G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor

G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor
Developer: KID Publisher: Capcom Platform: NES Released in US: March 1992 This game has unused graphics. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has a hidden level select.

G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor was the second G.I. Joe game on the NES, and a somewhat less linear affair than its predecessor. Capcom took over publishing duties this time around, due to the retirement of Taxan from video games.

Hope you have some graph paper handy, because this game's password system is a doozy!

Unused Graphics

Joes (Players)

Unused sprites of General Hawk with a jetpack, with versions for every weapon!

The Atlantis Factor takes character designs from the 1992 figure lineup, although the game's manual still references Hawk's Headset and Jetpack which his 1992 figure does not have.

Wet Suit has similar unused sprites, presumably able to swim in water at one point.

Unused sprites of Road Block found in Storm Shadow's and Snake Eyes' tiles. The former does not have any matching tiles in Road Block's set, while the latter is an early version of a final sprite.

COBRA (Enemies)

Only two minibosses bounce back from hand-to-hand attacks, though none use these sprites.

Two minibosses chase the player and occasionally kneel and fire a burst of 3 energy blasts. These blasts were apparently meant to have visible windup periods.

This version of the sitting gunner does not appear in any form in-game.

Both stages where you're attacked from the air use the first missile.

Another version of the enemy that flies across over the level, though does not appear in any area.

A pair of canopy graphics found near tiles for COBRA's Sea Ray and Mamba.

The Sea Ray and Mamba with their canopy sprites overlaid, never seen in-game.

A bomb, or explosive canister of some kind. Stored with the Mamba\Sea Ray's sprites but drop shadow suggests indoor use!

A turret facing upwards from below. Meant to be used indoors.

A drone variant, unknown if it was another item the player could use or if it was meant to attack the player as an enemy.

Sound Effects

Three short sounds. Unknown what they were used for.

Use unknown, but a similar sound was used in this game's predecessor for planting a bomb.

A glitched version of Atlantis rising\sinking in the opening\ending of the game.

Possibly a cut sound from one of Cesspool's attacks, which involves leaping at the player and swiping at them with a sword.

A rapid series of chimes. Possibly meant to play when the player finds one of the secret statues.

Miscellaneous

Placeholder graphics found in several areas of the ROM near enemies – appropriately, in the design of a cobra!

Unused Duke Dialogue

DUKE
I'VE BEEN WOUNDED AND
I'M TOO WEAK TO MOVE.
FIND SPIRIT AND
BRING HIM HERE.
HE SHOULD BE ON TOP 
OF SNOWY MOUNTAIN.

This dialogue is never seen in-game, as the stage where you rescue Duke is inaccessible until you have Spirit.

Even then, there is no way to revisit a stage without memory hacking.

Level Skip

Game Genie code PEEALLAA will re-enable a level skip cheat. During the game, press Left + Select to instantly finish the current level, although this won't work in levels with more than one exit door.

Stage Select

Game Genie code PAUEAAAA will re-enable the debug stage select screen. Select a New Game from the title screen, and after the opening cutscenes, you'll be presented with the debug stage select.

• The first row of A - F takes you to the respective areas.
• The next three rows of numbers correlate to the routes, each represented by a single digit.
• The fifth row of A - F brings you to each zones respective boss.
• The sixth row of numbers takes you to the post-route cutscenes.
• The seventh and final row of A - F takes you to the post-boss cutscenes, with F taking you to the games ending.

You start out as General Hawk with no upgrades, but oddly enough, you retain any upgrades (except health upgrades) if you beat a stage and select another. Beating any route, boss or post-route cutscene will bring you back to the debug stage select screen. Beating any area will take you to the correlating boss fight, which will play the necessary cutscene before returning you to the debug stage select screen.

NOTE: Any of the post-boss cutscenes A - E will bring you back to the character select screen once they're finished. If you attempt to continue as you normally would, the game will crash.

Prototype Difference

To do: Is there anything more that might warrant this having its own page?

A prototype version of the game has a single major difference from the retail release, in that the entire screen flashed white when scoring a hit on minibosses and stage bosses.

Prototype	Retail