Dungeon Master Forum

This Japanese advert for Dungeon Master on the Super Famicom (SNES) shows a very different version of the game, from the one that was eventually released. Notice that the creatures and interface are quite close to those in the original Atari ST/Amiga versions:
http://dmweb.free.fr/files/Flyer_Dungeo ... k_Scan.jpg

However, none of the released versions of Famicom/SNES Dungeon Master actually look like that. The final interface looks very different (much more "arcadey") and many of the creatures were completely redrawn, for example the Golem and Dragon are very different in the final SNES version of the game.

So... does anyone know if it's possible to find this other early version of Dungeon Master for SNES? Or should we assume it was an internal beta, and never released?

It was not uncommon to see advertisements with screenshots from early development versions that were not remotely close to finished, let alone alpha releases.
The developers probably didn't even keep those builds until they got something close to finished.

Yes, you're right, in fact the first box for the first version of DM on Atari shows a completely different version of the game!

It's strange though that the SNES creatures were eventually redrawn, in a very different style. I can't think of a better description than "more Japanesey"! Maybe the artists eventually thought the earlier creature designs were boring, or they wanted to put their own personal touch on them.