- Back to: Sonic Chaos (Game Gear prototype; 1993-05-17).
General comparisons
The Sega screen is different, using the standard Sega screen for many Game Gear titles.
The opening sequence currently doesn't exist for this prototype or any of the Master System prototypes, and game instead goes straight to the title screen.
The title screen has numerous differences in this build:
- The fade-in is slower, and there are no animations; the title and trademark are already on the screen, and the "PRESS START BUTTON" text doesn't flash.
- The International title uses the same style as the Japanese title.
- Tails' sprite is also different, showing his tails instead of his hand.
- No demos will play if the player waits on the title screen.
The player select screen is a barebones placeholder in this prototype. Interestingly, both of Tails' names are printed on-screen.
The Zone Select screen is enabled by default, and is loaded after selecting a character. There is also a spelling mistake on the Zone Select screen: Turquoise Hill Zone is spelt "Turquise".
There are no title cards at the start of each Act in this prototype.
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| Final game (Master System)
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Ending cards exist, but they're the Master System versions, so the player can't see their contents. They also always claim Sonic has passed, even when playing as Tails. There is no card for Act 3s.
The Game Over screen is also very barebones, with each letter printed one after the other when fade-in starts.
Gameplay comparisons
Holding 
while using the D-Pad allows Sonic and Tails to be freely moved around the map. If the player passes through an object while moving around, then object interactions will occur once the player lets go of .
It is not currently possible for Sonic to perform the Strike Dash yet.
The Ring counter doesn't decrease when Sonic and Tails get hit. Rings will still scatter though, allowing the player to amass infinite Rings. If the Ring counter reads 00, Sonic and Tails will die if hit, and as there are only two digits, this means collecting exactly 100 Rings leaves them vulnerable.
The collision box for the monitors isn't aligned properly to the sprite, meaning when standing on one, Sonic and Tails will appear to be floating. The player also cannot roll or Spin Dash into monitors.
Collecting 100 Rings does not send Sonic to the Special Stage, however it does stop Super Ring monitors from working.
Rocket Shoes are partially functional in this build. Sonic can fly with them, but he cannot move up or down, and the shoes won't expire over time. The only way to cancel them would be to fly towards solid ground or collide with an interactable object.
Additionally, the Rocket Shoes icon will briefly bounce after breaking open its monitor, which it doesn't do in the final.
Rocket Shoes monitors still appear for Tails, but breaking one won't do anything for him.
Sonic and Tails won't die if they fall off the bottom of the screen in many levels.
Bonus Panels always start and end as Sonic, so the player can't receive bonuses.
After beating a boss, Sonic/Tails will start running to the right regardless of his current vertical position, meaning it's possible to get him to run in mid-air.
Graphical comparisons
Sonic has an almost entirely different set of sprites, more closely resembling his look in the Sega Mega Drive version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Tails also has a similar look to his Sonic 2 counterpart, although the differences between the final game are more subtle.
Of particular note is his jumping animation, which has a stray pixel in one of the frames.
Tails also has no pushing animations. A frame for this exists in the ROM, but it's not used during gameplay.
Level comparisons
References
while using the D-Pad allows Sonic and Tails to be freely moved around the map. If the player passes through an object while moving around, then object interactions will occur once the player lets go of 
