Spyro the Dragon (Aug 27, 1998 prototype)
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| Download Spyro the Dragon (Aug 27, 1998 prototype) (info) |
A prototype of Spyro the Dragon for the Sony PlayStation from after the final NTSC-U build but before the final PAL build. Originally released by from an unknown source in around 2007, it slipped under most people's radars due to the assumption that it was simply the final game - this would result in the build being lost for several years afterwards due to how limited of a release it initially was. After later being recovered by iniche, the prototype was re-released by hwd45 on March 21, 2020.
Users should be warned that this appears to be a slightly inaccurate dump with glitches that may not be present in an accurate dump. In particular, there is a risk of loud noises playing as a result of the music being partially corrupted. To fix this corruption, an xdelta patch, created from a repaired image file, can be downloaded here. However, it should be noted that, despite aiming to provide a faithful restoration, this patch may not perfectly reflect a true dump of the game, so a new dump of this version is still required!
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.
- The dump we currently have appears to have been of poor quality or from a damaged disc, and as a result there's some level of data corruption which may be related to several glitches the player can experience during gameplay.
- There's a number of audio issues as the STR files seem to have quite a few error bytes.
- Several of the dragons in Ice Cavern are inexplicably invisible during their cutscenes - however, edccchk does not find any errors in the WAD.WAD file, and the WAD corresponding to Ice Cavern seems unusually small in this build, so this is likely entirely unrelated to the inaccuracy of the dump.
- 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.
- As there are a number of differences between the NTSC-U and PAL final builds, many of these differences have not been implemented into the game yet.
- For example, the gem placement in Metalhead matches the NTSC-U version, while the retextured dragons 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.
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
Acknowledgments
Thanks to hwd45 and iniche for making this re-release possible.
See also