/vr/ - Retro Games

i actually like how the HUD looks more than in the final game.

Who cares? It's just beta shit.

>>3762154
I care.

>>3762151
Every game on the N64 and very early gamecube looked really weird and mysterious to me in the pre-release screenshots.

>there are people out there RIGHT NOW in the general public who played this version
>most of them probably don't remember it
>most of them probably didn't really even care that much at the time
>most of them don't even care today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys723F9wiwU

>HOOOOOoo

I do find early builds of games to be incredibly fascinating, in part due to their mystery and how, in a way, they embody the anticipation and speculation that abounds prior to game releases.

>>3762170
(and sub-potatoquality)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GImEW48VbXQ

>>3762151
Define collectathon

>>3762176
wrong mario 64 thread, lol

>>3762170
Yeah, and it's the lack of footage that also adds to the whole mystery. There's just not many beta videos of old games, only these short videos taken with a regular video camera, from events like TGS, E3, spaceworld, etc.

Today, we have companies constantly releasing videos of the games they're making. And events like E3 have their many internet transmissions with HD videos and all. It's like, you can actually see everything new in real time, no more waiting for months to get some sneak peak of the games through very small pictures taken from the TVs on some magazine. Videos weren't even a regular thing, only when a magazine included a VHS for an additional cost, or if you were lucky enough to have a video game TV show in your cable station, and see videos there.
Back then it was all much more limited, but also kind of more charming because of it, upcoming games had a lot of mystery to them. Especially games that then turned out to be amazing (or just a personal favorite of yours), going back and actually seeing beta videos is amazing, I only remember the still images from the magazines of SM64 as a kid.

>>3762170
Like many people played Pokémon 2 demo in the Nintendo 1997 Space World, with beta Pokémon, different maps, but there's almost zero info about the game and the only images are those released by Nintendo and a single video. We'll never know how their sprites looked like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4de7uwhoOyY

It's like an entirely different game. Zelda 64 too.

>>3762282
I just hope Nintendo still has all that stuff archived and is waiting for an anniversary or something to release it.

I got this a couple of months before the N64 launch for being a Nintendo Power sub. I remember there's footage of Mario 64 being played in several scenes but I don't know if they are beta or retail versions.

>>3762151
>that crescent moon

Is Princess Peach a Muslim?

>>3762298

Unlikely. It isn't often that companies formally release pre-final versions outside of demo discs and the like.

One exception is Gunstar Heroes, which had a prototype version included on a Sega Ages disc. Natsume had a beta version of Wild Guns on display at a recent event, as well.

Chances are, though, that at least one copy is out there somewhere, of both Pokemon 2 and Mario 64.

>>3762158
>my autistic feels matter
Wrong board frog fag

>>3762170
By balls tingle at the mere thought of how ass mad you are

>>3762314

I got that too (also a DKC one before that). They sent them to former NP subscribers too, because when I got them I hadn't been a subscriber for years.

I don't think it was the retail version shown, but it was much closer to the final version than the earlier beta version in OP. (the HUD was same as final version, ect.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxUmSyZ7Ylo

>>3762151
Maybe in a parallel universe you can

>>3762314
>>3762314

I got that too (also a DKC one before that). They sent them to former NP subscribers too, because when I got them I hadn't been a subscriber for years.

It was the retail version show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxUmSyZ7Ylo

>>3762298
I wouldn't count on it. Seems like most companies didn't hold onto assets unless they planned to use them in the next game. Keeping resources is more of a recent thing, and I don't know if there are even many companies today that actually keep old beta builds on file after the game is released.

It's because of this a lot of old games can't easily get HD remasters or whatever, the uncompressed backgrounds of many ps1 rpgs for example are just gone. You'd have to rip the files from the game itself and clean them up or just redo them from scratch.

>>3762353
I meant showcase them, obviously they wouldn't release alpha game data.

>>3762151

I guarantee you that if you got your hands on a demo version of Mario 64, you'd find it's a broken piece of shit. I've played several leaked demonstration versions of games, and their either broken or only have what's shown in videos and screenshots.

