Proto:Mega Man 7/Junk Man

Level Changes
Junk Man's stage wins the "Most Improved Atmosphere" award. A lot of little details were added to the final version, including tears on the walls, extra machines, the 100V signs, and girders in the background. There are also a lot less rivets in the level: the prototype is loaded with them.

Thankfully, the Famicom (!) hanging in the foreground survived the makeover, though it was made slightly less obvious in the final thanks to a tweaked palette and a few shiny rivets.

Every Gockroach S nest in the sample version is partially embedded in the ground. This was fixed in the final build. The extra life (too easy to get) and large energy capsule (pointless) were replaced with a large bolt, and the second Met was repositioned accordingly.

The palette of the walls was also brightened a tad for the final version, and the wall edges made thicker. The red drums by the lava were also enlarged. This removes the gap between the red drum and the platform above.

It's a safe elevator ride in the sample; the final version adds a swarm of Heli Metalls to shoot at you.

The prototype's vertical room is in rough form, with no spinning drums or power generator. There is an out of place Count Bomb Neo, so that's something. There are two long ladders here, split into four for the final version. Tripropellerns were removed, and Spiral Gabyoalls were added. The large energy capsule was moved to a newly formed alcove, with the Rush Jet item put in its place.

More of those red machines are here in the final version. The junk piles have visible floors in the prototype, and the junk was rearranged a bit in the final build. The little platform above the sliding passageway was moved a bit to the right.

The Dust Crusher (read: trash snake) enemies aren't present in the sample, three Turbo Roaders are. In the prototype there's no power generator, but the junk chains and magnets move around anyway. Though the junk chains function correctly, the chains aren't animated at all.

As with the previous room, the platforms around the junk piles were simplified in design for the final. The center of the room was given some much needed polish as well, with added background detail and the busting up of the trash generators.

Since Properide isn't coded in the sample, the way to traverse the large gaps in the room is by jumping on Count Bomb NEOs. The two enemies were removed, but a Dust Crusher was added to the junk in the middle. An extra life was replaced with a large weapon capsule and moved more to the right.

There aren't any lights here in the prototype, which is a bit odd when the lights are still flickering. Two light fixtures were added for the final release. Junk Man's arena is bare-bones in the sample.

There are 3 enemies here compared with the final build's 5. The Bunby Tank was removed, but a Driver Cannon and Frisk Cannon were put in its place. A Met was placed in the middle of the room, and the last Frisk Cannon moved a smidge to the left.

While there's no way to get to this area normally, it still exists in the sample, and can be accessed by hacking screen boundaries. The junk objects and S Circuit Plate are missing. The trash generators are busted up a bit in the final, and some fences have been added.

Other than the now standard added detail in the retail version, the only major difference is that these rooms are completely barren in the prototype. The elevator palette is glitched as well.

See above.

Background Changes
Another instance of something being redrawn completely. The early background has a sort of cog/gear theme, while the final version has a whole crapload of Famicoms (!!!) potentially headed for the scrap heap. Yeesh!

Aside from shortening the width of the right pillar, the biggest change is updating some of the background parts to reflect previously mentioned background differences.

The lower lava section has a unique background in the final version, but in the prototype it's the cogs background with a red palette.

Other Differences

 * Turbo Man's theme plays in this level.
 * Lava can't be frozen with the Freeze Cracker.

Unused Graphics


The Capcom Smiley (and its friend) appear as filler in this stage's tileset. They aren't present in the final version.