Early Beta Builds of Officially Released Software

NEOGEO BETAS?

(earlier rom builds of RELEASED games)

While the primary focus of this website has always been and always will be the accumulation of pics and info about the UNRELEASED proto games, over the years I have had many questions and inquiries about the protos of the RELEASED games as well. (actually, my friend Matt is really the ONLY person that has ever asked or cared about this stuff!) But while this subject matter is not as interesting to me, I decided that it was time to cover it in more detail.

The difference between a BETA and a PROTO is really trivial. Most video games begin at the conceptual stage with ideas and sketches. They then move on to a proof of concept (ALPHA) and a playable demo (BETA) stage. Once a physical sample/loaner/review cartridge can be assembled, it is usually called a (proto). Technically, any earlier rom build or hand made cart is a protoype. But traditionally, those carts that eventually saw release, are labeled BETAS while those carts that didn't see release, are labeled PROTOS.

Most betas have MINOR differences. Usually small changes like color palettes, object placements, and difficulty adjustments. Often times barely noticeable. However, some betas can have MAJOR differences. Examples of NEOGEO betas that would be of the highest interest to the community are (Magician Lord, Mutation Nation, Sengoku 2, Three Count Bout, Top Hunter, Crossed Swords 2, and Savage Reign) as these games were all SIGINIFICANTLY changed and severely delayed.

But there is another easier way of finding BETA elements from released games. Way easier and far less expensive then trying to track down super rare carts. The process is called DATA MINING. And it is done by using a hex editor to see and read the rom data on the chips of released games. There is even a great website dedicated to this technique. (TCRF) However, for completely unknown reasons, the above NEOGEO titles are ignored there and they remain unexplored.

BETA CARTS that have been FOUND.

Burning Fight

An early beta of Burning Fight was found and it contained many differences from the final rom build. Some of the later stages were not yet finished and could not be accessed without the memory card. Also one of the 3 main characters was drawn very different.

Super Volley '94

In March of 1994, the FIRST RUN of MVS cartridges were manufactured with the 66 MEG Super Volleyball '94 version of the game contained within. These cartridges were quickly recalled and modified by SNK. Shortly afterwards, in September of 1994, a SECOND RUN of MVS cartridges went out with the 82 MEG version of the game. These boards were populated with replacement P, M, and S mask roms as well as 2 additional C roms.

The known differences are the obvious title screen change and subsequent attract mode title logo of the game. In addition, it has a completely different introduction sequence opening. (video and BGM are altered) And finally the league selection screen has the men, women, and hyper choices in different order and with different icons.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COMPLETE ARTICLE ON THIS GAME!

The King of Fighters '91

King of Fighters '91

Former Capcom developers Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto, joined SNK sometime after creating the original Street Fighter back in August of 1987. They developed Fatal Fury both as a spiritual successor to SF1 as well as an answer to SF2. Street Fighter 2 was released in February of 1991 and Fatal Fury in November of 1991.
While SF1 offerred 2 fighters to select from (Ryu and Ken) FF1 gave the player 3 choices with Terry, Andy, and Joe. The animation was much smoother and the graphics and sounds were far better. It also told a more Americanized story which USA players could relate to much better.
What SNK didn't count on (or see coming) was that Capcom had also worked on a successor to SF1 and it beat them to the coin op market by 8 months. Capcom's game was also light years ahead in terms of it's own improvements over their original. With 8 characters to choose from and the ability for 2 players to use the same character.
SNK would quickly realize this and catch up almost immediately with Fatal Fury 2, released a year later in December of 1992. And from here on it was a back and forth battle between Capcom and SNK.
Anyhow, here are some early beta screenshots of the original Fatal Fury for NEOGEO. It would be very interesting to see how and why SNK made the many changes to the game.

Examples of beta NEO-GEO title screens

Baseball Stars 2

Baseball Stars 2 was originally referred to in SNK documents as "Baseball Stars Professional II". It was also stated that the player could play in leagues and tournaments. Baseball Stars 2 originally had solid black letters for its title as well as different colors utilized for the stars, the uniforms, etc. The US title screen was also altered prior to release from crediting SNK Corporation to the newly reformed SNK Home Entertainment. Even some debug code can be seen on the top right corner of the title as well.

King of the Monsters 2

King of the Monsters 2, which has the subtitle of "The Next Thing" was originally called The Next Thing, with the subtitle of King of the Monsters II" The first big "sequel" push by SNK came to us during this time with these three games, as well as the Japanese Quiz Detective 2 game. Someone in the marketing department must have been debating these last minute changes to the titles of these games.

Sengoku 2

SNK put quite a bit of effort and detail into the Sengoku games. They were intended to be the shining stars of the beat 'em up genre. But the theme of Sengoku was (at the time) considered to be unsuitable for the US market. Even the title was going to be changed because it sounded too foreign. (The working title was Battle World) And by the time Sengoku 2 was nearing completion, the genre was fading away. Sengoku 2 originally had 6 stages, but the final release was cut down to just 4. The removed stages were excessively violent and contained offensive religious symbols. The game had a very small production run on both MVS and HOME formats and the English home cart release was only intended for the EUROPEAN market.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COMPLETE ARTICLE ON THIS GAME!

Here we can see that Robo Army originally used different colors for the title text and originally kept the forward marching army from the introduction sequence in the background behind it.

Take a look at this radically different and much simpler looking title screen shot taken from an earlier March 1996 rom build of Ninja Master's. (the final was released in June 1996)

An early title screen for Puzzle de Pon with its' original working title.

An early beta title screen for Neo Mr. Do! with a 1995 copyright date and a red and white versus red and yellow logo.

An early beta title screen for Neo Drift Out. Again, a plain black background and the "All Right Reserved" line is missing the S.

CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES AS THERE IS LOTS MORE TO COME!

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK

NEOGEOPROTOS.COM HAS BEEN THE NUMBER ONE RESOURCE FOR PICS AND INFO SINCE 1999.