Repost from 'retro:
[quote:63453adacd="ICEknight"]
[img:63453adacd]http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3063/protoballhog.png[/img:63453adacd]
This version looks more similar to the illustration in the Japanese manual, both in shape and colors.

EDIT: Also, the images those monitors are slowly cycling are:

First monitor:
-Robotnik
-Sonic
-Ring.

Second monitor:
-Static frame.
-Another static frame.
-Robotnik.

So those objects are just cycling [i:63453adacd]all [/i:63453adacd]the possible frames they had programmed in. I doubt they ever intended to animate those static frames like that, so I'd rule out the possibility of a "roulette monitor".


EDIT 2:
Since nobody seemed to notice, there's a Pink Newtron (chameleon) badnik that behaves like the final blue one (he appears, then drops).
In the final version, it was the ball-firing chameleon who used the second palette (then changed to green).
[img:63453adacd]http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/938/protoleon.png[/img:63453adacd]
[/quote:63453adacd]