It's one of the reasons why I'm not excited for any sort of Zelda Ocarina of Time betas anymore; most of the pre-release screenshots from the early versions of the game look like they came from test areas meant to do various things, like stress-test the engine or try out various mechanics.

https://youtu.be/cSNdyRx4zoc

great beta taste, OP

>>3762356
What did he mean by this?

>See this GE64 beta screenshot somewhere as a kid

>Play the game fucking FOREVER trying to get this weird looking AK that can blow limbs off (see guy rolling to the right)

>Get cheats, still no gun. Get game shark, still no gun

>REEEEEEEEEEE

>Find out later it was the beta version AK

>REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Such is life preinternet.

>>3762501
>Snezz
>Mary-o

>>3762473

To be fair, that's part of the point. Seeing unpolished, different areas from a beloved game is, in some ways, like experiencing it for the first time, finally jumping into old previews and being able to actually control what were previously just grainy screencaps or blurry camcorder footage.

>>3762152
Me too. It looks very mellow simple.

I don't really like the chaotic, rainbow, blocky style that came about in Mario World and follows the series to this day.

I read Unseen64 daily, I love this kind of information.

>>3762362
This is so 90's it hurts.

I love it.

That tilted camera.
That music use.
Those clothes and hairstyle.

I realize how crap the 90's were but we embraced it and that's what makes it... radical.

>>3762507
>not knowing how balls work
You'll figure it out some day sport

So let's see if I get this straight - Super Mario 64 is an old-ass game with literally HUNDREDS of mods/hacks to explore, some being almost as fun as the original, but you are concerned with how the original stages looked like when they were still shit?

>>3762861
All those hacks happen to suck ass

>>3762861

Yes. This is one of those things you either get or you don't. I've kinda explained my fascination earlier in the thread, but if you aren't intrigued by development stages of games or if seeing how things were/could've been doesn't mean anything to you, then it just doesn't.

>>3762362
I never watched that promo but I remember reading some magazines back in 1996 and 1997, being so hyped about the N64 and the launchgames that would be released. As a N64 fan, I loved every second of it. Thanks for sharing, anon.

>>3762151
sure i did. my friend worked for ninty in japan. so youre wrong. now stfu

>>3762473
>>3762861
>Missing the point
Unreleased prototypes are cool because we don't know what they're like. It's a thing that exists, and because it exists you want to try it out and see what it's like, just out of curiosity.

>>3762362
>TFW you're the best gamer in the country

>>3762151
>>3762158
Man, this looks so comfy

>>3762151
Good Riddance!

>>3762636
>I realize how crap the 90's were

Fuck you, millennial.

>>3762917
Guess it's just because I can mentally backtrack development by looking at the level design most of the time.

If you look at Whomp's Fortress in this video >>3762170 , for instance, you'll notice people tend to tall on that part before the spinning bridge. They made it into an easier challenge with those falling blocks on the final version, but they also accounted for the scrubs with coins forming a circle at the bottom. Those are for replenishing your life after fall damage, since this is a pretty early stage and people will still be taking damage from falls right and left.

But you don't have to see a beta to guess why they put the canon there or the slope under the spinning bridge.

So while it can be interesting, it's not different than reading a movie's original argument or seeing some sketches from a Disney classic. They all show their results quite well in the final piece already, this bonus material is more of a collector's thing than someone worried about technicalities.

>>3762501
The underwater music sounds better, wtf

>>3762154
people inherently want what they can't have

betas and cut content are the most fascinating thing in video games as a result

>>3763087
Can someone explain this exclamation mark meme that's been going on lately?

>>3763210
Trump ends about 99.9% of his Twitter posts with short exclamations.

>>3762861
fuck off retard. You can just leave.

>>3763089
I meant "crap" in a good way.

>>3763210
is punctuation a meme now?

>>3763268

Hue

>>3763210

It looks like a line with a dot below it.

A demonstration:

...

!

Impressive, eh?

>>3762170
>some of them are dead today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvOFYZ5Cm2I
It more like a canned game but MAN i always wanted to play Onimusha for PSX

>>3762170
>That bigger joystick
Why didn't we get that? Why the fuck id they think such a small joystick head was a good idea?

