The wonderful people over at SEGA Dreamcast Info have released an astounding collection of 44 Dreamcast prototypes that are sourced from an ex-Acclaim beta tester.
Dubbed ‘Duffy’s Dreamcast Collection’, this collection features prototypes of games like Shadow Man, Vanishing Point, Re-Volt, F355 Challenge, Fur Fighters, Dead or Alive 2 and the infamously terrible/amazing Spirit of Speed 1937.
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.
UPDATE
Overnight an additional Sonic 2 prototype has been made available by the good people at Hidden Palace. This prototype dates from August 1992 and can be downloaded by clicking here.
ORIGINAL STORY Hidden Palace‘s Sonic Month continues with a fresh selection of unreleased Sonic prototypes. This time we have 3 different releases of Sonic Chaos for Master System and Game Gear and a separate Sonic the Hedgehog 2 release for Mega Drive.
The Sonic Chaos releases date from May, June and July 1993 with the May release being an early Game Gear prototype that features different character sprites from the final build. Download links for each of these releases are listed below:
For fans of either game, these prototypes reveal some fascinating insight into the games’ development and are well worth a look if you have any interest in either game.
The earliest known prototype has been located and dumped by the good people at Hidden Palace and you can now download and play it yourself through emulation. This prototype dates back to December 4th 1992 and features the ‘CD Sonic’ title screen alongside an earlier build of Palmtree Panic which is known here as Salad Plain Zone. If you’d like to see the prototype in action then SEGADriven’s very own Tracker_TD has recorded a playthrough on his YouTube channel:
Alongside this release, Hidden Palace have also released a dump of a trade show-only multimedia disc that features some new artwork and animations of Sonic and Dr. Robotnik. Images of this artwork was previously referenced in magazine news articles that discussed Sonic 2 being ported to Mega-CD, which ultimately never came to pass:
Hidden Palace user ‘drx’ has discovered, dumped and released a cancelled Dreamcast game called Internet Game Pack. This title was developed by Visual Concepts in 2001 and was scheduled for release as an Official Dreamcast Magazine cover disc, but presumably shelved due to the unpopularity of the Dreamcast.
The game features a selection of classic games like Chess, Poker and Dominoes and was made for online play. However, all the games can be played offline as well. You can see the title in action via the embed below:
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