Cool Spot (Genesis)

A charming little mascot platformer staring 7 Up's wayward punctuation.

Cheat mode
On the options screen, enter the following button command: A, A, B, B, C, C, C, C, B, B, A, A, A, A, B, B, C, C. Programmer David Perry will pop up to greet you, and the debug screen will appear.

Regional differences
All mentions of "7 Up" were removed for the European version. The game's name on the copyright screen and the internal name also vary. It's called Cool Spot in the US version, and Spot and the Quest for Cool in the EU version. The game's normal name is still Cool Spot in both versions.

Codename
Interestingly, the first few bytes of the ROMs, that store info on the game's codename are as follows:

US: SEGA GENESIS   (C)VRGN 1993.MAYCOOL SPOT                                       SPOT AND THE    QUEST FOR COOL

EU: SEGA MEGADRIVE (C)VRGN 1993.MAYSPOT AND THE    QUEST FOR COOL                  COOL SPOT

As such, emulators like Gens call the American version Spot and the Quest for Cool, and the European version Cool Spot.

Title screen
The American version has Spot surf on top of a 7 Up bottle. This was changed to a generic plastic bottle with an SOS message inside in the European version.

Pickups
The 7-point and health pickups had their 7 Up logo removed for the European version, being replaced by the Virgin logo.

Other stuff

 * In the special stages, the player has to collect one of 6 letters. These letters form the word UNCOLA in the American version, but VIRGIN in the European version.
 * In the cheat mode menu, the telephone number is (714) 833 8710 in the American version, and 0101 714 833 8710 in the European version.
 * The credits screen on the European version still mentions that "All characters and related indicia are trademarks of 7-Up Corporation".
 * Michael Merren was credited as a 2nd producer in the European version.

Twinklies
"Twinklies", as it's known in the sound test screen, is a small jingle that plays when a Spot is released, i.e. when the level's goal is reached. This theme only plays for a couple of frames, as the celebratory stage ending screen quickly shows up. If the player has freezeability enabled and freezes the game right after Spot's shot hits the cage, this theme can be heard in full.