Proto:Ristar (Genesis)/July Prototypes

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

Four Ristar prototypes were released in drx's massive February 23, 2008 prototype dump. The earliest two builds, dated July 1st, 1994 and July 18th, 1994, are near-final versions of the final Japanese game.

Title Sequence

July 1st Prototype
July 18th Prototype

• The animation of the SEGA logo is the same in all versions, but in the July 1st prototype, the letters start out in full color. In other versions, they're in grayscale until they all come together.
• The July 1st prototype is also missing the sparkle effects from the letters.
• Finally, the SEGA logo is slightly off-center in the earlier prototype.

July 18th Prototype	Final game

• Both prototype versions, however, are missing the trademark graphic.

July 1st Prototype	Final Game

• The copyright date is 1994 in the July 1st build, and the string is on the upper-right rather than the bottom-left.
  • As a result, the logo was moved a bit higher in the final game.
• The actual title graphic has many differences:
  • The prototype title uses the Chicago typeface, which is more staid compared to the whimsical final lettering.
  • The shooting star was flipped upside-down, and the center of the star changed from red to pink.
  • The two "eyes" on the ringed planet are closer together in the prototype, and one of the eyes is discolored.
  • "The Shooting Star" graphic uses a duller white in the final game.

July 18th Prototype
Final Game

• Some of the letters and the bottom part of the logo were redrawn between the July 18th and final builds. Not enough to be interesting, but enough to be noted on a wiki, apparently.
• The blue screw directly under the RISTAR text was removed.
• Like the July 1st prototype, the planet's quote-eyes-unquote are closer together on the July 18th graphic.
• Both prototype titles are missing the trademark symbol.

Gameplay Differences

General

All changes apply only to the July 1st prototype.

• The July 1st build has three difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, and Hard. The Easy difficulty setting was replaced with the unlockable "Super" setting. For more difficulty changes, see the next section.
• The maximum number of continues is static in the July 1st prototype. Beating a Bonus Stage quickly will not earn the player an extra continue.
• There's an option in this build to set the number of starting lives to 1, 3, 5, or 7. This was removed from the final game, but the text is still in the ROM.
• Ristar's shooting star behavior has not been finalized at this point in the game's development.
  • Most importantly, no matter what difficulty is chosen, Ristar cannot change direction as a shooting star as he can in the normal mode of final game, making getting to specific spots much more of a crapshoot. This also changes the ice crystals in Round 5-1 from a convenient source of flight to an actual impediment.
  • Ristar can't damage enemies in shooting star mode, he instead passes through them.
• Ristar's post-boss animations are not in the ROM yet, so he's free to roam around once the boss is defeated.
• There's a bug present with the hidden bonus objects. If you hit a hidden object bonus in a wall, then hold right and immediately hit the wall again, Ristar will zip through the wall. This is most obvious in Rounds 5-1 and 5-2.

Difficulty Changes

	July 1st Prototype			Final Version
	Lives	Health	Continues	Lives	Health	Continues
Easy	Variable	4	10	N/A
Normal	Variable	4	6	5	4	10
Hard	Variable	4	0	3	1	4
Super	N/A			1	1	∞

Debugging Functions

In the July 1st build, debugging functions can be enabled through certain button combinations while the game is paused.

• Press B to enable a free movement mode. Hold A, B, or C to move faster. To exit this mode, press Start.
• Press A+Start to skip to the next stage.
• Press B+Start to restart the current stage.

• Press C+Start to access an older, text-based stage select. Press A and C to navigate left and right respectively.

