Proto:Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Sound Differences

This is a sub-page of Proto:Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

To do: Re-record all of the final songs (and some of the proto songs) with either real hardware, or at least a better emulator like BlastEm. The current rips were recorded with Fusion, which is rubbish for audio (and for emulation in general). All of the tracks have differences (albeit some are very subtle, like slight volume changes). They need to be documented. Re-document the music ala Sonic 2's Simon Wai prototype.

Between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3, the sound driver was completely replaced. In this prototype, the replacement driver is in an early state where it hasn't had features from the previous driver re-implemented yet, and it seems to suffer from some glaring bugs. There are also some other general differences:

• Sounds often bug out and sustain until either the game is paused or something else plays on that sound channel.
• Various objects don't play the correct sound effect:
  • The underwater "alarm" sound uses a completely different sound; likely just an incorrect ID assignment.
  • Many bosses don't play sounds. This includes explosions, zooming, etc. They play one sound when being defeated.
  • Oddly the correct sound effects are present in the sound test, but most instances have their assigned sound effects based on Sonic 2.
• Collecting a ring only plays the sound for the right speaker, and doesn't alternate between the ones for the right and left (despite both sounds being present).
• The Spin Dash plays the rolling sound, much like Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis as well as some of the Sonic 2 prototypes.
• Playing a theme that would interrupt the stage theme prevents it from reloading.
• Beating an Act doesn't play the Act-clear jingle, instead continuing to play the stage theme.
• The Speed Shoes play the invincibility theme rather than speeding up the music, and does not cut back to the level music when the effect ends.
• The Sonic 3 miniboss theme doesn't exist (read below), which means all minibosses play the Sonic & Knuckles variation. A remnant of this exists in the final where jumping before drowning during the Hydrocity bosses causes the game to play the Sonic & Knuckles theme.
• If you leave the water before you drown in Hydrocity as Super Sonic, the game will play an early version of Mushroom Hill Act 2, the song that's in slot $10.
• The song used for the Level Select ($2F) does not glitch after listening to it for an extended amount of time, unlike in the final version of Sonic 3.
• The themes for Carnival Night, Ice Cap, Launch Base, Knuckles, and the Competition menu are completely different. Interestingly, MIDI versions of these were later used in Sonic & Knuckles Collection. In fact, all of the music in this build matches up better with their MIDI counterparts, suggesting that all of the music was taken from a later build.

Sound ID	Name	Proto	Final	Sonic & Knuckles Collection	Notes
$01	Angel Island Zone Act 1				Slightly slower than the final. Uses a synth guitar lead on various sections, unlike the final. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$02	Angel Island Zone Act 2				One of the most different sounding tracks outside of the ones that were replaced entirely. Like Act 1, it is slightly slower than the final. The brass notes in the intro are much quieter and have way less sustain, which make them difficult to hear. The intro also features a unique distressing square wave flourish that was removed in the final version. Many instruments are different, and it sounds less tropical than the final. There are some melodic differences here and there as well. The PSG is also more basic sounding. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$03	Hydrocity Zone Act 1				Has a slightly different melody in the intro segment. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$04	Hydrocity Zone Act 2				The lead has less echo and each lead channel is panned to the left and right. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$05	Marble Garden Zone Act 1				Different channel volumes.
$06	Marble Garden Zone Act 2				Different channel volumes.
$07	Carnival Night Zone Act 1				Entirely different from the final. The Sonic & Knuckles Collection version plays in a slightly different key.
$08	Carnival Night Zone Act 2				Entirely different from the final.
$09	Flying Battery Zone Act 1				The intro synth is different. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final. Like the final version of Sonic 3, it does not loop correctly.
$0A	Flying Battery Zone Act 2				The intro synth is different. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$0B	Ice Cap Zone Act 1				Entirely different from the final. Seems unfinished at this version due to missing drums and a general lack of polish.
$0C	Ice Cap Zone Act 2				Entirely different from the final. The Sonic & Knuckles Collection use crash cymbals at the end of certain parts unique drum samples.
$0D	Launch Base Zone Act 1				Entirely different from the final. The Sonic & Knuckles Collection version plays in a slightly different key and starts with a crash cymbal.
$0E	Launch Base Zone Act 2				Entirely different from the final. There's some minor differences in the melody between the prototype and Sonic & Knuckles Collection versions, most notable in the intro.
$0F	Mushroom Valley Zone Act 1				Much different bass, which made this song earn the nickname "Seinfeld Valley Zone" due to its similarities with the Seinfeld theme. The final version adds a short phrase to the intro. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$10	Mushroom Valley Zone Act 2				Different bass again. A drum fill was added to the intro for the final. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$11	Sandopolis Zone Act 1				Different channel volumes.
$12	Sandopolis Zone Act 2				Different channel volumes. Has some leftover data for non-existent PSG.
$13	Lava Reef Zone Act 1				Uses the same bass instrument as Angel Island Zone. Lacks guitar synth before the loop and uses a bell instrument instead. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$14	Lava Reef Zone Act 2				Uses different lead synths that sound more mystic. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$15	Sky Sanctuary Zone				Very different. Has a much heavier bass that occupies two channels, heavier brass, different percussion, and more basic PSG. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$1A	The Doomsday Zone				Has a rather unpleasant (and loud) synth instrument instead of a star sound.
$1C	Special Stage				Uses the usual snare drum instead of a unique snare drum.
$1F	Knuckles' Theme				Entirely different from the final. Sonic & Knuckles Collection uses a unique drum sample for this track.
$21	Balloon Park				The 4-note "twinkle" is played an octave lower and is much softer. Uses a lighter bass instrument, has simpler percussion without any crash cymbals and lacks PSG entirely. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$22	Desert Palace Zone				Uses a square wave synth in the intro. Instrumentation sounds more like the Special Stage. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$23	Chrome Gadget Zone				The backing brass is different. The PSG is also louder, making its part of the melody more audible. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$26	Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Credits				Entirely different from the final. The loop features a different percussion section not present in Sonic & Knuckles Collection, the removal might be due to problems with the MIDI porting process; it's believed that this song was composed by Tatsuyuki Maeda since he's known for his PSG-heavy Genesis songs (like Diamond Dust Zone).
$29	Act Clear				Rougher instrumentation. Channel balancing and volumes are different than the final.
$2A	1-Up				Louder and faster than the final.
$2D	Competition Menu				Entirely different from the final.

• The unused theme from the PC game is also present as slot $2E, which is where the Sonic 3 miniboss theme is in the final release. In Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, this slot contains a duplicate of the Sonic & Knuckles miniboss theme, which is used instead of slot $18 to play music for the minibosses. This renders slot $18 unused in all final retail releases of Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles except for Sonic & Knuckles Collection.

Proto	Sonic & Knuckles Collection