Possible Tonic Trouble proto for PC?

Last week i came to one of my friend's place to play retro games and he told me he somehow had a beta version of a game called "Tonic Trouble" for the PC. I have heard that name once before but i don't know what this game is about. The only thing i know as of now is that the energy meter is different to the retail version. My friend told me it looked like some spikey things but i don't know. Stay tuned, i will try to record some footage next time i see him. It may take a while, since we're pretty busy for now.

 

There's a PC "beta" called Tonic Trouble Special Edition that apparently is pretty different from the final game that's out there. I'd guess your friend is talking about that.

I still remember looking forward to this game as a kid and then eventually forgetting about it. One of those games that kept getting delayed like was the extreme norm for N64 titles back in the day. It'd be neat if an N64 proto from 1997 showed up sometime.

 

Well, it's possible. But why some people call it a beta?

 

Good question. While different from the later commercial release, it was deemed good enough for/by Compaq. I guess if you wanted you could also call the SE the "final" and the retail version an updated rerelease. Semantics...
Anyways, I for one don't think "beta" is a good term to use here. Or would you argue that once a "director's cut" or "definitive edition" of something comes out, it causes all previous releases to be retroactively labeled "unfinished"?

 

That's a good point.

 

Tonic Trouble was primary used as a test for Rayman 2. To see if the developers could do 3D platforming.
Looking at the SE, it's clearly a very early version of the game compared to the retail release.
I don't really see it as a beta either, it's more like a completed first draft that seemed good enough for Compaq to bundle with some PCs.
(the retail version if better though, they ditched the tank controls SE had)

 

I just watched gameplay footage of the special edition, and fits perfectly the description my friend gave me. The spiky things i mentioned earlier were actually spades. I thought they were spiky things because in French spike and spade are the same word ("Pique"; same pronouciation as "Pick").

 

I talked about the Special Edition to my friend and he said it was the one he has. Thank you guys for helping me and my friend find out where this strange version of the game came from!