Passwords

Password	July 1st Prototype	July 18th Prototype	Final Version	Function
AKUUYS	Yes	No	No	Gives the message "REAL STAFF", but doesn't seem to do anything with the credits. This was replaced with the "MASTER" password in the final game.
BSDEMO (July 1st) MUSEUM (Final)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Enables a Boss Rush time attack mode. Does nothing in the July 1st prototype.
HETAP	No	Yes	Yes	Changes the "High Score" in the gameplay demos to a "Worst Score" of 9999900 points.
MACCHA	No	No	Yes	Changes the palette of Greedy's Castle to a golden color scheme.
NOTEKI (July 1st) CANDY (Final)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Give Ristar nigh-invincibility.
NOTONE (July 1st) MAGURO	Yes	Yes	Yes	Enables an Onchi setting on the Sound Test.
STAR	Yes	Yes	Yes	In the July 1st prototype, this enables "STAR STAR MODE" which doesn't do anything. In the final game, a green star shoots by the password screen.
SUPER	No	Yes	Yes	Sets the game to Super difficulty, giving the player 0 lives and 1 hit point to start.
VALDI	No	Yes	Yes	Jumps to an interactive version of the Valdi star system seen in the credits.
XXXXXX	No	Yes	Yes	Disables all active passwords.

Graphical Differences

Round Font

Proto	Final

A few of the letters in the Next Round screen font are improperly flipped in the July 1st prototype.

Round 5-1

Proto	Final

The bomb carried by the Freon native incorrectly used Ristar's palette in the July 1st prototype.

The Snow Crystal in Round 5-2 also uses Ristar's palette by mistake.

Round 6-1

Proto	Final

The sky in Round 6-1, which in the prototype games is a dark blue color, is an even darker blue in the final game.

The stage's title card uses a pitch black sky in all versions, so it might have been changed for consistency's sake.

Proto	Final

• All bonus areas share the same palette in the July 1st prototype.

• As can be seen above, the bonus areas in the July 1st build feature rotating green crystals. Though all bonus areas have these crystals, they all use the same X and Y positions used in Bonus Area 1-1, placing them in odd places.

• The treasure chests in the bonus areas have a nice fading-in effect in the July prototypes that was removed from the final version. It might have been changed because of the presence of multiple treasure chests in Round 4-1, each of which had the effect applied.

Ending

July 1st	Final (JP)	Final (INT)

The dark blue color used in the Aurora Borealis in the July 1st prototype was fixed...sorta. It's still darker than the surrounding colors, so it was changed again in the localized version.

Audio Differences

All of the following changes apply to the July 1st prototype only.

Music

Proto	Final

The music over the SEGA logo is an electrical sound effect in the July 1st prototype. This could have something to do with the early Volt title, or it could be a coincidence.

The prototype's sound was later used in the final game at the start of Round 7-1.

Proto	Final

The July 1st version of Ebony Force has a slow fadeout, with the chanting sample played an additional three times on the left, right, and center channels.

Proto	Final

The ending of Beyond Space has a clip of Ristar giggling instead of the "Come on!" quote. It also loops indefinitely in the July 1st prototype. Interestingly, in the Game Gear version, Beyond Space still loops.

Proto	Final

Round 3-1's theme, Busy Flare, is just a hair faster in the final game, with each loop taking about 1 second longer in the prototype track.

Sound Effects

Proto	Final

The harsh tone of Ristar's throwing sound was replaced with a more mellifluous descending noise. Also it sounds better.

Proto	Final

The parachute bombs in Round 5-2 have a unique exploding sound effect in the July 1st prototype.

Proto	Final

Uranim has a number of unique sound effects that were replaced with voice samples in the final game.

Proto	Final

Inonis' collision sound reuses the ice crystal's sound in the prototype. Again, it was replaced with a voice sample.

Missing Sound Effects

The following sound effects aren't in the ROM at all:

Sound ID	Sound Description
89	Applause.
8B	Itamor's munching sound.
8D	Explosion (underwater only).
8E	Riho's cross attack.
A3	Applause (start).
A4	Inonis giggling.
A9	Applause (end).
AA	Ending sequence: "System down!"
AB	Round 6-2 wall tearing.
AC	Inonis' panicked yelp.
AD	Ristar: "Come on!"
AE	Ristar: "Hi, everybody!"
AF	Ristar: "Play with me?"
B0	Ristar: "Hasta la vista, baby!"
B1	Pulley movement.
B3	Uranim's diving shout.
B4	Freon native grunt #1.
B5	Freon native grunt #2.
E0	Freon native's inquisitive phrase.
E2	Freon native's spikes phrase.
E3	Freon native's farewell phrase.
E4	Greedy's spike orbs.
E6	Adahan claw sample.

