Ganbare! Daiku no Gen San

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Ganbare! Daiku no Gen San.

Pre-CES Build#

In July 1993, an early image of the Stage 3-2 boss fight was published in Super Play Issue 9. This image shows several details which differ from the final, and it seems to represent the earliest build of the game that we know about:

Prerelease	Final

• There is a wooden panel background behind the HUD (in the final game, there is nothing behind the HUD),
• The prerelease image has different icons for the life and powerup counters,
• The prerelease health bar lacks the white outline around the red section,
• The prerelease background is a nice blue colour, while the final opts for a grey. This may be so the player can spot the blue flames under the floor, which telegraphs the heated floor attack.

This photo likely originates from a build predating the CES build, as the wooden panel isn't smooth at the top, and it's a few pixels taller than its CES counterpart.

CES 1993 Build#

A build of Ganbare! Daiku no Gen San was playable at the 1993 Summer CES show, and several magazines printed photos of this build in previews. This build contains the same alternate life and powerup icons and the wooden background for the HUD. Also, this build has a feature where the HUD displays what page (which means a segment of a level) is currently loaded. The value is still updated in the final game, but the page number is not displayed in the HUD, as it was replaced with level names instead.

Level 0-1#

Yes, you read that right! One of the playable levels in this demo was 0-1, a level which does not appear in the final game! From the three photos we have (two from SNES Buyer's Guide Issue 10, and one from Club Nintendo Año 2 No. 8), it seems to have been quite a simple level, like a tutorial level to ease the player in. Judging by the suburban vibe, it would have led perfectly into the more urban, built-up city in 1-1. One photo is of Page 2, another is of Page 9, and the final one unfortunately has the HUD cropped out of the image, so it is hard to say where this would have been in the level.

Interestingly, the image of Page 9 shows the boss which is found in 3-2 in the final game. Despite being a boss, the boss health bar is not present on the HUD, so it's possible that he was originally a normal enemy before being turned into a boss later in development. Also, this sprite of the boss is not found in the final game. Finally, the construction signs and crumbling walls also do not appear in the final game.

Level 1-1#

The other set of images we have all depict Level 1-1, the first level of the final game. In all of these images, the texture used for the road is made of a few rows of gradually lighter colours, while in the final, they have been blended together better. There are images of Page 1, 2, 3 and 12 and there are some slight differences, but it largely seems to be the same as the final.

Prerelease (Joypad Issue 22)	Final

On Page 1, the house in the background of the CES version has a brown door, which was changed to grey in the final

Prerelease (Banzzai Issue 14)	Final

On Page 2, the shadow from the roof of the shop extends lower than in the final.

Prerelease (Video Games December 1993)	Final

Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any noticeable differences on Page 3.

Prerelease (Joypad Issue 22)	Prerelease (SNES Buyer's Guide Issue 10)	Final

However, there are a few differences on Page 12:

• The boxes originally had diagonal planks on their front, but this was removed in the final
• The boxes' breaking animation is much less violent in the final
• In the final, there is a trash-can enemy after this set of boxes. Neither prerelease screenshot shows a trash-can enemy present, meaning it was likely added later