Spyro the Dragon (Aug 27, 1998 prototype)
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| Download Spyro the Dragon (Aug 27, 1998 prototype) (info) |
A localisation prototype of Spyro the Dragon for the Sony PlayStation from after the final NTSC-U build but before the final PAL build.
History
Originally released on various ROM sites by an unknown source in around 2007, it slipped under people's radars due to the assumption that it was simply a buggy copy of the final game, resulting in the build being lost for several years afterwards. After later being recovered by iniche, the prototype was publicly re-released by hwd45 on March 21, 2020.
The initial release had a number of sector errors in the file data for two of the .STR soundtrack files, causing unpleasant audio glitches during gameplay. This was fixed manually using the files from the final game and was used to create an xdelta file for patching the game.
In 2026 a new dump of the build was provided by March42, confirming that it originated from a SCEE PlayStation Review Version disc. This dump had a single sector error in a sector that did not have an error in the original dump, so the dump uploaded here uses the corrected sector header from the original dump. Whether this error is a deliberate watermark or a disc read error is currently unclear.
For the curious, .xdelta files for recovering each of the original dumps (labelled old-dumps/dump1.xdelta and old-dumps/dump2.xdelta) are included in the release package.
Notes
- According to the primary volume data, this version was built August 27th 1998. This version is a localization prototype; it was built after the final NTSC-U release of the game but before the final PAL build.
- Several of the dragons in Ice Cavern are inexplicably invisible during their cutscenes, due to their textures being entirely transparent.
- Many of the translations are still incomplete and some non-English level names are named differently to the final.
- Accents are not yet displayed correctly on level names outside portals.
- Some languages have typos and minor grammatical errors. In particular, "DEUTSCH" is spelled as "DEUTCH" on the title screen.
- A number of the minor changes made between the NTSC-U and PAL final builds are yet to be implemented. For example, the gem placement in Metalhead matches the NTSC-U release version, while the dragon textures (which changed in a number of places) match the PAL final version.
- For some reason, Gnasty Gnorc reuses an early design seen in the June 15th Prototype as well as unfinished animations, despite being fully complete and present in the NTSC-U final build. Presumably, the finalised version of the character had not been re-exported to 25 FPS prior to this build.
Magazine Appearance
This review build was used by many European magazines, but notably, the German "Video Games" magazine displayed an image of the disc and described some issues they identified.
Translation provided by Vindico:
REVIEW VERSION Since you (and the industry) usually doesn't want to read reviews for games around two months after release, there are so-called Review Versions. Basically finished, yet not quite. In Spyro's case this fact was noticeable with this...
The two pictures show the aforementioned "DEUTCH" misspelling of "DEUTSCH", as well as a line that roughly translates to "SRAVE GAME".
Cheat codes
The majority of the cheat codes in this build match other versions of the game, but exclusive to this one is a level select code which isn't present in either of the other final builds.
Enter the following codes in the game's inventory screen. A chime confirms a successful entry.
| 99 Lives | Square (x6), Circle, Up, Circle, Left, Circle, Right, Circle |
|---|---|
| Level Select ¹ | R1, R2, L1, L2, R1, L1, R2, L2 |
| Open All Worlds | Square, Square, Circle, Square, Left, Right, Left, Right, Circle, Up, Right, Down |
| View End Credits | Left, Right, Up, Down, Circle, Circle, Square, R1, R2, L1, L2 |
¹ Input any of the following button combinations after entering the master code:
| Artisans Home | X + Circle | Magic Crafters Home | Triangle + Circle | Dream Weavers Home | Down + Circle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Hill | X + X | Alpine Ridge | Triangle + X | Dark Passage | Down + X |
| Dark Hollow | X + Square | High Caves | Triangle + Square | Lofty Castle | Down + Square |
| Town Square | X + Triangle | Wizard Peak | Triangle + Triangle | Haunted Towers | Down + Triangle |
| Toasty | X + Right | Blowhard | Triangle + Right | Jaqcues | Down + Right |
| Sunny Flight | X + Down | Crystal Flight | Triangle + Down | Icy Flight | Down + Down |
| Peace Keepers Home | Square + Circle | Beast Makers Home | Right + Circle | Gnorc Gnexus | Left + Circle |
| Dry Canyon | Square + X | Terrace Village | Right + X | Gnorc Cove | Left + X |
| Cliff Town | Square + Square | Misty Bog | Right + Square | Twilight Harbor | Left + Square |
| Ice Cavern | Square + Triangle | Tree Tops | Right + Triangle | Gnasty Gnorc | Left + Triangle |
| Doctor Shemp | Square + Right | Metalhead | Right + Right | Gnasty's Loot | Left + Right |
| Night Flight | Square + Down | Wild Flight | Right + Down | Skip to next level | Up |
Screenshots
Title screen.
Gameplay 1.
Gameplay 2.
Gameplay 3.
Videos
Origin
Disc front
Acknowledgments
Thanks to iniche and March42 for making this re-release possible.