Proto:Monster Party

This page details one or more prototype versions of Monster Party.

Download Monster Party (J Prototype) File: Monster_Party_(J)_(Prototype).zip (256 KB) (info)

To do: Some of the bosses have more text than what the screenshot shows, add that text. In addition, add and translate text for the other bosses, intro, and ending. Musical differences in gameover music and ending music.

After repeatedly falling into the hands of collectors that were unwilling to release it to the public, the Japanese prototype of Monster Party (titled "Parody World Monster Party") was finally released on July 3, 2014 for everyone to enjoy. As the original title implies, the prototype features many parodies of movies like Gremlins and Planet of the Apes that were unfortunately removed for copyright reasons, as well as a number of other differences.

General Differences

• The timing code for the status bar split was changed to be less glitchy in the US version.
• It is possible to get stuck in place in the prototype, requiring a reset. Thankfully, this seems to be pretty rare.
• Item drops were shuffled around in the US version; for example, the first enemy drops a pill in the prototype, and nothing in the US version.

Title Screen

Prototype	US

The prototype's title screen was a rather gory affair, with blood dripping all over the place. This was changed to green slime in the US version, which was apparently enough to fool Nintendo's censors, as the rest of the game beyond this point is just as bloody as the original.

In addition to the slime change, two menacing eyes were added above the logo, the copyright/licensing information was updated and expanded, and the zombie face cursor was changed to a happy pumpkin.

Opening Cutscene

To do: Get the rest of the story text.

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
あるひ、ひろしくんは　いつものように やきゅうの　かえりみち　”ああはらへった” などと　おもいながら　あるいていました。 ふと　そらをみあげると、ひときわキラリ	One day, Hiroshi-kun was walking down the same street he always did on his way home from baseball practice. He was thinking things like, "Ahh, I'm hungry" when suddenly, he looked up to see a bright flash of light in the sky.

The main character, Mark, was originally named Hiroshi in the prototype, and had a hiragana "ひ" on his shirt in cutscenes to match. This was changed to an "M" when the character was renamed.

Level Differences

Round 1

The music does not change after passing the giant cactus in the prototype.

Round 3

Prototype	US

A flashing effect was added to the background in the US version.

Round 4

The moving blocks seen in the final are not present in the prototype.

Round 5

Prototype	US

Although the water in the boss rooms is set up to use a palette animation, it's not actually implemented in the prototype yet.

Round 7

Prototype	US

Floor 5's block layout was changed to give Jason, the Elephant Man, and most importantly, the player, room to drop down.

Prototype	US

This floor's block layout no longer follows a simple pattern in the US version. Plus, the player can move down now.

Prototype	US

Floor 9 was changed to, again, let Jason and the player have a space to fall. Note that in all of these layout changes, the pillars and curtains in the background no longer match the rest of the floors.

Round 8

The level was rearranged a bit in the US version. Instead of starting at the first screen, you start one screen to the right, with a firecracker enemy exploding on top of you. The building with the dragon boss was moved to the far left end, requiring some rather tedious backtracking if you're not paying attention.

Bosses and Boss Rooms

General differences:

• Upon entering a boss room, Mark appears standing in the doorway on the left side of the screen, and the door remains open throughout the boss fight (though you can't actually leave until the boss is defeated). The US version places Mark closer to the center of the screen and closes the door until the boss is defeated.
• Bosses make the same sound as when Mark is reverting from his Bert form when hit in the prototype. This was changed to a more "monstrous" sound in the US version.
• Defeating a boss in the prototype does not yield a question mark item as it does in the US version.
• The game briefly pauses and the boss music stops whenever a key is obtained. Pausing the game after the music stops causes part of the continue screen music to play.
• All of the references to movies and their associated characters were excised from the US version in order to avoid copyright issues, as documented below.
• Each round has a unique "empty boss room" message in the prototype.

Empty Room Text	Prototype	Translation	Final
Round 1	は ず れ	Nothing!	EMPTY.
Round 2	はーずーれっ	Noothiiing!	EMPTY.
Round 3	す か	You lose.	EMPTY.
Round 4	だれも おりまへん	Ain't nobody here.	EMPTY!
Round 5	なんもなし	Nothin' here, either.	EMPTY!
Round 6	(none)		EMPTY!
Round 7	ざんねんでした またどうぞ	Too bad, there's nothing here. Better luck next time!	COME AGAIN.
Round 8	はずれです とっととでてください	This is the end. Please leave quickly.	EMPTY!

Round 1

Audrey II/Pitcher Plant

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
＃タラッタ ♪タッ♪ターン	#Tralala~ ♪Lala♪la~~

The plant boss in the prototype is a parody of Audrey II from the film Little Shop of Horrors. The room itself features a microphone and amp, the latter of which can be stood on. The US version altered the boss into a pitcher plant and removed the graphics for the sound equipment, resulting in an invisible platform where the amp once was. An extra spotlight above the boss was also removed.

Prototype	US

The boss's design change was carried over to the title screen as well. Note that the original sprite had blood dripping from its mouth; the sprite palettes were not altered in the US version, resulting in a set of very red teeth for the pitcher plant.

Prototype	US

The musical notes that the boss spits out in the prototype were replaced with bubbles in the US version.

Planet of the Apes/Pumpkin Ghost

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
つかまえろ！  どれいに   してくれるわ	Seize him! I will give you the honor of becoming my slave!

The pumpkin ghost boss fight was originally a blatant parody of the film Planet of the Apes, complete with an ape riding horseback and a very cartoony version of the famous Statue of Liberty scene in the background. Graphical differences aside, the two bosses behave identically to each other, though you can crawl underneath the pumpkin ghost boss without taking damage. The background graphics were completely erased in the US version, similar to the microphone and amp in the Audrey II/pitcher plant room.

Proto	US

The boss's projectile was changed from a bullet to a cute li'l pumpkin head.

Round Two

Medusa

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
あなたにあげるわ わたしのつちのこ   うふ	I'm going to give you my tsuchinoko. Hee-hee! ♥

Medusa was changed from a humanoid form to a snake-like form, possibly because Nintendo objected to the player hitting a humanoid woman with a baseball bat.

Round Three

Mummy/Ghost

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
ちょっとまて、 あしがしびれた	One moment, my legs have fallen asleep.

The mummy was changed into a ghost and the background recolored blue in the US version. According to the US manual, the boss is the "Guardian of the Giant Sphinx". It was probably changed to avoid any association with the 1932 film The Mummy, even though depictions of mummies themselves aren't exactly protected by copyright.

The Thing/Spider

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
へんしん！！ ぶーっーたーいー エ─ッ─ク─ス	Transform!! Form X!

The spider was originally a grotesque face with legs, a reference to John Carpenter's The Thing.

Prototype	US

The serifs were removed from the X projectiles in the US version.

Round Four

Gremlin/Cat

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
キャピピピピー	Kyapipipipi-

Gizmo from the movie Gremlins became a cat in the US version, although the projectiles were not changed.

Round Five

Dancing Zombies

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
おどりおーどる  なーああら	DANCE. JUMP.

The background was recolored in the US version. The number of zombies were also decreased from three to two.

The zombies also cannot be attacked in the prototype, and you cannot take damage from them. Attacking the zombies in the US version causes them to dissolve and reappear, resetting the amount of time needed to watch them dance.

Javelin Guy

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
おこった　ぞー	I'm... angry.

The javelin guy's face changes at the start of the battle in the prototype. This was removed to avoid association with the film Daimajin. The javelin guy's arms were also touched up a bit in the US version.

Round Six

Camouflage Face

Prototype	US

In the prototype, there is only one face, which moves back and forth along the ground. The US version adds three more and has them flying around randomly instead. Additionally, the shadows in the background were extended, and the boss was given some dialogue.

Round Seven

Alien/Grim Reaper

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
クックックッ キシャーゴロゴロ	Heh heh heh. *crackle* *rumble rumble*

A huge, scary robot thing heavily resembling the Alien from the movie series of the same name became the Grim Reaper in the US version. The facehuggers were also replaced with floating heads.

Unused Totem Pole Boss

Japanese	English
あたしは トーテムポール	I'm a totem pole!
さて、だれがしゃべっているでしょう	Well then, who do you suppose is talking?

A totem pole boss was planned to be included in Round 7, but was cut for unknown reasons. The graphics, programming, room layout, and dialogue are still intact in the ROM, and can be seen by changing ROM address 0x9C6E from 91 to B3 and entering the potato bug's room.

The boss simply slides back and forth along the ground, and doesn't shoot anything. Although the sprite itself is rather tall, only the two bottom segments can actually hurt you, allowing you to safely jump over it. It's possible that the boss's programming was not finished before it was scrapped.

Three unused, differently-styled faces can be found alongside the used ones in the game's CHR.

(Source: BMF54123, Skrybe)

Spider II

The US version adds another (rather lazy) boss to floor 13, a duplicate of the spider from Round 3, except with a "II" slapped on top. This took the place of the unused totem pole boss from the prototype.

Unfortunately, after adding the boss, the designers neglected to change the number of boss battles required to get the key from two to three. Since the code checks for exactly two bosses, you will lose the key if you fight all three! All you can do at this point is reset the game and try again.

Round 8

Dragon

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
ぼうやー、よいこだ はかくねろ！	You're a good boy. Hurry and go to sleep!

The dragon starts off in a more interesting place in the US version, curled up in the eye socket in the background.

Pharaoh

Prototype	US

Japanese	English
ファラオののろいで あごが、のびるぜ	I'll stretch your chin out with my Pharaoh Curse!

The Pharaoh head floats in the prototype, so the only way Mark can attack him is by jumping.

Enemy Differences

Dracula

Prototype	US

As per proper vampire lore, Dracula changed into a bat for the US version.

Elephant Man

Prototype	US

One of the Elephant Man's eyes is visible through the mask in the US version.

Egg Projectiles

Proto	US

The eggs in Round 2 release Alien facehuggers in the prototype. These were changed to bubbles in the US version.

Jason

Prototype	US

To mask (heh) this guy's resemblance to Jason from the Friday the 13th series, his hockey mask was changed to an umpire mask. He also takes 48 (!) hits to kill in the prototype, which was changed to just 8 in the US version.

Jiangshi

Prototype	US

In the prototype, the ghosts were originally jiangshi, or Chinese hopping vampires. As Western players likely wouldn't know what these were, they were changed into a more familiar form, and their hopping behavior was replaced with a more ghostly back-and-forth floating.

Cheat

A cheat that was disabled in the final version is intact in the prototype. Before the Round 1 title card appears, hold Up + Down + Left + Right + A + B on Controllers 1 and 2, the easiest way being to hold Up + Left + A + B on the former and Down + Right on the latter. It greatly increases the time you spend as Bert during your first transformation.