the cutting room mirror

May 25, 1994

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To do:

  • Check for more unused assets.
  • Maps for comparison.

This is a sub-page of Proto:The Lion King (Game Gear).

This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

Internally labelled "KING" and "KING2", but both builds are split in half and needed a memory viewer to check its contents. A combined, stitched version was also released.

To make a stitched prototype, copy the data from KING.GG over to the beginning of KING2.GG, using a hex editor.

Differences#

  • Simba launches higher, but also slower in movement.
  • You cannot complete levels, as they have no exit, but an unused, leftover results screen can be seen.
  • The Bug Drop bonus level is missing. An entry can be found at 591E.
  • There is a glitch that if you roll into enemies with 01 HP, you will be uncontrollable at 00 HP, and when hit, you have FF lives.
  • Difficulty options are Easy, Medium and Hard. However, it always sets to medium (01). Flying mode is also not implemented yet.
  • Game starts with 0C health instead of 08.
  • None of the enemies have proper sprites yet. The porcupines have each frame numbered, hyenas are early sketches and so on.
  • Almost all of Simba's sprites are sketches. Some sprites have mapping data from The Jungle Book, but with glitched graphics.
  • Adult Simba isn't implemented.
  • Music and sounds from the Master System/Game Gear port of Lemmings are used as placeholders. (While these games were developed by different companies, both were composed by Matt Furniss.) The sound and music IDs are also assigned to their correct entries.
  • The cheat menu uses a different font reused from The Jungle Book.
  • The copyright screens and intro sequence aren't implemented.
  • All accessible levels are incomplete, with "LEVEL ALPHA" text marking them as such.
  • The cheat mode lists the game version as "25.4.93", another leftover from the Game Gear Jungle Book.
  • Level title screens aren't implemented yet, as object 0D seems to be a blank object.
  • Collectibles like Diamonds and 1-UP are not implemented, as the object IDs were blank objects.
  • The HUD is positioned differently. This position was retained up to August 11, 1994, where it was changed.
    • The health icon is very simple.
    • Paws is still called "Pause".
    • The score is also there, too. Score was planned for the game, but scrapped. If you kill enemies, you do not gain score.
    • Simba's life icon is little more than a yellow blob with eyes and ears at this point. It does line up more closely with the SNES version's life icon, for what it's worth.

Title Screen#

  • The title screen is just a (slightly crude) yellow Lion King logo at this point, with no sunrise animation or view of Pride Rock. A "Disney's" graphic is present, similar to both the July 13th, 1994 Game Boy prototype and the early SNES prototype.
  • The music won't play on startup, but after getting a game over, music will play.

Cheat Mode#

Game Over#

Level Differences#

If you want to get through levels easier, modify RAM Address $C305 to modify Simba's Y Position.

Level 2 - The Mane Event#

The most complete level of all.

  • The level also has cycling tiles.
  • The swinging animation on Simba is glitched.
  • A porcupine is placed at the start of the level, for testing.
  • The monkeys that throw you are not present.
  • The palette does not change from green to red.
  • Slightly different layout.
  • The clouds in the background are different, and drawn more realistically compared to the final's more film-accurate zigzags.

Proto

Proto (Fixed)
  • The ostritches are nothing more than a stick figure. They only have one frame of animation, and they are also fully-coded. Additionally, there are missing pixels.

Level 3 - Elephant Graveyard#

  • No music.
  • Hyenas are red stick figures with missing pixels.
  • Spawn point differs.
  • Parts of the level are slightly different.
  • The green bug enemies explode if rolled, instead of touching.
  • The butterflies are not present.

Level 4 - The Stampede#

Work barely started at this point.

  • Different layout with repeated sections. An early parallax scroll is also implemented.
  • The level has no objects in the layout, as the Wildebeests are background elements.
  • All platforms are semisolids. Also includes slopes which are not present in the final layout.
  • Plays the Title Screen music. The August 3rd build has no music, and in the final game, uses "To Die For" instead.

