Proto:Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (SNES)/Stage Differences

This is a sub-page of Proto:Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (SNES).

World Map

Proto	Final

• All of the stage markers are different.
• There's no transition between Stage 2 and Stage 3, likely due to the cave stage and the snow stage swapping places during development and the map not having been updated since then. The final map adds a large brown mountain between the two stages.
• Stage 3 is missing the large ocean of lava at the bottom.
• The mountain that rises from Stage 4 to Stage 7 is missing from the early map.
• The second half of Stage 5 is different in the prototype and doesn't really represent how the stage looks in-game.
• At this point, Stages 6 and 7 have yet to be drawn and placed on the map. This is all there is.

Stage 1

Prototype
Final

There are very few differences in this stage; most of the tweaking has already been done by this point.

Prototype
Final

The prototype introduces the Wolfdog earlier and more precariously than in the final version.

Prototype
Final

The prototype covers more of the skulls in the ground on the left and has two extra Wolfdogs. The cliff on the right is uneven in the prototype and smooth in the final version.

Prototype
Final

The final version adds two treasure chests to this section and modifies a few of the ground tiles, most apparent with the grassy pillar on the far left.

Prototype	Final

The treasure chest here was moved further to the right, and the ground tiles in the cliff where the treasure chest was were changed...and not really for the better.

Stage 2

Layout

Prototype
Final

The prototype has a different foreground chunk to the left of the treasure chest that includes a navigation lamp that appears nowhere else in the stage. The final game instead has that chunk in much worse shape and with the navigation lamp removed.

The chunk was changed due to the way the water layer works: It can only blend with low priority tiles. Since the railings, mossy ship pieces, and navigation lamp are all high priority tiles, the illusion of the water layer is broken. Thankfully, since the camera locks here, this is the only block that needed to be changed.

Prototype	Final

The treasure chest is 96 pixels lower than where it should be in the prototype. Look at it just floating in the air there. The final game adds rope to the left of the last Mimic and extends the broken wood on the bottom-right side further to the right.

Prototype
Final

There are no treasure bags here in the prototype, and the Flying Killers don't carry Pots yet. The final game removes two urchins from the urchin wall on the right.

Prototype
Final

Plenty of object adjustments here. The final game removes the first Seiren and moves the last further right, adds an extra golden money bag to the right of the first urchin wall, places one of the two Coral Cannons sharing the same pillar of coral on its own, removes the second urchin wall entirely, hides an additional treasure chest near that former urchin wall, and moves the raft further away from the coral pillar.

Prototype
Final

All of the rafts here are far too close to their pillars of coral in the prototype, with the second raft being placed tightly between two pillars. The final game moves them all more to the right and gives the second raft breathing room. That's right, rafts breathe. Six Flying Killers were added to crank the difficulty back up.

The waterfall on the right is continuous in the prototype, while the final game adds a mouth to the cave wall to show where it's pouring out of. Or, if you're pedantic, of where it's pouring out.

Miscellaneous

• If the player uses Search Magic on the falling raft before it hits the sea, after the animation finishes, the stage will stop autoscrolling and the player will be able to move the camera on their own. Going far enough to the left will reveal where the game swaps from one tileset to another, as can be seen here with the garbled water tiles and ship blocks. This was fixed in the final version.

• In the prototype, the priority of the Seirens is messed up: They appear in front of Arthur even when they're supposed to be floating on the rising water in the background.

(Source: Nemo)

Stage 3

Stage Graphics

Proto	Final

Most of the first background is missing from the prototype, with the river of lava being the only piece present. Said river is brighter than it is in the final game, and has end pieces that were later removed once the cliff faces were put in.

Prototype
Final

The clouds in the second background are static in the prototype, while in the final game they use the cycling blue-to-purple palette used by other background elements.

Prototype	Final

The prototype's towers are a reddish-tan color with gray walkways, while the final game's towers are gray with reddish-tan walkways. The stone walkways are coarse in the prototype, smooth in the final version.

Prototype	Final

The first type of floating platform is made of skulls in the prototype, while the final design has a more gruesome flesh-and-bone design.

Prototype
Final

The second floating platform shares the same palette as the tower walkways, so they also switched to a reddish-brown color. They're also 16 pixels wider in the final game.

Layout

Prototype	Final

This is the first stage with significant differences in both layout and art.

Prototype	Final

Besides the wooden machine on the left and the lava, every piece of art in this section is different. The red rocks use a seemingly incorrect dark gray color instead of black and are dotted with solid black squares, lava comes out of grates in the wall instead of furnaces, the lava-spewing heads are smaller, the ladders and chains duller, and the hook and its holder less detailed. The final game also makes the lava seep through the rocks on either side and adds a glowing effect to the rocks directly below the lava.

The Fire Killers are absent from this stage in the prototype. The Gririan starts out further to the right in the final game, and two of the treasure chests were moved further away from the ladder. The ladder near the bottom-right chest in the prototype doesn't extend all the way down, meaning that the player can't climb back up unless they jump onto the treasure chest. It extends all the way down in the final game.

