Pokémon Gold and Silver Versions (found early SpaceWorld '97 demo build of Game Boy Color role-playing games; 1997): Difference between revisions

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{{InfoboxFound
{{InfoboxFound
|title=<center>Pokémon Gold/Silver Spaceworld 1997 demo</center>
|title=<center>Pokémon Gold and Silver (Space World 1997 demo)</center>
|image=Gold_spaceworld2.png#|imagecaption=Title screen for the 1997 Spaceworld demo for ''Pokémon Gold''.
|image=Gold_spaceworld2.png#
|imagecaption=Title screen for the 1997 Space World demo for ''Pokémon Gold''.
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
|datefound=May 31, 18
|datefound=31 May 2018
|foundby=Anonymous   
|foundby=Anonymous   
}}
}}
'''''Pokémon Gold and Silver''''' (known as ''Pocket Monsters'' in Japan) are a pair of video games for the Game Boy Color developed by Game Freak. Being the second entry in the widely-popular ''Pokémon'' franchise and thus the first installments of what is colloquially known as Generation II (Generation I referring to ''Pocket Monsters Red & Green'', ''Pocket Monsters Blue'', ''Pokémon Red & Blue'', and ''Pokémon Yellow''), these titles introduced a number of series staples. These include a real-time clock that affected encounter rates for the titular catchable monsters, the ability to import Pokémon from the previous generation, and the ability to find extremely rare alternate color variations of Pokémon known as "Shiny Pokémon".
''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' (known as ''Pocket Monsters'' in Japan) are a pair of video games for the Game Boy Color developed by Game Freak. Being the second entry in the widely-popular ''Pokémon'' franchise and thus the first installments of what is colloquially known as Generation II (Generation I referring to ''Pocket Monsters Red and Green'', ''Pocket Monsters Blue'', ''Pokémon Red and Blue'', and ''Pokémon Yellow''), these titles introduced a number of series staples, including a real-time clock that affected encounter rates for the titular catchable monsters, the ability to import Pokémon from the previous generation, and the ability to find extremely rare alternate-color variations of Pokémon known as "Shiny Pokémon".


==Development==
==Development==
The game had a lengthy development cycle. In 1997, one year after the release of ''Red & Green'', Game Freak revealed the first details about ''Gold & Silver'', then known as ''Pocket Monsters 2: Gold & Silver'', and stated that the games were set to release at the end of the year for the Game Boy. Like the Generation I games, ''Gold & Silver'' would be compatible with the Super Game Boy, which would provide the same minor enhancements that the preceding games supported (such as the ability to play the game in color, albeit limited to full-screen tints outside of battle). However, a year later Game Freak announced that the games would be delayed for an unknown period of time; at this point, the "2" was dropped from the games' titles and they were re-announced as ''Pocket Monsters Gold & Silver'', though the games' status as sequels to the Generation I games was still intact. That same year, the Generation I games would see a release in the west, where they would become a smash success.
The game had a lengthy development cycle. The games began development immediately after the release of Red and Green in February of 1996, and in August, Game Freak announced that the sequels were under way. In May 1997, the first details about ''Gold and Silver'' (then known as ''Pocket Monsters 2: Gold and Silver'') were published in CoroCoro Comics magazine, and stated that the games were set to release at the end of the year for the Game Boy. Like the Generation I games, ''Gold and Silver'' would be compatible with the Super Game Boy, which would provide the same minor enhancements that the preceding games supported (such as the ability to play the game in color, albeit limited to full-screen tints outside of battle). However, in March 1998, Game Freak announced on their website that the games would be delayed for an unknown period of time;<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/19980610150632/http://www.nintendo.co.jp:80/n02/dmg/kingin/enki.html Archived Game Freak website (in Japanese) announcing the games will be delayed.] Retrieved 22 Feb '19</ref> at this point, the "2" was dropped from the games' titles and they were re-announced as ''Pocket Monsters Gold and Silver'', though the games' status as sequels to the Generation I games was still intact. That same year, the Generation I games would see a release in the west, where they would become a smash international success.


