Proto:The Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis)

This page details one or more prototype versions of The Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis).

To do: Add pictures, and there are probably more changes (like changes in music, level layout, or enemy behavior). Add info regarding the Hidden Palace proto release, whose source is apparently where the Smash Pack version was taken from. Also cover the second build released by Hidden Palace.

Oddly, the version of The Revenge of Shinobi included in Volume 1 of the PC Smash Pack collection is a prototype.

General Differences

• The internal ROM date says March 1989, and the product number is filled with zeroes.
• In the notes section of the ROM header (at 0x1C8), there is the string "A0115 Sega_Channel", whereas all other releases have that area filled with ASCII space characters.
• The ROM header is also only marked as being a Japanese release, while all other versions are marked as Japanese, US, and European.
• There is no copyright screen.

• The title screen always uses The Super Shinobi regardless of the console region.
• The game has an invincibility mode on the options screen, and a level select at the main menu. Enabling invincibility also gives infinite lives from falling offscreen, out open doors, and using Mijin (it also prevents you from gaining lives).
• There are other changes found in the options menu: the shuriken option is spelled "syurikin" (in other versions, it's spelled "shurikin"), and the sound test option lacks music titles, showing only a hex number (in other versions, sound effects are numbered in decimal).

• The sparks when the shuriken hit the sword stay on-screen longer.
• There are no demos other than the opening animation (i.e., no plot text or gameplay demos).

Audio Differences

• The final game has 19 music tracks, but the prototype only has the first seven (plus the Round Clear jingle). Because of this, there are differences in what music is used for what Round (most likely as placeholders), for instance: The music used in 1-1 is China Town and 1-2's music is Make Me Dance, whereas in the final both stages use The Shinobi. All of the available music is very incomplete.

The Shinobi

Prototype	Final

Terrible Beat

Prototype	Final

Make Me Dance

Prototype	Final

China Town

Prototype	Final

Run or Die

Prototype	Final

Over The Bay

Prototype	Final

Round Clear

Prototype	Final

• The "POW" sound effect is very different from the final version.

Prototype	Final

• The introduction uses the final version's Round 1 music (The Shinobi) instead of its own theme.
• The sound effect when Musashi changes his grip does not play.
• There is no shouting sound effect when the ninjutsu is activated.
• The game over screen has no music and is missing Zeed's laughter.
• The drum samples used throughout the game are also different.

Unused Sounds

AE
C5
C8
CC

Found in the Sound Test are those 4 sound effects (respectively AE, C5, C8 and CC.) which are likely related to the scrapped Bonus Game (documented below), given how different they are from the used ones.

Gameplay Differences

• Using Mijin uses up your ninjitsu; in other versions, you can still use ninjitsu after using Mijin. Mijin also remains selected after it has been used, instead of switching to Ikazuchi.
• For the most part, the enemies resemble the REV00 versions with the exception of Spider-Man, who is red and blue instead of red and black. However, he is still missing the eye mask.
• Some bosses appear incomplete. For instance, the Godzilla boss of Round 7 seems to be invincible, and the fight ends after it goes through a few seconds.
• The Round 3 and Round 8 bosses appear to be missing completely, although the maps themselves are there; the game switches to the end of the level screen shortly after starting.
• There is no ending, either: the game loops back to Round 1 after 8-3.

Bonus Game

To do: Codes to access, unimplemented animations.

An unfinished, inaccessible bonus game can be found in the game's code. It was intended to be based on the fight with Mandara, the third boss of the original game. A large wall of statue-like enemies would slowly close in on Joe and need to be eliminated before pinning him.

In its present state, Joe can walk and jump around... and that's about it. He can't move past the lava wall, but it has no effect otherwise. There are no enemies to face and there's nothing else to do.

(Source: evilhamwizard)

Director Noriyoshi Ohba stated in an interview:

"We wanted to include bonus stages; however, we realized that they were not going to fit in the available memory. Unlike optical devices, which are commonly used nowadays, we were limited by the available amount of memory, as ROM was very pricey."

(Source: Sega-16)

It's Joe Musashi... in chibi (miniature) form. The throwing and knockback frames are unused at this point in development. The middle running frame also doubles as the standing sprite.

A baseball, intended to be Joe's projectile here, in place of his standard shuriken.

The enemies. They come in four different varieties, each with two frames of animation, and were intended to spin when hit. In keeping with the game's theme of copyright infringement, the statues (along with the ones in the background) are based on Ultraman characters.

Early/Alternative Bad Ending

To do: Upload a better gif, rip the sprites and go into more technical details (like how to access this).

Also found on the game's code, and only accessible through hacking is an early/alternative ending where it's heavily implied that Joe Musashi died during his fight against the final boss. It shows Joe's fiancée, Naoko, alone and holding his sword. While she is looking at the starry sky, a sprite of Joe Musashi appears shortly after. It's basically identical to the final game's Bad Ending but with the roles reversed. It's possible that this ending would be achieved by finishing the final boss with a Mijin ninjutsu, which permanently kills Joe Musashi in the process, leaving Naoko alone.

(Source: evilhamwizard)