Croc: Legend of the Gobbos Prototypes
This page is a list of all pre-release and betas of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. There are many YouTube videos on the beta game, which are posted onto this page. Many of the levels have bugs and glitches which prevent the player from completing the levels.
Tech Demo
Not to be confused with the later released Demos.
This was released on 8th November 1996 and is the earliest release of the game. The tech demo and the released game have many differences, including other Croc sounds, including jumping, running and climbing. The demo does have a few levels similar to some of the retail ones. To complete a level, you need to get ALL Gobbos, and there are 3 in a level. This is different from the final game, where you can advance without collecting all the Gobbos hidden throughout the level. See the table below for the main differences:
Differences
Element | Tech Demo | Final game |
---|---|---|
Booting the game | Copyright notice (blue text), different Argonaut logo animation, different "Press Start" screen | Animated Fox Interactive logo, Gobbos inflating Argonaut Software Limited, "All Rights Reserved" screen. Interactive and full Main Menu. |
Introduction | Aftter waiting about a minute, a book-style introduction shows how Croc learns to move, fight, swim etc. | Plays automatically, much more detailed and graphical. |
Islands and Level Select |
Island 1 - Nice and Easy, cannot change levels. Can only go to next level upon completion. Islands are called 1, 2, 3 etc. Levels have different titles (see below). Level layouts are similar to final game. |
Forest Island - And so the Adventure Begins, can change levels upon completion |
Saving and Loading | None. | Can save in Level Select Mode. Can Load on Main Menu |
When Croc loses all lives.... | Must start the game from the first level. | Can choose to replay the level with 2 Lives or quit to the Main Menu. |
Sound and Music |
None, apart from sound affects during gameplay. Sound affects without music. Whoosh sound is heard when jumping. When stomping, he always says "Woo-ho!" When approaching a Gobbo, he will say "Hey!". When rescued, he says "Hooray". When tail-attacking, only a "Whoosh" sound is heard. |
Sound and music throughout. 'Bounce'-like sound is heard when jumping. Says "Wahay", "Shazay", "Yazoo!" when stomping. |
Loading | Takes longer. Different screen, not animated. | Shows Croc walking along with a black background. |
Common glitches/graphical bugs |
Camera glitch in first level "Nice and Easy". When hanging on a moving Platform, he may climb up onto thin air, then fall down. In Dangerous Sports, Croc can fall in the sides of the tunnels. |
Few. |
Bonus Areas/secrets | None. | Bonus Areas, Mini-Games, Crystal Door Challenges etc. |
Guardian/Boss Levels | None. | 2 per island, 9 total. |
Controls |
Croc jumps like a leap and moves forward slightly. Monkey Bars - must hold X the whole time to avoid letting go. Also takes longer to climb. Running on surfaces are slightly slidy, like on ice in the final version. When stopping, will do a slight skid. Camera - Not very auto-adjustable. No buttons for it. O - Makes Croc crouch. Triangle - Flip 180 degrees, like O in final game. L2 and R2 buttons have no function. |
Monkey Bars - no need to hold X, faster climb. No sliding, apart from on ice. Camera usually adjusts correctly. L2, R2 and Triangle adjusts. |
HUD |
Always shows Crystal count and three Gobbos. Lives replace Crystals when affected (gained or lost). Gobbos carry white flags when rescued. Lives show when entering a new area. |
Shows items when affected. Can be all seen when pausing the game. |
Interactive Elements |
Doors - Few in number, replaced by simple cave entrances. Final level ending door at the end, requiring all three Gobbos to be saved. Buttons - some unlock (and remove) cages without a key. Boxes - Smash Boxes are larger, grey with no ? on them. Crystals are spread out when opened. Push Boxes are brown and stripy. Pushing them are slower. No coloured crystals, and therefore no Crystal Door. When hurt, Croc flashes for approx. 5 seconds. Crystals do not dissapear, making it possible to stay in a deadly pit for as long as he wants. Wells look more like tree stumps. Does not have corks on. Contains bricks like the Red/Grey Bricks in final game. Lives appear as coloured bags. Platforms usually move faster. Breaking ones animate similar to in Croc 2. |
Doors - open when approached. Buttons - usually for platforms. Boxes - Smash Boxes are different per level, with ? and can get all crystals in one smash. Push Boxes are brownish with white arrows painted on them. Coloured Crystals - 5 in each level, used to unlock the Crystal Door. When hurt by enemy or hazard, will flash for approx. 3 seconds. Crystals dissapear after approx. 5 seconds. 2 touches on pits w/without crystals means losing a life. |
Animations in gameplay |
Crystals not animated but will float slightly. Longer animation when climbing up from hanging on a ledge. Slightly different animation when defeating enemies. Climbs up faster on Climbable Walls. Pressing Triangle while moving to flip 180 degrees will delay for a short time. |
All animated. |
Ending levels/Beany Gongs | No gongs, but has a final door at the end, requiring all three Gobbos to be saved. Will show a Crystal count screen upon completion. | Beany Gong at the end, usually two, including one through Crystal Door. |
Enemies |
No Dantinis. Red creature similar to Firepoppers without fireballs. (See below). One Guardian on the last level Dangerous Sports: Flibby. |
Many: Dantinis, Guardians etc. |
Levels
There are only four levels in the game. The last level, Dangerous Sports contains a Flibby prototype Guardian fight. The levels are modeled with the Final version, so Nice and Easy is And so the Adventure Begins etc.
Nice and Easy
- Crystals: 73
- Enemies: Pelican
Enter the Jumpy
- Crystals: 55+
- 1x Bag of Life
- Enemies: 10x Popper
Feet First
- Crystals:
- Enemies: 2x Dragonfly. 1x Popper
Dangerous Sports
- Crystals:
- Enemies:
- Guardian: Flibby
Enemies
Enemy in TD | In Final game |
---|---|
Pelican ("Nice and Easy") | Replaced with Giant Bee |
Poppers ("Enter the Jumpy") | Replaced with Firepopper |
Dragonfly ("Feet First") | Replaced with Rats |
0.12 Version
This version was released as a gift in a magazine but only a few people still own it. This was likely given to a game magazine for reviewing the game, although this isn't certain. The level select menu differs significantly to the final version. Other Differences include:
- The loading screen for levels actually depicts a silhouette of Croc staring into the sunset.
- Instead of Coloured Crystals, there are actually letters B O N U and S which have the same colours to unlock the Crystal Door at the end.
Testing Level 'Script Hack'
This beta version seems to have the same level select menu, except the levels are completely different. It is only available for the PC version. For example, some levels are unable to complete and some have areas never included in the final game. The video shows that if some levels are played, Croc is able to walk on the actual islands shown in the level select menus. It's possible that this is played using a scripting hack (due to the comments on the video) in order to reach the testing levels. The uploader of the video has said that someone called Andre from the defunct website Croc Fan Forums created these levels. You can download the idx file by going to this link. Make a backup of the old maps.idx file from C:\\Program Files\Fox\Croc\gdata Then copy the new maps.idx in C:\\Program Files\Fox\Croc\gdata, then run the game.
'Mr. Gimmick' version
This version is even rarer than the 0.12 version, and is assumed that it was given to Fox employees to test, and compares significantly to the beta 0.12 version. It's currently owned by Wiki member Mr. Gimmick. There are only a few minor differences - some of the level titles are slightly different, the backgrounds are different in some areas, different enemy and item placement, etc.
This prototype is still being investigated for further differences and more info will be added to this page as it becomes available.