- Back to: Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Mega-CD prototype; 1992-12-04)/Comparisons.
Palmtree Panic, or "Salad Plain" as it appears to be called here, is the only playable Round in this prototype. After the first two Zones, the game ends.
General
Moments into the game and the player can see there were big changes. The layout is very different and the graphics for the Present share more in common with the final version's Good Future. There is no title card, meaning the time counter starts striaght away, and Ricky and Flicky can be seen hopping about by default.
The Past is, of course, also very different, sporting a very different palette and sharing most of the same graphics as the Present.
The Good Future, while inaccessible in this prototype, looks very much like the Present with added pipes, and compared to the final, doesn't look that much different apart from the trees and star-shaped plants not being mechanised. The Present was redesigned later on to make the Good Future's graphics more distinct.
And the Bad Future already has much of its graphical assets prepared for it, though the palm trees and star-shaped plants are the same as the Present. These would be changed into rotting mechanical plants, and the pipes would have added flashing lights.
Curiously, these early graphics for the Futures would persist in Zone 3 in the 510 and v0.28A prototypes.
Zone 1
The first monitor the player sees in the v0.02 prototype is this blue ring monitor. It grants Sonic the combined effects of Invincibility and Power Sneakers.
Further on, these two Super Ring monitors would see multiple subtype changes over the game's development.
The automatic roll physics in Zone 1's spin tube are different, feeling more like Sonic 1's physics, as Sonic is not immediately propelled upon entering.
Bouncy poles can be found throughout both Zones in all time zones. In the final game, most were replaced with diagonal springs (such as this one) or were removed entirely. Their scarcity (only appearing towards the beginning of non-present versions of Zone 2) and lack of given sound effects mean they're easy to miss in the final game, but are all over the place in this prototype.
A breakable wall would also be added to this section.
This hidden high-speed tunnel is not yet functional in any time zone, and won't be for the next few prototypes.
This hollowed-out log would become much more adorned with floating star-shaped plants later in development...
...while in the Past, the branches aren't grown out yet.
Spinning turntables can be found in the Past where they shouldn't be.
There are no Metal Sonic holograms in this prototype yet. Animals, however, are roaming about by default.
Further on, a "time monitor" can be found. It does nothing, other than temporarily stop rolling palettes and Rings from spinning for a few seconds.
There are no Robot transporters to be found either, therefore making it impossible to make a Good Future in this prototype.
Amy isn't here yet.
Maps
Present
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| v0.02 prototype
|
|
| Final game
|
While some of the core elements of the layout persisted until the final game, big sections were gutted in order to accommodate the "3D loops".
Past
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| v0.02 prototype
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|
| Final game
|
Good Future
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| v0.02 prototype
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|
| Final game
|
Bad Future
|
| v0.02 prototype
|
|
| Final game
|
Zone 2
Bouncy poles can be found in the Present in this prototype. These would be relegated to the Past and Futures later in development.
The floating platforms are shaped differently here. This difference only applies to Zone 2, as the platforms look more like in the final in Zone 1.
These "S" monitors function identically to the blue ring monitors, granting extra speed and invincibility for a short period. A non-working version of this particular monitor appears in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, albeit hidden in the game's code (unless the player uses debug mode, in which sometimes the graphics can be seen).
This Time Warp Plate is floating in the air for some strange reason. Also, the diagonal spring to the left of it is an early design.
There is no robot transporter here, and the swinging platforms aren't here yet either.
A few log hollows can be found throughout Zone 2 in all time zones, but they do not have anything inside of them. They were completely taken out later on.
This thin log is not solid in this prototype, and instead has a moving platform behind it. Later in development, it was broken up into two platforms and made solid on top.
Some of the spin tubes don't fully function yet, such as this one near the goal, as Sonic won't automatically spin upon entry.
Maps
Present
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| v0.02 prototype
|
|
| Final game
|
Past
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| v0.02 prototype
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|
| Final game
|
Good Future
|
| v0.02 prototype
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|
| Final game
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Bad Future
|
| v0.02 prototype
|
|
| Final game
|
References
