Early Sonic 3 prototype found, features major differences to the final game
Previously, Hidden Palace and The Cutting Room Floor announced their "Sonic Month" event, where documentation on never before seen Sonic the Hedgehog prototypes would be unveiled, courtesy of drx. The first handful of prototypes to be shown were of Sonic CD, followed by some early versions of Sonic Chaos and Sonic 2. Today, yet another prototype has been revealed, and this could be the most important one yet. An early build of Sonic 3, dated November 3, 1993, has been dumped, with lots of content to discover within its code.
Booting the ROM brings up a WIP version of the title screen, featuring a completely different looking sprite of Sonic from the final build. Sonic also features his older sprite set from Sonic 2, surfboarding onto Angel Island instead of hopping off the Tornado and going Super Sonic as he does in the completed version. There is also no insta-shield, however, there is something entirely unexpected: a move that is almost identical to Sonic Mania's Drop Dash. By jumping in the air, and holding up+jump, Sonic will spindash the moment he lands. It also appears that Sonic would have other unique moves, as there is unused code present for an "air dash" attack, and a ring throw ability, where he could attack badniks with them.
Continuing on, a level-select that looks very much like Sonic 2's features Flying Battery, Mushroom Valley, and Sandopolis as stages for Sonic 3, while beta Lava Reef tilesets are present, which as we all know, these levels would all later be cut from the game and moved over to Sonic & Knuckles. An hour-and-a-half video has been uploaded showcasing the gameplay of the prototype in full, for those interested.
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