Pandemonium! (Jun 5, 1996 prototype)

A prototype of Pandemonium! for the PlayStation.
==Notes==
*Very early, with no startup disclaimers, logos, sequences etc.
*Opens to a simple title card, then goes straight into the game.
*Game begins in an interesting level select menu, in the form of a playable "level".
**Different angle of view, zoomed out
**Walk over a square and press Triangle to enter a level.
*No loading screen before levels
*Different HUD/status display
*Most levels feature differences in areas, and many untextured areas
*Different music for the level, also
*Miscellaneous Notes:
**Game is emulatable: Yes (as of April 17, 2021).
**Game contains dongle protection: No.
**Game contains debugging symbols: N/A
**Dump was originally scrambled: No
==Differences (from final)==
*No map-screen yet, only a rudimentary "flat" level-select "board" is offered, and of the 18 slots, only levels 1-7 and 9-12 work. Level 8 makes the game lock-up; levels 13-18 just return you to the left of the Level 1 square
*Different controls: TRIANGLE, not X, is used to jump and enter levels; and R1 and R2 can be used to zoom the camera in and out, a mechanic removed in the final
*Change characters during levels: during a level, press SELECT to switch-character. In the final game, this is only possible on the MAP screen, not during a level (unless the "BODYSWAP" cheat is used, then TRIANGLE is used to switch)
*Nikki and Fargus lack their final unique abilities: Nikki lacks her double-jump, and Fargus does not have his roll-attack, meaning both characters play exactly the same (and so being able to swap between-them during a level rather pointless!)
*Rolling-logs do not hurt you, but do send you flying backwards a lot more than in the final
Collectables:
*Red-diamonds are the main collectable (the final uses coins); most are worth 1, but the large-ones can be worth 5 or 10. As LIVES don't exist in this beta, collecting them appears to do nothing (in the final, every 300 in value awards a new life)
*Gold-stars each give three-shots of the pink plasma-ball powerup (which is the only powerup in this beta). The shots counter resets to 0 at the start of each level
*Keys exist, but are much-smaller than in the final, so harder-to-see
*Small red hearts restore one hit-point each (in the final, the large hearts serve this purpose, and no small hearts appear)
*Large red hearts add an extra hit-point, up-to a maximum of 8 (7 in the final, and only 5 extra hit-points can be found in the entire game, mostly in secret-areas, and their icon has changed to a small heart in the centre of a gold square)
*Green "clubs": similar to the "club" or "clover" symbol in a pack of playing-cards, these can be found a handful of times within each stage, though seem to have no purpose; in the final, most of these were replaced by the gold ankhs, though others were replaced with either a high-value coin, or a powerup
==Controls==
*TRIANGLE to jump, and to enter levels (stand in the middle of a white square on the "map" screen, then jump). In the final game, X is used. When held-down on a trampoline, or while landing on an enemy, allows a higher jump-off to be performed
*SQUARE to fire a shot (after a gold-star has been collected; each star grants three shots. Right-most on-screen counter shows shots remaining, which always resets to 0 between levels)
*D-Pad Left and D-Pad Right to move left or right
*D-Pad Down to duck. When transformed to the TURTLE, makes you invincible while held-down, required for getting-past some circular-saws
*R1 to zoom camera in (removed from final game)
*R2 to zoom camera out (removed from final game)
*START to pause; press SELECT while paused to return to the MAP
*SELECT to change between Nikki and Fargus at any-time! (In the final-game, this is only possible via the "BODYSWAP" cheat, where TRIANGLE is then used. Otherwise, you can only change characters while on the MAP, between-levels)
==Screenshots==
File:PANDY000 5JUN1996.png|Title card for this beta
File:PSX - Pandemonium very beta-0001.png|The MAP SCREEN. Stand on a square and jump (TRIANGLE) to enter...
File:PSX - Pandemonium very beta-0002.png|...note that levels 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 do not work.
File:PSX - Pandemonium very beta-0003.png|No power-up is offered when toppling this statue, unlike in the final
File:PANDY001 5JUN1996.png|Press SELECT at any-time during a level...
File:PANDY002 5JUN1996.png|...to switch character!
File:PANDY003 5JUN1996.png|Hold R2 to zoom-out (to the maximum shown)...
