capcom

Demon’s Crest [Beta – SNES]

Demon’s Crest is a 2D action game developed by Capcom and originally published in 1994 for the Super Nintendo. As we can read on Wikipedia, this is the 3° game starring Firebrand (an enemy character from the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series), following Gargoyle’s Quest and Gargoyle’s Quest II. Thanks to Casey Strange we were able to note some minor beta differences in the some screens published in old magazines.

demon's crest beta

In the screenshot the earth gargoyle has a slightly different sprite. The color is a bit darker but it could be because of the magazine. The enemies in the first beta level were different as seen in this preview video of a sample Demon’s Crest demo for retailers.

There were two Demon’s Crest prototype sample cards on eBay and one japanese beta version was leaked some time ago, you can find the download in this nice anonymous Tumblr, thanks to Casey for the share! This ROM dump of the Japanese sample / beta game looks more like the final game compared to the video, but maybe with the help of our friends at TCRF it would be possible to find some interesting unused stuff hidden in the beta code.

In this beta you start the game with all 5 talismans and four of the crests. This is different compared to the final version. The game stops after the second battle with Arma in stage four and you are greeted with this screen.

demon's crest beta

Armageddon Potato noted:

After doing some comparisons there is a large chunk of blank data in the retail rom at the very begining (which was also dumped by a SUPERUFO apparently as it’s tagged in the header.) After that the prototype is indentical the final minus the size differences. I wouldn’t expect any changes in the prototype then. […]

I landed up getting a cleaner rom rip. One without the SUPERUFO header which may have been causing the blank space problem(since that makes no sense!) It does appear to have some differences, although they may be possibly minor. Once I get some solid free time I’m going to have to play though both the retail game, and the prototype. I need to know exactly where the game lock you from the later levels in the prototype, and possibly pictures/screenshots of where this happens.

If you notice more beta differences from Demon’s Crest, let us know in the comments below!

Thanks to Casey Strange and MicroChirp for the contributions!

Images: 

Ghosts ‘n Goblins 64 [N64 – Cancelled]

Ghosts ‘n Goblins 64 is a cancelled action game that was in development by Capcom for the N64. In November ’96 Capcom invited the press to check out their upcoming lineup for the next year. Among the games shown there was a new Ghosts ‘n Goblins game for Nintendo 64. From what Neil West (Next-Generation Magazine’s editor-at-large) described, we known that the project was still in a early state of development but it was already clear that Mario 64 was a big source of inspiration, as happened for many games in that period like Konami’s Goemon 64. After that event nothing more was shared with the public and the game was quietly cancelled by the publisher maybe because the N64 performance in the japanese market resulted relatively weak.

Scan from Edge issue 41.

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Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D [Beta – 3DS]

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D is an action game developed by Capcom for the Nintendo 3DS. Before the final product was released Capcom had a different idea for 2 game modes 1 called “scene attack” and the other called “survival”. Not much is known other than they were scrapped into one mode.  In the beta demo you could play a level known as 4-1 and in the video below you can see at 2:49 an Ax guy walking towards the player, but in the final game the boss was changed to a Garrador, a totally different boss. Also, you can notice that where the players score is in the HUD, there are six 0’s, but in the final it was changed to seven 0’s

Post by Nick Sena

Videos:

 

Final Fight: Streetwise [Beta – PS2 / XBOX]

As we can read on Wikipedia, Final Fight: Streetwise is a beat-’em-up produced by Capcom, released in North America and the PAL region for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2006. It is a spin-off of the original Final Fight developed by the American team of Capcom Production Studio 8 (the developers of Final Fight Revenge and the Maximo series). You can play as Kyle, the brother of Cody from the original series. When you find that Cody is in trouble, you must roam the streets of Metro City until the mystery is solved. Final Fight: Streetwise is a third-person game that stays true to its beat-’em-up roots but adds light role-playing elements and minigames to the fray as well. A respect system has been added so that your decisions affect how characters in the world react and relate to you.

