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Unreleased Version Of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Found After Surviving Development Hell.

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

Hidden Palace and The Cutting Room Floor have, with a little help, got hold of what must be one of the most interesting unreleased video games of all time: an early preview build of Sonic 3 that’s quite different from the Genesis game that was eventually released.

As Hidden Palace remind us in their report of the find, Sonic 3 had one hell of a struggle in development, originally beginning life as an isometric 3D game before reverting to its more classic 2D form in order to hit marketing deadlines. Then, when it was unable to hit those, it ended being split into two games (the second of which would go on to become Sonic & Knuckles).

The resulting mess not only meant Sega had to get outside help in order to get the game ready in time—especially when it came to the music—but that Sonic 3 in this earlier state wasn’t really shown to the media, neither at events or via preview code.

With one execption! Britain’s Sega Magazine was sent a copy for coverage, and that’s the code that has been tracked down now. It’s full of interesting changes from the game that we got in 1994, including the presence of a move that never made it into the final build (a “drop dash”), different music and even different level layouts.

The preview code has been made available for download if you want to try it out in an emulator, and you can get it here.
 
Interesting, some of the tracks that made it into the game have a slightly different composition, some sound like they have an extra sound channel or percussion channel. I like the sound of it.

The ones that didn't make it in sound pretty interesting. I'm liking it.
 

GV82

Member
https://hiddenpalace.org/News/Sonic_Month_Part_5_-_Before_Hard_Times_-_Sonic_3_(MD)


Incase you don’t want to give kotaku clicks, here where they took their article from - Hidden place.org I remember owning that the issue of the Sega magazine because I remember the cover, the differences in sonic 3 however I do not remember.

I even remember owning the mini sonic magazine, I kept all my magazines for years too until my mum kept on at me to throw them early 2000’s during a house move as we were downsizing, which is a damn shame or else I’d scan them in.

I had more magazines that I did Videogames and would even borrow ones about systems I didn’t own just to see what was on them, another words I spent more time reading about video games than playing them.😐

Nothing much has changed, only now it’s done online
 
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