For the final week of Hidden Palace’s Sonic month, the prototype archivists have released something very special. The team have dumped a November 1993 prototype of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which features different music and sprites which are based on those from Sonic 2.
This prototype comes from a time when Sonic 3 was supposed to contain all the stages from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, and while Sonic 3’s stages are mostly complete, the Sonic & Knuckles stages are often incomplete, showcasing an early insight into that game’s development. Screenshots from this prototype made their way into the Sonic 3: Exclusive Story of the Year! preview supplement which we also have archived in our merchandise section.
The real discovery comes with the game’s soundtrack. Sonic fans will know that the PC version of Sonic 3 features different tunes for Ice Cap, Launch Base and Carnival Night Zone. Well it appears that these tunes actually pre-date the versions that were eventually included in the final release of Sonic 3, as they make an appearance in this prototype. This is the first time anyone has heard these tunes powered by the Mega Drive’s YM2612 sound chip and it makes for some truly fascinating listening.
An unreleased prototype version of Castlevania: The New Generation has been leaked online. Also known as Castlevania Bloodlines, this prototype features some noticeable differences from the final Mega Drive game:
– Black title screen with longer intro
– Title screen says “1P PRESS START” suggesting the possibility of a 2P mode
– Different mermen
– Different wolf boss
– Music restarts every time you enter a room
– Layout changes
– The inside part of the second half of stage 1 has no background
– The outside part has a light blue background and the falling bone bridge portion is more difficult
– The knight boss’ sprite is different
– The stage 2 water is different
The ROM can be downloaded from the Castlevania Dungeon forums and originates with a user called @TheCount#5993 in the CVDungeon discord.
In 1993 a man called Keith Bugeja was working a new platformer for the Amiga called Blaze. The game was to be published by Warp Software but development was stopped for unknown reasons. Well, I say, “unknown” but when you look at how close the action is to the original Sonic the Hedgehog, you’ll soon come to your own conclusions.
Check out Blaze in action via the embed below:
The only existing build of Blaze has now been dumped and is available to download from Bugeja’s personal blog.
One of the more obscure sights in the arcades of the early nineties was a Sonic-themed popcorn dispenser called SEGASonic Popcorn Shop. While the machine obviously dispenses popcorn, it also featured a short mini-game to entertain the young’uns before the popcorn left the machine. The machine also features dipswitches to allow the ROM to run in different languages. I have definitely seen a machine in the UK when I was very young so I can confirm it was distributed into other markets.
The ROM of the machine is now available to play in the MAME emulator and you can see footage of the attract screen and the mini-game in the video below. Check out that rather dainty Robotnik!
An unreleased Mega Drive version of System 3’s long-delayed Putty sequel Putty Squad has been dumped and is available to download now. Click here to try the game for yourself.
Putty Squad was originally due for release on Amiga in 1994 but went unpublished until 2013 when it was given a new lick of paint and released on PS4, PS Vita, PS3, 3DS, XBLA and PC. This Mega Drive version would have been made around 1995 and like the Amiga version, even made it to review in certain publications.
You can see the game in action via the video below:
Unreleased versions of Lemmings 2: The Tribes have been released by SMS Power. The Master System and Game Gear versions of the game were completed and even sent to SEGA Power Magazine for review in 1994 but were cancelled due to the dwindling sales of SEGA’s 8 bit consoles and the high cost of cartridge production at the time.
You can get the ROM dumps for both versions of the game by registering at SMS Power. You will need an emulator to play the ROMs. Click the below links to be taken to the entries on SEGA Power:
SNES game Star Fox has been reverse-engineered to run on a Mega Drive by developer Stef at the romhacking.net forums.
It’s certainly very bare bones at this point, running at an incredibly low framerate with sound missing but it’s still an incredible acheivement. If you’d like to try it yourself you can download the work-in-progress rom here.
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