Nearly a year later, Game Freak announced that ''Gold and Silver'' would be re-tooled for compatibility with the then-recently released Game Boy Color while still remaining playable on the original Game Boy. Artwork of several new Pokémon was released along with a few screenshots. Eventually, after a rocky two-year development cycle (which included, among other events, the compressing of the game by Satoru Iwata in order to prevent another delay), the games were finally released on November 21, 1999, in Japan and October 25, 2000, in the United States.
In early 1999, Game Freak announced that ''Gold and Silver'' would be re-tooled for compatibility with the then-recently released Game Boy Color while still remaining playable on the original Game Boy. Artwork of several new Pokémon was released along with a few screenshots. Eventually, after a rocky two-year development cycle (which included, among other events, the re-compression of the games' maps by Satoru Iwata), the games were finally released on November 21st, 1999, in Japan and October 25th, 2000, in the United States.


==Differences Between the Demo and Final Game==
==Differences Between the Demo and Final Game==
During 1997, before the delay was announced, a video game convention called "Space World" was held in Japan and during that convention, a playable demo of ''Pokémon Gold & Silver'' was showcased to the audience. What makes this demo so interesting is the big amount of differences and aspects that weren't included in the final game, such as:
During 1997, before the delay was announced, Nintendo's yearly Space World trade show was held in Japan, during which a '''playable demo of ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' was showcased to the audience'''. What makes this demo so interesting is the significant amount of differences and aspects that weren't included in the final game - a reflection of how the games were intended to be before their retooling for the Game Boy Color. Some of the more notable differences are as follows:


*The title screen features Ho-Oh's in-battle sprite (similarly to the Generation I games) instead of the final game's animation of Ho-Oh flying through the air.
*The title screen features a modified silhouette version of Ho-Oh's in-battle sprite (similarly to the Generation I games, which featured the protagonist alongside a randomly-changing Pokémon sprite) instead of the final game's animation of Ho-Oh (in ''Gold'') or Lugia (in ''Silver'') flying through the air.


*The starting town named "Silent Hills" instead of New Bark Town; the name change is commonly believed to be the result of trademark conflicts with the ''Silent Hill'' series of video games.
*The game's overworld is radically different, being designed after the entirety of Japan rather than just the Kansai region. As a byproduct of this, the Kanto region appears simply as a small, compressed town-like area located analogously to its real-life counterpart, as opposed to the mostly full version seen in the final games.


*The sprites from the Generation I games.
*Many of the original 151 Pokémon reuse their in-battle front sprites from ''Pocket Monsters Blue'' (analogous to Red and Blue internationally), and some of the newly seen back sprites appear to be designed to match the Blue sprites themselves.


*A forest (presumably Ilex Forest) next to Silent Hills.
*Most of the 100 new Pokémon seen in-game are vastly different in design and/or type to their final counterparts, with some of them being replaced or outright removed by the final release. Notably, the battle sprites of these beta Pokémon use a similar art style to that seen in ''Red'', ''Green'', and ''Blue''.<ref>[https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/31/17413826/pokemon-gold-demo-leak Polygon article that talks about the unused Pokémon beta designs.] Retrieved 23 Feb '19</ref>


*Wild Slowking in the grass (in the final game, Slowking can only be obtained by trading a Slowpoke holding a King's Rock).
*In the case of newly-added Pokémon retained in the final release that are evolved forms of Generation I Pokémon, the evolutionary requirements for them differ significantly, with some involving the use of a "Poison Stone" that was ultimately never implemented.


*Different Starting Pokémon (Honoguma - Fire, Kurusu - Water, Happa - Grass. Happa is a prototype version of Chikorita, but Honoguma and Kurusu doesn't resemble at all to Cyndaquil and Totodile, possibly meaning that the latter wasn't created or even planned for the game at that point in development).
*Wild Slowking can be encountered in tall grass; in the final game, Slowking can only be obtained by trading a Slowpoke holding a King's Rock. This was likely intended in order to show it off for the demo.


