Proto:Donkey Kong Land III

A prototype of Donkey Kong Land III was released by Nintendo Player on November 7, 2012 and appears to be fairly late in development. The prototype itself appears to be dated on August 1, 1997, judging from a sticker reading "DMG v 8•1", which would be exactly two months before the North American release.

All changes from the prototype version to English v1.0 are listed here. Changes to v1.1 are not listed here, but rather are listed here.

Red Wharf

 * No known changes.

Seabed Shanty

 * In the top-right area of the level, there is a section with numerous items that is only accessible by finding a series of hidden Blast Barrels. The layout of these Blast Barrels differ between the prototype and final.
 * There is a secret set of Blast Barrels that launch the Kongs through a wall, after the first Bonus Barrel (needed to get 1:20 in Time Attack mode). In the prototype, there are three Blast Barrels, and the right side of the wall is concave. In the final version, there are only two Blast Barrels, and the right side of the wall is convex. Since there are more Blast Barrels in the prototype, there can sometimes be sprite overload issues, causing the Kongs to get stuck in the wall.

Ford Knocks

 * Just before the first horizontal rope (about 1/3 through the stage), a Lurchin is farther left in the prototype than in the final version.
 * Above the second Bonus Barrel, there is a banana and a balloon in the prototype. In the final, the banana was removed, and the balloon was pushed farther up (which makes it visible from the platform above).
 * In a series of Blast Barrels just above the water and under the docks, a balloon and a banana were removed in the final.
 * On a pier just above some of these Blast Barrels, two Sneeks were moved 32 pixels to the left in the final version.
 * In the second bonus stage, the Bonus Coin was moved all the way to the right in the final.
 * The entire bonus stage is shorter and narrower in the final as well.

Total Rekoil

 * Between the two invisible barrels leading up to the first bonus, there is a banana in the prototype. This was removed in the retail version.
 * Where Koin is, a floor to the left of the wall was extended in the final version.
 * Near the first Bonus Barrel, some floors to the left of the walls were also extended in the final version; however, these floors are off-screen, so this difference cannot be seen without hacking.
 * The width of the first bonus stage was extended by 64 pixels from the prototype to the final.

Koco Channel

 * No known changes.

Liftshaft Lottery

 * The G is placed before a Rekoil in the prototype. In the final, it is farther to the left, near a Bristles.

Barbos Bastion

 * No known changes.

Coral Quarrel

 * No known changes.

Minky Mischief

 * Various changes were made in the tree just before the goal:
 * After getting the letter G, the rope starts higher up in the prototype. A second Nid is in place to let the Kongs reach this rope.
 * A banana can be seen directly above the G in the prototype, but not in the final.
 * Where the rope starts in the prototype, there is a platform to the right, but not to the left. In the final in the same area, there are platforms to both the left and right.
 * Below and to the right of the first Minky in this area, there are three bananas in the prototype which are not present in the final.
 * The third and final Minky is positioned higher up by 32 pixels in the final.

Jetty Jitters

 * In the first bonus game (Collect the Stars!), the arrow of stars in the water (all the way to the right) is positioned farther to the right than they are in the final.

Black Ice Blitz

 * No known changes.

Riverbank Riot

 * The wall to the left of the first Bonus Barrel is farther to the right in the prototype, where there is no space to the left of the barrel.
 * In the underwater section with the Bear Coin below the Star Barrel, the wall is also similarly farther to the right in the prototype.

Miller Instinct

 * There are a couple of floors which are longer in the prototype. Similar to Total Rekoil, the changes take place off-screen and are thus impossible to see without hacking.

Bleak Magic

 * No known changes.

Rocketeer Rally

 * No known changes.

Vertigo Verge

 * In the first bonus stage (Collect the Stars!), the bottom rope has two Klasps in the prototype, but one in the final.
 * The middle rope has no Klasps in the prototype, but one in the final.
 * The top rope has two Klasps in the prototype, but one in the final.
 * In the second bonus stage (Find the Token!!), the Bonus Coin appears closer to the center of the screen; in the final, it's closer to the left.
 * Also, in the bottom-left corner of the pit where the Bonus Coin is, there is slightly more vegetation in the prototype due to the different position of the Bonus Coin.

Polar Pitfalls

 * In the path of Blast Barrels leading up to the second bonus stage (Bash the Baddies!), a couple of changes were made:
 * In the first wall to the bonus stage, there is a Blast Barrel facing right. It is visible in the prototype, but invisible in the final.
 * The prototype also contains a right-facing Blast Barrel in the second wall, which was removed from the final.
 * In the second bonus stage, the width was extended by 32 pixels in the final, and a tree was added near the end.

Surface Tension

 * In the second bonus stage (Find the Token!!), the Bonus Coin appears farther to the right in the prototype.

Tundra Blunda

 * No known changes.

