Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:47 pm Post subject: 3 new protos: Dr. Mario, F-1 Race, Great Deal
Dr. Mario, prototype Scans at NESCartDB
Another prototype of Dr. Mario! Counting the PC10 version, this makes 5 prerelease builds! This one is far enough along that it uses the final title instead of Virus, but it seems to be a little earlier than the existing proto that uses the Dr. Mario title. Of particular interest is that Select clears the stage automatically, a feature that I don't think is present in any of the previously dumped protos. The congratulation screen on completing levels 5, 10, and 15 is absent in this version, though you still get a message for clearing level 20 on any speed.
F-1 Race, prototype PCB
Early, first-party proto from the same source as the Joust proto Frank discussed on Twitter. The title screen on F-1 Race uses different colors and has no initial high score, the smoke graphics are different when you burnout your tires, and the map isn't shown before the first race. Also, for reasons I'm not clear on, the game skips the title screen and jumps right into the race on Nestopia. FCEUX plays it fine.
Square Deal, prototype Cartridge
Sample version of Great Deal under a working title. The game was also announced but unreleased in the US as Super Square Deal. This version has a large image of the player character in the data that doesn't seem to get used at all.
And also a Racermate revision:
Racermate Challenge II, v3.12.027
I didn't personally dump this rom, it was posted at NintendoAge years ago. Apparently, it didn't draw much attention, because it never found its way into the No-Intro database. Considering the cost and rarity of these carts, as well as the sheer number of versions (at least 10!), I want to make sure people see this so it can be recorded in auditing software.
I asked the seller where he got the proto, and this is what he had to say:
Quote:
Hi, crazy story actually. My 9 year old son bought his younger brother Ice Hockey on Ebay as a gift. I started showing them the old school games I played and they got into them. So long story short when it arrived it loaded up as Dr. Mario. They played it a few times and then the correct game arrived. My 9 year old is always curious about how things work and took it apart. He noticed it was different with the labels and such. ... If you ever write about it or whatever my son wanted to know if you could mention his name Adam Onello Jr.
The game could easily pass for a regular Ice Hockey cart, save for the lack of a label on the back. He didn't say which seller his son got the game from, but I noticed several purchases from large-scale eBay video game sellers in his history. It probably ended up in some reseller's stock without them knowing what it was.
Thanks for the dumps Skrybe. Its crazy how many different protos there are of Dr. Mario now. One interesting thing about this proto is the congratulation screen when you clear the game on medium. All the different animals/objects just randomly zoom by if you leave the screen on, as opposed to you having to clear every 5 stages.
Among the objects is the unused meteorite. The other unused object, the snowman, doesn't seem to show up in this proto either unfortunately. His graphics are present in the rom though.
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