Prototype	Final

The walls are completely filled in with rock graphics in the prototype, while the final game makes the stylistic choice to only draw the border tiles and fill in the rest with black. The extra space freed up from the removal of those tiles let the artists add more detail to the stage, like the green rocks that line the bottom and the right of the rocks here.

The first Gririan was moved more to the right, while the cheaply placed second Gririan - which is pretty much guaranteed to hit the player either before or during their trip down the ladder -- was moved down a tier. To make room for it, the platform before the first stone pillar section was extended significantly, moving everything else to the right as a result. The skull/flesh platforms are arranged differently between versions, and the section they lead to is very different: It's a relatively safe section of rock slopes in the prototype, while in the final game it's another set of rising stone pillars. The removal of the rock slopes means that there are one fewer money bag and treasure chest in the final game.

Prototype
Final

The second stone pillar section ends here in the final game. That added section meant the removal of the stone platforms and the pit they were here in the prototype. The golden money bag was removed and the Red Arremer Ace was neared to the first tower.

As for the towers section itself, besides the lack of money bags, it's largely the same.

Prototype
Final

The boss arena in the prototype has three extra platforms at the top and thinner webbing on the locked door.

It's worth noting that the game seems to have problems drawing these platforms in the prototype, so the visuals and the actual collision data don't match up. Scrolling far enough to the right will fix the first two platforms but not the rest. Notice how the solidity of the five bottommost platforms matches how the platforms appear in the final game.

Stage 4

Stage Graphics

Prototype	Final

The pink steam or whatever it is was redrawn after the prototype. This wasn't done to save space -- both designs take up the same amount of space in VRAM -- but was likely done to make its hurtbox more obvious.

Layout

Prototype	Final

For some reason, the background decorations near the area's exit were changed in the final version. Other than that, the rest of the differences are object-related.

For instance, the second rotational platform was placed lower and more to the right to make the jump easier, three more treasure chests were added, and the three that were already there were moved elsewhere. The Skull Flower Multi that was mistakenly put in the ground is now properly anchored to the floor, and an extra Skull Flower Multi was placed above the third rotational platform. Treasure bag update: The treasure bag stuck in the set of spikes was plucked out of it, and the second gold money bag was taken away, possibly by some kind of money demon.

One of the chests in the prototype is placed inside of a wall. It was moved out of the wall in the final game, but the spot that triggers it is still in the wall. As a result, the only way to get it to show up in either version is through Search Magic, the only chest in the game for which this is the case.

Prototype	Final

No layout differences here, though there are a few graphics changes: The blueberries(?) in the background don't have a cycling palette yet, and the brown flesh (??) is shaded differently. The object placement, however, has significant differences, largely due to a single object...

...this carnivorous plant-type monster. There are three of them in the prototype, each placed under one of the moving platform sections. These carnivorous plants track Arthur, and if he happens to fall off, they'll be all too happy to devour him and spit out his bones. The problem is that plant takes up a significant amount of space in VRAM for what is essentially a fancier pit death, leaving little room for other enemy types. By freeing up that space, the final game is able to include blue variants of those exploding plants from Stage 1. These take the place of the first two sets of Blue Devils, which are largely confined to the platforming sections in the final game.

Other than that, some of the steam geysers were moved around, and geysers were added to the end of the second section and the start of the third.

Prototype	Final

The final game adds a set of cycling palettes for the brown vines(?), heart, and ground, and removes the vines covering the heart.

Miscellaneous

• In the prototype, the treasure chests and their triggers are mistakenly deleted from the layout after the stage rotates.
• For some reason, the Hydra's lair has the Stage 6/7 track assigned to it in the prototype, which can briefly be heard during the screen dissolve before the game switches to the boss music.

(Source: Nemo)

Stage 5

Stage Graphics

Proto
Final

Same basic background concept, different execution. There are many more mountains and clouds in the prototype, and both are larger than in the final version. They were reduced in size and scope to make room for the river of falling snow in the background. The clouds don't change color in the prototype, while in the final game they use the same cycling palette as the cavern lights.

Layout

Prototype
Final

The layout is basically the same until the latter half of the stage, which is drastically different. The second area was originally a set of rotating towers, a gimmick that was later repurposed for Stage 3. It seems that a new stage gimmick had yet to be thought up by this point.

Prototype	Final

The second Woo was moved closer to the money bag in the final game. Both cliff faces were touched up in the final version, with the second cliff looking particularly wonky in the prototype.

Prototype	Final

The Woo is closer to the icy spikes in the final version.

Prototype	Final

The hanging cliff to the right of the previous section uses some incorrect chunks in the prototype; these are most likely from an earlier version of the stage's layout.

The player can barely see the first incorrect chunk if they jump off to the right. The chunk was corrected by the final version.

Prototype
Final

The blue crystals are static in the prototype, while the final game animated them like the pink crystals later in the stage. A few background details to the left of the second chest were altered, as was the cliff right before the ice bridge.

Prototype	Final

The final version adds more cracks to the ice cylinders in the second area and horizontally flips some of the pink crystals. There are two more changes that were specifically done to correct checkpoint-related oversights: The first is the deletion of the first wolf, and the second is the different appearance of the ice at the bottom of the screen.

