Sonic the Fighters/Development

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First screenshots

Sonic the Fighters stems from Sega AM2's previous arcade fighting game, Fighting Vipers. Simple models for Sonic and Tails can be found within in Fighting Vipers but are unplayable through normal means. When Sonic the Fighters was first announced, they finally had a time to shine.

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  It would be a while before Sega allowed people to play the game. For the first couple of months, characters would just stand around looking cool.

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  The background is basic, the floor of South Island is a curious checkerboard of blue and yellow, and the characters lack shadows. Sonic and Tails are noticeably off-model and have fewer polygons than the final game.

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  From a slightly later build, Sonic is looking more healthy now, though Tails hasn't changed.

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  AM2 also some screenshots without any background at all.

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In-game screenshots

A different build was used to demonstrate Sonic and Tails fighting each other. All of these screenshots are believed to have come straight from Sega, and depict a different South Island with a textured floor and barriers similar to Flying Carpet (with palm trees as the corners).

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  "Sonic vs. Sonic" in a distinctly Fighting Vipers-esque player select screen.

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  Sometimes the characters have shadows.

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  Tails wins, performing a stance not seen in the final game.

Knuckles

Knuckles the Echidna was announced as a playable character, alongside the Casino Night stage. A set of screenshots were released showing him facing Sonic from different angles.

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  Casino Night is completely different, with no walls and a simplified background.

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Amy

Next to be shown off was Amy Rose, and the Flying Carpet stage.

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  The bases for the candles are different.

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  A top-down shot shows the most obvious difference - the flying carpet doesn't fly. Instead it is presumably held in place by four stone pillars. The candle flames also do not constantly face the camera, so the illusion that they are not just 2D models is shattered in this shot.

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  Tails and Knuckles were later shown in this level. Tails is sporting his final design, but characters still lack shadows.

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AOU Show 1996

A build of Sonic the Fighters was playable at AOU Show 1996 in February 1996. It is not entirely clear how much of the game was accessible at this point, though screenshots suggest Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy were playable (presumably in two-player fights). Aurora Icefield and Mushroom Hill make their appearance, the former looking very different to the final game.

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  In this prototype, player one always has a blue health bar, while player two has a yellow one. Perhaps a leftover from when Sonic and Tails were the only playable characters?

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  Also missing are the "barrier" indicators.

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  Aurora Icefield has a more opaque floor and a lighter sky, not to mention different ice walls.

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  Different winner text.

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  An over-the-shoulder shot, showing different K.O. text.

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  The mushrooms are all the same height and colour. In the final, this is varied slightly and there are bigger mushrroms in the background.

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Fang, Espio, Bean and Bark

AM2 chose to make less of a fuss about the remaining four playable characters. Fang and Espio were announced first, followed by Bean and Bark, though gameplay showing any of them did not emerge until after the AOU show. AM2 had also announced Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman at this point, but neither were shown in-game prior to release.

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  Casino Night now has walls, but is still missing detail from the final game.

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  Bean's bombs are creating a lot of smoke. This effect is only seen for a small fraction of a second in the final game.

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  Fang takes on... Bark, whose design has yet to be finalised.

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  Bark is entirely white (as a polar bear perhaps should be), wears a slightly different hat, lacks a scarf and has different "hair".

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  There's little in this design that carries through to the final game. He was likely completely re-modelled.

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  South Island is looking closer to the final game, but has a smaller checkerboard floor with yellow highlights instead of light green.