Proto:Spyro: Year of the Dragon/Crash Bash Secret Demo
This is a sub-page of Proto:Spyro: Year of the Dragon.
 | To do: Images and audio rips. |
The latest known demos of the game are the secret demos hidden within Crash Bash, accessed by using a cheat code. There are two versions of the demo corresponding to the NTSC and PAL versions of Crash Bash. The PAL version is slightly later than the NTSC version.
Contents
Version Differences
There are a small number of differences between the earlier NTSC version and the later PAL version.
- The usual regional differences are present - the different aspect ratio and frame rate are the most apparent. The PAL version also contains three text strings saying "TRANSLATION NEEDED" where text strings hadn't been translated yet. Earlier versions of the game featured more of this text string, and both the NTSC demos and the final version of the game lack this string entirely.
- When Hunter asks the player if they want to play either of the lizard skateboarding challenges in Sunny Villa, in the NTSC version and all prior demos the options are "Yes" and "No". In the PAL version and the final game, the options are "Yes." and "No.".
- If hacking is used to access the main section of Sunny Villa, in both the NTSC version and all prior demos, the Sheila portal is open. In the PAL version, however, it's blocked by a door, as though Sheila hasn't been unlocked yet (despite this, her sublevel in Seashell Shore is still playable). On top of this, the collision for the door appears to be back to front, and walking near the door causes Spyro to get sucked through the door and trapped.
Other Differences
There's also a number of differences between these demos and the final game.
General Differences
- Like most of the demos, the levels featured are Sunny Villa's skateboarding sublevel, Molten Crater and Seashell Shore. Through hacking, the rest of Sunny Villa can be accessed too.
- Furthermore, also agreeing with the previous demos, the level selection screen, Sunny Villa and Seashell Shore (even the Sheila sublevel) use a shortened version of the Enchanted Towers skateboarding music, Molten Crater uses a shorter version of Fireworks Factory music and there's an unused shortened version of the Sheila's Alp music.
- The Game Over screen features Spyro's usual flight sequence and "Game Over" text from the final game, but the background image is the Game Over screen from Spyro 2 rather than Fireworks Factory.
- Skill points are present but no "Skill Point!" text is seen on-screen when they're collected, just like in Spyro 2.
- Like in Spyro 2, the screen darkens when Spyro is underwater.
Sunny Villa
- Two of Hunter's lines were re-recorded in the final game.
- Before playing the first lizards minigame, a text box with green text saying "Catch the lizards." appears, with a difficulty indicator in the bottom right of the screen indicating that the difficulty of the minigame is 2/5 stars. This difficulty indicator and green text isn't present for any other minigame, though it matches the way in which challenges were introduced in Spyro 2.
- Upon completing the lizard challenges, Spyro can attempt to get the skateboarding course record. Hunter claims that to complete the challenge you have to break the record and manage to stay on your board for the whole two minutes. He says this in the final game too, but in the final game, wiping out doesn't reset the challenge. In this build, though, wiping out counts as a failure and you're forced to start the challenge over again.
- In the final game, a menu appears presenting your score and the course record appears when your time is up. In this demo, the menu only appears if you break the record.
- It's worth also noting that like the earliest versions of the final game, in this demo you're only awarded an extra life after breaking the record, finishing the challenge, and exiting the course record screen, presumably because you need to survive without wiping out for the record to count. This could also explain why it was changed in later builds of the final game so that you receive the skill point immediately upon breaking the record.
- The default course record is 4000 rather than 3200.
- In the final game there's a small destructible potted plant next to the grey wall at the back of Sunny Villa. In this version, the plant is placed on the wall, and appears to be hovering above it slightly.
- Some of the skateboard tricks have different names.
| Demo Name | Final Name |
|---|---|
| Quint Spin Left | Big Gulp |
| Quint Spin Right | Orange Crush |
| Quad Roll Left | Dr. Shemp |
| Quad Spin Left | Gulp |
| Quad Roll Right | Toasty Twist |
| Quad Spin Right | Crush |
| Double Twisted Lemon | Twisted Lemon x 2 |
| Triple Twisted Lemon | Twisted Lemon x 3 |
Molten Crater
- The flowers found in the level are yellow rather than white.
- The cracked wall containing the skill point also contains the metal chest which is usually just outside the wall.
- The Sgt. Byrd skill point (where the player places all the tiki heads in the same place) is present, but the heads don't dance around after receiving it.
- Moneybags is nowhere to be seen. As per usual his dialogue is present but unused, so this isn't an indication that he was originally not in this level, but rather that he was removed to make the demo more playable.
Seashell Shore
- Usually, there's a point in the level where Zoe explains the Atlas. Since the Atlas isn't supposed to be accessible in the demo, the text and audio go unused.
- The dragon "Jason" makes no sound when he cries.
Other Unused and Changed Text
Super Bogus Worlds
Like a few of the other demos, the Atlas text for the Super Bonus Worlds still says "Bogus".
HUB2HUB
If the balloon / whirligig / rocket menu is accessed through hacking, the title is "HUB2HUB" rather than "WHERE TO?".
The Bailey gang's last stand
Like the other demos, the Atlas title text for "Leap of faith" and "Take it to the bank" are switched in this build, and "Take it to the bank" is once again instead titled "The Bailey gang's last stand". As explained before, this could have been the name of the egg obtained in Dino Mines' unused sublevel. Unlike other demos, this is the only egg name not matching the final build.
A rhynoc primadonna entertains Cloud City.
Through hacking, the Atlas can be accessed. The epilogue is already unlocked, for some reason. Despite the final level name "Cloud Spires" being used elsewhere in this prototype, the Atlas still refers to it as "Cloud City".
Skill Points
Like the previous demo, both of the Crash Bash demos contain data for Skill Point names. The strings corresponding to the Skill Point names are encrypted in all versions of the game, with each byte having been XOR'd with 0x6B, for some reason. The strings can be found just before the data corresponding to the epilogue strings.
After decryption, one will find that one skill point is missing and a skill point not present in the final is here. Firstly, the Charmed Ridge tower skill point is not in yet:
The Impossible Tower
Instead, a new skill point between Spooky Swamp and Sgt. Byrd's Base is present:
Smash the underwater wall
Given the level order and the name of the Skill Point, it seems fairly certain that this would have corresponded with the underwater breakable wall in Bamboo Terrace.
