When this Adventures
in the Magic Kingdom Nintendo Entertainment System prototype appeared on eBay in May 2011 from a seller named Annick Wolkan, I had an inclination that it could be
special based on the fact that a DuckTales
pre-release cartridge with a similar label contained many
interesting differences. Turns out, I was
right for a change.
The
EPROM chips on the official Nintendo NES-SKWEPROM-01 development board inside are devoid of any Capcom company stickers.
There
is a white soldering wire on the back of the circuit
board.
(Image source: Google Earth)
This
prototype came all the way from Hollywood,
California, about 300 miles north of Capcom's former
Santa Clara headquarters.
Continue
Option
In the retail version, the Continue option
only appears after losing all of your lives.
In this prototype, however, the option appears
before even starting a new game.
Unreleased
Yoko Shimomura Music Track (Download Full
.NSF
File [ripped by Chris
Covell] & .MP3
Sample)
The retail game plays the Mickey Mouse Club
theme song during the opening cutscene. This
prototype uses a different song that is
not heard anywhere in the retail game.
Text
Sound Effects (Download .MP3
Sample)
The prototype uses a loud, rather annoying typewriting
sound effect for whenever text appears. No such
sound effect exists in the retail game.
It's
Not Polite To Point
The flashing, downward-pointing arrow is missing
at the end of the prototype's cutscenes.
Select
Screen Changes
Pressing Select pulls up a menu where you can
use the stars that you've collected to replenish health, briefly become
invincible, freeze enemies, or gain an extra
life. The prototype requires fewer stars to
purchase these items.
Missing
Main Street, U.S.A. Store Rooftop Sprites
The sprites on the rooftops of the Main Street,
U.S.A. stores are not yet implemented in the prototype.
(Now where am I going to find the souvenir top
hats?)
L-A-Z-Y.
E-Y-E. Why?
Mickey Mouse seems distracted in the prototype
version, as his eyes stare away from you during
several cutscenes and on the Select menu. Or
maybe Mickey just has a terrible case of lazy
eye?
Space
Mountain Lettered Stars Not Displayed
Mickey instructs you to find the silver key
on Star "F," but the prototype does
not display any letters on the HUD. "F"
the alphabet!
Projectile
Dysfunction
In the prototype, blue-colored lasers, not
missiles, are fired at asteroids. In the retail,
the laser sprites are used only when blasting
incoming enemy spaceships/Star Destroyer rip-offs.
No
Congratulations Music
Music does not play after you beat an attraction,
only the aforementioned irritating text sound
effect.
No
Game Over Music
In addition to that, the game does not play any music
when you lose.
Map
Music Plays Before Attraction Begins
At the start of an attraction, when Mickey is briefing you, the map background
music continues to play.
New
Autopia Drawbridge Sprites
The Autopia drawbridge in the prototype version
uses more realistic-looking sprites than the
"extending bridge" graphics in the
retail version.
Failing
to wait until the drawbridge comes down runs
you the risk of driving right into the water.
I suppose that these sprites might have confused some
players into thinking that they could use the
drawbridge as a ramp.
Look
at Me When I'm Talking to You!
If you approach one of the kids from the side
or from behind to trigger the trivia game, your
character will be turned to look directly forward.
In the prototype, your cowboy has poor social
skills and shows no such politeness.
Dog-Loving
Girl Repositioned
During the trivia game, the girl with the dog
is placed a little higher up on the map in the
prototype, so much so that her bouffant gets
in the way of the white text box.
Dog-Loving
Guy Repositioned
Also during the trivia game, the boy with the
dog is placed a little higher up on the map
in the prototype version.
Pirate-Tosser
Cannonball Color
The prototype cannonballs that the bearded pirates
carry and throw at you in the Pirates of the
Caribbean attraction are painted a different
brown. As a result, they blend in with some
of the background.
Boat-Bound
Cannonball Color
The prototype cannonballs that drop from the
sky during the boating portions of Pirates of
the Caribbean are painted a deeper blue.
Scorpion
Surprise
The prototype adds a scorpion on the platform
where the skeleton pirate throws his gold coins,
making that section much trickier.
Skeleton
Pirate Throws Like a Girl
To make up for the missing scorpion, the skeleton
pirate's throwing radius is far greater in the
retail game. In the prototype, once you're on
the ladder, you're safe.
Candle
in the Wind
The prototype candle item in Pirates of the
Caribbean hangs to the right of the ladder
instead of to the left.
