The following cartridge is a late sample prototype of Darkwing Duck for the Nintendo Game Boy, developed by Capcom! As per usual with prototypes from Capcom, the EPROM is attached to the PCB with a sticker for security purposes.
Differences
The word “SAMPLE” appears on the titlescreen above the Press Start text.
Minor differences found within the header.
Screenshots
ROM Information
----| File Data |--------------------------------------------------
System: Nintendo - Game Boy
File: Protocart_DarkwingDuck.gb
BitSize: 1 Mbit
Size (Bytes): 131072
CRC32: 311ADE03
MD5: 0F539DB976D8D272ED7067560B7C7E6C
SHA1: 2883B8854529369CCE4D473E71FA0193C7DF02B6
SHA256: 12B8861BDF485C60A97891C5A2F50E30C6403D0534AA471992D1614CFF0E0FA1
----| Header Data |------------------------------------------------
Entry Point: 0x0150C300
Logo Code: Ok
Title: DARK WING DUCK
New Licensee Code: N/A
SGB Support: 0x00 (No)
Cartridge Type: 0x01 (ROM + MBC1)
ROM Size: 0x02 (Ok; 1 Mbit; 131072 Bytes)
RAM Size: 0x00 (None)
Old Licensee Code: 0x08 (Capcom)
Version: 0x00 (v1.0)
Header Checksum: 0x1D (Ok)
Global Checksum: 0x6284 (Bad; 0x7CDB)
Board / Cartridge Images
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to FNeogeo for sending this in for release!
A few days ago some early Famitsu scans by Gaming Alexandria were taken offline due to copyright. These magazines are essential to those who document video game history, so they’re being redistributed via torrents! Here’s the second batch! (All issues from 1987). If you prefer magnet links click here.
A few days ago some early Famitsu scans by Gaming Alexandria were taken offline due to copyright. These magazines are essential to those who document video game history, so they’re being redistributed via torrents! Here’s the first batch! (All issues from 1986). If you prefer magnet links click here.
The following is (seemingly a very late) build of Cake-ya San Monogatari: Oishii Sweets o Tsukurou for the Nintendo 3DS, developed by Nippon Columbia.
Differences
The differences within this build are currently unknown. If you happen to know the game well and know the differences between the retail release and this prototype, please let us know!
Screenshots
ROM Information
== Reading file '010101_CTR_CARTDUMP_00.3ds'...
-- Nintendo 3DS ROM Image detected
----- SMDH -----
Title: 'kekiyasan monogatari窶ｦ'
Full Title: 'kekiyasan monogatari
oishiisuituwotukurou'
Publisher: 'NIPPON COLUMBIA CO., LTD.'
Region Code: [*] Japan [ ] USA [ ] Europe
[ ] Australia [ ] China [ ] South Korea
[ ] Taiwan
Age Ratings: CERO=A
----- NCSD -----
Media ID: '00040000-001C2F00'
Product Code: 'CTR-P-BC8J'
Logo: 'Licensed by Nintendo'
Media Type: 'Card1'
Card Device: 'NOR Flash'
Card Revision: '00'
Issuer: 'Retail'
Partitions:
|#| Type |Encryption| Version | Size |
|-|------|----------|----------|-----------|
|0|Game |NoCrypto |0.0.2 (v2)|420.7 MiB |
|1|Manual|NoCrypto |0.0.0 (v0)|1,944.0 KiB|
----- ExHeader -----
Process Name: 'pati'
Type: 'Application'
Flags: [*] CompressExefsCode [ ] SDApplication
Old3DS Sys Mode: 'Prod (64 MiB)'
New3DS Sys Mode: 'Legacy (64 MiB)'
New3DS CPU Mode: [ ] L2 C
Board / Cartridge Images
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to MSX for sending this in for release!
The following is a prototype of Madden NFL 2000 for the Game Boy Color by THQ. It appears to be for press review, judging from the numbered 147 on the back of the cartridge.
Differences
Address changes for Super Game Boy code.
