possibly time constraint), the game developer did not finish Hadden's gameplay avatar and the final product was released to the market with Hadden not being playable.
  • Based on unused voice clips found in 3's disc, Gabe was supposed to kill the cook in S.S. Lorelei level to prevent the cook from informing the ship captain about Gabe and failing the mission. The developers eventually changed their minds and altered the game in a way so the player gets rewarded (unlocking a two player level) instead of getting punished if Gabe does not kill the cook.
  • The final battle against Singularity in Dark Mirror was supposed to take place on a moving subway train. However the developers ran out of time and could not implement the level as envisioned, and as such, the battle was changed to a gun battle on the subway station. A recreation of the original train level is later included as a bonus in Logan's Shadow.