The Lawnmower Man (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of The Lawnmower Man (Genesis).

This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

A very early prototype of the Genesis port of The Lawnmower Man dated June 23, 1993 (pre-dating the final build by over a year) was dumped and released by the Video Game History Foundation in December 2025. The prototype came on three loose EPROMs numbered 0, 1 and 3, meaning the build may be incomplete, though it appears to work just fine.

General#

• There is no audio of any kind.
• The game boots straight into a developer menu with a handful of levels available, as well as the option to update the checksum.

Levels#

Virtual World 1#

An early version of one of the many first person "VR" levels. The level does not automatically scroll as it does in the final game, so all you can do here is move the cursor. The health bar is not yet implemented and the shading on the hands was touched up.

Proto	Final

IO Port#

Easy and Hard versions of The Cyber Tube level, these appear to be fairly close to the final game, with no apparent visual changes. There is also a demo playback option, as well as the option to record a new one.

Data Chamber#

Very early version of The Cyber Run level. An endless loop with three panels without collision. The background is more red/blue compared to the orange/white of the final version and appears more spaced out. There is no HUD yet, but the empty space for it is already in place.

Proto	Final