>>3762170
At least they seem to have made at least few carts. Maybe one will leak some day.

>>3762170
These were the first people to experience the game hands-on.

It really shows you can never grasp the full potential of a game upon release.

>>3763138
Yeah but you dont get it. Some people are just interested in seeing the skeleton before it became the real thing. Of course you can look at the final product and accurately imagine how they got there, but its not about doing that. Its about actually seeing the beta development material and what the devs were doing.

>>3763170
http://vocaroo.com/i/s02ed9Dg1xdU

;)

>>3762151
I feel this spiritually. I used to have dreams about secret rooms and corridors and invisible platforms and shit. Beta screenshots of this game feel like something out of one of my dreams. It's my dream to play a 64 romhack that adds more rooms and levels on top of the actual game. I don't think there's any hacks like that currently.

>>3763170
>>3764137
http://vocaroo.com/i/s10Se6jkYlM3

;)

>>3764176
Whoa, where'd you find that extremely beta alpha version? Legend says Miyamoto himself sang it in his bathroom while constipated.

>>3763179
ah fuck, I remember I bought a game genie just to play this level
Nobody ever told me that the only thing they left is was a garbled fucking mess

>>3762175
Good ol' MIDI-MIDI Docks.

Also love the cat-like sounds Bowser makes when he jumps in the beta version.

This thread's full of bad vibrations. Who DOESN'T like beta crap like this? Fags looking to pick fights that's who.

>>3762170
At 5:42 a map shows up

Mario 64 originally had a minimap not unlike the minimaps of the DS version

>>3762152

I agree, the final hud is just ugly and tacky while the beta looks coherent and less dated by today's standerds

>>3762170

Some of them are probably dead too, the memories of it have rotten into the earth and been eaten by worms

>>3765268
What the hell? How is a colored lifebar that goes empty by steps more dated than a colorless wooden head with a number on it?

>>3765268
I find interesting how Mario 64 art looks rough and amateurish. Menus, HUD, textures, character designs, and the game came after Yoshi's Island, a game that had flawless art.
I can understand models looking rough, as this was their first properly 3D game, but they could at least have used a beter color palette.

>>3763179
agreed

as soon as some new beta shit is released its like OMFG then you play it for like 5 minutes and its like ok next

saying that, 99% complete starfox2 leak was the goldmine of all leaks AND IT WASNT EVEN THE FINAL VERSION

>>3762151
You realize if you actually did play a beta version it wouldn't be some mysterious alternate reality version of the game to explore, and would just be a bunch of empty shit right?

>>3766005
this. any beta version of a game is a broken buggy shitpile with most of the content missing. Mario 64 is a prime example because not much was changed during development.

>>3766005
Not only that, if you watch all the promos, there are a BUNCH of different versions.

Some regenerate your HP automatically (done for expos), one has a normal castle map, the other leads you to bowser the moment you enter the castle...

There is no "beta version", there are many of them.

>>3766005
The mystery comes from wanting to explore it. It doesn't matter what it would actually be like because we'll never get to see it anyway except from crappy screenshots and rare footage.

>>3762170
>Solid purple n64 controller
Why didn't we get this?

>>3766214
Brazil here, we had them.

There was also one that was half purple, half gray.

>>3765156
/vr/ is full of contrarian tough guys.

>>3766305
You wouldn't happen to have pics of this? I can't find a damn bit of info. You sure those weren't bootlegs?

>>3762861
Believe it or not, but some people actually enjoy seeing how a game came together, and looking at prototype builds gives insight into that.

>>3766035
Except that's not always true. And even it's mostly empty there can be a lot of neat stuff to look at.

>>3766369
I find it hard that you would find any bit of info about video-game controllers colors, from an old-ass console, on a Third World Country, in English.

But yeah, I used to see (and use) them in a rental shop where you paid to play for a few minutes (how is that even called?).

In retrospect, the purple-and-gray one might have been just a frankensteined version made out of two broken joysticks. If they were bootlegs I can't tell, but their weight at least felt normal.

I remember freaking out over this screenshot and I thought that maybe the ice key would somehow mutate the grublins

>>3766393
Kids are fucking dumb, they see two mysteries and automatically relate them.