*Different designs for Marill and Girafarig.
*The Fire-type and Water-type Starter Pokémon are a bear-like creature named Honooguma and a "Plesiosaurus"-like creature named Kurusu, respectively, as opposed to the final game's Cyndaquil and Totodile. "Hanamogura", Chikorita's first evolution, is also much different from Bayleef, being an anthropomorphic flower bud rather than the final game's dinosaur-like middle evolution.


The demo in itself lasted 10 minutes at first, but then got cut to 5 minutes due to a long wait in line. You could walk around Silent Hills, which consisted of your house, a Pokémon Lab, and even a Pokémon Center, but you couldn't enter to the lab or the Pokémon Center as some NPC's (Non-Playable Character) would stop you from entering. Your starter Pokémon was chosen randomly, and it was Level 8, you could find some wild Pokémon and even fight a couple of Trainers on the forest that was next to Silent Hills, then you would find your rival, and upon speaking to him, the demo would end.
The demo in itself lasted 10 minutes at first but was later shortened to 5 minutes due to waiting lines growing larger than anticipated. Players were allowed to walk around a limited portion of the game's overworld, starting off at the game's starting town, Silent Hills (renamed New Bark Town in the final game, likely to avoid trademark issues with Konami's ''Silent Hill'' series of games). The player was given a random Level 8 starter Pokémon holding a Berry; you could fight some wild Pokémon, and even a couple of Trainers in the forest adjacent to Silent Hills. Following this, the player would encounter and speak to the rival character, at which point the demo would end.


==Availability==
==Prior Availability==
Some images and a 15-second silent video of this demo were released online, but the rest of the demo remains lost, including in-game sprites of the original starters and wild Pokémon original designs, although some concept art of the starting Pokémon is found online, their in-game sprites remain a mystery; as well as how Silent Hills looked in it's entirety (only one image has surfaced online).
Some images and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8m0JM4xCio a 15-second silent video] of footage from the demo were released online, but for 21 years, the rest of the demo remained lost, including in-game sprites of the original Pokémon designs. Although early Japanese Pokémon fansite owner Deme-rin's fanart of the game and scrapped Pokémon were readily available online, as well as others' descriptions of the demo experience, the actual nature of the game and its Pokémon remained a mystery. The game's overworld was also clouded in confusion, as only a small number of images of in-game areas were made available in gaming publications. In 2013, however, Twitter user Katsu_Nagao posted a candid image of Honooguma fighting a shiny Metapod.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Katsu_Nagao/status/388880608748773376 A screenshot of the game posted by a Twitter user in 2013.] Retrieved 22 Feb '19</ref> During 2017, further footage from [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AttkF4KqiTM VHS tapes] and [https://youtu.be/wUuBOfngLGM?t=10s European] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LPNOrsseVk&index=64&t=75s broadcasts] featuring footage from the demo and its accompanying B-roll footage surfaced online gradually.


===Resurfacing===
===Resurfacing===
On May 31st, 2018, A ROM of the demo surfaced on 4Chan, this includes many differences from the final game, including over 100 beta/placeholder ''Pokémon'' Sprites.
On May 26th, 2018, an anonymous user posted a link containing four ROMs in the Discord server of Pret, a reverse-engineering team dedicated to disassembling games in the Pokémon series; two of these ROMs were identical to the ones available at Space World 1997, while the other two had extra debugging capabilities. The link posted was limited to 20 downloads before expiring. Until a disassembly and English translation were finished, the newly-formed "Team Spaceworld" vowed to stay quiet about the leak until a full release of both the original ROMs and its translations could be done.


It is believed that the demo cartridge was in the hands of a collector who had passed away, and the family was selling off the collection when a shop owner realized what they had and dumped the ROM.
On May 31st, 2018, the four ROMs were leaked early on a 4chan imageboard before the translation or the disassembly was finished. These ROMs were then hosted and documented on The Cutting Room Floor, a wiki site devoted to documenting unused content, prototypes, and prerelease differences of video games. The wiki further publicized their existence and extensively documented the differences between them and the final games. Though the ROMs were released much earlier than initially planned, the disassembly has been finished; the English translation, meanwhile, is still in the works.
How the collector came into possession of the ROM is uncertain, But [https://twitter.com/JoeMerrick/status/1002134823815843841 comments from the owner of serebii.net], a large ''Pokémon'' fansite, implied that the demo was either stolen or marked to be destroyed and saved against Nintendo's wishes.
 