Proto

Final
  • Almost every graphic is a crude placeholder, most amusingly the wildebeests. Look at these special boys.
  • The wildebeests have considerably smaller hitboxes than in the final game. Their spawning pattern is different, and they won't force you to respawn if touched.
  • A dot in the middle of the screen indicates if a wildebeest is on screen.
  • The ground tiles are set to be a tiny slope, rather than a big slope.
  • The level crashes if the X scroll is at F1 0E, but disabling the parallax scroll reveals that it locks the screen.

Level 6 - Hakuna Matata#

  • Known as "Willow Cascade".
  • The level has a finalized layout, but is still obviously not quite finished yet.
  • Uses a slightly different palette.
  • The water tiles at the bottom of the level are solid.
  • The level has no objects.

Level 7 - Simba's Destiny#

  • Known as "Rafiki Chase", misspelled as "RAFIKA" in the level select.
  • Plays the correct music.
  • The level has no objects.

Level 9 - Hyena Lairs#

  • Completely different layout from the final.
  • Only a little bit was done.
  • Very strangely, this level reuses the Mane Event tileset, but with a dark and gloomy color scheme. This was sensibly changed to a recolor of the Be Prepared/Pride Rock tileset in the final game.

"Graveyard" levels#

Levels that use the Elephant Graveyard map and tileset.

Restoration codes#

Use these Game Genie codes to make those levels work properly.

Elephant Graveyard palette:

  • 619-9DA
  • B69-9EA

Level 1 - Pride Rock:

  • 039-68A
  • 039-69A

Level 5 - Simba's Exile:

  • 039-7CA
  • 039-7DA

Level 10 - Return to Pride Rock:

  • 039-95A
  • 039-96A

ID $0B:

  • 039-9BA

Level 1 - Pride Rock#

Object layout: 65 B5 at address $596A - $596B.

  • Plays the Title Screen music.
  • Normally inaccessible, with a message reading "NOT INSTALLED".
  • Forcibly accessing this level (Game Genie code 019-14A) returns the player to the title screen, due to the game failing to load a level layout. Changing the layout to 03 allows the level to load.
  • A placeholder palette (47 B7 at 0x5990) configuration are loaded as well. The tiles are the exact same as Elephant Graveyard.
  • It's possible that it was a copy of Elephant Graveyard at one point, like Level 8, but destroyed because the developers have barely started on it.
  • This seems to be a testing ground, as an early version of the Spider enemy is placed, with graphics exactly the same as the hedgehog.

Level 5 - Simba's Exile#

Object layout: FD B5 at address $597E - $597F.

  • Plays the correct music.
  • Normally shows "NOT INSTALLED". Forcibly accessing the level (Game Genie code 019-18A) normally brings you to the title screen.
  • Palette and graphic configurations are the same as The Pridelands.
  • Like Level 1, this Graveyard was destroyed, with the placeholder palette configuration.
  • The level has no objects in the layout.

Level 8 - Be Prepared#

  • Object layout exactly the same as Level 5.
  • Trying to access it would say "NOT INSTALLED".
  • Normally shows "NOT INSTALLED". Forcibly loading the level (Game Genie code 019-1BA) brings you to a copy of the Elephant Graveyard.
  • The level has no objects in the layout.

Level 10 - Return To Pride Rock#

  • Exact same object layout as levels 5 and 8.
  • Plays the correct music.
  • Trying to access it would say "NOT INSTALLED".
  • Normally shows "NOT INSTALLED". Forcibly accessing the level (Game Genie code 019-1DA) normally brings you to the title screen.
  • Palette and graphics configuration is the same as The Pridelands.
  • Like Level 5, this Graveyard was destroyed, with the placeholder palette configuration.
  • The level has no objects in the layout.

ID $0B#

This spot is reserved for the Bonus Game in the final, but here, it exhibits some odd behaviour. This level is unused and can't be selected in the cheat menu.

