the cutting room mirror

Changes from the Final

This article has a talk page!This article has a talk page!
view on tcrf.net

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

Even though only one stage is available in this demo, numerous changes can be found throughout that aren't in the final game. Some of these are clearly a work-in-progress (such as the 2-Player Mode), as not much content in this build has been finalized yet.

General Differences#

Opening Logos#

Demo

Final

The font seen above the logos is slightly different compared to the final, having no spacing in The Trial.

Logo/Title Screen#

Demo

Final

One of the more obvious differences from the final game is the Sonic Adventure 2 logo. While it contains most of the same characteristics of the final one, it has less colors and style. The overall title screen is fairly different, but like the logo, it has the same elements, just dark. The "Press Start Button" prompt uses a different graphic from the final, being taken from the previous game. Though it's worth noting that the latter does still appear in the final version during the gameplay demos after the title screen.

2-Player Mode#

  • A stripped-down version of 2-Player Mode is present in the demo, but can't be activated through normal means and will crash after completing the level due to other stages not being present. It can be activated by changing the value at 8C0AE85 to 01.
  • The demo version of 2-Player lacks certain features, such as a functioning split-screen.
  • In the final, the player has the option of playing a best of 3 match or a best of 1 match. In the demo, best of 3 is the only mode that exists.
  • There is no animation when using a special attack in the demo.
  • Sonic is missing the light speed shoes upgrade.

Demo

Final

Sonic Wind has a different name and animation in the demo. In the demo, the attack is called "Long Range Homing" ("Long Homing" in Japanese) and contains a swirl of bright colors in comparison to the rough blue swirl of the final.

Cutscene#

Watch on YouTube(from 2:18 to 3:13)
In the only cutscene of this demo, there are a few changes.

  • Obviously, Sonic is wearing different shoes. In the final Dreamcast version, Sonic starts out wearing regular shoes, but switches midway through.
  • In the final game, music starts playing lightly in the background while the GUN pilot communicates with the radio tower. The music changes to a more exciting song once Sonic busts out of the plane. In the demo, no music plays until Sonic busts out.
  • The delivery of Sonic's lines is different from the final. His second line is also a little different from the final, but means the same thing. ("I prefer running!")

The Trial

Final



  • A notable difference of this demo from the final game is in this cutscene, at the part where the GUN pilot says, "What?!" in the final. In the demo, this was translated in the subtitles as "What the hell...!" Clearly, someone decided that Sonic games shouldn't have curse words. Yet.

UI#

English text is written with Impress (the same font used in the first game). In the final game only the Japanese text uses this font, with English text instead using Comic Sans. Comic Sans is in the demo, but as the demo only has English and Japanese text, it goes unused (It only appears as it did in Sonic Adventure - in the slots used for French, German and Spanish).

Demo

Final

  • Aside from the font difference, the pause menu has a slightly different design, featuring a much lighter border and lacking text to denote which player paused the game.

Character Differences#

General#

  • The Ancient Light and Mystic Melody upgrades can't be obtained via picking them up in the levels yet.
  • Aside from Sonic, none of the characters have a functional life icon, either displaying a placeholder graphic or taking random textures that are currently loaded in Shadow's case.
  • Sound data for every character besides Sonic is broken in some way. Most sound triggers often result in a cacophony of noise or cause an unrelated sound from a different sound bank to play.

Sonic#

Demo

Final

  • Just as with the cutscene, Sonic doesn't have his Soap shoes yet. He's wearing his regular shoes. This applies to both his 1P Model and his 2P Model.

Demo

Final

  • The Light Speed Shoes are fully functional, but Sonic only wears them in the gameplay demo. Like his regular shoes, these also have a different design to the final game.

Demo

Final

  • The Flame Ring's fire somersault has a simpler effect in this version, lacking the fire in front of Sonic. The fire sprites that trail behind Sonic use the generic fire blast particles from the EFFTEX_COMMON.PRS texture pack instead of the unique fire sprites found in the final version's S_EFFTEX.PRS texture pack. These differences also apply for Shadow.
  • The Magic Hands have no upgrade model, nor do they have a corresponding Level-Up Item model that can be found in the levels.

Texture Differences#

  • A number of textures in this version of City Escape are different to the ones seen in the final game.

Demo

Final

Notes

The largest ad is for Phantasy Star Online in the demo. In the final, it shows Chao in Space 2 instead.

"NINO'S PIZZA" was changed to "PIZZA SONIC2" in the final.

This ad for "The Pixel Noise" was completely removed for the final and replaced with Soap shoes ones.

Different text at the top, saying "COMING ON DVD!!". In the final, it says "COMING TO YOUR HOME" instead.

Other Differences#

Animations#

  • When Sonic pulls off a "Nice!" trick, he does a front flip as opposed to a regular turn of the board seen in the final.
  • When Sonic pulls off an "Awesome!" trick, he does a version of the "Cool!" trick that includes more turns. In the final game, this became a rotating, high-speed turning trick.

Gameplay#

  • The timer doesn't reset when the player loses a life before hitting a checkpoint.
  • The timer will continue counting up while the player is losing a life. The final game stops the timer.
  • There is no counter that appears when collecting any hidden animals.
  • The "Tight!" bonus obtained by homing attacking the GUN Hunter at the foot of the stairs in the enclosure after the boarding section, grinding up the rail between the stairs, and homing attacking a second GUN Hunter is not present.
  • The two "Nice!" bonuses obtained by grinding down the two rails immediately after the aforementioned "Tight!" bonus is instead a single set of three links spanning both rails that results in a "Cool!" bonus.
  • The best item the player can get from a checkpoint is a regular shield, not a magnetic one. Because of this, it's possible to get a magnetic shield in the level, and then have it replaced with a regular shield at a checkpoint.
  • Sonic cannot perform the Somersault Jump by pressing B then A while moving in the demo, instead just kicking back like the non-moving version.
  • Though unobtainable normally, all of Sonic's upgrades are in the game and can be obtained via hacking. They're all functionally the same as their counterparts in the final game aside from the bounce bracelet, which has very dodgy collision. Using the bounce attack can cause Sonic to clip through objects such as steel containers.