Shortly after the leak, a rumor surfaced that the original demo cartridge had been purchased by a late collector who, upon passing away, had his collection sold off by his family. According to this story, the cartridge then ended up in the hands of a shop owner who dumped its ROM on the internet after realizing what exactly they possessed. This story, however, has been proven to be a fabrication by another 4chan user falsely claiming to be the owner of the ROMs.
 
How the original leaker came into possession of the cartridge in the first place is uncertain, with only rumors floating about. The owner of ''Pokémon'' fansite Serebii had treated it with caution due to the possibility that it could have been obtained in an illegal manner.<ref>[https://twitter.com/JoeMerrick/status/1002134823815843841 Serebii owner’s Twitter post about not releasing information due to potential legal actions.] Retrieved 31 May '18</ref>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =1
===Images===
  |service1    =youtube
<gallery mode=packed heights=225px>
  |id1          =Evk-DDrhT9s
  |description1 =Yuriofwind's video explains the extensive game development of ''Pokémon Gold & Silver'', also has all footage and pictures available as of now.
}}
<gallery mode=packed heights=175px>
File:Demo_Unit.jpg|Picture of the demo unit.
File:Demo_Unit.jpg|Picture of the demo unit.
File:BetsSprites.png|Sprites from the demo.
File:Anotherarea.jpg|Another area of the demo.
File:Anotherarea.jpg|Another area of the demo.
File:Ez3bRog.jpg|2-page article about the demo.
File:Ez3bRog.jpg|2-page article about the demo.
File:BetsSprites.png|Sprites from the demo.
</gallery>
</gallery>
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =4
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =v=s0H5EG-eAsA
  |description1 =Tama Hero's video on the ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' alpha secrets.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =v=K0MM2Kn-GWA&t
  |description2 =Tama Hero's video on the ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' beta secrets (part 1).
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =v=dUZ_70Nsw4Q
  |description3 =Tama Hero's video on the ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' beta secrets (part 2).
  |service4    =youtube
  |id4          =Evk-DDrhT9s
  |description4 =Yuriofwind's video explains the extensive game
development of ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'', also has all footage and pictures that were available before the roms were found.
}}
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =zKIEggzuN60
  |description1 =LSuperSonicQ's video on the subject.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =v=5XcbWn_ZDLY
  |description2 =Yuriofwind's follow up video on the demo's content.
}}
==See Also==
*[[Pokémon Crystal Version (lost Japan-only mobile adapter GB content for Game Boy Color role-playing game; 2001-2002)]]
*[[Pokémon Picross (found build of unfinished Game Boy Color puzzle game; 1999)]]
*[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gold Rescue Team -Challenge the Gold Rank!- (lost South Korean promotional demo of Nintendo DS game; 2007)]]
*[[Chuggaaconroy (found early Pokémon Platinum videos from YouTuber; 2008)]]
*[[Twitch Plays Pokémon (partially found footage of Let's Play channel; 2014)]]
*[[Pokémate (inaccessible Japanese mobile phone app; 2006)]]
*[[PokéPark: Asari Taikai DS (lost Nintendo DS Download Play game; 2005)]]
*[[Pokémon.com (lost online games from website; pre 2010-2011)]]
*[[Pokémon 2000 Adventure Game (partially found browser-based online game; 2000)]]
*[[Pokémon PC Master (partially found Japanese educational PC game; 2006)]]
*[[Pikachu: DS Tech Demo (lost Nintendo DS tech demo; 2004)]]
*[[Pocket Monsters 64 (lost build of unreleased Nintendo 64DD role-playing game; 1990s)]]
==External Links==
*[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B5epMdm1Wcvh33qFABpw-SO76uZt6WNSl0UsD5yq_dI/htmlview?sle=true#gid=1877452566 Spreadsheet of differences between the Space World demo and the final game.]
*[https://tcrf.net/Proto:Pokémon_Gold_and_Silver Page on The Cutting Room Floor documenting the full list of differences between the 1997 demo and the final games.]


