Gain Ground (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Gain Ground (Genesis).

This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

This prototype is dated July 27, 1990; over five months before the game was released.

General#

• The attract mode lacks stage music.
• In the status bar, "STAY" was changed to "LEFT".
• There is no "PAUSE" text displayed on-screen when the game is paused.
• The graphic transition between rounds is messed up.

ROM Header#

SEGA MEGA DRIVE 
(C)SEGA 1990.JAN
GAIN GROUND     
                
                
GAIN GROUND     
                
                
GM 00000000-00

SEGA MEGA DRIVE 
(C)SEGA 1990.DEC
GAIN GROUND     
                
                
GAIN GROUND     
                
                
GM 00004036-00

The date in the ROM header is nearly a full year earlier than the final release is.

Controls#

The buttons are mapped differently in the prototype.

Title Screen#

Prototype	Final

• The static in the background is gray instead of brown. It was also reduced from four colors to two.
• The text at the bottom of the screen uses a completely unique graphic and font.
• The space for the text was also expanded vertically.
• Pressing Start goes straight into the game; no "1 PLAY START"/"2 PLAY START"/"OPTIONS" menu.

Ranking#

Prototype	Final

Some of the default names in the high score screen were changed. These are likely developer names. Their default scores were also significantly increased.

Text#

As with the original arcade version, one of these messages will appear at the bottom of the results screen after completing a level:

$ NOW YOU LOOK OUT.  
$ GO FOR YOUR GLORY. 
$ YOU LOOK LIKE BRAVE
$ONE.                
$ NEXT STAGE IS NOT  
$EASY.               
$ NOW TRY NEXT STAGE.
$ YOU HAVE REPRESSED 
$THIS EPOCH.         
$ NOW YOU GO TO NEXT 
$EPOCH.              

The text was removed from the final release for some reason.

Levels#

All of the stages in Rounds 4 and 5 are unfinished. The background graphics are largely complete, though lacking in animation and collision detection. Enemies have not been properly placed; typically just a single glitched enemy appears in the upper-left corner of the field. Killing this enemy completes the level.

The game will crash after finishing Round 5, Stage 6, making the game unbeatable.

Round 4, Stage 3

Prototype	Final

The alternate exit on the right side of the field was removed. Some pixels in the top corners of the arcade machines were edited. However, tiles for the arcade machines at the top of the field somehow became misplaced.

As an aside, the arcade machines featured in this stage are Racing Hero (top-left), After Burner (bottom-left), and G-LOC: Air Battle (bottom-right).

Round 4, Stage 6

Prototype	Final

The alternate exit on the left side of the field was removed.