My brother was convinced Peach was hiding on that hole by the waterfall (the exit for the Blue Cap stage and Bowser's Submarine), because she wasn't anywhere else in the game.

Then he had a nightmare about an "Evil Peach" being there and killing him, so he told me and we would avoid that place at all costs.

>>3766428

that sounds like straight up creepypasta material

Where's the actual development version where the gameplay was in 2d (with 3d graphics, similar to NSMB)? This is what Mario64 was originally before Nintendo got all scared of Sony's WE MUST BE THREE DEE bullshit and forced the game to go 3d which made the controls and camera shit.

>LOLWHUT CITATION NEEDED YOU LIE
It's really fucked that Nintendo has basically erased what was common knowledge back then when the N64 (Ultra 64) and Mario 64 was in development.

>>3766045
>>3766035
>>3766005
You're all forgetting the fact that people open up beta versions to explore the game files, that alone leads to many interesting discoveries that weren't shown on display. Maybe somebody can find what Yoshi was really meant to do in one of these betas

>>3766440
>best controls of any 3D game to date
>shit
You can talk whatever you want about the camera, since it has some letdowns (although it's pretty easy to manipulate if you know what you're doing), but if you complain about FUCKING SM64'S CONTROLS, we'll have to fight to death.

I am to this date still looking for a game to fill the void all those acrobatics left in my heart, as Mario Galaxy just turned it back into casual-paced shit.

At least there are romhacks to enjoy, but... not the same thing and not enough quality material to go with.

>>3766428

>>3766440
>It's really fucked that Nintendo has basically erased what was common knowledge back then when the N64 (Ultra 64) and Mario 64 was in development.
Nintendo can't just memoryhole shit you fool, you should easily be able to find a source for your bold claim

>This is what Mario64 was originally before Nintendo got all scared of Sony's WE MUST BE THREE DEE bullshit and forced the game to go 3d which made the controls and camera shit.
The Playstation was released in 1994, a full 2 years before the N64 and Mario 64

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

>>3762516

>implying you'd have any chance with your poopy little gun against that one guy and his glowing schlong

>>3766472
did you just draw this for the sake of that anon or is this some preexisting shit

>>3766472
This actually disturbed me a little

>>3766428
Dude Mario 64 in general was a very mysterious and eerie game, I still have extremely uncomfortable dreams of dealing with that fucking eel and big bertha from tiny huge island, something about those bodies of water being out in the middle of a void make my asshole pucker tight enough to crush diamonds.

>>3766625
as the filename numerically implies, I saved it in 2008

>>3766634
Thalassophobia is a fairly common fear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHLH8ViPKHw

I have yet to 100% the original Devil May Cry because of this secret mission.

>>3766643
Oh I'm so glad that this fear has a name. Thanks for making my asshole clench once more.

>>3766650
You ever drive way out of bounds in Wave Rave 64? It'll fuck you up

>>3766769
Got a video?

>>3762516
The beta gun model looks so much better than what we got.

>>3766634
Are you ESL? Because I am and when I play games nowadays they look like a walk in the park, everything makes so much sense.

When I was a kid, playing anything was guesswork and there was NO EXPLANATION at all why things happened.

Why is everyone not in the castle? Why are Toads ghosts? What the fuck is that laugh at the start of the game? Did I kill the rabbit's will to live after catching it? Was the star its life juice? Where the FUCKING FUCK did that submarine I saw moments ago go? FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK, who is this guy on a cloud looking at me in the mirror?

If only I had read the flavor text and figured out the whole "oh, we are imprisoned by the powers of evil" thing I wouldn't have crapped my pants so much because of this game.

>>3766440
What I know is that Mario 64 development started on the SNES, using the Super FX chip. The game was named Sper Mario FX and was always intended to be 3D.

>>3767105
One of my fondest memories is my friend importing Pokemon Gold from Japan and us trying to figure it out based only on our knowledge of the previous games. Everything that was new felt like undiscovered magic. "Okay so that button should be items WHAT THE FUCK IT OPENS A RADIO?"