Pirate-Cannon-Firing
Cannonball Color
The prototype cannonballs that the seated pirates
fire at you are painted red with a teal blue
shine. The ones seen in the retail game match
the pirates' attire: dark blue with a gray shine.
Some
Like It Hot
As our little cowboy makes his voyage out on
the final paddle boat in Pirates of the Caribbean,
the flames from the kindling rise and fall in
the prototype. The prototype's logs are positioned
slightly closer to the water, as well.
Zombies
Hock Loogies Without Warning
In the retail game, zombies are courteous enough
to pause for a good two to three seconds to
let you know that they're hocking up a ghostly
loogie. Not so in the prototypethese
guys keep on walking as they're clearing their
throats of evil, never missing a beat.
Flying
Ghouls Are Cheap Bastards
The flying ghouls are another reason why The
Haunted Mansion stage is much more difficult
in the prototype. After getting through the
library in the mansion, you have to do some
platform jumping on chairs that fall once
you plant your feet on them. The problem is, when
you reach the second chair, a low-flying ghoul
always materializes where you have to land, causing
you to fall.
To
combat this creep, throw a candle while you're
on the first chair and just hope that the
flame hits its target when the cheap bastard
spawns. An even easier technique is, when you reach the first
chair, press Select and then use your stars
to purchase Freeze to keep the ghoulie at
bay, or Invincible to out-ghost his apparition ass.
In
the retail game, this flying ghoul comes after
you land on the second chair, not while
you're making your careful landing.
Y'All
Come Back Now, Ya Hear?
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's opening text
in the prototype has Mickey speaking in a more dialectic, Southern
drawl. Bless gracious! Dat dar twan
no good, honey.
Time's
the Limit
In the prototype, the time limit
displays three digits instead of two.
More
Rocking, More Rolling
An extra boulder rolls across the track in the
prototype at the first right turn.
Dead-End
Track #1
There's a dead-end track at the first left turn
that does not appear in the retail version.
Dead-End
Track #2
If you continue down the first right turn, you'll
wind up going into a dead-end track in the prototype.
Borderless
Stars
The star icons scattered around Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
do not have white borders. Counting as five
points each, they were meant to stand out
from regular stars.
Dead-End
Track #3
If you keep riding the right side past the first
star, you'll see another dead-end track that
does not appear in the retail game.
Dead-End
Track #4
Are you seeing a pattern here? Past the
bridge, and on the far right, you'll come across
another dead-end.
Dead-End
Track #5
Keep going through the dig site on the right-hand
side, and this dead-end threatens to end your
train ride.
Wide
Gap
Near the end of the level, on the far right
around the patches of cacti, the gap between
the right and left tracks has narrowed.
GOOOOAAAALLL
In the retail game, the stations at the end
are marked by numbers, and your train has to
arrive at the one where Mickey tells you to
go. The stations have not yet been assigned
their numbers in the prototype version, but
the GOAL sprite is marked to let you know which
one to choose.
Offroading
In the prototype, if you ride the left-hand
track past the bridge, you can derail your
train but still continue downward after you're
no longer on the track. The barrier in the
retail version prevents this from happening.
You
can also derail at other parts of the ride,
like at dead-ends, by slowing down while making
a turn. The key is to make the turn at the
precise moment so that the train moves over
the top of the barrier, and then immediately
slow up.
Using
this method at the fossil dig site area, you
can derail from the left track and then keep
going left until the train goes off screen.
The train will soon reappear on the opposite
side of the screen, on the far right track.
Things do not go back to normal, however,
as the game still thinks that you're on the left
track. So when the right track starts to curve
right, the train goes off screen again and
you wind up back on the left side. That is,
unless you slow your speed and press down on the Control Pad;
then you head straight through the
terrain.
Rocky
Roadblock
A boulder blocks the track on the far left in
the mine car graveyard.
Track
Detour #1
After the mine cars, the far left track turns
into two straightaway tracks in the prototype.
Track
Detour #2
Also after the mine cars, there is an extra straightaway
in the prototype.
Track
Detour #3
Yet another track in the prototype, this time
near the final stretch of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Game
Over, Man
When you lose all of your lives in the retail
version, you're taken to the Game Over screen
and then automatically back to the title screen
where the Continue option will be highlighted.
In the prototype, though, the Game Over screen
remains until you press Start, at which point
the Start option will be highlighted instead.
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