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Proto:Mr. Gimmick
This page details one or more prototype versions of Mr. Gimmick.
This prototype of the Japanese version seems to be rather late in development.
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Download Gimmick! (J Proto)
File: Gimmick! (J)(Prototype).nes.zip (393.2 KB) (info)
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Intro Screen
The intro screens were changed in both order and content. The copyright screen was moved from the first to last. Besides the Sunsoft logo screen, all of the other screens were changed. "Gimmick Entertainment Team" was changed to "Authentic Entertainment", "A Tomomi Sakai Game" to "Gimmick!", and "1992" to "© 1992 Sunsoft".
The "A Tomomi Sakai Game" text is used for an anti-piracy measure: if the text is removed, the game locks up shortly into the secret final level. Because the developers later removed the intro screen, the string "Tomo" was left in the ROM to prevent the protection from triggering even though it is no longer displayed on-screen.
| Proto | Final |
|---|---|
(Prototype)-copyright.png) (Prototype)-1.png) (Prototype)-gimmick_ent.png) (Prototype)-Sakai_game.png) |
-Authentic.png) -Intro_screen_gimmick.png) -copyright.png) |
Title Screen
| Proto | Final |
|---|---|
(Prototype)-titlescreen.png) |
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"Original of G.E.T." (Gimmick Entertainment Team) was changed to "Presented by Sunsoft" to reflect the intro screen change.
(Prototype)-1991text.png){kind=small}
An unused "1991" graphic meant to appear somewhere during the intro sequence or on the title screen. The game was already set for a 1992 release as can be seen by the copyright screen, making this an early leftover.
Anti-Piracy Screen
| Proto | Final |
|---|---|
(Prototype)-black_hole.png) |
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The infamous "Black Hole" message that appears when the copy-protection routine is triggered is "Imperfect Version" in the prototype.
According to Sakae, this "anti-piracy" measure was in fact aimed not at pirates, but rather at any would-be hackers with Sunsoft tasked with removing his name from the intro sequence of the game- the intent being that should his name be removed from the intro, players would be prevented from completing an "imperfect version" of the game.
The change to "Black Hole" for the final version then serves as not only as a developer in-joke and a humorously ominous message, but as the signature of the programmer who successfully dummied out Sakae's name from the final game- who in this case is most likely Akito Takeuchi, the main programmer of Atlantis no Nazo.
Debug Functions
The debug function is present and enabled in this version. Even if the debug functions are disabled, the playable enemy in Level 2 can only jump with Select instead of being fully controllable with the D-Pad.
