Kiosk Demo

This is a sub-page of Proto:Meteos (Nintendo DS).

Gameplay GraphicsA peek into the past. And into an even further past. Planet ParametersFrom a time when everything was much more unbalanced, unpolished, and, above everything, broken.

Build Date#

At 0x46928 of the game's ARM9 binary is a version ID, alongside a build date.

ver.0.701 [2005/01/19]

Overview#

Menus#

• None of the elements of the title screen are animated. The bottom half of the screen, for instance, lacks the sun in the background, and uses a "PRESS START BUTTON" prompt rather than the simpler "TOUCH!", and the Geolyte is also missing. The top half also does not seem to change when entering menus.
• There is no furigana in the intro cutscene.
• The main menu background is much darker in the prototype.
• Challenge/Deluge Mode has not been added yet. As such, the layout of the mode selection menu is slightly different.
• While it is possible to check some of the other menus, the only available game mode is Simple, forced to a match against a single computer opponent.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• While none of the options of the Extra menu can be selected yet, its layout is slightly different in the prototype. Additionally, there are no graphics relating to the game's Download Play demo version.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• Only thirteen planets are available. Those are, in order: Geolyte, Firim, Jeljel, Oleana, Freaze, Anasaze, Mekks, Layazero, Boggob, Dawndus, Gigagush, Hevendor, and Florias.
• The Meteo rate counters display bogus data that changes every time the game is reset. Note that Soul and Time meters, which go unused in the final game, can appear.
• The text in the "Game Start" graphic is written in a different font.
• Many of the alien icons represent different, earlier variations. These can also be seen in unused Fusion Room graphics found within this build.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

Gameplay#

• The boxes that are used to display a player's associated color are much darker in the prototype.
• A different, simpler speeder design is used.
• The position of the timer and of the mode indicator in the top screen are swapped.
• There is no counter for sent Meteos.
• No camera toggle function is present.
• Computer players have no "CP" label in the gameplay and results screens.
• The pause screen is completely different, and its animations take longer to finish. Choosing to exit a game will take the player back to the title screen.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• The minimap that sometimes can be seen on the top screen uses a different palette.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

• The initial Meteo rolls can cause an ignition, which is impossible in the final game.
• The combo counter displayed whenever an ignition is done has not been implemented yet.
• Screen clear bonuses have not been implemented yet.
• There is no cheering when doing high combos.
• It is not possible to target an opponent in the demo.
• Tapping an item does not activate it, nor makes its activation timer go faster.
• The explosion effect used when a falling and a lone launched Meteo of the same type collide is more realistic.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

• Winning during a stock game doesn't stop the background music from playing. Additionally, while letting the timer end stops the music, the selected planet's Win or Lose theme will not play.
• Florias uses Vubble's sound set, Natural Paradise. Similarly, forcing the game to load Vubble will result in it playing Florias' sound set, Indie Music Troupe.
• Items, like the Fury Hammer, will continue to function even after a game has ended.
• Planets in the top screen don't explode after topping out, nor their boxes in the bottom screen flash.
• The screens for winning and losing are much simpler in the demo, and don't have a background filter. The latter detail also applies to the Time Up screen.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• The results screen contains many differences; the position of the Zoo and Herb counters in the top screen are swapped, launched and bonus Meteos are not displayed at the same time, the font used for the mode indicators is much blockier, and, much like the gameplay screen, the colors used for each player are darker. After some time, the game will return to the title screen.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

Unused/Unseen Features#

Other#

• Suburbion's planet description was slightly modified:

• The button images for the Wireless Mode menu are slightly different.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• The Options Menu's hand selection graphic uses screenshots from the third prerelease screenshot batch.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• Nearly all instances of the word "ビュウブーム" [ Byuubuumu / Byuuboom ], which is Bavoom's Japanese name, are written as "ビュゥブーム". Examples can be seen in its name graphic and during gameplay.
• The Time Attack menu's UI received a complete overhaul.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• The graphics for the Tutorial use the old Speeder design (and to a greater extent, a screenshot from a Nintendo World-era build).

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

Star Trip#

• The Star Trip menu uses an older icon for the Branch course, which aligns with prerelease footage from late January.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

• The graphics for the map displayed at the top screen are very different from the final game, revealing different layouts for each of the three types. A detail on the map base was also removed.

Jan 19 Demo	Final

• The text for the missions of the Multi Star Trip, which is contained in the file strip_font10.bnm, contain some slight differences:

• The planet name graphics are also noticeably in an early state; none of them have background, Gravitas and Wiral use their earliest names "Gravion" and "Wirem", Thirnova's slot has "Third Noda" crudely written in it (perhaps an inside joke?), and Gigagush's slot is completely empty.

• The mission and alien boxes are also in a noticeably rudimentary state.

Bonus#

• The unused "Opening Movie" button, which can be found within the Bonus menu graphics, has a slightly different appearance.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• The Sound Test Menu's inner disc graphic is black instead of yellow. Each of the discs also have slightly thinner outlines for the aliens.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• Most of the planets have different Sound Set names, as listed below:

Fusion Room#

• The top image of the Fusion Room has the placement of the Herb and Zoo counters swapped.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• The image for Time Meteos has a broken palette. An unused, earlier version of the image can also be found in the prototype.

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• All of the item images for the Fusion Room, labeled as labo_item_name_[ID].bnm, use the 12x11 items that can be found unused in the final game, which reveals some of their functions. There are also additional slots, which have placeholder icons.
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• Each of the menu images for the planets' sound sets are labeled differently, as "[planet]'s Sound Set" rather than "[planet] Set". The Opening and Menu sets are also labeled as "Main Theme" and "Menu's Theme".

Jan 19 Demo	Final (JP)

• Some of the planets use different descriptions.

• The only file containing fusion costs of any kind in the prototype is recipe_planet.bin, which contains the costs for the planets. Some of the values are different from any of the final builds.

Music#

Menus#

SEQ_BRIG1, which is the theme normally used for Star Trip intermissions but goes unused in this demo, was completely redone for the final version.

SEQ_BRIG2, which is the results theme, was also redone. Both this and SEQ_BRIG1 share the same melody.

Bravo (Geolyte)#

Planet Geolyte's soundset uses a different trumpet sample in the prototype. This is easily noticeable in all of its launching and landing sounds, as well as its Lose theme.

Drumline (Dawndus)#

The voice samples used for the falling and Win sounds are less distorted in the prototype.

Cha Cha Chop (Boggob)#

The voice samples used for the background music are less distorted in the prototype.

Winter Impasse (Freaze)#

None of the percussion instruments have any reverb in the prototype.

Ambient Pipes (Cavious)#

In the prototype, the spacing between the notes in the Win theme is much more irregular.

Meteo Slot#

Curiously, the slot used for Planet Meteo's sound set (Planet Meteo) in the final game stores a completely different one in the demo, seemingly themed after traditional Chinese music. Do note that this sound set goes completely unused, as forcing the game to load Planet Meteo reveals that it uses Geolyte's sound set (as well as its blocks and alien sprites).

Number 5 (Yooj)#

The launching sound effects seem to be structured much differently in the prototype; the same sound is used for all Launch 1-4 sounds, and a different one is used for Launch 5. The final game makes all five Launch sounds different, though keeps the old Launch 1 sound.
Additionally, the strings in the Lose theme are much louder in the prototype, completely obscuring the harpischord.

Hot Revival (Suburbion)#

In an unusual divergence, the falling sounds are higher-pitched in the prototype.

Additionally, the landing sounds are completely different as well.

Metallia (Gravitas)#

All of Gravitas' music tracks use different sounds for the drums.

Additionally, the structure of the launch sounds is also different, with only the Launch 5 sounds being the same.

Natural Paradise (Vubble*)#

The second and third background tracks do not fade in in the final game. Due to these tracks' very long length, only the first 10 seconds will be shown here.