The DATA_SND for SOU_TRN is also not implemented in this version.
Screenshots
ROM Information
----| File Data |--------------------------------------------------
System: Nintendo - Game Boy Color
File: MADDEN20.GB
BitSize: 8 Mbit
Size (Bytes): 1048576
CRC32: B3FEAD85
MD5: DCCBE12F558F971148EB147C32318431
SHA1: 09BF3DEA1DC01B018BA86E3AFFBCBAB7B9D2EB63
SHA256: AD8DAB740C08E138FEB31099F3C2496B81FE14CD657E5D5C36DC9FF80A9860DF
----| Header Data |------------------------------------------------
Entry Point: 0x0150C300
Logo Code: Ok
Title: MADDEN 2000
Serial: (Unknown)
GBC Flag: 0x80 (GBC & GB Compatible)
New Licensee Code: (Unknown)
SGB Support: 0x03 (Yes)
Cartridge Type: 0x19 (ROM + MBC5)
ROM Size: 0x05 (Ok; 8 Mbit; 1048576 Bytes)
RAM Size: 0x00 (None)
Old Licensee Code: 0x33
Version: 0x00 (v1.0)
Header Checksum: 0x87 (Ok)
Global Checksum: 0x3B5C (Ok)
Board / Cartridge Images
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to Rezrospect for sending this in for release!
Sometimes preserving game history also means you have to back-up those prototypes with a single byte difference from the retail game, so here’s Eragon for the Nintendo DS! It’s almost identical to the US release of the game with the exception of a one-byte-change at 0x1CDAC.
The following demo was obtained via a raw Wi-Fi packet capture of a DS Download Play kiosk in Japan during mid 2006. In this demo the player only has a choice between two different modes, with three tries in total! After your tries have been used up, you will no longer be able to progress past the titlescreen.
We have partnered with Hard4Games and Gaming Alexandria to preserve something quite special! It’s a cancelled Famicom port of The Fairyland Story by Taito! This game was mentioned in several magazines at the time, however it was never shown and almost no information was available! The cartridge itself was discovered in an unsuspecting eBay lot of Famicom cartridges by FenrisRetro, and after a bit of trouble with dumping, we managed to get it working with the help of Fiskbit!
Don’t forget to check out Gaming Alexandria’s article on the history of the game, as well as the video detailing the whole ordeal by Hard4Games!
Screenshots
ROM Information
----| File Data |--------------------------------------------------
System: Nintendo - Nintendo Entertainment System
File: fairyland.nes
BitSize: 192 Kbit
Size (Bytes): 24592
CRC32: 4B96DE9F
MD5: 8F52D02456772F1D1F173A074E10E67F
SHA1: 91B57475E067B756E253B8AFAA165BA478B15C15
SHA256: DC4612AB1CB5A18CB9D3D67CC076B4161071CBC9D870C1F1C3C18A9138002864
----| iNES Header Data |-------------------------------------------
Num ROM Banks: 0x01 (16 KBytes)
Num VROM Banks: 0x01 (8 KBytes)
Mirroring: 0 (Horizontal)
Save RAM: 0 (No)
Trainer: 0 (No)
4-Screen VRAM: 0 (No)
VS-System Cartridge:0 (No)
ROM Mapper: 0 (No mapper)
Num RAM Banks: 0x00 (None or 8 KBytes)
Display: 0 (NTSC)
----| NES Header Data |--------------------------------------------
Title: ????????????????
PRG-ROM Checksum: 0xFFFF (Bad; 0xDB70)
CHR-VROM Checksum: 0xFFFF (Bad; 0x5AF5)
PRG Size: 0x15 (33554432 KBytes)
CHR Size: 0x15 (16777216 KBytes)
Mirroring: 0x15 (Horizontal)
Board Type: 0x15
Unknown 1: 0xFFFFFFFF
Maker Code: 0xFF (Unknown)
Unknown 2: 0xFF
Vectors: 0xC2C200C0C1C2
----| Headerless Data |--------------------------------------------
Size (Bytes): 24576
CRC32: 8C50AFD3
MD5: 032D75BF07CDD6FC0B424B625AAA8050
SHA1: 0790C706F9CB23877A2661E46CAB6C04ADB39939
SHA256: 0AA066F5F6FD97BBE8BEFE74CD383B83A36763F20A1C212ABF62F402D5E7BD09
Board / Cartridge Images
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to FenrisRetro for sending this in for release!
