Proto:Rambo III (Arcade)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Rambo III (Arcade).

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For several years, the parent ROM of Rambo III in MAME was a European version with different levels and a different ending compared to the US release. However, this version was later changed to a clone under the name "Europe, proto?" after a European version closer to the US final was dumped.

As it turns out, there's more than just level and ending differences.

General Differences

• The prototype has only 4 scenes compared to the final game's 5, however one of them is completely unused in the final game:

Proto	Final
Shooting-Battle (Desert)	Escape (Prison Camp)
Fire in the Dark (Cave)	Shooting-Battle (Desert)
Unnamed Stage (Field)	Chase (Motorcycle)
All-Out Assault (Desert)	Fire in the Dark (Cave)
N/A	All-Out Assault (Desert)

• The titles and film stills before each scene are missing from the prototype.
• The prototype has the same ending for each scene, with Rambo and Trautman (whether Player 2 is playing or not) jumping onto a motorcycle and sidecar, while the final game has unique animations and vehicles for the end of each scene.
• Boss fights have a series of counters that show the remaining number infantry and vehicles, a detail missing from the final game.
• The game's ending is a series of shots from the film instead of the staff roll in the final game.
• The proto is missing the dipswitch that allows the use of a trackball, allowing only the use of eight-way joysticks.

Scene Differences

• Shooting-Battle has a different color palette for the desert backdrop.
• Fire in the Dark is missing almost all the boulders and blockades that serve as obstacles in the final game.
• The boss battle in Fire in the Dark has jetpack soldiers that were removed from the final game.
• All-Out Assault has two boss waves instead of one, and regardless of dipswitch settings will end your game without the chance to continue if you die in the final wave.

(Source: tepidsnake)