Proto:Monster in My Pocket
This page details one or more prototype versions of Monster in My Pocket.
This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.
 | To do: Basically ripped from the release post. There's a lot that needs done here... |
More of a tech demo than a prototype, this build of Monster in My Pocket has only one level, rough sprites and basic gameplay.
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Download Monster in My Pocket prototype
File: Monster in My Pocket proto.zip (81 KB) (info)
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Contents
Title Screen
| Prototype | Final |
|---|---|
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The prototype uses a simpler graphic for its title logo, similar to what is seen on the inactive player's side in a 1P game. The final makes it bigger and adds the company logo as well as... a pocket with a monster inside.
Debugging Tools
Level/Character Select
After starting the game, there is a level select, in which only the three parts of the first level may be selected. This is followed by an odd graphic appearing on the screen, which may be moved with the Select button. Choose the top position to play as the Vampire, or the bottom for Frankenstein ("Monster" in the final).
The game will reset after every stage, requiring use of this menu to view the second and third sub-stages.
Free Movement
You can pause the game and scroll the screen around with the D-pad. Pressing A will make your character move increasingly faster; after a few presses the speed will revert to normal.
Music
The prototype features some early renditions of music in the final game, as well as having some unique tracks that aren't found in the final game. However, since the prototype only has gameplay for Stage 1 (along with no sound test), almost all of these tracks go unused in it and are only accessible from the game's data or the NSF/NSFE files.
All sound codes listed correspond to the NSF file from rustedlogic. Note that the NSFEs widely available as of this writing use the stage names for track names, not the actual track titles found in the sound test.
Stage 1 BGM
For the first stage's theme, the prototype uses a completely different track not found in the final game, while the final version uses another track for the first stage called "Theme of MM's".
The prototype Stage 1 theme is located at sound code 1E in the NSF. It is also the only track uploaded here that can be heard in the prototype itself.
| Prototype | Final |
|---|---|
| Track 1E | THEME OF MM'S |
Monster Rap (Stage 4 BGM)
The prototype version of "Monster Rap" (sound code 21) is longer than the final version with an extended intro but also sounds unfinished, while the latter is significantly tightened up.
More noticeable is the fact that the prototype version plays at a lower key than the final version.
| Prototype | Final |
|---|---|
Asia Club (Stage 5 BGM)
"Asia Club" in the prototype (sound code 22) plays the intro notes straight while the final version plays the opening notes in a staccato fashion.
| Prototype | Final |
|---|---|
Boss World (Stage 6-2 BGM)
"Boss World" in the final game is used for the second half of Stage 6 where you fight the bosses from previous stages, while it goes unused in the prototype.
There are actually only two alternate versions of "Boss World" in the prototype, not three. One version (sound code 25) can at least be considered somewhat completed. However, the other version takes up two slots in the NSF file (sound codes 23 & 24), and appears to be glitched out, having the second pulse channel mirroring the content of the first channel while the drum and bass tracks (noise/sample and triangle channels) are wildly out of sync with these. A one-minute excerpt is posted below.
| Audio (Prototype) |
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The final version of the game also has two versions of "Boss World": one with an added quick intro when the player is starting Stage 6-2, and another one without the intro after the player beats a boss. Only the version with the intro is included here, since this version is not included in the prototype and is also the version that plays in the final game's sound test.
| Prototype | Final |
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Unused Music
There are also some tracks in the prototype's NSF that are completely unused.
| ID | Track | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1C | Most likely an alternate stage theme, possibly for Stage 2. | |
| 1D | This sounds like it could've been used for a cutscene, considering how short it is. | |
| 1F | Most likely an alternate stage theme, possibly for Stage 3. |
Game Remnants
Within the PRG ROM, there are compressed remnants of Crackout. In the CHR ROM, there are a couple overworld graphics banks from a prototype of Ganbare Goemon Gaiden 2.
Stage 1 Differences
 | This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this. Specifically: Expand this section, add pictures to compare Stage 1 in both the prototype and final versions. |
Comparing the prototype to the final game side-by-side, the main difference is that the prototype does not have any parallax scrolling with the ground whatsoever to simulate depth like what the final game does. There are also obvious gaps in the floor with the prototype, while the final game has the floor look continuous with no gaps whatsoever.