The following is a prototype of Magical Drop for the Game Boy Color by Conspiracy Entertainment! The data was written to an unlicensed third party flashcart, this was typical of smaller studios as it was much more cost-effective to develop with.
Differences
Copyright screen dates it as 1999 instead of 2000.
It contains language selection options much like the European localization.
The background seen within menus has the following text: “Pre Release Version NOT FOR SALE!”
Screenshots
ROM Information
----| File Data |--------------------------------------------------
System: Nintendo - Game Boy Color
File: MAGICALDROP.GBC
BitSize: 8 Mbit
Size (Bytes): 1048576
CRC32: 799E2020
MD5: 1D3031FF4A17ADC04F05672A37FC0030
SHA1: 99FBF24CA924ACF5A4EA64817FB29D6E408CB722
SHA256: 6CE6C93B180B83F17125AAB4BB4D97DC129D8B1B12A54A0A3C34FA58701DCEE0
----| Header Data |------------------------------------------------
Entry Point: 0x0150C300
Logo Code: Ok
Title: GAME
Serial: (Unknown)
GBC Flag: 0x80 (GBC & GB Compatible)
New Licensee Code: ?? (Unknown)
SGB Support: 0xFF (No)
Cartridge Type: 0x19 (ROM + MBC5)
ROM Size: 0x05 (Ok; 8 Mbit; 1048576 Bytes)
RAM Size: 0x00 (None)
Old Licensee Code: 0x33
Version: 0x01 (v1.1)
Header Checksum: 0xFE (Ok)
Global Checksum: 0x30C4 (Ok)
Board / Cartridge Images
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to Rezrospect for sending this in for release!
The following is a cancelled USA localization of Puchi Carat by Taito. The completed version of this localization was found within the lotcheck archive sourced from the Nintendo Gigaleak, however, the version here appears to be slightly earlier with some minor differences within the color palettes of certain menus.
Screenshots
ROM Information
----| File Data |--------------------------------------------------
System: Nintendo - Game Boy Color
File: PUCHICAR.GB
BitSize: 8 Mbit
Size (Bytes): 1048576
CRC32: D79B6F46
MD5: 67DD4724F032088506DC868078EB4E7E
SHA1: B91B121A6951BCC74F0E4AF33D41A1FBA62F9822
SHA256: 0ED5E10FD010C2A943666697316AEC21470657D934448FD5D677706309D9F6BC
----| Header Data |------------------------------------------------
Entry Point: 0x4000C300
Logo Code: Ok
Title: PUCHI CARAT
Serial: AIQE (USA)
GBC Flag: 0x80 (GBC & GB Compatible)
New Licensee Code: E9 (Natsume)
SGB Support: 0x03 (Yes)
Cartridge Type: 0x1B (ROM + MBC5 + RAM + BATTERY)
ROM Size: 0x05 (Ok; 8 Mbit; 1048576 Bytes)
RAM Size: 0x02 (64 Kbit)
Old Licensee Code: 0x33
Version: 0x00 (v1.0)
Header Checksum: 0x6C (Ok)
Global Checksum: 0x7926 (Ok)
Board / Cartridge Images
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to Rezrospect for sending this in for release!
The following DVD was distributed to Nintendo Merchandising Inc representatives and/or press, and provided a brief outline of Nintendo’s “who are you” advertising campaign.
