Ultraman Little Adventure

The mid-2000s were arguably the peak of a legal dispute between Tsuburaya Productions (the creators of the series) and the Thailand-based Chaiyo Productions (who had distribution rights for the first six installments of the series in their country) over the complete copyright of the Ultraman series outside of Japan.

With this in mind, Ultraman Little Adventure was one of ten Chaiyo-licensed games created during that time, and is a maze-like game in which Ultraman, Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Ace must gather crystals while avoiding monsters.

Unused Graphics#

The game's Data folder, which contains pretty much all of the game's files, is a mess, with many disorganized subfolders and assets, and even some scattered zipped packages. Thanks to this, there is a lot of unused content lying around.

bak ani#

This folder was likely used as a backup for missing files. Many placeholders can be found here:

Charector.bmp

A placeholder portrait which features a crudely-drawn shadow person.

default_block.bmp

A hollow black diamond. Likely a placeholder for the wall "blocks" in each level.

green_block.bmp

A green diamond with crudely-drawn grass inside of it.

hole_block.bmp

An orange diamond.

MapBG1.tga / MapBG2.tga

A smaller version of the texture MapBG1.tga, which is used in levels 16 to 20.

normal_block.bmp

A white diamond.

select_block1.bmp

A thick, hollow blue diamond. Likely related to a level-editing function.

select_block2.bmp

A thick, hollow red diamond. Likely related to a level-editing function.

select_block3.bmp

A thick, hollow yellow diamond. Likely related to a level-editing function.

skeliton_idle.bmp

Idle textures for a skeleton enemy, which never appears in-game.

skeliton_walk.bmp

Walking textures for the aforementioned skeleton enemy.

Early Clouds#

The folder BG\plus_fg contains some cloud textures which are used in each level's background, in folders 01 (levels 11~15) and 02 (all other levels). However, copies of these two folders exist; while Copy of 01 is identical to its original version, Copy of 02 contains slightly earlier textures, with less opaque clouds.

fg01_01.jpg + fg01_01_a.gif	fg01_02.jpg + fg01_02_a.gif	fg01_03.jpg + fg01_03_a.gif
fg01_04.jpg + fg01_04_a.gif	fg01_05.jpg + fg01_05_a.gif

Characters (character)#

Kaiju Baltan (baltan)#

The folder Die, which contains Kaiju Baltan's death animation sprites, contains a .rar package labeled DIE_A(117); the same name as the first sprite file. The package contains an earlier version of it, being dated November 15, 2015, over three months prior to the used version. However, aside from some lines separating each sprite in the unused graphic, there are no notable differences.

Star Bem Gyeron (G_gyeron)#

Earlier, larger variations for Star Bem Gyeron's turn animations can be found in the folders turn_L and turn_R, respectively.

turn_L
{| !A\turn_L A (98).bmp !B\turn_L B (128).bmp |- | | |- !C\turn_L C (98).bmp !D\turn_L D (127).bmp |- | | |}

turn_R
{| !turn_R\A\turn_R A (127).bmp !turn_R\B\turn_R B (97).bmp |- | | |- !turn_R\C\turn_R C (128).bmp !turn_R\D\turn_R D (98).bmp |- | | |}

Ultraman Taro#

While Ultraman Taro's sprites can be found in the folder U_taro, there is a backup folder labeled U_taro bak, which contains earlier versions of these sprites. Notably, the Taro Bracelet is in his right arm rather than his left.

attk01
{| !attk01_A(89).bmp !attk01_B(88).bmp |- | | |- !attk01_C(88).bmp !attk01_D(88).bmp |- | | |}

attk02
{| !attk02_A(75).bmp !attk02_B(74).bmp |- | | |- !attk02_C(75).bmp !attk02_D(75).bmp |- | | |}

attk04
{| !attk04_A(71).bmp !attk04_B(71).bmp |- | | |- !attk04_C(71).bmp !attk04_D(70).bmp |- | | |}

die
{| !die_A(101).bmp !die_B(105).bmp |- | | |- !die_C(105).bmp !die_D(105).bmp |- | | |}

hurt
{| !hurt_A(75).bmp !hurt_B(75).bmp |- | | |- !hurt_C(77).bmp !hurt_D(76).bmp |- | | |}

