Proto:Batman: The Video Game (NES)/Early Prototype

This is a sub-page of Proto:Batman: The Video Game (NES).

  This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

Download Batman (Early Prototype) File: Batman (U) (Earlier Proto).nes (256 KB) (info)

First Boss Battle

The boss of stage 1 has twice the health in the prototype (and the final Japanese version).

Final Boss Battle

At this point, Firebug is the final boss, and Batman merely punches the Joker out in a cutscene. Someone evidently thought this was pretty lame, and the final has a proper climactic boss fight with the Joker.

Ending Music

The tracks below are played during the ending scene in the prototype: the first when Batman meets the Joker, the second when the Joker has been punched and everything goes black and white.

Part 1
Part 2

Debugging Features

Both are done on Controller 2, and are also present in the later prototype.

• Press A to skip to the next stage.
• Pressing Down will freeze the screen; pressing it again will unfreeze the action. This was likely to allow pictures to be taken easily for magazines.

(Source: Shizz Boss)

1-up

A 1-up is only present in the first area in Level 1. The graphics remain in the final, though.

Pause Screen Differences

Prototype	Final

Unlike the final, the prototype only shows your remaining lives when you enter a new area or lose a life. Also, the pause screen's font was redrawn, and changed from plain white to yellow with a gradient.

Intro Differences

Graphics

Prototype	Final

The final version, unlike the prototype, flickers between a text and background screen creating an interesting transparency effect. In the prototype, the background is positioned higher up to make room for the text. In addition, there is also a fog effect that goes over the moon.

Prototype	Final

The Joker's portrait was made smaller, has a different palette, and appears to be a different picture altogether.

Prototype	Final

Vicki's portrait was also made smaller and had a palette change.

This scene is only in the final and introduces the murder of Batman's parents to the story.

Text

Each piece of dialogue was changed so it starts with a unique graphic in orange of what's being described. Some line breaks were changed as well as entire sentences to get rid of awkward wording.

Prototype	Final
GOTHAM CITY --- IT'S A DARK, DESERTED CITY GOVERNED BY CRIME AND VIOLENCE. THERE, THE WHOLE TOWN IS NOW IN PREPARATION FOR THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF GOTHAM CITY FESTIVAL.	GOTHAM CITY--IT'S A DARK, DESERTED CITY GOVERNED BY CRIME AND VIOLENCE. THE WHOLE TOWN IS NOW IN PREPARATION FOR THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOTHAM CITY FESTIVAL.

The final didn't change anything too major, just some rewording.

Prototype	Final
SUDDENLY, JOKER, THE CITY'S EVIL LEADER, APPEARS BY SPREADING 'DDID' NERVE GAS EVERYWHERE AND TRAPS THE WHOLE GOTHAM CITY INTO A COMPLETE TERROR AND CHAOS.	JOKER--THE CITY'S EVIL LEADER. HE HAS SPREAD POISONOUS NERVE GAS ALL OVER TOWN AND HAS TERRORIZED THE POPULATION.

The reference of "DDID" gas was removed, and some major Engrish was fixed.

Prototype	Final
MEANWHILE, VICKI VALE, A SHREWD PHOTO JOURNALIST TRACKING THE GAS BUSINESS SCANDAL, IS KIDNAPED WITH KEY INFORMATION IN HER HAND.	VICKI VALE--A SHREWD PHOTO JOURNALIST TRACKING THE POISON GAS MYSTERY IS ENDANGERED MANY TIMES BUT RESCUED EACH TIME BY A MYSTERIOUS BLACK FIGURE,WHO, IN FACT, IS......

The final no longer has Vicki kidnapped, and she no longer has key information. In addition, the final adds text to lead up to the next scene with Batman.

Level 1 Cutscene

At this point, the cutscene is Batman stopping a street thug to learn the whereabouts of Vicki. In the final, this was removed in favor of a short cutscene of Batman in his Batmobile.

Prototype	Final

Of particular note, the last scene in the prototype, while unfinished, adds context to Batman's introduction into Stage 1-1. While Stage 1-1 begins with Batman's sprite "dropping" into the level in the final, it is without the benefit of the removed "building-leap" sequence.

Level 2 Cutscene

The final version actually retains some of the early cutscenes!

• Prototype Only

These are only in the prototype. The third scene with the Batmobile appears to have identical graphics to the one in the final, but has subtle differences.

• Scene Similarities

Prototype	Final

• Found in Both

These two scenes are the only scenes both versions share.

Level 3 Cutscene

In contrast to the final, which contains only one scene here, the prototype uses four.

Prototype	Final

Level 4 Cutscene

Prototype	Final

Level 5 Cutscene

Prototype	Final

Final Boss

The prototype's cutscene is shown when the player enters the boss room. Once the boss is beaten, the ending is shown. Since the Joker was added as a boss in the final, a further cutscene was added after the Level 5 boss.

Prototype	Final

Endings

Drastic changes were made to the ending, which was completely redone for the final.

Prototype	Final