>>3762151
> It looks so mysterious
It wouldn't be if you could play it. That you can't is the whole appeal. Or at least that's what appeals to me about cancelled games and inaccessible, earlier builds.

mysterious? Here's the soul crushing truth:
It was unfun, and there was no mystery to it. Once you get over the novelty of exploring half-finished level concepts, you have a shit game. Mystery? There's your fucking mystery.

>>3767118
Source ?

>>3767541

my uncle that works for Nintendo

>>3767350
Damn, what a tough guy. You sure have impressed us.

>>3767541
I've read it somewhere. But Dylan Cuthbert said they never worked in the game. It was just an idea.

>>3762884
Mario 64 Last Impact says hello.

>>3766305
I had a few coloured ones. I mixed the red and grey shell halves. Looked cool.

>>3762151
Do we really know this? If the Nintendo PlayStation was found, why not an alpha build for a game that was demoed everywhere?

Beta bump

>>3767851
Last Impact is pretty good, sure, but I feel it still suffers from the endless collision errors like most Mario 64 hacks. As much as I want to play it, but I always end up getting fed up with getting stopped or stuck inside of every other piece of geometry. That aside, it's probably the best Mario 64 hack out there.

>>3762151
I only ever experienced the retail version of Super Mario 64 for half an hour or so because I disliked it just as much as the other games. Nothing soul crushing to me.

>>3771535
1/10 bait. Try again.

>>3771606
The funny thing is that wasn't even bait, it's genuine. Just decided to add my two cents out of boredom.

Also, not saying it's a bad game. Just not for everyone.

>>3769165

It is entirely possible.

It all just depends on who has one. I know they demoed a Mario 64 port for the DD, and one of those showed up in a Japanese secondhand shop of all places. Now, if they didn't have many development carts in the early days of the system, they might have held on to them tightly and reused them. It seems like it might have only been shown at conventions, which would reduce the likelihood of one being found. Now, if a former employee got his hands on one, if they sent copies out to the press or retailers, or if they shipped them out somewhere to be destroyed, then the chances go up dramatically.

If you follow these things, you will see that previously undumped and sometimes early builds of old games show up online with some regularity (many of which are older than Mario 64), so you can never rule anything out.

>>3771518
>collision errors
How does it compare to Star Road? I played it and it ended up being a-OK, with only one part where I got stuck (at the Game Over screen) and had to reset.

>>3762158
The penguin is sad because the evil plumber is going to kill its baby

>>3762151
We'll always have fan-hacks

>>3763179
>Tumble Terrace

>>3766572
Yes I get it, it's you. Now be productive with that money.

>>3766472
You need serious help.

>>3762170
That little demo of Link fighting some metal guy on the other screen is pretty weird too, I have never seen that.

>>3773589
It was completely revamped, that's why.
But if I'm not mistaken there were even ads with that footage being aired.

>>3765538
Star Fox 2 is my favorite game in the series. It's a crime it never saw the light of day.

>2008
>drx pays five figures for 1024 individual prototypes which he releases to the internet for free
>omg drx is god!!!!!
>week passes
>nobody cares anymore

What he did was noble but ultimately >>3765538 is right. The beauty of protos and betas are that they're untouchable. The minute you get a hold of them, they're no longer as amazing.

>>3767260
that's awesome

https://tcrf.net/Category:Prototypes

Stop reminding me.

>>3772171
I think Star Road had fewer collision errors, but I think overall Last Impact is a lot more interesting, varried, and original.

Just try to avoid touching any objects that aren't strict geometric shapes. I only got stuck three times, but I got really frustrated with how many things snagged on Mario, killing my momentum or sending me in a weird direction. It's not a deal breaker, but it happens enough to be annoying.

>>3776964
I see, thanks. What I like about Mario is not the puzzle, not the exploration, but the mobility and freedom. The demo from this game looks too... modern-mario to me, so I'm not that eager to play it.

>>3776964

Agreed, but Star Road has a MUCH better camera also. I literally don't think the camera has been touched from the base game at all in Last Impact, it's always swinging into ridiculous positions, you spend half your time wrestling with it.

>>3766472
If you see her turn off the game