Preview

This is a sub-page of Proto:Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast).

Early and Unused AudioSo Sonic and Shadow were Biolizard all along?!

General Differences#

Title Screen#

Demo	Final

The title screen is very close to the one used in the final game. Under the game's logo, a "[PREVIEW]" subtitle is added, there is a glow effect behind the logo not present in the final and the text in the bottom left corner is slightly different.

Similar to how its predecessor contains an unused "β version" title screen, the file ALPHATITLE.PRS contains an alternate "α+ Version" title screen that was presumably used for other early builds of the game.

Cutscenes#

Early English ScriptThose guys are so annoying...

Every character (Except Tails) has one cutscene play before their stage. The scenes themselves differ from the final game's in many small ways:

• The English voice track is very incomplete, as every cutscene uses the wrong voice clips.
• Like The Trial, texture files for cutscenes are in one uncompressed PVM rather than set of two PRS files. A likely reason for the change is that cutscenes fail to load if the texture file is too big.
• The music that plays in Sonic's cutscene starts as he jumps out of the helicopter, much like in The Trial. In the final, it gradually picks up throughout the scene.
• The flashback scenes with Maria and everything before it are cut for the preview in Shadow's cutscene, leaving the scene much shorter than it is in the final.
• Knuckles and Shadow's scenes have no music. They're supposed to play the tracks T1_KNUCK.ADX and T1_SHADO.ADX, but they aren't on the disc.
• Every voice clip that has a filter/echo effect added to them in the final are clean in this build, both Japanese and English.
• Sonic's Light Shoes still uses the earlier model from The Trial in his cutscene.
• None of the cutscenes have timestamps. Though it goes unused, Sonic Adventure 2: Preview's timestamps are different from the final, as the text is larger and makes the sound that plays when hovering over a menu option instead of the typewriter sound that's used for the bosses' title cards in the final game. Below is an example from the Hero Story intro cutscene (E0000) taken from the final version:

Proto	Final

• Although they can't be seen in-game normally, Knuckles' sunglasses have a different cutscene model. His Hammer Gloves were also removed from cutscenes in the final:

Proto	Final

Debug Features#

Debug Mode#

There is a debug mode in the demo that includes a variety of features.
Debug functions available in this version:

• Camera Editor
• Event Test
• Free Movement
• Sound Test

See this page for information about how these work.

Debug Menu#

The Debug Menu from the final can be found here, you access it the same way, by swapping ADVERTISE.PRS with TITLE.PRS.

Aside from the missing background graphic, it functions identically to the final.

Event Test Pause#

(Event test can be accessed either through the Debug menu or by changing 8C0C534C to 6.)

Unlike other versions, events in this build can be paused by pressing Start on the second controller.

Graphical Differences#

• There are no icons displayed on the VMU.
• As with The Trial, Impress is used for English text. In the final game, Impress is only used for Japanese text - English uses Comic Sans (The French/German/Spanish font) instead.
• Objects such as containers are lit differently.
• The posters in City Escape use the same textures as the final with the exception of the Chao in Space and Pizza posters, which use the textures from The Trial.

Demo	Final

The wall that can be dug into to access different areas in the hunting stages has a different center.

Unused/Early Cutscene Subtitle Text#

This conversation is from the cutscene where Sonic first meets Shadow. It has no voice clips recorded for it or any English equivalents, and can be found in EVMESD0.PRS. None of this exists in the final, but Shadow's first line and Sonic's response do make it into the Green Forest confrontation scene. Bizarrely enough, Shadow's second and last comments are also partially reused in episode 34 of Sonic X.

Gameplay Differences#

• Every character has their first upgrade available from the start.
• Every upgrade is in this version, but only a handful of them are actually used.
• The Bounce Bracelet has buggy collision with objects, such as clipping through steel containers without the Flame Ring equipped.
• Mystic Melody is called "Ancient Melody".
• There is no special scene for a character obtaining an upgrade - you can still move around with the text on-screen.
• The rocket on the rocket platforms is too high and can be seen even when the platform is inactive.
• The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th missions are in the game, but the 5th mission (Hard mode) doesn't have a unique layout.
• The game contains demo files for Iron Gate, Pumpkin Hill, Sky Rail and Weapons Bed that can't be found in the final game. Iron Gate and Weapons Bed in particular were made using an earlier version of the stage, as Eggman ignores many objects blocking his way. They can be seen (imported to the final game) here.

Stage Differences#

• Life boxes do not appear at the lost Chao locations, though the lost Chao itself will still spawn if the game is forced to its mission.
• After completing any stage, the player will go back to the title screen. The only exception to this is City Escape, which will send the player to Green Forest.
• Most digging walls have been removed. The only one still there is behind steel containers in Dry Lagoon, so it can't be seen normally.

City Escape#

• The platforms before the first checkpoint are the same as they are in The Trial.

Demo	Final

• The Magic Hands area has the same steel container layout as The Trial, but actually has the upgrade this time.

Wild Canyon#

• The indoor section doesn't have the correct lighting.
• The rooms accessed by digging through the walls are completely empty. The objects for these rooms are actually floating out of bounds near the start of the stage:

Green Forest#

• The area where Sonic obtains the ancient light is completely empty, but the path to it still exists.

Demo	Final

• In the area before the second checkpoint, there are two GUN robots that were removed in the final version.

Demo	Final

• The Mystic Melody statue is in a different location, being located on the edge of the platform. The final version added a platform below, and relocated the statue on it.

Dry Lagoon#

• Hint Monitors display blank textboxes.
• Some enemies are in different positions to the final.

Sand Ocean#

Demo	Final

• There are two GUN beetles that drop Bombs instead of one.

Demo	Final

• The objects to the left on the second pillar are different, being a 10 Ring box that's on the ground, and a wooden container that contains an animal pipe. In the final, the 10 Ring box was changed to a floating 20 Ring box, and the wooden container was removed.

Demo	Final

• The area with the third pillar contains a large spring that isn't present in the final.

Demo	Final

• The area after the fourth pillar is very different. There are two weights in the area, and the 20 Ring box is in a different location. In the final, the first weight was replaced by two spinning spikeballs, two small pillars were added, the second weight was removed and replaced by two 20 Ring boxes with the first one being moved to where the second weight used to be.

Other Stages#

Despite most stages being deleted, some of Weapons Bed's files are still present.