List of Super Mario Bros. 3 pre-release and unused content
This article pertains to the beta elements of Super Mario Bros. 3 and its remake, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Mario Bros. 3 beta elements
There were going to be two new enemies called Gold Cheep Cheep (a golden version of a Cheep-Cheep), and Green Para-Beetles (green colored Para-Beetles). The Gold Cheep Cheeps would come in groups and swim faster than regular Cheep-Cheeps and the Green Para-Beetle is a green Para-Beetle that flies faster than normal ones, Gold Cheep-Cheeps appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii as smaller versions traveling around in schools. The game coding reveals an item-sized Toad icon among some of the game's suits; this is interpreted by several as a sort of "Toad Suit", although it makes no changes to gameplay when granted to Mario. - This has been recently proven to actually be a Hammer Suit with palette errors, and appears clearly in a "?" block in 7-8, giving Mario the Hammer Suit. [1] Designers also considered a power-up to turn Mario into a Centaur (half-man, half-horse), although this was rejected (Tilden 1990, 21).
An odd block, has a "?" block surrounded with smaller "?" blocks inside a "?" block was also a scrapped beta element. This might be something used in a bonus game/area.
An early build of the game was previewed in a promotional VHS tape coming with the September 1988 edition of the magazine Famigaga [2]. The preview shows several levels unused in the final game, a different sprite for the Wooden Block and a slightly different HUD.
Koopa Troopas and Hammer Bros. were going to host two mini-games. The mini-games were a Dice Block game and a Question Block game. These mini-games and their hosts seem to have been replaced by Toad. However, it could also be possible that they were all around at the same time, but all got scrapped except for one due to memory size.
Finally, fifteen extra levels exist within the coding of Super Mario Bros. 3. Some of these are strange and unique, while others bear much resemblance to levels in the final version and were very likely redone as those. Also, the back of the box of some early copies of Super Mario Bros. 3 depicts Mario traversing a hilly grassland stage with tons of Para-Beetles and two Note Blocks about. This particular stage is not any of the lost ones present on the cartridge, nor is it in the final game. It could even be a press mock-up from Nintendo. The "special" boxes also feature a beta map of Grass Land.
A Koopa Troopa hosting an item mini-game in Super Mario Bros. 3.
- Hammer.gif
A Hammer Bro. hosting a card mini-game in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Mario Bros. 3's "Toad Suit" as it appears in the game's programming.
Unused Mario sprites.
- Super Mario Bros. 3 Beta Sprite.PNG
Unused castle sprites.
More unused Mario sprites.
Unused sprites of spikes and a wheel.
Unused underwater propeller.
Super Mario Advance 4 beta elements
Logo
The logo had a few differences to the current logo.
Unused E-Reader Items
A Grey Switch was found in the game's codings. It was taken out for unknown reasons.
There are also pressed versions of the switches, used nowhere.
Gameplay
Not much is different to the gameplay, but there is a different version of showing how many A Coins can be collected in the HUD.
Other
Found among the game's internal data are some uncompressed Super Mario World graphics. This is odd, as graphics in modern video games are almost always compressed, since they can consume a lot of space. The probable reason for their decompression is that Super Mario World's graphics are 3-bit, making them fairly "light" on space requirements. The graphics found were the following.
- One of the animation frames for Bowser's Clown Car.
- Three frames of Koopa Troopa's walking animation.
- Two frames of Goomba's walking animation.
- The Nintendo Presents logo from the beginning of the game.
- The font used for the HUD, used to write out this text string: 0123456789:VER./
It's probably worth noting that none of these graphics are anywhere near each other in Super Mario World, although they are right next to each other in Super Mario Advance 4. It's not known whether these are a true beta element, or random data that was compiled into the game by mistake, possibly while coding something else.
Using Lunar Magic, a popular hacking tool for Super Mario World, and YYCHR, a graphics hacking tool for various game roms, can prove the fact that these graphics aren't anywhere near each other, with the exception of the Koopa and Goomba graphics. Extracting all of Super Mario World's graphics from the ROM splits the graphics into different files with a .bin extension, labeled from GFX00 to GFX33 (The numbers are labeled in hex, e. g. GFX 0E). When opened with YYCHR, the "Nintendo Presents" gfx are located in GFX00, the Koopa Troopa's and Goomba's walking animations are located in GFX01, Bowser's Koopa Clown Car sprite tiles are located in GFX21, and the font for the HUD, is located in GFX28.
- early sprites
- SMB3 NES Spiny Cheep Cheep. This was used in the Japan-only E-reader level Classic 2-2.
- Dolphins (SMA2) Unused
- Fishbone (SMA2) Unused
- Yoshi's Fireballs (SMA2, Giant New Appearance, from when Yoshi spits out a Red Shell, and also a Giant version, probably to be caused by spitting out a Red Gargantua Koopa Troopa Shell
- Flutter (SMA3) (Unused) This Enemy is fully scripted and acts like the Super Mario Advance 2 Wigglers. [3]
- Fuzzy (SMA2) (Unused)
- Unused Boo graphics from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (note that those aren't the actual Boo graphics from Yoshi's Island, but unused ones that were unused in both Yoshi's Island, and Super Mario Advance 4).
Also, the Para-Goomba (SMA2), the Para Bob-omb (based off of its SMW appearance with the SMA4 bob-ombs), and the Porcu-Puffer are in the game, fully scripted.[4]
Also found in the game was an Arrow Lift. The Arrow Lift was slightly different to the ones found in Yoshi's Island. Updated sprites of the Gold Cheep Cheep and Green Parabeetle were found too. Both enemies were suppose to appear in Super Mario Bros. 3 but never appeared.