Additionally, unused sounds B2, E1, E5, E7, and E8 aren't in the ROM either. They were added by the July 18th prototype and were simply never utilized in the game.

Stage Differences

July 1st Prototype

Round 1-1

• The snake boss is worth 500 points in the prototype and 800 points in the final game.

Round 1-2

Proto	Final

• In the prototype version, the tree's lights don't glow in the dark.
• The effect for turning the lights back on is a slow fade in the prototype and a flickering effect in the final game.

Round 2-2

• The seahorse chase area has two added objects in the July 1st game. These stationary red orbs pulsate rapidly, damage the player, and cannot be grabbed. They can only be destroyed by attacking the seahorse they're linked with.
• The turbines are ridiculously powerful in this version, and getting through these section is next to impossible. The turbine will always move at the fastest speed until Ristar is pushed backwards, when the speed resets.

• In addition to the rubble and starfish seen in the final game, these small orange Orblets are also pushed by the turbines' flow.
• The snail bosses don't drop any star or gems in the July 1st build.

Proto	Final

• One of the level blocks in the final turbine section is glitched in the prototype.

Round 3-1

• The Orblets that come out of the Orblet shooters actually move leftward about the level in the July 1st prototype. In the final game, they fly straight up and never come down.

Proto	Final

• A pipe was added before the boss section of Round 3-1. This effectively patches a bug where Ristar could soar over the boss area with the nearby Star Handles. Since the game can't reposition the camera vertically during this sequence, Ristar will be trapped out of frame once the screen locks, unable to proceed.
• The stone-throwing Orblet by the first cage is missing from the July 1st prototype.

Round 3-2

Proto	Final

• One treasure chest with a 600 point gem was removed from this area. Ristar can pass through the chest using the hanging bars above, which is likely why it was removed.
• The bomber Orblets glitch out in the July 1st prototype. When the Orblet jumps on the bomb, both the bomb and the Orblet disappear instantly.

Round 4-1

Proto	Final

• The second Orblet in the level was moved away from the crane's drop point.
  • In the July 1st game, this indirectly teaches the player to avoid the cranes, which are needed later in the game.
  • In the final game, the Orblet is placed such that avoiding the crane will probably get the metronome stolen.
• The robot bird's point value was raised from 100 points to 300 points.
• The crane rods aren't properly obscured by the foreground in the July 1st build.
• Ristar can't move during the boss intro in this build.

Round 4-2

• The first chest in the level contains a gem worth just 100 points in the July 1st build. This was increased tenfold to 1,000 points in the final game.
• The purple organ robots are worth 200 points in the final game. In the prototype they're worth 0 points.
• The decorative metronome objects aren't in this version of the game.

Round 4-Boss

• Awaueck bounces around twice as fast after being defeated.
• In the July 1st build, Awaueck keeps bouncing around until the curtain hits the floor. He disappears after the curtain starts to fall in the final version.

Round 5-1

• The second chest in the stage has a 200 point gem in this version and a 700 point gem in the final game.
• The flipping platforms take 16 (9,5,1) frames to flip in the July 1st version, and just 6 (2,2,2) frames in the final game.
• The last hidden treasure location is bugged in this build and will spawn no treasure.

Round 5-2

• The saucer enemies can be held indefinitely in the July 1st prototype.

Proto	Final

• This hidden bonus object was moved to the right side of the wall by the waterfall. The treasure chest had to be pushed to the right as a result.

Proto	Final

• Two spike cannons are underneath the large icy slope in the middle of the stage. The upwards-shooting cannon was taken out of all other versions of the game.
• The chest on the ledge before the second underwater section contains a gem. The value of this gem was raised from 1600 points to 20100 points!
• The final game adds small floating ice shards to the turbine sections. These shards don't hurt Ristar, but they let the player know how fast the turbines are going.
• The height bonus was recalibrated for the final game. As an example, just walking out of the stage gives Ristar 4000 points in the prototype, but 0 points in the final game.

Round 5-Boss

• If Ristar is holding a bowl of soup when Itamor is defeated, that bowl will remain frozen in the air in the prototype. It vanishes in later versions.
• Itamor doesn't go through his animation of surprise after being defeated in this build.
• When Itamor is vomiting Orblets, Ristar only reacts after he's done. He reacts when the vomiting starts in the final game. What a strange combination of words.
• The Freon native does not wave goodbye in the July 1st prototype.

Round 6-1

• The flying platforms have an odd behavioral quirk that was removed from later versions. 5 seconds after activating, they explode and respawn back to their original positions.

Proto	Final

• In the July 1st version of this level, the first hidden bonus object is placed too high, so the bonus item will spawn above the ceiling. The object was moved down to fix this issue.

Proto	Final

• One flying platform was added to this trap of a section, making it a bit easier to escape.

Proto	Final

• This treasure chest near the end of the stage was moved away from the spike bar, and its contents were changed from a 1600 point gem to an extra life.

Proto	Final

• The hidden object was changed from a blue star to a gem.
• A treasure chest was added before the flying platform section. This is where the blue star was moved to...

Proto	Final

• ...and this is where the blue star chest once was. Note that the prototype has a blue star before and after the flying platform section.
• The armored Orblet doesn't change color in this build.

Round 6-2

Proto	Final

• A hidden bonus object with a gem was added to the first spike room.

Proto	Final

• The lone circling Star Handle was replaced by a cycle of 8 circling Star Handles in the final game.
• The hidden bonus object in the Star Handle section is bugged to the point where the game will crash if it's struck.
• Two rooms in the prototype - the blue robot room and Orblet swarm room - have their teleporters activated by default, even though yellow crystal chambers are present.

Both Prototypes

Round 2-1

• The water level doesn't stay raised after exiting the bonus area in the July prototypes.

Round 4-1

• The helpful arrows above the metronome, birds, and cranes are always present in the July builds.
• The metronome birds take longer to fly away in these prototypes. As opposed to immediately flying away, they sing first, then fly away.

Round 6-2

• The laser rings gradually flicker Ristar into the background in the early versions. He's immediately sent into the background in the final game.

Text Differences

Stage Names

	Stage 1	Stage 2	Boss Stage
Round 1	LIGHT PLAIN
Round 2	BLUE WATER
Round 3	FLARE SURFACE
Round 4	DU-DI-DA
Round 5	PURE WHITE
Round 6	LAW? CHAOS?
Round 7	KINGS TOWER	INONIS DOLL	ZIEK KAISER‼

The first stage of each Round and each stage in Round 7 are named in the July 1st prototype. These names were removed to make way for the Time Attack and Boss Rush strings.

Credits

Part 1

July 1st Prototype	July 18th Prototype	Final Game
CHARACTER DESIGNER YUJI UEKAWA PLANET DESIGNER TAKUMI MIYAKE MIKIHARU OOIWA	CHARACTER DESIGNER YUJI UEKAWA PLANET DESIGNERS TAKUMI MIYAKE MIKIHARU OOIWA	CHIEF DESIGNER TAKUMI MIYAKE CHARACTER DESIGNER YUJI UEKAWA
PLANET DESIGNER KOKI MOGI KAZUYUKI IWASAWA	PLANET DESIGNERS KOKI MOGI KAZUYUKI IWASAWA	PLANET DESIGNERS KOKI MOGI KAZUYUKI IWASAWA MIKIHARU OOIWA

• "PLANET DESIGNER" is properly pluralized starting with the July 18th build.
• Takumi Miyake was promoted to Chief Designer and taken off the Planet Designer list. The added Chief Designer credit appears before the Character Designer credit.
• The two Planet Designer credit sets were compressed into one set.

