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Prerelease:Ristar (Genesis)

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This page details prerelease information and/or media for Ristar (Genesis).

Hmmm...
To do:
  • Add more comparisons to the Feel section, like a section dedicated to the HUD.
  • There may still be more Feel coverage in other Spanish magazines, so it'd be best to investigate that.

Ristar went through some interesting changes during development, most notably that Ristar himself originally wasn't a star.

(Source: Sega Retro)

Concept

Sonic1prerelease rabbitconcept.png

The concept for Ristar dates as far back as 1990 with the development of Sonic the Hedgehog, where one of the proposed ideas was a rabbit that could grab and throw things with his ears. While this was rejected, the basic idea of grabbing things would be revisited for Ristar.

When development on the game itself began, Ristar was a spherical creature named "Feel" who didn't even look like a star. Multiple different designs were made for this creature, with in-game sprites created for both of these along with many other designs, as can be seen in development footage.

RistarConcept3.png

Around late 1993, the decision was made to redesign the character. The redesign resulted in the creation of Ristar. This design is near-identical to the final save for the lack of gloves and shoes, and matches the one seen in the New Player Basic-Action. 1993 11-15 segment of the available development footage.

Feel Prototype

During 1994, Sega supposedly sent out prototypes of Feel for magazine coverage in Europe, even though the character's design had been more-or-less finalized by the end of 1993. For this section it doesn't really matter when the articles are dated for their coverage on Feel because it's evident they all use the same build, so all the screenshots will be grouped together and in order.

Title Screen

Feel Ristar (July 1, 1994 Proto) Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelTitle.jpg RistarTitleProto701.png Ristarjpscreen.png
(Source: "Super Juegos" Issue 28 (dated August 1994))

The title screen is completely different, though the basic concept is the same. Notably, the planetoid design on the Feel title screen matches the one seen in the July 1, 1994 Ristar prototype.

Also of note is how the shape of the metal plate behind the logo wasn't changed for the final game, which explains its rather unorthodox shape since it was made with the Feel logo in mind.

Round Title Card

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelCard.jpg RistarCard.png
(Source: "Sega Magazin" Issue 6 (dated May 1994))

The round title card had Feel on it. Ristar is apparently a little shy, as he doesn't appear here in the final. A bit of the bottom part of this screen also appears to be overwritten with garbage data for unknown reasons.

Planet Neer/Flora

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelNeer 1.jpg RistarNeer 1.png
(Source: "Sega Magazin" Issue 6 (dated May 1994))

The horizon is more yellowish, but other than that the game's first planet doesn't look too different from the final. Also note the HUD is a bit different: Lost health is represented by empty stars, the score counter has a different font, and the life counter doesn't have Feel pointing at it, instead using different graphics that can still be found in the final ROM.

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelNeer 2.jpg RistarNeer 2.png
(Source: "Sega Magazin" Issue 6 (dated May 1994))

Some of the background graphics seem to be arranged a bit differently.

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelNeer 3.jpg RistarNeer 3.png
(Source: "Super Juegos" Issue 28 (dated August 1994))

Same here. The Orblet here appears to have a more neutral expression, compared to the final game's semi-angry look.

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelRiho.jpg RistarRiho.png
(Source: "TodoSega" Issue 16 (dated July 1994))

The camera appears to be set lower and more to the left during the Riho boss fight.

Planet Leatow/Undertow

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelLeatowComparision.jpg RistarLeatow.png
(Source: "Super Juegos" Issue 28 (dated August 1994))

The background originally looked very empty, the darker underwater palette for this stage was not implemented yet, and the buildings had more of a green/blue tint than the final's mainly-pink tint.

Planet Onaclove/Scorch

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelOnaclove.jpg RistarOnaclove.png
(Source: "Super Juegos" Issue 28 (dated August 1994))

The ground appears a bit brighter than the final game.

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelOnaclove 2.jpg RistarOnaclove 2.png
(Source: "TodoSega" Issue 16 (dated July 1994))

The pully is on the right side in Feel, and there seems to be one less pipe in this section.

Planet Elykiki/Freon

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelElykiki.jpg RistarElykiki.png
(Source: "Super Juegos" Issue 28 (dated August 1994))

The foreground elements are quite different visually, there are no ice flowers on the left and right, and the crystal is yellow here instead of green. There is also a hole shooting a jet of snow, which despite being removed in the final still has its graphics present in the ROM.

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelElykiki 2.jpg RistarElykiki 2.png
(Source: "TodoSega" Issue 16 (dated July 1994))

The ladder handles are absent in this section, and there is a spike ball seen on the right. The ball could be an early design for the enemy that would replace its position in the final, or an entirely unique obstacle that was removed from the final.

Planet Rewope/Automaton

Feel Ristar (Final, Japan)
FeelRewope.jpg RistarRewope.png
(Source: "Super Juegos" Issue 28 (dated August 1994))

Almost completely redone visually. The level design in this section is identical, though.

Later Feel Footage

On December 30, 2020, a VHS tape of Feel animations was shown off during a Hidden Palace stream. The tape was then later cleaned up and improved and released again on November 24, 2022 (and also includes a brief snippet of gameplay from Seima Densetsu 3x3 Eyes on the Mega-CD). The tape contains various sprite designs and animations for Feel from a couple different points in development, with one of them dating after the magazine screenshot build, and a title card precedes each section:

  • Basic-Action. - Shows a design of Feel walking, jumping, and "launching self at enemy/object" animations, using a design similar to the one seen in the magazine shots. The red areas of the shoes are instead coloured blue, and the character lacks gloves, instead wearing golden-coloured wristbands.
  • Player-Sample - Shows off various designs/outfits for Feel:
    • Design #1 is the same as the one seen in the various magazine scans.
    • Design #2 is the same one seen in the previous section of the video.
    • Design #6 matches the concept art with the purple feet and golden wristbands. Design #3 is also similar and is possibly an earlier iteration of the same design, as the only major difference is the lack of the purple hoops around the shoulders seen in #6 and the matching concept art.
    • Design #7 is the only one with the star-shaped yellow portion of Ristar's eventual final design. Unlike the concept art and the version seen later in the video, this one appears to have both gloves and shoes, albeit different from the ones seen in the finished game.
    • Design #8 matches the concept art with the swept-back hair(?), blue shoes, and orange gloves.
  • Hand-Color-Sample - Shows off various hand/glove designs. Feel otherwise has his design from the first portion.
  • New Player Basic-Action. 1993 11-15 - Shows Feel's walking, jumping, and "launching self at enemy/object" animations, using a design based on #7 from the second portion. This variation has no gloves or shoes, matching the version of this design seen in available concept art. The title of this section suggests that this was the then-current Feel design, along with dating the tape to November 15, 1993.
  • End - Marks the end of the tape, as you'd expect.

Beep! Megadrive (August 1994)

Prerelease Ristar (July 1, 1994 Proto) Ristar (Final, Japan)
BeepMegadriveAug94 RistarTitle.png RistarTitleProto701.png Ristarjpscreen.png

The title screen is closer to the July 1, 1994 prototype. Ristar is performing a peace sign here like the Feel title screen (albeit redrawn), and his eyes were redrawn. His arm also extends an unusual length to his back.