idle
{| !idle_A(46).bmp !idle_B(46).bmp |- | | |- !idle_C(46).bmp !idle_D(46).bmp |- | | |}

idle02
{| !A\idle02 A (49).bmp !B\idle02 B (60).bmp |- | | |- !C\idle02 C (49).bmp !D\idle02 D (60).bmp |- | | |}

idle03
{| !A\idle03 A (65).bmp !B\idle03 B (69).bmp |- | | |- !C\idle03 C (65).bmp !D\idle03 D (68).bmp |- | | |}

turn_L
{| !turrL_A(49).bmp !turnL_B(60).bmp |- | | |- !turnL_C(49).bmp !turnL_D(60).bmp |- | | |}

turn_R
{| !turnR_A(60).bmp !turnR_B(47).bmp |- | | |- !turnR_C(59).bmp !turnR_D(47).bmp |- | | |}

walk
{| !walk_A(48).bmp !walk_B(48).bmp |- | | |- !walk_C(49).bmp !walk_D(47).bmp |- | | |}

win\win_(73).bmp'

Ultraman (ultraman)#

Ultraman contain an early set of walk animations, found at the root of the folder walk. The used sprites are located in the directories A, B, C and D, respectively.

walkA(44,91).bmp	walkB(44,91).bmp
walkC(44,91).bmp	walkD(44,91).bmp

Character Selection Screen (charactor select)#

The folder charactor contains the portraits used for the game's three playable characters: Ultraman (Uman), Ultraman Ace (U_Age) and Ultraman Taro (U_taro). There is also a .rar package, also labeled U_taro, which contains earlier sprites for the character. Much like his early character sprites, the Taro Bracelet is in his right arm rather than his left.

U_taroB\ u_taroB(180).jpg + u_taroB(180)_A.gif	U_taroF\ u_taroF(180).jpg + u_taroF(180)_A.gif
U_taroF_F\ u_taroF(180).jpg + u_taroF(180)_A.gif	U_taroS\ u_taroS(221).jpg + u_taroS(221)_A.gif

There is also a mockup image of this screen, found at level ultraman\display.jpg.

Credits#

The folder Credits\credits contains the image used in the game's staff roll, credits.jpg. However, an earlier variant of this picture also exists, labeled as credits.jpg.1, though the only difference is the position of Ultraman Taro's Taro Bracelet.

How To Play (howtoplay)#

The files how to play1.jpg and how to play2.jpg contain mockup screenshots of the screen. Notably, the text is in Thai.

Gameplay (interface)#

The folder hpmp contains graphics meant to be used for the player's HP and MP meters, as well as that of the counters for each action. With this in mind, there is an early version of the "base" texture, D1.jpg, labeled as Copy of D1.jpg, which has the action counters embedded with the image rather than being separate graphics.

Leftover Graphics#

The root of interface also contains some graphics that are never used; they seem to be leftovers from other games by CyberPlanet Interactive:

BEEF.BMP is a leftover from Moontra Kid: Magic Pair.

doorwarp.TGA, from Phip̣hph Ymrāch Txn: P̄hcỵp̣hạy In Olk 3 Miti.

npc.tga, from Phip̣hph Ymrāch Txn: P̄hcỵp̣hạy In Olk 3 Miti.

plate.bmp, from an unknown game.

stage clear.TGA, from Phip̣hph Ymrāch Txn: P̄hcỵp̣hạy In Olk 3 Miti.

Loading Screen (load)#

Alongside the assets for the loading screen are three unused graphics:

B2_drop.bmp is a mockup screenshot of how the loading screen should look like.

Load1.jpg and Load2.jpg, on the other hand, are two completely unused images meant to be used as loading screens. The first one is a leftover from Ultraman Power Fighter, where it is used in the profile registration screen upon first starting the game.

Main Menu (Mainamenu)#

Mockup Screenshots#

Throughout some of the folders inside of Mainamenu are several early mockup screenshots:

display.jpg, in befor main menu, is one of the title screen. Noticeably, the background picture is horizontally mirrored.

While DISPLAY.JPG in main menu new is used for the red box which displays the player's name, much of it is obscured by an alpha channel defined at DISPLAY_a.gif.

display.jpg and display2.jpg in main menu plus\main menu plus are of the story mode menu.

Early Menu Assets#

The folder main contains early assets for the game's main menu, which reveal a much more barebones design, similar to the options and name input screens. It's worth mentioning that the folder main_b also contains these exact same assets.

