Skrybe
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Originally posted by rabidabid
Question 2: Does anyone recall seeing Riki/Kunio/Alex/Ryan do this in a shop? ...Or at all?
That animation is used on the password screen if you try to put an apostrophe on a blank space. The Fami version does the same thing if you try putting a ten-ten or maru on a blank space. |
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Originally posted by Brandy Bogard
While screwing around in the Tyrian 2.1 executable (file0001.exe) I found this text
"Sleep well, Trent, you deserve the rest.You now have permission to borrow my ship on your next mission. Also, you might want to try out the YESXMAS parameter. Type: File0001 YESXMAS You'll need the 2.1 patch, though!" (that last part doesnt appear in tyrian 2000's executable)
Does anyone know if this is used? I have a feeling it could be used in Super Tyrian mode but I never got real far in that.
Yeah, that's shown after finishing Super Tyrian mode. That's the message it displays when giving you the NORTSHIPZ code. |
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Just recently got a nice little Famicom prototype of Superman by Kemco. Take a look at the title screen:
 
Proto on the left, retail on the right. I'm guessing someone at DC had a fit when they saw the original interpretation of Superman, and made Kemco change it for the retail release. Besides the picture of Superman, the font as well as the Superman and Kemco logos were changed for retail.
Other changes I noticed during a quick playthrough of the first mission:
 
Certain building interiors look entirely different.
 
Exterior windows have a "reflection" on them in the proto. The effect looks a bit odd, and was removed in the final.
 
When flying over Metropolis, the streets lack any kind of vehicles or markings in the proto. The retail version actually looks populated.
There's also that little "H" icon in the upper right of the main gameplay screens. I have no idea what it's for, but it was pushed offscreen for the retail release.
Looking through the graphics in a tile editor turns up a few more changes I didn't get screenshots of, including policeman and robot characters that were tweaked for the final.
Besides the graphical changes, one thing that's immediately obvious about the proto is how the music slows drastically in outdoor areas when Superman isn't moving. It's a really strange bug, and I'm curious why it does that.
Here's a scan of the cart. If anyone wants to check out the rom, I've posted it at the Lost Levels forums. Would a rom link be ok here?
EDIT: Here's the rom. |
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Mike from Nintendo Player posted some comparison screens here showing several changes I hadn't documented above, primarily palette changes and different placement of background objects.
Also worth mentioning is that Chris Covell noticed both the proto and the final use hex dumps to pad out empty space in the rom. Neither him nor I have looked into it very closely, though. |
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| Just posted an early build of Gremlins 2 for the NES on the Lost Levels forums, you can check it out here. We also posted two different builds of the unreleased NES port of Way of the Exploding Fist here a few days back. |
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Some notes on some of the more interesting NES protos in Rick's original list, to use as a starting point if someone decides to really dig into one of these. This is just from memory, from a cursory examination back when these protos were posted.
1943: The Battle of Midway (J)
Different title screen, has one of the special weapons that went unused in the final (but still was mentioned in the manual), graphics tend to glitch out for no obvious reason.
Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (U)
There are actually two protos of this, one that TheRedEye released years ago, and a slightly earlier version recently released by NintendoPlayer.com. Here's NintendoPlayer's writeup on the earlier version.
Batman (Older Beta) (U)
Totally different cutscenes, completely unrelated to the film. Also has a stage skip option. The newer beta also has a stage skip.
Chester Field - Ankoku Shin Heno Chousen (J)
Uses different overworld music, and has some graphical changes. The cartridge it came from says the game's only ~70% complete.
Double Dragon (J)
This version puts more enemies onscreen than the final, so the enemy layouts are totally different. Also gives you unlimited lives, has a stage skip, and is kinda buggy.
Goonies II (J)
Most of these Konami FC protos are from demo carts that only allow you to play up to a certain point. Similar dumps exist for Mad City (Bayou Billy), Twinbee 3, Contra, and possibly some others I'm forgetting now. NintendoPlayer did a writeup on this version of Goonies II.
Ikinari Musician (J)
Has graphical changes. Also, this proto was made before the game even had a name, the game starts up to a grey screen that just says "Title"!
M.C. Kids (U)
Early, glitchy build. Stages late in the game don't have any enemies in them.
Magician (U)
There are two protos of this. The earlier of the two predates NOA's censorship. Pubs sell liquor, and references to Christianity are still in place.
Maniac Mansion (U)
Also predates NOA censorship. The nude statue is in this version, and so is the "Chewy caremel center" caption on the brain diagram in Dr. Fred's office.
Ninja Gaiden 2 (U)
Demo version that cuts off at stage 5. Documented here.
The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man (U)
Has a totally different ending. The retail version uses a generic congratulatory text, where this proto has a lengthy dialog between characters.
Solomon's Key 2/ Fire 'N Ice (U)
Early translation with lots of text differences.
Spiritual Warfare (U)
Documented here.
Sweet Home (J)
Lots of graphical changes, and item placement is totally different. A guy from projectumbrella.net says he's doing a comparison, though I haven't seen any of his work.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (U)
See here.
TwinBee 3: Poko Poko Dai Maou (J)
See my note on Goonies II.
Noteworthy protos not on Rick's list
Banana (J)
Very early build with debugging features.
Dengeki: Big Bang! (J)
AKA Clash at Demonhead. Lots of minor enemies use different graphics, and you can't progress beyond a certain point in the game.
Fester's Quest (U)
See here.
Flying Warriors (U)
Lots of graphic and text changes. The logo on this actually reads "Flying Warriros"!
Galg (J)
Lots of graphic changes.
Hottaaman no Chitei Tanken (J)
Has an odd screen that pops up after stage 1 asking the player to enter a controller code to access "hidden commands." |
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Fester's Quest seems like it's pretty close to final. Besides the first boss and the invulnerability, the only other change I've noticed is that there's no sound effect when you get the life bar extension. The crotch mouth is pretty awesome, though.
EDIT: Oh yeah, the sound used when the UFO beams people up in the intro is different, and the Licensed by Nintendo text on the title is just a Sunsoft copyright in the proto.
You can get the Hottaaman proto here, and the others here. |
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| FYI, there is a beta copy of MMX1 owned by a collector that still has that daylight city stage. |
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Originally posted by MUGEN-tan
You mean, the white city?
Yeah, those first four screenshots in your post.
Originally posted by Rick
I'm guessing that this person doesn't want to dump it, right?
I'm pretty sure he doesn't. |
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Originally posted by MUGEN-tan
Do you know the name of that collector?
I asked TheRedEye, Evan from SNES Central, and DreamTR, and none of them could recall anyone owning a MMX1 prototype. So, I may have been mistaken. Sorry, I didn't mean to spread any misinformation! Dunno where I got the idea that someone had a proto, though. |
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| Actually, that MMX3 proto is owned by kap, another Lost Levels guy. He tried to auction it a while back, but it was pulled, and I don't think he's done anything with it since. There's a photo of it here. |
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| I just remembered something kinda interesting. The PS1 game Thousand Arms came with a card you could send in for a soundtrack/multimedia CD, and the CD has an outtakes folder on it with around 100 .wav files of spoken dialog from the characters. Not all of it is unused, and a lot of it seems to just be different takes on various noises Marion makes, but there's some stuff in there that definitely isn't in the game. Just browsing through a few files, I heard a couple lines from Nelsha that aren't used ("Nelsha love you long time!" for example) and a line from Soushi where he refers to himself as "Sushi." |
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| I think some of those Clash at Demonhead graphics are used in the Dengeki Big Bang proto that's been dumped. I know the proto definitely uses different enemy sprites in several places. |
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| Awesome, I'm really glad you're looking into Big Bang. I'd been hoping someone would document that one for a long time now. |
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Originally posted by TomGuycott
The prototype doesn't let you progress through the door leading into the final area!
That can probably be hacked around. The door is supposed to open when you beat Bopper the first time, right? If you can provide a password or savestate from the retail version of Dengeki Big Bang right before the first fight with Bopper, I should be able to figure out what flag gets set by beating him. If you set that same flag in the proto, the door should open. |
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| I checked out that Dengeki Big Bang proto a little better, and I see what you mean now about the door to the final area. I thought they just removed a trigger to open it, but it looks like the game won't let you enter even if it is open. That's a little more complicated. It could still probably be hacked around, but personally, I'm not sure where to start with that. |
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Copy/paste of my post at Lost Levels, just to make sure this gets around to everyone who'd like to see it:
 
Robert Byrne's Pool Challenge
This comes from the same proto cartridge that RetroUSB used to produce Sara Parker's Pool Challenge. I personally dumped this, and can assure you it's a 100% clean copy of the original data. Despite several copies of Cue Stick and Pool Challenge finding their way into the hands of collectors, this is, to the best of my knowledge, the first time a dump has been made publicly available. Hope you guys like it! |
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I posted a link to some unused Azure Dreams graphics at GameFAQs a while back. There's enough stuff there that someone with some free time (i.e. not me!) could get a page going on tcrf. That might be enough to encourage others to contribute.
Azure Dreams also has a lot of gameplay mechanics that are never stated in the game or manual. Some of them are pretty significant, like the ability to teach familiars spells using magic balls. That may be beyond the scope of tcrf, though, since those kinds of things aren't actually unused. |
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| I've posted protos of F-1 Race, Great Deal, and another version of Dr. Mario over at Lost Levels. Hope you guys find some interesting stuff in these! |
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| Just posted a dump from a sample version of Cadillac for the Famicom. |