The checkpoint is placed right by the fist wolf, so Arthur is guaranteed to get hit as soon as he spawns. Doesn't really seem fair.

If the player is coming from the previous section, the lower camera bound is properly locked. However, due to some complications with how checkpoints work, spawning at the checkpoint will unlock the bottom bound, exposing where the foreground cuts off. The final game fixes this by having all of the ice tapers off at the bottom and locking the left bound of the screen after spawning.

Prototype	Final

The final game adds three money bags to this section. Like the previous section, the ice at the bottom is solid in the prototype but melts to black in the final version.

Prototype	Final

This is where the layout starts to change into something else entirely. What was once a relatively uneventful climb up a mountain...

...is now a treacherous climb with a new hazard: Avalanches. The player must either steady themselves on nearby ladders or reach higher ground to avoid being swept away by the rolling snow.

As a result of this change, two golden money bags were removed and the lone Wolfdog was moved...

Prototype	Final

...to this section. Not much here to challenge the player in the prototype, though, besides a single small pit. The final game adds another Woo here for good measure. The treasure was placed later in the stage, while the treasure chest is in more or less the same place.

Prototype	Final

The prototype arena is made of three separate platforms connected by ice bridges, which would have made the boss fight harder if one was actually here. Instead, the key just kinda plops out of the air. The final game's arena is a simple expanse of gently sloping ice.

Stage 6

The game normally ends after Stage 5 by displaying the above screen and then returning to the title screen. However, early versions of Stage 6 and Stage 7 are already in the game. Use Pro Action Replay (PAR) code 7E028F07 and start a new game to access Stage 6.

Stage Graphics

Prototype	Final

Astaroth is 11 pixels shorter in the prototype, more closely matching the squat design seen in the previous two titles.

Layout

Prototype	Final

There's a complete layout here, but all of the stage's chests and items, as well as most of the enemies, are missing. Surprisingly, the tileset in this stage is much closer to being finalized than the one in Stage 3.

Prototype	Final

That said, there are still plenty of differences in the stage's graphics. The red and greens are brighter, the curved stairs are purple instead of red, and the brown stone walls in the upper section are half as thin. It's almost missing a few details, like the torches in the archways, the chains hanging in the dark, and the spiderwebs clinging to the green pillars. As for the layout itself, there are two high-priority pillars at the start of the stage there were later turned into background graphics, probably because they cover up Arthur's spawn position. A set of small steps at the beginning was removed; a similar set of larger steps was placed later in the area. The floating sloped platforms are pressed against the wall in the prototype, while the final game adds a gap between the wall and the platforms that the player can fall into if they're not careful.

The three Red Arremer Aces are the only objects in this stage before the boss fights, and all three seem to be sitting in mid-air. The final game removes one of them, spaces the two remaining ones further apart, and adds two treasure chests and a money bag.

Prototype	Final

The stone walls are arranged and laid out differently between versions; note the odd hollow area with green walls that was later filled in. The room with the Cockatrice head is more detailed in the final version, with furnishings that evoke a demonic church. The first two ladders were moved to the left to accommodate the thicker stone walls.

Prototype	Final

The stone platforms are thinner with larger shadows in the prototype. The final game makes them 1 pixel thicker to better indicate what part's solid and what isn't. In contrast with the first part of the stage, the red background walls in this section are actually darker than in the final version. The room with the Cockatrice head is more detailed in the final version.

Prototype	Final

Astaroth spawns to the left of the gate in the prototype and right in front of the gate in the final version.

Miscellaneous

• For whatever reason, the prototype disables the HUD on this stage.

• Arthur spawns in mid-air in the prototype.

Stage 7

Access this stage by activating Pro Action Replay (PAR) code 7E028F08 and starting a new game.

Stage Graphics

Prototype	Final

Though the prototype doesn't load his graphics, a sprite for Nebiroth is already in the ROM. Besides having the same height difference as Astaroth, he's also using an earlier design: His pupils are circular, he has no spikes on his shoulders, he has less armor, and the point on his crown is stubbier.

Layout

Prototype	Final

This stage is in an early state, with only a rough outline of the stage completed at this point. The stage's tileset has yet to be drawn, so it instead reuses graphics from Stage 6.

Prototype	Final

The sets of ladders are much close together in the prototype; the final game spaces them apart and enlarges the platforms they lead to. A ledge was added to the right of the final ladder to bridge the newly-formed gap.

Prototype
Final

The final game extends the ceiling above the final ladder to match where the wall is in the prototype. There's an extra step to the right of the slope at the bottom that was removed from the final layout.

Prototype	Final

The wall on the left side doesn't extend all the way to the top of the screen in the prototype. The platform that the ladder hangs from is 16 pixels wider in the final game.

Prototype	Final

At the end of the prototype are two glitched-out sprites. The one on the left seems to be Astaroth and functions how he did in Stage 6. The one on the right might be Nebiroth, but because the graphics aren't loaded and it doesn't have any collision properties it's not really clear.

Miscellaneous

• Like Stage 6, the HUD isn't displayed in this stage.

• Also like Stage 6, Arthur spawns in mid-air.