Screenshots
ROM Information
LBA[000016, 0x00010]: Volume Descriptor
Volume Descriptor Type: 1
Standard Identifier: CD001
Volume Descriptor Version: 1
System Identifier:
Volume Identifier: DVDVOLUME
Volume Space Size: 81744
Volume Set Size: 1
Volume Sequence Number: 1
Logical Block Size: 2048
Path Table Size: 42
Location of Occurrence of Path Table: 257
Location of Optional Occurrence of Path Table: 0
Length of Directory Record: 34
Extended Attribute Record Length: 0
Location of Extent: 261
Data Length: 2048
Recording Date and Time: 2003-10-07T12:32:04-07:00
Disc Images
Playthrough Video
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to kazoodac for sending this in for release!
The following DVD was distributed to Nintendo Merchandising Inc representatives and/or press, and provided a brief outline of various upcoming GameCube and Game Boy Advance games.
Screenshots
ROM Information
LBA[000016, 0x00010]: Volume Descriptor
Volume Descriptor Type: 1
Standard Identifier: CD001
Volume Descriptor Version: 1
System Identifier:
Volume Identifier: NINTENDO
Volume Space Size: 795136
Volume Set Size: 1
Volume Sequence Number: 1
Logical Block Size: 2048
Path Table Size: 42
Location of Occurrence of Path Table: 257
Location of Optional Occurrence of Path Table: 0
Length of Directory Record: 34
Extended Attribute Record Length: 0
Location of Extent: 261
Data Length: 2048
Recording Date and Time: 2003-02-21T13:55:39+08:00
Disc Images
Playthrough Video
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to kazoodac for sending this in for release!
We have preserved yet another internal Nintendo employee video disc! Dated October 1st 2003, this disc was distributed to Nintendo Merchandising Inc representatives and shows what sort of damage to expect and look out for when working with GameCube kiosks and retail displays.
Screenshots
ROM Information
LBA[000016, 0x00010]: Volume Descriptor
Volume Descriptor Type: 1
Standard Identifier: CD001
Volume Descriptor Version: 1
System Identifier:
Volume Identifier: VOLUME_IDENTIFIER
Volume Space Size: 477104
Volume Set Size: 1
Volume Sequence Number: 1
Logical Block Size: 2048
Path Table Size: 26
Location of Occurrence of Path Table: 257
Location of Optional Occurrence of Path Table: 0
Length of Directory Record: 34
Extended Attribute Record Length: 0
Location of Extent: 259
Data Length: 2048
Recording Date and Time: 2003-10-01T15:22:02-08:00
Disc Serials -
3189J911-02223A02 (Additional Mould)
ZC2608-DVR-G17-T7 (Mastering Code)
Disc Images
Playthrough Video
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to Rezrospect for sending this in for release!
Developed by id Software and released for home computers in 1996, Quake was a fast-paced first-person shooter seen as the successor to the Doom series. The game became extremely popular for its addictive gameplay and a remarkable soundtrack by Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. Thus far it has received dozens of ports on everything from the Sega Saturn to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, and all of them are for hardware that natively supports 3D graphics. Well, except for one.
The year is 2002, and Randy Linden is hard at work porting Quake to a little handheld system called the Game Boy Advance. If that name rings a bell, Linden is a veteran game developer best known for the creation of the BLEEM emulator as well as the groundbreaking SNES port of Doom—the latter of which was considered impossible by id themselves. Given his prior experience, a GBA port of Quake seemed like a logical step in his career. This unreleased prototype we present to you today was recently discovered on a 256M Flash Card in Linden’s storage, and is certainly a far cry from anything else developed for the handheld.
(For those who are unaware: Developers often used third party unlicensed flash cartridges thanks to their ease of use and low price point. This was common with several developers, most notably WayForward).
Upon booting the game, we can instantly see how impressive this demo is for the hardware, with its capabilities effectively managing to outshine just about every 3D game out there that was released for the system. Not only that, it feels exactly like a Quake game. From the guns to the environments. You can even dive underwater! The game is fully 3D rendered, rather than the ray casting method most GBA games are known for. It has 3D enemies, animations, and point lighting effects (even on pre-rendered objects like weapons, which use a clever palette-changing trick to achieve the illusion of dynamic lighting). The camera and movement work is equally as incredible; it travels very cleanly, as opposed to being jittery.
