Prototype

Final

The prototype version has a different image for this round on the map screen. The final uses an image which is used in this prototype, but for the first level. The moon was changed to a full one also.

Prototype

Final

The prototype has duller colors, and the sky is different. The rocks also have some smoke effects on them that the final doesn't feature. The final also has very small rocks in the background, which the proto doesn't have.

Prototype

Final

The proto has a different layout for this stage, and is devoid of any item boxes. Either version of the stage is difficult, but the proto is the harder of the two as some of the jumps you need to make involve landing on several very small platforms in a row.

Prototype

Final

In the proto, the letter "G" floats down in place of the really small rock sprite. The ninjas also have slightly different colors.

Prototype

Final

The sub-boss isn't ready yet in the proto. Instead, you'll be put in a small stage which has several rocks in it. The rocks don't move down like they do in the previous stage, but you can use them to jump up. However there is a point where you cannot move on any further and have to use the level skip to progress any further. For the final the sub-boss stage is different, with just three rocks, but the actual sub-boss at least turns up.

Prototype

Final

The next stage is very different in the prototype. You will start out inside a building, and will stand in front of a locked door. To unlock it, you must complete 6 rooms -3 either side of the door -with each room having various traps inside it. The final version scrapped this idea, and starts you outside a building. After moving inside, you will have to complete a certain route to get to the boss door. This was a tribute to a similar stage in The Revenge of Shinobi.

As the prototype version is so different, I've written a seperate guide to this stage.

Prototype

Final

The prototype has a different boss battle. It will start against two Ninja Masters, but they have blue and red hair. For the final, they both have white. The stage colors also do not change in the prototype, and "Mandara" plays througout the battle. For the final version, "Hassou!" will play until you kill the two clones, and then "Mandara" will start.

Prototype

Final

The boss battle is considerably easier in the prototype, mainly because you can hit either of the clones, in the final, only one of them can take damage. But in the proto, the clones cannot send their projectiles through floors, whilst in the final, they can. Also, the colors just make it easier to see what is going on in the proto. The final version will have the boss make this silly laugh whenever he uses one of the doors, something the proto does not feature (despite the laugh being in the sound test).

Prototype

Final

When the boss reveals his true form, he rather randomly just floats down from above in the proto. In the final, the screen goes black, some petals fall from above (which keep falling throughout the fight), then the stage comes back with new colors and the boss appears out of the floor below. The proto boss has yellow hair, whilst the final has white.

Prototype

Final

The boss has an attack where he'll throw three fans up, which then descend on you. These are easy to avoid in the prototype because they cannot pass through the middle floor. This was fixed for the final so they pass through it.

Prototype

Final

In the proto, there is a glitch which will corrupt the graphics for the background. If the boss ever appears in the top left or right doors, it will cause the glitch. The boss will hop to the left or right, dropping fans (which don't hurt you). For the final, the glitch was fixed, and when the boss hops, some spikes shoot out of the ground instead.

Prototype

Final

Finally, as with the other bosses, his death sequence in the prototype isn't as spectacular as it is in the final version.