Redwood Rampage

 * In the third to last tree, a Sneek was removed from the prototype to the final.
 * The wood to the right of where this Sneek starts looks a bit different in the final.
 * The Buzz to the right of this tree starts 32 pixels lower in the final than in the prototype.
 * In the first bonus stage, a few leaves were added on the right side of the left tree in the final.

Arich Attack

 * No known changes.

Jungle Jeopardy

 * In the second bonus stage, the second Bazuka is in a different place in the prototype and the final. In the prototype, it is on the third platform, facing to the right. In the final, it is on the fourth platform, facing to the left.
 * In addition, the scenery behind the Bazuka in the final is different.

Footloose Falls

 * In the first bonus stage, the final barrel is a Rocket Barrel in the prototype, but a Blast Barrel (pointing up and to the left) in the final. Incidentally, in the prototype, after the Rocket Barrel fires, it disappears until you go far enough off the screen to make it respawn. Therefore, the barrel change was likely made to make this part less difficult.
 * In addition, the final has one cloud at the end of the bonus stage, instead of two.
 * Shortly after the N, there is a section with some Blast Barrels. In the prototype, there is a Blast Barrel pointing up, leading to two more Blast Barrels pointing to the left. In the final, there is a Blast Barrel pointing up-left, followed by just one that points to the left.

Deep Reef Grief

 * No known changes.

Karbine Kaos

 * The height of the level is extended by 32 pixels in the final version, which makes the floor taller.
 * The final adds a Bear Coin near the beginning of the stage.
 * The Squitter barrel is to the left of the raised platform in the prototype, but above it in the final.
 * This raised platform is longer in the final.
 * To the left of the raised platform, the balloon is farther to the left than in the final.
 * On the platform before the drop to the right of the second Bazuka, a Rekoil is farther to the left in the prototype than in the final.
 * Shortly before the N, there are three bananas in the prototype which aren't present in the final.
 * On the rope where the second bonus barrel is located, one Karbine is farther to the left in the prototype than in the final.

Simian Shimmy

 * In the fifth tree from the right, there is a Minky on the right in the prototype, which is not present in the final version.
 * In addition, the Minky that is on the left side of the tree is placed higher up in the prototype.
 * The second Bonus Barrel (above the Niknak) is placed farther to the left in the final version. This is because, in the prototype, it is visible from the tree to the right, which gives away its location.
 * The banana placement around this Bonus Barrel is different between the prototype and the final.

Rockface Chase

 * In the first bonus level, the last Buzz is positioned higher up and farther to the left in the final than in the prototype.
 * In the rope just above Koin, there is a Klasp in the prototype which is not present in the final.

Krazy KAOS

 * No known changes.

Tropical Tightropes

 * Two of the ground tiles around the first two Rekoils have changed.
 * Below the left side of the third rope, the scenery is slightly different between the prototype and the final.
 * At the right of the third to last rope, there is a Banana Bunch in the prototype, but an N in the final.
 * The second to last platform was shortened from the prototype to the final, and has a few scenery changes.
 * The method to entering the second bonus barrel is different between the prototype and the final.
 * In the prototype, the Kongs must drop down from the right side of the last rope into some bananas, where a trail of Blast Barrels will lead them to the final platform.
 * In the final version, the Kongs must instead fall down the right edge of the second to last platform into three bananas, where there is a shorter trail of Blast Barrels (some of which are positioned differently) leading them to the final platform.
 * On the platform with the second Bonus Barrel, the Bazuka, the Bonus Barrel itself, and the upward facing Blast Barrel launching the Kongs to this platform were moved 32 pixels to the left from the prototype to the final.
 * The platform underwent small scenery changes as a result of the upward facing Blast Barrel being moved.
 * On this same platform, on the left side, there are two Bear Coins in the prototype, but only one in the final.
 * In the final, there is a Blast Barrel just to the left of this platform, facing up-left, which serves to launch the Kongs back to the goal. This barrel is not present in the prototype.
 * The scenery behind this Blast Barrel is also different from the prototype to the final.
 * The flagpole was moved 64 pixels to the right from the prototype to the final, which has the following consequences:
 * In the third to last rope, taking the Blast Barrel facing down-right will launch the Kongs into this flagpole, unless Left is pressed while being launched.
 * After finishing the second bonus level, the series of Blast Barrels will launch the Kongs into the flagpole. In the prototype, it is possible to avoid the flagpole by holding Right, allowing multiple chances to beat the second bonus level. In the final, it is impossible to avoid the flagpole, so there is only one chance to beat the second bonus level.
 * In the series of Blast Barrels launching the Kongs to the flagpole after finishing the second bonus stage, there is a G in the final, but a banana takes its place in the prototype instead.
 * Due to the lack of an N or a G in the prototype, it is impossible to spell KONG in this level.

Clifftop Critters

 * No known changes.

Rickety Rapids

 * No known changes.

Bazuka Bombard

 * The method to get to the first Bonus Barrel (Collect the Stars!!) is different from the prototype to the final.
 * In the prototype, the Bonus Barrel is in the gap in the ceiling, and to access it, the Kongs must enter a Blast Barrel facing up-right. There is also a banana above and to the right of this Blast Barrel.
 * In the final, this ceiling is structured differently, where there is no gap, though there is an opening in the corner of the ceiling. Instead of entering a Blast Barrel, the Bonus Barrel is instead simply in the corner of this ceiling.
 * The left side of the wall (alongside the elevator) where the first Bonus Barrel is located in the final is visually different from the prototype to the final.
 * The method of accessing the second Blast Barrel (Bash the Baddies!) is also similarly changed from the prototype to the final.
 * In the prototype, there is a Blast Barrel (facing up-right) that is accessible from a certain platform by jumping to the right.
 * In the final, the Blast Barrel is no longer present, so Dixie Kong must find the Bazuka standing on the platform to the left. She then must jump off this platform and float to the right, bounce off one of Bazuka's barrels, and reach the Bonus Barrel this way. To make up for this, the Blast Barrel (along with the three bananas below and to the left) was moved farther to the left.
 * The pole in the background under this newly placed Bonus Barrel was shortened in the final.
 * In the second bonus stage, above the second to last lava pit, there are two bananas in the prototype, but only one in the final.
 * Above the steel barrel (near the end of the level), there is a Karbine present in the prototype, which is not there in the final.
 * On the platform to the left of the steel barrel, there are three bananas in the prototype, but a Karbine in the final.
 * On the platform to the left of Koin, there are three bananas in the prototype, but nothing in the final.

Ugly Ducting

 * There is a stationary Buzz above the second Bonus Barrel (Bash the Baddies!!) in the prototype. It was removed in the final version.
 * In this second bonus stage, the Buzz in the upper left quadrant of the stage was moved 64 pixels to the right in the final version.

Stalagmite Frights

 * In the second bonus stage, the Bonus Coin appears 32 pixels farther to the left in the final than in the prototype.

K. Rool Duel

 * No known changes.

Text Changes

 * In the cast list, K. Rool is erroneously spelled KROOL in the prototype. In the final, it is spelled with the slightly more correct K.ROOL.
 * When attempting to visit K. Rool's Last Stand without enough items, he only tells you to collect the six watches in the prototype. In the final, he says to collect the DK Coins in addition to the watches.
 * When visiting K. Rool's Last Stand when everything is collected, he again only references the watches in the prototype. In the final, he references all the secrets.
 * In the message in the trophy screen (when getting 103%), there is a space before the exclamation mark in the prototype. This was fixed in the final to remove the space.

Miscellaneous

 * When collecting a balloon, a glitch causes the balloon sprite to freeze for a moment before popping. If the balloon was initially invisible, the balloon will appear momentarily before popping. This can be fixed by going to ROM offset and changing the hex string from  to.
 * The required time for Whiplash Dash was raised from the prototype to the final, from 0:45.00 to 0:46.00.
 * Glitched Rattly (only accessible by hacking) behaves differently between the prototype and final.


 * The checksum algorithm for the Time Attack data is tweaked slightly from the prototype to the final, making save files incompatible for this data between the prototype and final.
 * In the prototype, the Time Attack checksum works as follows:
 * Take the values from the following RAM offsets (depending on the file) and add them all up, one byte at a time. (These contain time records, flags to determine whether a level is passed, etc.)
 * File 1:
 * File 2:
 * File 3:
 * Next, take only the last 8 bits of the sum.
 * Flip all the bits of this sum (essentially, the sum is subtracted from ; alternately, the sum is XORed with .)
 * Add to this result, and store it in one of these offsets depending on the file:
 * File 1:
 * File 2:
 * File 3:
 * If this checksum fails, all Time Attack data is erased.
 * In all retail versions of DKL3, the algorithm is the same, except is added to the checksum byte instead of . Therefore, all other data being equal, the checksum byte will have a greater value in retail versions (by a difference of ) than in the prototype.
 * There are various differences in the cartridge header.
 * The data in offsets, which denotes the licensee code, is different. In the prototype, this is , which, while undiscernible in ASCII, happens to be a reference to the product code of the cartridge (DMG-AD3E-USA). In the final, this data is , which in ASCII is 01, which corresponds to Nintendo.
 * Due to the differing data above, the header checksum, located at, is also different: It is in the prototype, and  in the final.
 * The global checksum, located at, is also naturally different, due to different data in the entire ROM. It is in the prototype and  in the final (v1.0).
 * Also, due to the change in the licensee code, the default color palette when played on a Game Boy Color is different: