May 17, 1993

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

Turquoise Hill ZoneThe same, but with some differences! Gigalopolis ZoneVisually it looks the same, but... Sleeping Egg ZoneWell... anything to be said? Mecha Green Hill ZoneA familiar place, but this time with a green sky? Aqua Planet ZoneWow, so much has changed around here, it feels like we're in the past! Electric Egg ZoneThe long-awaited final stage! Where everything comes down to defeating a robot chicken???

General Differences#

• There's no sound at all. In the ROM, the banks that normally contain sound code, music, sound effects, etc. are completely filled with $FF.

Sega Screen#

Proto	Final

• The Sega screen in this build is like the one seen in other Game Gear games and lacks the iconic chant heard in the final.
• As there's no opening demo, the game just skips to the title screen with no animation nor music.

Title Screen#

Japanese Final	May 17, 1993 Proto	International Final

• The logo uses a mix of both the Japanese and international titles. Tails' sprite is also slightly different: Instead of him giving a thumbs up, his tails are visible, though the proportions for his tails seem to be too small.
• "PRESS START BUTTON" does not flash.
• Waiting on the title screen does not go to a gameplay demo.

Character Select#

Proto	Final

• The character select uses simple text on a blue background, very similar to the level select itself.
• Tails is referred to by both names here.

Results Screen#

Proto (Normal)	Proto (SMS Vision)	Final (Master System)	Final (Game Gear)

• The score screen has the same graphics as the Master System version, but due to the small screen, it is not possible to see the rest of it.
• The text written SONIC HAS PASSED has the number of the act that was passed, something that does not exist in the Master System version, although it is normally not visible.
• The position of the written text Rings and Speed and Score is very different compared to the Master System version, being much lower, in addition the Score has an X next to it, just like the Game Gear final.

Game Over#

Proto	Final

• And just like the character select screen, simple text on a blue background is also used here.

Level Select#

Proto	Final

• Turquoise Hill Zone is spelled "Turquise Hill Zone" in the Level Select.
• Gigapolis Zone is named the same as the Master System version and the Japanese Game Gear final, Gigalopolis Zone.

Gameplay Differences#

HUD Differences#

Proto	Final

• The lives counter only has one digit, like in Sonic 1 and Sonic 2.
• Tails uses Sonic's life icon.

Sonic & Tails#

• Free Movement Mode is activated here, and pressing 1 will allow you to move your character freely around the level.
• Sonic doesn't have the Strike Dash yet.
• Sonic and Tails don't die when they fall into a hole.
• Rocket Shoes monitors still appear for Tails, but breaking one won't do anything for him.
• The jet shoes powerup works a little differently and is unfinished. It is a permanent powerup at this point, and you cannot move up or down with them.
• Losing rings doesn't seem to be working correctly.
• When beating a boss, the outro does not work properly. Sonic will just begin running regardless if he is on the ground or not.
• The 3D bridges that are in some levels act a bit differently, sinking Sonic instead of having him instantly fall off.

Screens#

• The title cards haven't been implemented yet.
• The ending cutscenes and credits are completely absent.

Miscellaneous#

• Many palettes are buggy.
• Special Stages are missing. Instead, collecting 100 rings just gives the player an extra life.
• Some 10 Ring monitors don't seem to work correctly.
• Monitors cannot be broken by spindashing them.
• Bosses do not flash when being hit.
• Many, if not all, levels do not have a death plane at the bottom of the level.
• There's no final boss implemented, thus making it impossible to beat the game.
• There are many sprite layering issues, such as Sonic/Tails being able to overlap the HUD.

Graphical Differences#

Sonic & Tails#

• Sonic and Tails sprites here are different, Looking much more like his design seen in Sonic 2 Genesis!

• For some reason the prototype swapped the sprites of Tails standing still with him looking up.
• When Tails yawns, he is looking directly at the screen instead of looking to the right or left.

• Sonic doesn't close his eyes when he skids, and his spikes are much straighter.

• Tails isn't closing his eyes here either, and we can see in the second frame that his mouth is a little bigger.

Proto	Final

• The shading on Sonic's shoes, head, and eyes is slightly different.

Proto	Final

• Tails's jump sprite is more rounded, and the details of his fur moving are much more visible here, just like in the Sonic 2 Genesis version. And for some reason, in one of the frames, there's a yellow pixel in the middle of nowhere.

Proto	Final

• Interestingly, when Tails crouched down, his tails started moving, something that was cut from the final version.

Proto	Final

• Sonic's Rocket Shoes sprites are quite different! Sonic doesn't wobble while flying, and his animation only has 2 frames here.

Proto	Final

• Sonic's eyes are less rounded.

Boss#

• The sprites in Dangerous Ball Tower were slightly smaller, and also had a darker blue color.

Others#

Proto	Final

• The sprites of the crumbling bricks are much larger here, measuring 16x16 instead of just 8x8. Furthermore, there is only one variation, instead of five. Interestingly, the early crumbling brick sprites are present in the final version and are loaded even before the levels load. However, they are soon replaced by the new sprites.

Proto	Final

• The platform in this build is a lot larger (making it very easy to jump to) than the one used in the final.

Proto	Final

• The graphics used for the platform in this build differ from the final.

Unused Graphics#

Sonic & Tails#

• Although mine carts haven't been added to the prototype yet, their sprites exist in the prototype and are quite different compared to the final version!
• Interestingly, Sonic and Tails' mine carts would have been different sizes.

• These are the sprites of Sonic & Tails when they catch a bubble. However, at no point in the prototype is there a water section in any stage or bubbles to be caught.

Proto	Final

• These are the sprites of Sonic drowning, again, since the prototype doesn't have any water scenes, this means these sprites are unused anywhere.

Proto	Final

• This is the sprite of Sonic holding something, usually used when he jumps on a lever, but it's not used anywhere. Curiously, this still exists in the final version, but it's not used there either.

ASCII Text#

Build Date#

The game is internally referred to as "SONIC 3", which makes sense as this is the third major Sonic title for the Game Gear/Master System.

The internal ROM header at 0xC0 is as follows:

MS SONIC.THE.HEDGEHOG.3 Ver0.00 1993/02/01 @SEGA/Aspect Co.,Ltd

Considering the version number and date, this is probably a leftover from an older build.

Early "Press Start Button"#

At address 0x955, it's possible to see text instructing to press the start button, which is likely leftover from an early title screen.

PRESS START BUTTOM

It's also worth noting that "Button" is spelled here with an M instead of an N.