Proto:Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis)/73 Prototype

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Download Sonic 3D Blast (73 Prototype) File: Sonic 3D Blast (73 Prototype).bin (2 MB) (info)

Prototype 73 of Sonic 3D Blast, dated July 3, 1996, was released by drx during the February 23, 2008 proto release. It is the earliest dated prototype of the game released so far.

General Differences

• The Sega logo uses the classic "Sega" jingle, much like previous Sonic games. The final game replaces it with the loud "SEGA!" scream heard in various western Sega commercials at the time. The logo also shatters at the end (like when you get a Game Over) instead of the letters zooming off the screen.

73 Proto	Final Game

• No intro movie is played (before starting a game, and after starting the game).
• No level select is available.
• No game demos play.
• Platforms move back and forth with no pause.
• The 1-up sound only plays when you break a 1-up monitor.
• There are no title cards for each level.
• Special stages are absent in this build, as are Knuckles and Tails.
• Pressing A when the game is paused will skip to the next level.
• The level complete screen is very basic, with no final score tally.
• Blue Flickies run in circles, while purple Flickies behave like a mix of the final green and red ones (move randomly and jump).
• The invincibility, Speed Shoes, and Fire Shield powerups are all absent. Not even their art is present.
• The player has to press C to make Sonic jump from the Goal Ring if fewer than five Flickies have been collected.
• All levels use the Green Grove Act 1 music, while all bosses use the Final Fight music.
• The ROM is only 2MB as there is so much content yet to be added. All later available builds are 4MB.

Aesthetic Differences

• No dust appears while doing the Spin Dash.
• When pausing the game, the "Pause" text does not appear.

73 Proto	825 Proto onward

• The title screen is similar to several other prototypes released by drx, as well as the Saturn version:
  • The lighting is completely different.
  • Sonic's skin is a lot darker in the final, for some reason. Here it resembles the Saturn version.
  • The prototype image is cut off slightly, and uses the 256-pixel wide screen mode at 256×224. The final game uses the standard Genesis screen mode at 320×224.
  • The eyes of the flickies were touched up a bit for the final.
  • The flower under Sonic's glove was redrawn.
  • Sonic's limbs are thinner in the prototype.
  • The placement of the background trees is different.
  • The prototype has a sky background, like the Saturn version, while the final has no background.
  • The ring underneath Sonic was rendered and placed differently.
  • No "Press Start" text is present, which is specific to this build

73 Proto	831 Proto onward

• Some of the monitors have their art incorrectly applied:

73 Proto	814 Proto onward

• There is a bug which makes the Gold Shield a strange green/red color on some stages. They otherwise act normally.

• 

  Gold shield box, but...

• 

  It's green!

• 

  But if we go to another level...

• 

  Now it's gold!

Music Differences

The only track that plays within the level is Green Grove Zone Act 1; meanwhile both bosses use "The Final Fight" instead of the proper boss theme.

Name	73 Prototype	Final
Title Screen
Green Grove Zone Act 1

The title screen and Green Grove Zone Act 1 themes have slight differences in the noise channel compared to their final counterparts.

Level Changes

Green Grove Zone

To do: Level layout differences, a lot of areas tend to be a bit more open in this version than the final game.

• There is a Blue Shield close to the cannon in Act 1, instead of a Gold Shield.
• There is a spiked ball near the first giant ring, which also isn't in the final.
• No water splashing effects.
• The floor tiles are brighter:

73 - 814 Protos	819 Proto onward

• Near the cannon, there is a shield on a hill. In the final, it's in a slight dip.
• There are no rings in Act 3, though you already start the Act with 10 rings.

Gene Gadget Zone

• This Zone does not yet have a boss.

Rusty Ruin Zone

• The first two Acts are flipped compared to the final version.
• When Sonic is spun like a top, he is not invulnerable to enemies.
• Slight changes to the Act layouts.
• After beating the boss, you're sent to a screen with the text "To Be Continued". When the music ends, the game returns to the Sega intro.

(Source: Sonic Retro)

Unused Music

There are two unused music tracks, used in the final for the Game Over screen and Level Select/Intro cutscene/Panic Puppet Act 1 respectively. To listen, go to Green Grove Zone and put in the code FF0F3E:00??, where "??" is 05 for the Game Over track or 06 for the Level Select one.

Unused Title Card

73 Proto	825 Proto onward

Though there are no title cards during gameplay, the title card seen in early pre-release material remains hidden in the data and can be restored through hacking. The sprites are compressed in RNC format at offset 0xAB6DC-ABB7B, and the code to load the title card is located at 0xF114.

The graphic data only covers Green Grove Zone. If the title cards are restored via hacking, Gene Gadget and Rusty Ruin will still display "Green Grove Zone", and the Act number will display other tiles from the title card graphics. The unused title card is also the same if not very similar to the ones in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, so it was likely used as a placeholder until the title cards were finished.

(Source: JustMe)