However, the game had a lot of beta elements such as:

  • Combo Bar
  • Journal Image
  • No BGM play
  • Different Loading screen (Which it appeared as Loading text instead the turnable disc)
  • Different logo
  • Respect Logo changed
  • Doesn’t had Kyle victory pose
  • Had a Episodics

At the beginning, Cody did not have a white band in his hand. And he said a lot of curse words. Also, Kyle’s introduction was also different:

“The bloodly like a motherfu**er is me”

Also, after Handsome Bob sent some gangstas to kill Kyle, they said:

“That’s HIM, he fuc*ked Bob up, GET ‘HIM!”

Instead this

“That’s HIM, he messed Bob up, GET ‘HIM!”

Capcom removed a half of the cutscene in the opening. Also there was no slow motion effect. Combo Bar was removed before release. Journal Image is replaced as the “Journal Updated” text. A couple of IGN Gameplay videos have some beta gameplay we never seen before with all differents above. Dialogues bubbles are different too, they used some kind of Transparent Space instead Sharp Metal Box. No BGM added, possibly they aren’t licensed with Funkareem yet, so Fatti Sotto wasn’t add yet. Different logo of the game also shown in some trailers and IGN & GameSpy’s gameplay. Also at the Barfly, It had the Point hand instead the Arrow.

Before Streetwise entered development, Capcom was producing another title, Final Fight: Seven Sons, which featured a different story and characters, a different gameplay system and cartoonish, cel-shaded graphics, that was later cancelled in favor of Streetwise.

If you find more beta differences in the videos below, please let us know!

Post by Thomas Christian

 

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles [Beta – Wii]

Resident evil: Umbrella Chronicles is a rail shooter, released in 2007, and developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Wii. This is the first installment of the Resident Evil Rail Shooter titles for the Wii – with the sequel being Darkside Chronicles. Before the game’s release, an early beta gameplay video was released on the web. The gameplay video demo is titled “Gamer’s Day Version” and certain aspects of the game shows various beta differences not in the final product.

Here is the list of differences as seen in the video:

Note: Some of these differences are placeholders, while other differences can be considered beta.

1) Dialog:

Chris and Jill’s Dialog in this video is different in comparison to the final product. It can be assumed that their Voice-overs were re-recorded before release.

2) Different HUD:

In the video it shows the HUD with the health bar on the left-hand bottom  of the screen and the weapon selection system is on the upper left-hand corner. In the final product the HUD is all in one (health and weapon selection) and is located in the left-hand corner of the screen in the final product.

3) Forest Zombie Placeholder:

During the video, Chris and Jill scream in “Horror” when they run into Zombie Forest. Zombie Forest isn’t seen in this video and that a normal zombie enemy is in it’s place. It can be assumed the zombie forest model wasn’t completed before this video was recorded.

4) Placeholder sound effects:

If you listen carefully you can hear Resident Evil 4 grunt and death sound effect used (Zombie and Zombie Dog grunts and death grunts). It can be assumed that these sound effects are placeholders.

5) Different Counter Animations:

In the video, Chris has a different counter. The counter animation shows Chris stabing and then kicking the zombie down. While in the final product it was changed slightly – In the final it shows chris sticking a knife into a zombies head and then kicking the zombie down. Not much of a change, but it’s different.

6) Cross Hair:

The cross harl is slightly different. In the video it’s just a cross hair. While in the final product it shows not just the crosshair but how much ammo you have in your weapon. The same cross used in game (as shown in the video) can be seen in the final product as a way to navigate the menu.

7) Different Zombie Locations:

One difference can be noted in the video is on the walkway in the main hall, before the giant snake battle. Bellow chris comments: “I thought we already killed them?!” The camera then pans over to the zombies in the main hall, showing the player what chris is talking about. In that very same video you can normal zombies, as opposed to the crimson head zombies seen in the final product.

You can watch the entire Gamer’s Day Video below: