Proto:Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse (Genesis).

To do: Document the Sep 1994 prototype.

A prototype build that was made in July 1994. It was dumped by SNEAKERS.

General Differences

To do: Make a more detailed layout. Perhaps some comparison images to the final should be included.

The game boots up with a basic SEGA screen instead of the one from the final, then cuts straight to the menu without any title screen or anything.

July 1994	September 1994-Final

• All of the menu screens use the same Mickey head background.
• The menu cursor is an extra life item instead of a pencil.
• There is music in the options screen that is cut from the final.
• There is no easy difficulty setting.
• Lives settings include two, three, and four instead of three, four, and five.
• Help screens aren't programmed in yet.
• "Table" song is a duplicate of "Garden" in the sound test.
• "Dungeon" song in the sound test is "EOL Boss 3" from the final.
• "EOL Boss 2" (the gurney ride music in the final) is absent.
• Sound effects are labeled differently in the sound test.
• The "Think..." voice sample is labeled as "Hmmm..." in the sound test.
• Pluto does not make barking sounds.
• Some animations repeat voice samples constantly (e.g., when Mickey lands after falling from a high place).
• No death animations.
• The continue screen has a completely grey background and the text reads "Press a key to help Mickey continue in his quest." instead of "Press a button to help Mickey continue his adventure."
• The Fx(Sound Effect) is doesn't play in"DOWN STAIRS"level and"PETES TOWER"level.For example the damage Fx or throw Fx.

Unused Music

An unused track that doesn't play in any of the stages or screens, and isn't even accessible via the sound test. It's an arrangement of Trepak, the Cossack Dance from the Nutcracker Suite originally composed by Tchaikovsky, also featured in Fantasia, and is possibly a placeholder for what would become the "EOL BOSS 2" theme in the final version.

To listen to the music, set RAM address $FFFFF981 to 0x7E, or use Action Replay code FFF981:7E and turn it on, then disable it.

Level Differences

By default, the level select cannot be accessed and there is no cheat code one can input, as there is a branching instruction that causes the game to always ignore the level select code. Instead, use Game Genie code RECA-E6WC to activate the level select for this build.

(Source: Evilhamwizard)

Steamboat Willie

• Voice samples used when Mickey interacts with the "Steamboat Willie" Mickey are different. In the prototype "Hiya pal!", "Wow!" and "Watch out!" are used, while the final uses "Hmmm..." and "Uh-oh!"
• Parrots don't squawk when you attack them.
• When Mickey defeats the cranes, the cranes don't stop completely and instead move off the screen, and Mickey does not run into the "Steamboat Willie" Mickey.
• The message screen at the end of the wharf level says "Mickey has stopped the cranes from causing any more trouble!" instead of "Mickey has stopped the cranes and rescued Steamboat Willie!"

The Mad Doctor

• Mickey yells "Watch out!" instead of "Uh-oh!" when a skeleton drops down.
• The gurney ride level uses the normal boss theme.
• The tower descent level has no sound effects.
• When Mickey meets the "Mad Doctor" he says "Uh-oh!" instead of "Hiya pal!".
• The message screen that appears after the "Mad Doctor" Mickey encounter begins with "Whoops!" instead of "Yikes!"
• The chemical dispensers in the last level have different graphics.
• When Mickey rescues Pluto, he says "Here boy!" instead of "C'mon Pluto!".

Moose Hunters

• The first level plays the Steamboat music instead of the dungeon theme from the final.
• Mickey says "C'mon Pluto!" at random points in the first level.
• Mickey says "Watch out!" instead of "Uh-oh!" when a moose comes in from the left of the screen.
• Pausing and unpausing during the first level will cause the game to lock up due to the DMA exceeding the frame limit and display an error handler titled "WELCOME TO BUG WORLD" that features a scrolling "AND MORE BUGS AND YET MORE BUGS" background. The font used here is from Puggsy.
• The "Moose Hunter" Mickey doesn't appear at the end of the first level.
• The "Mickey has found Moose Hunter Mickey, but has also found a moose!" message before the moose chase level is not there.
• The moose chase ends a little bit earlier.

The Lonesome Ghosts

• Mickey says "C'mon Pluto!" at the start of the basement level.
• Mickey says "Here boy!" at the start of the corridors level.
• "Lonesome Ghost" Mickey does not appear at the end.
• The message screen at the end of the corridors level says "Whew, that was close! Mickey has escaped from the lonesome ghosts!" instead of "Phew, that was close! Lonesome Ghost Mickey has been rescued and Mickey has escaped!"

Mickey and the Beanstalk

• The cartoon's title in this prototype is "Fun and Fancy Free", a 1947 film that originally debuted "Mickey and the Beanstalk".
• Garden music plays on the table level.
• The table level ends a little early, with no "Beanstalk" Mickey present.
• The message screen at the end of the table level says "Mickey has escaped to freedom from the giants castle!" instead of "Mickey has managed to find Mickey and the Beanstalk Mickey!".

The Band Concert (Bonus Level)

• The message screen that appears when Mickey enters this level begins with "Outstanding!" instead of "Wild!"
• The message screen that appears when Mickey falls out of the level begins with "Unlucky!" instead of "Oops!"
• The reward for completing this level is three extra lives. In the final, the reward is an extra continue.

The Prince and the Pauper

• The dungeon level plays the "EOL Boss 3" music.
• Pauper Mickey does not appear at the end of the library level, and the "Mickey has found Pauper Mickey" message does not appear.
• Prince Mickey is missing at the end of the dungeon. Instead there's a key, and getting it will finish the level.
• The message screen after the dungeon level says "Mickey has found the key to the tower, but now has to find Pete!" instead of "Mickey has found the prince who shows him the way to Pete's tower."
• The tower ascent level plays the normal boss theme and has no sound effects.
• The autoscroll section full of weasels inside Pete's tower plays the normal boss theme, and the level itself is glitched as the fire rises faster than the screen scrolls, therefore Mickey will always die when he reaches the end of the section, therefore making the level impossible to complete.
• The message screen before the final battle says "Mickey must now face the might of Pete in the final showdown!" instead of "Mickey must face the biggest Pete of all in the final showdown!". This was found via hex editor.
• The final boss stage doesn't appear to exist yet and cannot be accessed via the level select.

September 1994

A late prototype of Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse for the Sega Mega Drive.

Differences to early version

• A later build in comparison to Jul 1994 prototype.
  • The ROM header states that this build is VER=0112. The build date month was determined by the month/year section of the ROM header, but this could be earlier.
  • The game is multi region (JUE vs U).
  • The words “LICENSED BY SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD.” is listed underneath the SEGA logo in the prototype. This doesn’t exist in the final build.
  • The screen with the Traveller’s Tales logo is different.
  • The title screen is slightly different. The logo is purple instead of yellow.
  • Level select is enabled by default.
  • The unused music from the early prototype has been removed.
• Level Select Differences
  • “The Elevator” is named “Up the Lift” in the prototype.
  • Certain stage names had whitespace characters removed in the final.
  • “Gurney Ride” is named “Trolly Bit” in the prototype.
  • “Steps” is named “Big Steps” in the prototype.
  • “On the Table” is named “Giant Table” in the prototype.
  • “Up the Tower” is named “Pete’s Tower” in the prototype.
• Sound Test Changes
  • “CHINK 1” has been renamed to “CLINK 1” in the final.
  • “CHINK 2” has been renamed to “CLINK 2” in the final.
  • “DIE” has been renamed to “EXPLODE 3” in the final.
  • “HMMMM” has been renamed to “THINK” in the final.
  • “SQUAWK” and “WOOF” do not exist in the prototype.
• The stage “Mickey and the Beanstalk” is called “Fun and Fancy Free” in the prototype’s title card screen, and contains extra whitespace characters after the string.
• Help Screen Differences
  • The help screen says “PICK UP AND THROW” instead of “THROW MARBLES” like in the final.
  • The help screen says “MAKES THE LEVEL EASIER” instead of “LEVEL RESTART” like in the final.
  • The “AIM OF THE GAME” screen after the help screen is missing in the prototype.
  • The Ending text is missing in the prototype.
• Level Completion Screen Differences:
  • The Moose Hunt(Before to the chase) level completion screen is not existed,black screen only.
  • The level complete screen for the Prince and Pauper stage says “MICKEY MUST NOW FACE THE MIGHT OF PETE IN THE FINAL SHOWDOWN” instead of “MICKEY MUST FACE THE BIGGEST PETE OF ALL IN THE FINAL SHOWDOWN”.
  • The level completion screen for the Mad Doctor screen says “Whoops” instead of “Yikes”, and “DID NOT” instead of “DIDN’T”.
  • The level completion screen for the Lonesome Ghost stage says “MICKEY HAS ESCAPED THE LONESOME GHOSTS AND HAS FOUND LONESOME MICKEY” instead of “LONESOME GHOST MICKEY HAS BEEN RESCUED AND MICKEY HAS ESCAPED”.
  • The level completion screen for the bonus level awards three extra lives in the prototype where it awards one extra continue in the final.
  • The unused time warp screen (that’s exclusive to the SNES version of the game) says “OUTSTANDING” instead of “WILD”.
  • The screen that displays if you fall out of the bonus level says “UNLUCKY” instead of “OOOPS”.
  • The continue screen says “PRESS A KEY TO HELP MICKEY CONTINUE HIS QUEST” rather than “PRESS A BUTTON TO HELP MICKEY CONTINUE HIS ADVENTURE”.
• Options Screen Differences:
  • Easy difficulty hasn’t been implemented yet. Only Normal and Hard difficulty exists in this prototype.
  • The amount of lives that you can start off with are one less life that you can choose from in the final.

• Stage Differences:
  • The final boss area lacks the final boss, but the stage is playable.

(Source: HiddenPalace])