==Links==
==References==
[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B5epMdm1Wcvh33qFABpw-SO76uZt6WNSl0UsD5yq_dI/htmlview?sle=true#gid=1877452566 Spreadsheet of differences between the Space World Demo and the Final Game]
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Lost video games]][[Category:Found media]][[Category:Historic]]
[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Historic]]

Revision as of 05:05, 8 December 2021

Gold spaceworld2.png

Title screen for the 1997 Space World demo for Pokémon Gold.

Status: Found

Date found: 31 May 2018

Found by: Anonymous

Pokémon Gold and Silver (known as Pocket Monsters in Japan) are a pair of video games for the Game Boy Color developed by Game Freak. Being the second entry in the widely-popular Pokémon franchise and thus the first installments of what is colloquially known as Generation II (Generation I referring to Pocket Monsters Red and Green, Pocket Monsters Blue, Pokémon Red and Blue, and Pokémon Yellow), these titles introduced a number of series staples, including a real-time clock that affected encounter rates for the titular catchable monsters, the ability to import Pokémon from the previous generation, and the ability to find extremely rare alternate-color variations of Pokémon known as "Shiny Pokémon".

Development

The game had a lengthy development cycle. The games began development immediately after the release of Red and Green in February of 1996, and in August, Game Freak announced that the sequels were under way. In May 1997, the first details about Gold and Silver (then known as Pocket Monsters 2: Gold and Silver) were published in CoroCoro Comics magazine, and stated that the games were set to release at the end of the year for the Game Boy. Like the Generation I games, Gold and Silver would be compatible with the Super Game Boy, which would provide the same minor enhancements that the preceding games supported (such as the ability to play the game in color, albeit limited to full-screen tints outside of battle). However, in March 1998, Game Freak announced on their website that the games would be delayed for an unknown period of time;[1] at this point, the "2" was dropped from the games' titles and they were re-announced as Pocket Monsters Gold and Silver, though the games' status as sequels to the Generation I games was still intact. That same year, the Generation I games would see a release in the west, where they would become a smash international success.

In early 1999, Game Freak announced that Gold and Silver would be re-tooled for compatibility with the then-recently released Game Boy Color while still remaining playable on the original Game Boy. Artwork of several new Pokémon was released along with a few screenshots. Eventually, after a rocky two-year development cycle (which included, among other events, the re-compression of the games' maps by Satoru Iwata), the games were finally released on November 21st, 1999, in Japan and October 25th, 2000, in the United States.

Differences Between the Demo and Final Game

During 1997, before the delay was announced, Nintendo's yearly Space World trade show was held in Japan, during which a playable demo of Pokémon Gold and Silver was showcased to the audience. What makes this demo so interesting is the significant amount of differences and aspects that weren't included in the final game - a reflection of how the games were intended to be before their retooling for the Game Boy Color. Some of the more notable differences are as follows:

  • The title screen features a modified silhouette version of Ho-Oh's in-battle sprite (similarly to the Generation I games, which featured the protagonist alongside a randomly-changing Pokémon sprite) instead of the final game's animation of Ho-Oh (in Gold) or Lugia (in Silver) flying through the air.
  • The game's overworld is radically different, being designed after the entirety of Japan rather than just the Kansai region. As a byproduct of this, the Kanto region appears simply as a small, compressed town-like area located analogously to its real-life counterpart, as opposed to the mostly full version seen in the final games.
  • Many of the original 151 Pokémon reuse their in-battle front sprites from Pocket Monsters Blue (analogous to Red and Blue internationally), and some of the newly seen back sprites appear to be designed to match the Blue sprites themselves.
  • Most of the 100 new Pokémon seen in-game are vastly different in design and/or type to their final counterparts, with some of them being replaced or outright removed by the final release. Notably, the battle sprites of these beta Pokémon use a similar art style to that seen in Red, Green, and Blue.[2]
  • In the case of newly-added Pokémon retained in the final release that are evolved forms of Generation I Pokémon, the evolutionary requirements for them differ significantly, with some involving the use of a "Poison Stone" that was ultimately never implemented.
  • Wild Slowking can be encountered in tall grass; in the final game, Slowking can only be obtained by trading a Slowpoke holding a King's Rock. This was likely intended in order to show it off for the demo.
  • The Fire-type and Water-type Starter Pokémon are a bear-like creature named Honooguma and a "Plesiosaurus"-like creature named Kurusu, respectively, as opposed to the final game's Cyndaquil and Totodile. "Hanamogura", Chikorita's first evolution, is also much different from Bayleef, being an anthropomorphic flower bud rather than the final game's dinosaur-like middle evolution.

