Proto:Ristar (Game Gear)/September 9th, 1994 Prototype

This is a sub-page of Proto:Ristar (Game Gear).

To do: We need sprite differences, stage design differences, and cut or missing features.

A pretty late prototype for the Game Gear version of Ristar. The game is mostly complete but is still lacking various small additions/tweaks and some sequences, especially towards the end of the game. The localization process had also just barely started at this point. Despite this, the prototype still contains a large number of differences from the final game, both small and surprisingly big.

General Differences

• Debug mode is enabled by default, where as the final requires you to use a password to unlock it.
• The credits sequence isn't implemented yet.
• Pausing the game doesn't fade out the music unlike the final.

Intro

The SEGA screen in the prototype is more in line with the generic SEGA screen most Game Gear and Master System games used. The final uses a SEGA screen akin to its Genesis counterpart.

September 9th Proto	Final

The title screen is also different from the finals as it appears to be closer to the Genesis version with the copyright info having a similar color scheme to it. The "shooting star" subtitle can also still appear on the title screen if you switch the region over to Japanese.

September 9th Proto (US Version)	US Final

Graphical Differences

Sprites

The color for the helmets that some Orblets use, appear to be a blueish color in the prototype.

September 9th Proto	Final

Stages

There is a yellowish palette for the clouds in Round 2-1 compared to the final's lighter blue/white palette.

September 9th Proto	Japan Final

Stage Differences

To do: Huge amounts of differences to cover across nearly every stage, ripping stage maps would make the process much easier

General

• Every stage appears to have different star and cloud placements from the final.
• There doesn't appear to be any results screens when you complete a stage.
• Round 5-2 isn't playable in this prototype through normal means, instead after completing Round 5-1, it skips to Round 5-Boss.

Round 1-1

The stage preview in the round title card appears a bit different as the spikey trees are shorter and there are spike blocks on the ground.

September 9th Proto	JP Final

There is no hole here in the September 9th prototype.

September 9th Proto	Final

Round 1-2

• Some collectable stars are in different shapes.

Round 1-Boss

The prelude for the boss doesn't have a darker color palette in the prototype.

September 9th Proto	Final

Round 2-1

The beginning of this stage is quite different as there aren't two Orblets and there's no platform with a chest like in the final

September 9th Proto	Japan Final

Round 2-Boss

• Insomnis has no sounds.
• Sometimes after a sleep sequence, Insomnis's palette will be incorrectly set to one of the shades of purple when he wakes up.

Round 3-1

• The first part of the stage is pretty different as there are no Orblets and the metronome is placed at the start.

Round 3-2

• Enemy positioning is overall pretty different where there are different enemies in place of others in the final and some areas that had had more enemies added or removed.

Round 3-Boss

• The curtain is already up when you start the stage, so it goes straight to the boss introduction sequence when you walk right. The curtain also doesn't close when you defeat Awaueck.

September 9th Proto	Final

• Awaueck appears to be much slower in the September 9th Prototype, and you can also chain hit him unlike the final. He also doesn't explode before he is defeated.

Round 4-1

• Some of the background graphics are a bit different and have slightly more detail than the final.

Round 4-2

• The background for the interior of the castle is positioned slightly different.

Round 4-Boss

• The background is slightly different, lacking a few details at the top of the hourglass and the sand falling in the middle. Some of the numbers are also in different positions.

September 9th Proto	Final

Round 5-1

• In the last section of the stage, the platforms that help you across the spikey ground don't exist yet in the September 9th Prototype, so you are forced to walk on the spikey ground on your path in order to beat the stage.

Round 5-2

• Is missing in the prototype, so is skipped.

Round 6-1

• The background during the round title card is static.
• There's no waves of enemies sequence, so you immediately start at the first sub boss with Adahan.

Round 6-Boss

• Kaiser Greedy doesn't summon any Orblets throughout the fight, during attacks or when you hit him.
• There's no ending cinematic so instead when you defeat Kaiser Greedy a Star Handle appears as a placeholder so you can finish the stage.

Bonus Stage Differences

General

• There's no stage preview before each bonus stage, so you start at any given stage immediately.
• Falling out of a stage softlocks the game as you aren't prompted out of the bonus stage.

Menus

Password

• When in the password screen, trying to use the password KUMI from the final game doesn't work, probably because level select is enabled by default.

Sound Test

• The prototype implies umotomats are on stage despite not actually being there, while the conductor is missing from the sound test screen.
• "Sound Theater" was changed to "Music Theater".
• Stars in the background were kind of "red/pink".

September 9th Proto	Final

• The Sound Theater also seems to use a track layout very similar to the Genesis's version of the sound test, as it includes a few track names and entries from the Genesis version despite no Game Gear equivalents existing in this prototype. Whether this implies Game Gear versions of these tracks (besides Ring Rink) existed at some point in the game, is unknown.

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Stage Select

• The stage select screen uses the simpler text-based font in the game and allows you to select Areas 23 to 55, in later prototypes it limits you to the final game's maximum 22 Areas. Selecting Areas beyond the normal amount will either lead to a black screen, the Sega start up screen, or load into a random round filled with garbage data.

September 9th Proto	Final

Audio Differences

Sound Effects

• Many sound effects are missing, such as the menu select sounds, the sound for collecting stars, and the sound for earning an extra life which uses the health point star sound as a placeholder.

Voice

...But what does it mean? This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

WARNING: Language tag not added.

To do: Check if the voice sample still exists in the retail ROM or other prototypes

Strangely, if you hold up as the Sega screen fades in, it will play a unique voice sample that's not heard anywhere else in the game. The context of this sample being here is completely unknown as it's pretty clearly not a voice that resembles any of the vocals or voices used in the Genesis version, and the final Game Gear version never used any voices or vocals.

This voice sample was also seemingly removed by the October 19th prototype.

Offset	Sound
To be Added

Music

• The invincibility music doesn't play in-game yet but can be heard in the sound test.
• As Round 5-2 and the credits sequence aren't implemented yet, their music can't be heard in-game but both of their tracks are on the sound test.
• A few tracks in the prototype have some small differences from their final counterparts.

September 9th Proto	Final	Name	Comments
		Evony Force	The prototype version is lower in pitch, which makes it sound closer to the original Genesis version, and the second part of the song is also mixed differently. It's also named "Evony" Force in this prototype which was changed to Ebony Force in the final.
		Crazy Kings	Overall has a much cruder, sloppier sound; most notably the first three notes are deeper in pitch with a pitch bend included. The final version received numerous tweaks to make it closer to the original Genesis version.
		Theme of Kaiser Greedy	The most different sounding track out of all of them. There's no extra beginning note like in the final. The track is higher pitched, putting it in the same key as the Genesis version. The mixing is a bit different in a couple of places, notably the noise percussion mimics the Genesis version's drum patterns, and overall, the track is slightly faster than the final version.