September 9th, 1994 Prototype

This is a sub-page of Proto:Ristar (Game Gear).

Stage DifferencesPlenty of different level design, a missing level, and more!

Bonus Stage Differences#

General#

• There's no stage preview before each bonus stage, so you start at any given stage immediately.
• There's also no green number counter on screen to show how many collectable stars you're getting.
• Falling out of a stage softlocks the game, as you aren't prompted out of the bonus stage, fortunately this can be remedied by just using debug mode to skip the stage.

Menus#

Options#

• Options is spelled as Option here.
• There's no Orblets next to the option text in this build.
• A couple of the stars are in slightly different positions, and the green planet on the top left was moved a bit further to the left in the final game.

September 9th Proto	Final

Password#

• When in the password screen, trying to use the password KUMI from the final game doesn't work, probably because level select and debug mode are enabled by default.
• Debug mode in this prototype also allows you to enter a free movement mode by pausing, unpausing, and holding 1 while using the movement keys. This was removed in the final game, as trying to do the same inputs results in nothing.
• Exclusive to this prototype are also the passwords, FEEL and AAAAAA, the former will take you to RD 3-1, and the latter will take you to RD 2-1, which is quite different from even the Genesis version's passwords.
• None of the final game's level passwords work in this build.

Stage Select#

The stage select screen uses the simpler text-based font in the game and allows you to select Areas 23 to 55; in later prototypes, it limits you to the final game's maximum 22 Areas. Selecting Areas beyond the normal amount will either result in a black screen, the Sega start-up screen, or loading into a random round filled with garbage data.

September 9th Proto	Final

Sound Test#

To do: There's a few more tracks that retain their names from the Genesis version or have something unique.

General#

• The prototype implies umotomats are on stage despite not actually being there, while the conductor is missing from the sound test screen. The exit text is also slightly further to the left in the prototype.
• "Sound Theater" was changed to "Music Theater".
• Stars in the background were a "redish/pink" kind of color compared to the final game's white stars.

Most notable of all, the Sound Test in this prototype also seems to use a track layout quite similar to the Genesis version's sound test such as certain tracks using the Genesis track names and having 6 Rounds listed instead of the Game Gear's 5 Rounds in the final, despite no Game Gear equivalents of tracks like Splash Down, Break Silence, and Ice Scream existing in this prototype.

It brings up the question of if renditions of these tracks were ever planned, which according to Game Gear Ristar's lead programmer/director, they had to cut out one Round from the game during development due to cartridge space limitations. Whether it would have been another original Planet or another one from the Genesis version is unknown unfortunately.

It is also possible that the Sound Test was just being implemented in this prototype and they simply used the Genesis's sound test layout and track names as placeholders.

September 9th Proto	Final

September 9th Proto	Final

The track Dancing Leaves is misspelled as Dacing Leaves in this prototype.

September 9th Proto	Final

Uses the Genesis version's Splash Down track name but otherwise plays Ring Rink.

September 9th Proto	Final

Uses the Genesis version's Break Silence track name but otherwise plays Strange Pirates.

September 9th Proto	Final

While all the Round 3 tracks are placed the same in the prototype and the final game, (Thus the other tracks won't be shown here) Intermission is known as Intension in the prototype, similar to the Genesis version's track name.

September 9th Proto	Final

The track name is blank in this prototype however it does play White Symphony here, it is unknown if the name was finalized at this point.

September 9th Proto	Final

The track name is blank in this prototype however it does play Click Clock here, it is unknown if the name was finalized at this point.

September 9th Proto	Final

Is Ring Rink in the prototype where the final uses Crying World.

September 9th Proto	Final

Uses the Genesis version's Ice Scream track name in the prototype, where the final uses Lock Up, and also plays Strange Pirates here.

September 9th Proto	Final
	Doesn't exist in the final game.

Interestingly, this prototype contains Sound Test entries for Round 6 despite the final game only having 5 Rounds, which these include what would become the Round 5 tracks in the final game.

September 9th Proto	Final
	Doesn't exist in the final game.

The same applies to this as well.

Audio Differences#

Sound Effects#

Many sound effects are missing, such as the menu select sounds, the sound for collecting stars, and the sound for earning an extra life, which uses the health point star sound as a placeholder.

Voice#

Strangely, if you hold up as the Sega screen fades in, it will play a unique Japanese voice sample that's not heard anywhere else in the game. The context of this sample being here is completely unknown, as it appears to be spoken in Kansai dialect and sounds nothing like Ristar's voice from the Genesis version. The final Game Gear version never used any voice samples.

This voice sample is encoded at the very end of the Prototype's ROM and also appears to have been completely removed by the October 19th Prototype, as it's replaced by garbage data.

Music#

• The invincibility music doesn't play in-game yet but can be heard in the sound test.
• As Round 5-2 and the credits sequence aren't implemented yet, their music can't be heard in-game, but all of the associated tracks are on the sound test.
• A few tracks in the prototype also have some small differences from their final counterparts.