File:PANDY004 5JUN1996.png|...or R1 to zoom-in (to the maximum shown)
File:PANDY036 5JUN1996.png|You run to the left to reach the waterfall-opening, not right, in this beta
File:PANDY005 5JUN1996.png|Expect many untextured areas
File:PANDY006 5JUN1996.png|The "cliff-skull" as of this beta
File:PANDY007 5JUN1996.png|A "green club" collectible, this one seemingly unreachable
File:PANDY037 5JUN1996.png|The "cliff-skull" has more-variety in tooth-design in this beta
File:PANDY008 5JUN1996.png|Beta end-of-level effect
File:PANDY009 5JUN1996.png|Beta walking-enemy
File:PANDY010 5JUN1996.png|Beta lava
File:PANDY011 5JUN1996.png|Beta glass-roof
File:PANDY038 5JUN1996.png|To make the lift come down, stand on the grey button; in the final, it's already down waiting
File:PANDY012 5JUN1996.png|A trap which fires a triangular bolt when you step on the arrows...
File:PANDY013 5JUN1996.png|...which is the head of one of the purple enemies
File:PANDY014 5JUN1996.png|You cannot jump onto this roof...
File:PANDY015 5JUN1996.png|...however, enter this door...
File:PANDY016 5JUN1996.png|...then exit back out...
File:PANDY017 5JUN1996.png|...and then you'll appear atop it!
File:PANDY018 5JUN1996.png|Another of the beta "green clubs"
File:PANDY019 5JUN1996.png|The front-view of the beta Invulnerability Shield looks similar...
File:PANDY020 5JUN1996.png|...but the final doesn't feature this reverse-view
File:PANDY021 5JUN1996.png|A very untextured area, where the game usually crashes near the end...
File:PANDY022 5JUN1996.png|...however, jump at the right spot and you can get past it...
File:PANDY023 5JUN1996.png|...though you cannot finish this level!
File:PANDY024 5JUN1996.png|You complete this slide-section as the frog, unlike in the final
File:PANDY025 5JUN1996.png|To get past this point, keep pressing DOWN and RIGHT together to clip-through the stump
File:PANDY026 5JUN1996.png|Closest view of one of the beta "green club" collectibles
File:PANDY027 5JUN1996.png|Possibly the only level in this beta that ends with this platform
File:PANDY029 5JUN1996.png|The (untextured) rolling-logs don't hurt you in the beta, but do push you backwards a lot more
File:PANDY030 5JUN1996.png|You can ride this hot-air balloon into the trees...
File:PANDY031 5JUN1996.png|...once it goes behind them, jump and move left or right to return to the previous area
File:PANDY032 5JUN1996.png|A level-background I don't think is used in the final
File:PANDY033 5JUN1996.png|A view of the waterfalls in this beta
File:PANDY034 5JUN1996.png|After you get the key here, go right in the area below to make the wall open...
File:PANDY035 5JUN1996.png|...and then to avoid the game crashing here, zoom-in fully (R1) before trying to enter the next room
File:PANDY039 5JUN1996.png|In LEVEL03, you move left, not right, as in the final...
File:PANDY040 5JUN1996.png|...and you go left (clockwise) in the circular-area, too!
File:PANDY041 5JUN1996.png|A removed-section from LEVEL03, near the end
File:PANDY042 5JUN1996.png|In the final, this section was revised to make getting to the doorway easier
File:PANDY043 5JUN1996.png|If you fall-down here...
File:PANDY044 5JUN1996.png|...you'll end up on a wooden-bench...
File:PANDY045 5JUN1996.png|...jump across the suspended platforms...
File:PANDY046 5JUN1996.png|...for a shortcut to the end of the level area! (Not sure this is still in the final?)
File:PANDY047 5JUN1996.png|If this door won't open, check you've defeated all enemies in the area leading up to it...
File:PANDY048 5JUN1996.png|...though moments later, you cannot get-past this point anyway!
==Origin==
File:PSX - Pandemonium very beta.jpeg|Disc front.
==Files==
==Acknowledgments==
A huge thanks to Iniche for doing the initial research on this prototype!
==See also==
*Project Deluge: PlayStation 1, Saturn, and CD-i (April 17, 2021)
*Cutting Room Floor (TCRF)
*Internet Archive (IA)