My first thought was perhaps stylistic. But then I thought about the unused teleport sprites/animation. Perhaps more of the right side of the screen was like that to show the teleport animation in more detail when Sonic grabs the Giant Ring. Goes along with the years old theory that it could've been used as a Special Stage teleport animation.
Wouldn't the Pre-Winter CES screen have to be 1 chunk more to the left instead of to the right since the signpost is placed earlier? This would also mean that the layout to the left of the signpost with the ramp and the rings leading to it either wasn't in the level yet or was placed more to the left. This is what I mean:
The background received changes so there's a big chance it didn't align with the final one. You just can't say the signpost was placed earlier.
It did receive changes, but a picture we have that's earlier than this one seems to show the beta ghz bg placement and design were already done (this is without keeping in mind the brighter GHZ bg, of course, what I mean is the way the rocks and bushes are placed and such): Spoiler This seems to match up perfectly with a later build: Since the top image has dark water but the new image has bright water, I think it'd make sense for the background to already have it's beta placement and design.
Yeah, just noticed the two purple flowers on the left aren't on the repeated chunk sequence. Interesting.
Let's get this nipped in the bud - Winter CES 1991 took place in January, the Tokyo Toy Show took place in June. That first (of maybe two) CSG shows was in March. As far as I'm aware nothing resembling a playable Sonic 1 was publicly shown prior to WCES, just that 1990 Tokyo Toy Show demo. So "pre-Winter CES" probably isn't a thing. (for the record, there's some early footage and a playable build from WCES 1991, and that's about all we know) Anyway this is a Teradrive display and they have at least three machines around the 39 minute mark. The one of the left is hooked up to a CRT TV and is showing Sonic running. It has RINGS in the HUD, so it's later than WCES 1991... and it also has green sunflowers (I think). But there's also scrolling clouds in GHZ, so... Japan final? Before the US/EU one? idk what's going on here. The Teradrive monitor next to it is showing... something Teradrivey. Can't get a good look at the right machine. The middle machine, which is the screen in question, is properly weird. It's not gameplay footage - there is a screenshot of the title screen, and then (after a big pause) it transitions to a screenshot of Act 1 complete. Nothing moves. There is also no cartridge plugged in. So for my money, we don't have a build of Sonic 1 here, we have a Teradrive demonstration that is using prototype Sonic 1 screenshots (psst - did someone check none of this shipped with the machine?).
Translate, copy-edit, wikify etc. https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:BeepMD_JP_1991-05.pdf&page=32 I can confirm there was a CSG show on the 24th and 25th March, 1991. And a playable non-final build of Sonic the Hedgehog was there. There's a build in the previous issue of Beep! MegaDrive that conveniently shows the "final" Act 1 ending layout: https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:BeepMD_JP_1991-04.pdf&page=38 (and a black and white one with a different time, if you care) This is February/March-ish 1991. So presumably this change was made at least 4 months before launch. But I'm looking for Teradrive stuff. One thing I hadn't clocked was that Teradrive went on sale in May 1991. It was obviously getting promoted before then though, and they chose Sonic the Hedgehog to highlight the machine's Mega Drive support. Before the game had been released. https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:BeepMD_JP_1991-06.pdf&page=2 So prototype Sonic 1 turns up in Teradrive advertising.
*5 months - https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:BeepMD_JP_1991-03.pdf&page=31 (Winter CES 1991)
I’ve never seen that tape before, what’s so special about it? Is it a sega promo cassette about their upcoming games?
Didn't know where else to post this but at 47:17 in the video posted above ( ) , There's early footage of Super Fantasy Zone. I've never seen the enemy spawners move like that. They are attached like flowers. in the final they have wings and bob up and down!
Those rotating spikes placed in bumper pit in SYZ... Give a medal to designer who decide to remove it. It's like a annoying trap from Sonic 2, which suddenly gets on the screen and measures your reflexes.
I’m pretty sure sonic 1 has more of those than sonic 2, such as the spike elevator from labyrinth zone, the opening and closing platforms in scrap brain, the bomb badniks from starlight, so on so forth
