Demos with unique features or totally different from the games they represent

[IntelliMission]

I just found out that the Space Quest 6 demo has a unique plot and puzzles that don't even appear on the game itself, and some time ago I discovered that the 1990 Monkey Island demo included in the demo disc Passport to Adventure, which also has Loom and Last Crusade regular demos, has its own puzzles too.

 

Do you know if there are more demos like those? This could be a great way to discover that some of your favorite classic games have some "DLC" that you can enjoy as if it was new.

Edited May 9, 2020 by IntelliMission

[jhd]

This is an exciting discovery -- the only demos that I have seen/played are for the PlayStation and PS 2, and they are (almost) all just cut-down versions of the game, with no unique content.

 

The demo for Xenogears has some characters that do not appear until a later stage in the main game (and some amusing dialogue about that change). I do not know if the puzzles, etc. are the same. 

 

There is also a Resident Evil demo disk where the game is significantly different from the released version. 

 

I don't know if it counts, there was a publicly released playable demo for Titan A.E., but that game was subsequently cancelled.        

[Steven Pendleton]

The demo for StarCraft is a set of missions that take place shortly before the actual game does. These demo missions are not part of the full game, but they are part of the story. You also get a unique hero, siege tank Duke, which is interesting. Pretty sure he's the only hero siege tank in the whole series unless there is someone that I forgot, and since Duke is always a battlecruiser in the full game, this is a unique unit that you never get otherwise.

 

The only other one that I can think of isn't retro, but I'll mention it anyway. It's Duty Calls, which is a weird advertising demo-thing for Bulletstorm and has basically nothing to do with Bulletstorm.

[IntelliMission]

Don't worry, Bulletstorm was released for the 360, so it will officially become retro in a few months (according to the video games press). 😅

[Black_Tiger]

The PC Engine has a lot of stand alone and compilation demo discs. Many have unique features and compilation discs have content not found in games.

 

Many CD games also hide demos and unique content in their system card warning modes. A good example is the PCE version of Dragon Slayer.

 

[Black_Tiger]

Here are some cool ones: