Proto:Knuckles' Chaotix/1207 Prototype/Levels

This is a sub-page of Proto:Knuckles' Chaotix/1207 Prototype.

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Intro Level

• The intro stage has the standard intro animation that every other level uses.

• During the meeting with Metal Sonic in the stage Espio will be summoned from nowhere and Metal Sonic will appear. Interestingly, the sprite used in the foreground before Metal Sonic zooms out to the player's area is unused in the final ROM. There are still 2 entries in Metal Sonic's sprite/animation list in the final that are essentially nulled out - they are replaced with red numbers instead. These correspond to the big "zoomed in" sprite and the "moving eye" sprite accordingly.
• The music in the intro stage is different - "Combination" plays, whereas "Door Into Summer" does not. "Take A Nap" does not play before meeting with Metal Sonic, like it does in the final.
• The demonstration/tutorial section cannot be skipped.
• The fade-out effect in these levels is much faster than in the final; however, they do not transition into the next level nor do they correctly fade out the palette.
• There is a platform in Act 2 that has an incorrect palette applied. In addition, it plays no sound when broken.
• The lift object in Act 4 has an incorrect palette and doesn't seem to work properly.
• Entering the Special Stage at the end of Act 5 (incorrectly) brings up the end of level results screen. This does not happen in the final.

World Entrance

• World entrance uses the Combi Select BGM.
• The layout is completely different compared to the final. The clock has no sprite which tells what time of day it is.
• There are no "EXIT" or "PLAY" signs.
• You can't walk off to the left to exit to the title screen.
• The area where you play the roulette game to select a stage has no rotating palettes and no objects programmed for it. In addition, there are more graphics for the background of this area.
• Sometimes after beating a level, the roulette game area will have corrupted graphics.
• Right before you enter the level select screen there's a Speed Monitor underground, as well as several static rings with the wrong palette.
• World entrance shows no screen, has no collection minigame, no slider. It is empty and just leads to the NPC SELECT screen, in this case only including Heavy, Bomb, Vector, Charmy and several question marks, one of which can't be selected. Afterwards is a level select screen with vastly different names:

Prototype	Final
BOTANIC GARDEN AMUSEMENT PARK AMAZING ZONE RESORT HOTEL MARINA DRIVE	BOTANIC BASE SPEED SLIDER AMAZING ARENA TECHNO TOWER MARINA MADNESS

• There is no image for Speed Slider at this point in development. It doesn't exist in the ROM.
• "Atraction" is misspelled with only two Ts.
• When selecting a level, a different song plays for a few frames before the level you chose loads.

Botanic Base

• The boss of this level is implemented, but no music plays.
• The background pillar object with the waterfalls and plants does not appear.
• Elevators do not play any sound effects.
• The clouds in the far background do not move.

Techno Tower

• The boss is fully implemented.

Marina Madness

Referred to as "Marina Drive" in some areas.

December 7, 1994	Final

Seems like the 1207 palette for the morning would be reused for the final as the daytime palette; notably, the daytime palette in this prototype shows differently colored pipes and trees compared to other times of the day.

Not only that, the background has parallax scrolling in this build! Unfortunately, not only does the background start disintegrating shortly after running through the level, it also puts major strain on the hardware (which could lead to the Genesis and 32X to desync), likely explaining it becoming static in the final.

• An area with an invincibility monitor in the final has a Speed Shoes monitor here.
• The collision with boats is very unstable when bobbing up and down.
• The boats in Acts 4 and 5 don't move at all.
• This is the last stage to have its boss implemented.

Speed Slider

• Speed Slider appears to be based roughly off the rocket stage in Sonic Crackers. It has been edited since then; so, nothing matches exactly. However, there are noticeable similarities.
• The palette change in Speed Slider between the lower and upper background occurs too high, with the result that some of the tents appear green instead of red until a certain height.
• There are lots of loops in this Zone and none of them work.
• The Zone has no end-sign.
• The boss is not implemented.

Amazing Arena

• Amazing Arena has a light on the first level. The hologram Eggman is also functional and can hit you with his fists. The next build with a switch near that first clock is the Jan 19 build, and even then its hologram's fists don't cause damage and instead just flail around.
• In Amazing Arena 5, the cutscene for the boss entrance is in and is fully functional. However, the boss itself never appears, leaving the level unbeatable.

Bonus Stage

• Does not use the Special Stage sprites like in the final. It just shows the current character's "hurt" animation.
• The "500 pts" block only awards 5 points.
• The knockback from hitting a block is significantly reduced.
• There are no sparkles after collecting a ring.
• The blocks that hurt you have no effect; you just pass through them.

Special Stage

Very different and preliminary at this point.

• The beginning area has a different design, and the colors are completely different.
• There is very little in the Special Stages themselves - no messages, sprites, etc. The "Pause" text does not show up while the game is paused. No sounds besides music.
• Rings do count down, but you aren't booted from the Special Stage if they run out, and there is no "3 2 1" countdown on the screen like in the final.
• The Special Stage boots you out to the Character Select screen when you lose, though the game will sometimes think you've won and will send you to the next Special Stage.
• Special Stage 1 appears to have two stationary rings with a bad palette.
• Special Stage 6 only seems to have the finish line pattern and freezes the player in place after about 2 seconds, forcing a reset.

Training Level

Shows the Botanic Base title card and plays the same music ("Door Into Summer") as on the title screen.

• Introduction level in stage select is vastly different from Introduction in "main" mode and plays the same track that the final does.
• Training 0 may have been used as an engine test, as its design is very different from the other Training stages. This level features a closed place with platforms, loops, and slopes. In the final game, it is replaced by a copy of Training 1, although the boundaries fit the prototype version.