July 1st Prototype	July 18th Prototype	Final Game
SOUND PROGRAMMER HIROSHI KUBOTA JUNYA KOZAKAI	SOUND PROGRAMMERS HIROSHI KUBOTA JUNYA KOZAKAI	SOUND PROGRAMMERS HIROSHI KUBOTA JUNYA KOZAKAI

• Again, "SOUND PROGRAMMER" isn't pluralized in the July 1st credits.

July 1st Prototype	July 18th Prototype	Final Game
RISTAR PROGRAMMER SHIGERU YOSHIDA	RISTAR PROGRAMMER SHIGERU YOSHIDA	PLAYER PROGRAMMER SHIGERU YOSHIDA

• The vague "RISTAR PROGRAMMER" credit was changed to the more accurate "PLAYER PROGRAMMER".

Part 2
These changes only apply to the July 1st prototype.

Prototype	Final
ART DIRECTOR YUKIO SATOH	ART DIRECTOR YUKIO SATO

• The romanization of the art director's name was changed to eliminate the H at the end.

Prototype	Final
TEST PLAYER NORIHIRO SEKINE HARUYUKI HASHIMOTO HIDEKI YOUKAICHIYA	TEST PLAYERS NORIHIRO SEKINE HARUYUKI HASHIMOTO HIDEKI YOKAICHIYA

• "TEST PLAYER" was pluralized after the July 1st build.
• "YOUKAICHIYA" was changed to "YOKAICHIYA".

Prototype	Final
NAOKO HAMADA TOSHIKO ARISAKA	NAOKO HAMADA TOSHIKO ARISAKA RICA TERAJIMA

• Rica Terajima's name was added at the end of the Special Thanks credits.

Prototype	Final
PRODUCER HIROSHI ASOH MAKOTO OSHITANI YOJI ISHII MINORI KANARI	PRODUCERS HIROSHI ASO MAKOTO OSHITANI YOJI ISHII MINORU KANARI

• "PRODUCER" changed to "PRODUCERS", since there's more than one and all.
• Hiroshi Asoh's name was changed, same as above.
• Minori Kanari was corrected to Minoru Kanari.

Prototype	Final
- RISTAR - THE SHOOTING STAR VERSION BETA	- RISTAR - THE SHOOTING STAR

• Take a wild guess. Hell, take a tame guess, it'll still end up correct.

Prototype	Final
THANKS FOR YOUR PLAYING‼	THANK YOU FOR PLAYING‼

• One last string changed to remove some odd sentence construction.

Miscellaneous

July 1st Prototype Only

July 1st Prototype	Final Game
PASS WORD	PASSWORD

• All instances of "PASS WORD" were corrected by the next build.

July 1st Prototype	Final Game
BLOWING UP OWARIOWARI OWAREOWARE	BUSY FLARE STAR HUMMING NEXT CRUISE

• The track names for Round 3-1, Ending 1, and Ending 2 were changed by the July 18th build.

July 1st Prototype	Final Game
ROUNDX-Y BONUS STAGE GET TREASURE‼	ROUND X-Y BONUS AREA GET THE TREASURE‼

• The Bonus Area intro text was respaced and de-engrished.

July 1st Prototype	Final Game
MAGICAL POT FRAME CUP SHOW CRYSTAL	MAGICAL LAMP FLAME CUP SNOW CRYSTAL

• Three of the treasures are incorrectly spelled in the July 1st prototype.

July 1st Prototype	Final Game
PLANET REATOW PLANET ELYCICI	PLANET LEATOW PLANET ELYKIKI

• Two of the planet names have inconsistent romanizations. These alternate spellings are used during the Next Area screens.

July 1st Prototype	Final Game
BOSS BATTLE DEMONSTRATION	BOSS RUSH MODE

• The message for enabling the Boss Rush mode was changed for coherence's sake.

Both Prototypes

Proto	Final
DACING LEAVES	DANCING LEAVES

• Round 1-2's track name has a typo in all known prototype versions, including the localization prototypes!

Proto	Final
EVONY FORCE	EBONY FORCE

• Opening Theme 1 is improperly romanized in both July prototypes, as well as the August 12th localization prototype.

(Source: Original TCRF research, Ristar Cluster)