Sonic’s third Genesis/Mega Drive adventure was a game too big and too ambitious for one cartridge; it was split-up between two carts: Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Earlier this week, a prototype ROM (dated November 3, 1993) of the complete early build of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was dumped and launched into the Internet-sphere, piquing the curiosity of old-school Sonic fans and retro gamers alike.

There are all kinds of quirks that set this version apart: Sonic bursts into Angel Island with a board; there are all kinds of music tweaks; it appears Flying Battery was supposed to happen much earlier in the storyline; deleted badniks and test bonus stages. Notably, it looks like there was an early version of the drop-dash, a mechanic that Sonic Mania players know all too well, and other fun oddities to look out for!

You can see gameplay footage of this early Sonic 3 build below!