D1.jpg + D1_a.gif

R_change user.jpg + R_change user_a.gif

R_credits.jpg + R_credits_a.gif

R_exit.jpg + R_exit_a.gif

R_hiscore.jpg + R_hiscore_a.gif

R_howtoplay.jpg + R_howtoplay.gif

R_option.jpg + R_option.gif

R_story.jpg + R_story.gif

R_survival.jpg + R_survival.gif

Y_change user.jpg + Y_change user_a.gif

Y_credits.jpg + Y_credits_a.gif

Y_exit.jpg + Y_exit_a.gif

Y_hiscore.jpg + Y_hiscore_a.gif

Y_howtoplay.jpg + Y_howtoplay.gif

Y_option.jpg + Y_option.gif

Y_story.jpg + Y_story.gif

Y_survival.jpg + Y_survival.gif

Options (Option)#

option\option.jpg is a mockup graphic of the game's options screen.

Profile Select (SelectPlayer)#

This folder contains lots of early assets for the profile selection screen, as noted below:

d1.bmp / main.bmp

d1.jpg

Profile 2copy.jpg

Profile.jpg

edit\delete1.jpg

insert\D copy.jpg

insert\D.bmp

insert\D.jpg

Intro/Ending Cutscenes (story)#

3\D2.jpg is an earlier version of one of the pictures seen in the game's intro cutscene, which depicts Ultraman, Ultraman Ace and Ultraman Taro looking up. In contrast to the final version, this has the background embedded to it, rather than it being a separate graphic.

Levels 6~10 (theme02)#

The root of this directory contains a file labeled ex.jpg, which seems to be a mockup screenshot of a possible layout configuration for this set of textures.

Other#

The root Data directory also contains some unused graphics, as listed below:

default.bmp is a red diamond.

Hideblog.bmp is a blue diamond.

loco.jpg is an earlier, larger version of the game's logo. It contains an alpha channel, loco_a.gif.

number_(12,18).bmp is an unused graphic for numbers. The file is dated December 27, 2004, much older than everything else in the data, and seems to be a leftover from Moontra Kid: The Ghost City.

shadow.bmp is a simpler shadow texture.

Unused Characters#

character.txt reference two unused characters, in the MONS 0 and MONS 4 slots. While the former simply contains an earlier version of Ultraman, with seemingly placeholder stats, the latter seems to have been reserved for "Father Ultraman", or rather, Father of Ultra, who is the father of Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Ace.

MONS 0
{
   Speed = 1.0;
   HpMax = 1000;
   MpMax = 100;
   ATK = 100;
   Score = 0;
   Idle = 0;
   Move = 0;
   SACT1 = 80;
   ATTACKRANGE = 3;
   ControlType = 0;
}

MONS 4
{
   Speed = 1.0;
   HpMax = 1000;
   MpMax = 1000;
   ATK = 100;
   Score = 0;
   Idle = 30;
   Move = 30;
   SACT1 = 40;
   ControlType = 1;
}

Unused Text#

Found at offset 0xAA930 of the game's executable, ULA.exe, are leftover text strings from Deep Hunter, a previous game by CyberPlanet Interactive:

   Deep hunter is a shooting game in the deep ocean. There are three major sea creatures: octopus, green jellyfish and red jellyfish. Octopus earns 5 points and 10 Oxygen points. Green jellyfish earns 10 points. Red jellyfish earns 20 points. There is chance to earn Bonus point too. Press the UP and DOWN arrow key to control the diver's movement. When ready to shoot, press the centre button. Earn as many points as you can within the time limit.

Deep Hunter
Version 1.0


Copyright 2003
CyberPlanet Interactive.
All rights reserved.

Unused Code#

Unused Clear Criteria#

Each of the game's levels have a defined criteria to be met for a level to be cleared, but only one is used: "Keep All Item". According to tool.txt, there are three more unused criteria: "Keep Key Item", "Kill All Enemy" and "Kill Boss".

Commented-Out Parameter#

Ultraman's character slot in character.txt, MONS 1, contains a commented-out parameter:

//LifeCount = 9;

This likely refers to the number of lives that are available by default to the player. Do note that none of the player characters have this parameter, including the unused Father of Ultra; only enemies do, and they all have it set to 500.

References#