The demo in itself lasted 10 minutes at first but was later shortened to 5 minutes due to waiting lines growing larger than anticipated. Players were allowed to walk around a limited portion of the game's overworld, starting off at the game's starting town, Silent Hills (renamed New Bark Town in the final game, likely to avoid trademark issues with Konami's Silent Hill series of games). The player was given a random Level 8 starter Pokémon holding a Berry; you could fight some wild Pokémon, and even a couple of Trainers in the forest adjacent to Silent Hills. Following this, the player would encounter and speak to the rival character, at which point the demo would end.

Prior Availability

Some images and a 15-second silent video of footage from the demo were released online, but for 21 years, the rest of the demo remained lost, including in-game sprites of the original Pokémon designs. Although early Japanese Pokémon fansite owner Deme-rin's fanart of the game and scrapped Pokémon were readily available online, as well as others' descriptions of the demo experience, the actual nature of the game and its Pokémon remained a mystery. The game's overworld was also clouded in confusion, as only a small number of images of in-game areas were made available in gaming publications. In 2013, however, Twitter user Katsu_Nagao posted a candid image of Honooguma fighting a shiny Metapod.[3] During 2017, further footage from VHS tapes and European broadcasts featuring footage from the demo and its accompanying B-roll footage surfaced online gradually.

Resurfacing

On May 26th, 2018, an anonymous user posted a link containing four ROMs in the Discord server of Pret, a reverse-engineering team dedicated to disassembling games in the Pokémon series; two of these ROMs were identical to the ones available at Space World 1997, while the other two had extra debugging capabilities. The link posted was limited to 20 downloads before expiring. Until a disassembly and English translation were finished, the newly-formed "Team Spaceworld" vowed to stay quiet about the leak until a full release of both the original ROMs and its translations could be done.

On May 31st, 2018, the four ROMs were leaked early on a 4chan imageboard before the translation or the disassembly was finished. These ROMs were then hosted and documented on The Cutting Room Floor, a wiki site devoted to documenting unused content, prototypes, and prerelease differences of video games. The wiki further publicized their existence and extensively documented the differences between them and the final games. Though the ROMs were released much earlier than initially planned, the disassembly has been finished; the English translation, meanwhile, is still in the works.

Shortly after the leak, a rumor surfaced that the original demo cartridge had been purchased by a late collector who, upon passing away, had his collection sold off by his family. According to this story, the cartridge then ended up in the hands of a shop owner who dumped its ROM on the internet after realizing what exactly they possessed. This story, however, has been proven to be a fabrication by another 4chan user falsely claiming to be the owner of the ROMs.

How the original leaker came into possession of the cartridge in the first place is uncertain, with only rumors floating about. The owner of Pokémon fansite Serebii had treated it with caution due to the possibility that it could have been obtained in an illegal manner.[4]

Gallery

Images

Videos

EmbedVideo is missing a required parameter.
EmbedVideo is missing a required parameter.
EmbedVideo is missing a required parameter.
Yuriofwind's video explains the extensive game development of Pokémon Gold and Silver, also has all footage and pictures that were available before the roms were found.

LSuperSonicQ's video on the subject.

EmbedVideo is missing a required parameter.

See Also

External Links

References