  • Plays unique music.
  • The object layout points to 95 61.
  • Simba cannot walk right.
  • You cannot jump, roar or roll, too. Roaring or rolling would freeze the player in place.
  • The duck sprite has glitched sprites, though the mappings are also leftover from The Jungle Book and are fully intact.
  • Completing the level would send you to a black screen, which is supposed to be the ending.

Unused Objects#

The game stores object layouts and object IDs in a simple way through Work RAM (at address $C420). Most of the objects did make into the final game.

ID

Graphics

Notes

06 - 0F

None

Objects with no coding.

07 is reserved for the monkeys that throw you in the final.

0A - 0B are falling bugs and fruit in the final. The Bug Drop bonus level is missing, so this goes unused.

0C is reserved to Pumbaa in the final. The Bug Drop bonus level is missing, so this goes unused.

0D is reserved to the Level title card in the final.

0E and 0F has also no coding in the final game.

11

A lizard enemy with 4 frames.

15

None

An empty object that turns into object ID 00. In the final game, this spot is taken by the boulder.

16

A crude snake enemy. It does not hurt the player. This spot was also unused in the final with partial coding.

17

None

An unfinished enemy. It does not hurt the player. This spot is also empty in the final.

18

A frog enemy with only one frame and can forever jump. Only present in the Level 1 object layout.

19

A spider enemy only present in the Level 1 object layout. Does not have unique graphics, but has coding.

1B - 1E

None

Unfinished enemies, that if touched, will hurt you. Object 1D is reserved for the Bat enemy.

1F - FF

None

Empty objects. Some of the spots were taken in the final version for various enemies and objects.

The Jungle Book leftovers#

The prototype has a ridiculous amount of leftovers from The Jungle Book, implying that it was built on the same engine.

Palettes#

Configuration

Palette

Description

C1 B6

This palette was meant for the Virgin logo.

E1 B6

Leftover palette.

73 B7

A blue gradient palette.

91 B7

A golden gradient palette.

B9 B7

Object palette.

The font's palette has a few extra colors not seen. These were meant for the title screen.

The title screen also has a few extra colors that are unused.

Text#

tmr  sega
licensed by sega enterprises ltd.
@ 1967 WALT DISNEY COMPANY 

@1993 VIRGIN GAMES
   scene 1
   jungle by day
   collect 8 gems   
   scene 2  
   great tree
   collect 8 gems   
   scene 3
   dawn patrol
   bonus level
   scene 4
   by the river
   reach bagheera
   scene 5
   in the river
   reach bagheera
   scene 6
   tree village
   reach bagheera
   scene 7
   king louie's
   reach bagheera
   scene 8
   falling ruins
   reach bagheera
   scene 9 jungle
   at sunset
   collect 8 gems
   scene 10 jungle
   at night
   collect 8 gems
   scene 2
   act ii
   destroy kaa
   scene 7    
   act ii
   king louie one   
   scene 8
   act ii
   king louie two   
   scene 11
   the wastelands
   shere khan
   the frog gives
   extra jump height
   scene completed
   gems    x 1000
   time         0
   score 
   continues      
   shere khan is destroyed
   your final score  
   game completed    
   or is it!
   try a harder skill
   level to see more
   START
   OPTIONS
   EASY 
   NORMAL
   HARD

While "START" "OPTIONS" "EASY" "NORMAL" "HARD" are used, the entire text was unused. some of it was stripped in the August 3rd build.

The results screen can be seen by changing address $C621 to 02.

continue credits  

continue now

Meant for the continue screen. These are displayed if you have one or more continues.

syrox developments

programmer 
dominic wood

graphic artists 
jock green
mark knowles

music and sound 
eurocom ltd
virgin

product producer 
matthew spall

Another leftover from The Jungle Book that was removed in the August 3rd build.

Additionally, there are unused addresses:

  • $C62D - Continues. Used in the results screen.
  • $C62F to $C631 - Time. This function doesn't work, and all levels are set to 9:00.