As for the soundtrack, the demo makes use of public .S3M files. The sound mixer handles stereo music plus sound effects – basically any .S3M / .MOD music. The tracker songs featured in this demo are “Aryx” and “Cream of the Earth” composed by Karsten Koch and Romeo Knight respectively.
As usual in builds this early, the build we have here contains a handful of debug features! For example, holding the R button upon bootup will bring the player straight to the second map, and holding left on the D-pad will bring you to the third. These map swapping features can also be accessed once the player is dead. Enemies will also not attack the player unless you shoot first.
One thing to note, however, is that the game doesn’t use any assets from Quake. According to Randy, he hadn’t yet reached out to id about the possibility of using their assets. A version with these assets does infact exist however, as of writing, it has not yet been found. By the time the engine was in a working state, the public interest in the GBA began to slowly fade as newer hardware was developed. However, instead of letting all of that dedicated work go to waste, he decided to repurpose his engine into his own game: Cyboid.
Initially starting out titled as “Meat”, Cyboid was created to be a small and fast paced game that you could come back to over and over again. Initially it was very similar to Quake but during its development it slowly began to become its own thing! After playing this Quake prototype, we highly recommend giving it a try! The game can be downloaded from Randy’s website here.
Make sure to download it; it’s a lot of fun! Just like with the older Quake port Randy made, this game also evidently has a lot of passion and hard work put into it. It’s a more realized vision of the game it’s based on. It has split screen multiplayer support and runs exceptionally well on Android. It’s still being updated to this day!
As for the Game Boy Advance port of Quake, it’s an absolutely incredible feat, so we are proud to preserve this amazing port of a godlike game! Massive thanks to Randy for contacting us and being so willing to preserve his work, it’s not every day that we come across something like this!
ROM Information
----| File Data |--------------------------------------------------
System: Nintendo - Game Boy Advance
File: BOBBEE TEC_ABTE.gba
BitSize: 256 Mbit
Size (Bytes): 33554432
CRC32: 10E16DD4
MD5: B10AFB07357CB31AC7C77D431894EA61
SHA1: 91DA59C27F06BEB7D5EE1531300A0D1B7E4BFDE2
SHA256: 1CC084D228983744AC954DC0A40F847F442F124F8369438B17625270B00A7404
----| Header Data |------------------------------------------------
ROM Entry Point: EA00002E
Logo Code: Bad
Title: BOBBEE TEC
Serial: ABTE (USA)
Maker Code: 01 (Nintendo)
Fixed Value: 0x96 (Ok)
Unit Code: 0x00
Device Code: 0x80
Reserved 1: 0x00000000000000
Version: 0x00 (v1.0)
Complement: 0x79 (Ok)
Reserved 2: 0x0000
----| Backup Media |-----------------------------------------------
Chip: None
Size: N/A
We have preserved an internal Nintendo employee safety video disc from 2004! The video was intended for Nintendo Merchandising Inc representatives and features Wario, who mentions that he is his own supervisor at Nintendo, as he assists the narrator in walking new hires through the safety precautions one must take when working with Nintendo retail products within stores.
Screenshots
Disc Information
LBA[000016, 0x00010]: Volume Descriptor
Volume Descriptor Type: 1
Standard Identifier: CD001
Volume Descriptor Version: 1
System Identifier:
Volume Identifier: DVDVOLUME
Volume Space Size: 483408
Volume Set Size: 1
Volume Sequence Number: 1
Logical Block Size: 2048
Path Table Size: 42
Location of Occurrence of Path Table: 257
Location of Optional Occurrence of Path Table: 0
Length of Directory Record: 34
Extended Attribute Record Length: 0
Location of Extent: 261
Data Length: 2048
Recording Date and Time: 2004-10-21T12:26:39-07:00
Disc Serials -
TF416C04208GB (Mould SID)
GD000245 0106 (Mastering Code)
Disc Images
Playthrough Video
Special Thanks
Massive thanks to Rezrospect for sending this in for release!
