Pre-release and unused content

Beta elements are components of a video game that, for whatever reason, are removed or altered before that game is released. Known info about beta elements usually comes from one of two sources. The first is information released about a game, by its creators, before the game is complete. The second is data found within the coding of a game that serves no purpose, but could have been implemented into the game at one point.

Beta elements get their name from the period at the end of a game's development known as Beta Testing, when the nearly complete build of the game is debugged and playtested by a small group of people. Despite this, most games are complete or nearly complete when beta testing takes place, so most beta elements are scrapped long before this period.

Beta elements should not be confused with Vaporware, entire games which never see release.

Game & Watch Gallery 4
A few pre-release screenshot showed that the characters had different sprites. The "Game Select" screen was completely different. The Game Data also contains a few more unused sprites.

''Mario's Tennis
The character list in this game's coding features the name "CASSARIN", which is notable for, unlike the other characters, not having any sprites. "Cassarin" happens to be Japanese for "Catherine", which is Birdo's Japanese name; it can therefore be assumed that Birdo was initially planned for playability in Mario's Tennis.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
In the ROM, various unused sound files can be found. These include Yoshi's voice clips from Yoshi's Story, and some of the music from Mario & Luigi Partners in Time. The PiT music won't play correctly, although the Yoshi voices will.

In some trailers, after Mario saves Peach from flames at the start of the game, Bowser said "How dare you?", but in the final release he says "Crud!"

In the Japanese ROM can be found a unused item that looks similar to a Life Shroom but is named Dummy: if used, Mario (or Luigi) will throw it in the air (while inside Bowser) and it will explode, healing 60 HP back to Bowser. It was most likely scrapped because of the fact only the Sea Pipe Statue and Durmite can damage Bowser from inside.

All the enemies that the Mario bros. can't fight still have an attack pattern for them (except the Dark Mechawfuls, as it was unfinished, and the final boss).

''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
A certain beta screenshot depicts Mario, Luigi, and their baby selves fighting two red shoe-clad Blooper foes in the Vim Factory. Almost nothing is known about this Blooper creature, which was unused, although the timing of the taking of the screen shot featuring them (which depicts Luigi, upon being thrust by a Trampoline, stomping one) conveniently shows fans both its normal and pained poses.

Another early screen shot shows the gang using a Mix Flower on two Boo Guys in Hollijolli Village, while Boo Guys were not present in this area in the final game and Mix Flowers don't look or act this way in the final game. Also in page 27 of the intstruction booklet there are 2 images of Mario leveling up, here instead of having "stache" he has "hige". Finally, it may be notable that Baby Mario's initial artwork erroneously depicted him as having red shoes rather than his normal blue ones (this mistake was eventually changed and the artwork was re-released), although his shoe coloration would appear to have always been consistent throughout all of the actual game's programming.

A certain enemy name in the ROM, Scoot Bloop, was totally unused. In all versions of the game excepting the Spanish release, it has been translated. Scoot Bloop can also be the name of the shoe-wearing Bloopers.

Although the Japanese version of this game only gives players the option to play in Japanese, it actually contains at least a partial script in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish as well. These often differ from what would eventually be released in the European version of the game. A list of changes can be found below.

''Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Wario, Fox McCloud, Captain Olimar, Samus Aran, Link, and even an Excitebike Racer were going to show up in the Starbeans Café after Mario and Luigi made coffee, instead of E. Gadd (who was only scheduled to make one appearance).

A few unused items include Neon Beans, a Game and Watch, and an item known as the "Spiritual Bros." , which may have been intended to be a badge. A badge named Soulful Bros. does exist. Therefore, Nintendo may have attempted to rename this item. Originally, the Bean Fruits were each intended to be a different color, rather than the identical bean fruits of the final game.

The name "Sharkbone" appears alongside names for enemies found in Gwarhar Lagoon in the game's coding. "Sharkbone" is presumed to be an alternate name for the ???? enemies that are actually found in the final game, as these enemies actually can come in a bony shark form, although they are also found in a living, Cheep-Cheep-like variety. A Nintendo Power guide actually referred to the ????s' undead shark forms as "Sharkbones" and their living Cheep-Cheep forms as "Puffer-Cheeps", the latter being Cheep-Cheep varieties present in the final game. It is presumed that Nintendo Power based this naming off of beta material. It may also be worth noting that the German version of Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga replaces "Sharkbone" with "Sand-Cheep" ).

''Mario Kart 64
Kamek was going to be in this game playable, but got replaced by Donkey Kong. Also note that the Character select screen was going to have the racer face towards the player. The working title was Super Mario Kart R. In certain gameplay screenshots, the Feather Item, which appeared in Super Mario Kart, was going to be included in the list of items of the game.

''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The models of the characters are from Super Smash Bros Melee, and Mario and Luigi are seen in this game's only known beta trailer driving separately and each having a simple, blue kart. It was originally called Mario Kart for GameCube, and it is likely that this early build of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! was completely scrapped and redone for the final game, as it looks nothing like it.

A screenshot for the actual Double Dash build showed different textures, speedometer HUD, and racer pictures.

''Mario Kart DS
This game's Retro Grand Prix was going to include a few more tracks, such as Mario Circuit (old_mario_gc) from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!(Dismantled for the new Mario Circuit), and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! ' s Block City (mini_block_course) battle area. There was also an mysterious stage with no textures (dokan_course) and SNES Mario Circuit music, as well as a simple, circular test area smaller than even Baby Park; the latter one was a debugging stage not planned for inclusion in the final game. There was also a beach course (nokonoko_course) which most people think is Koopa Troopa Beach from MK64 but it is not. It is likely that it would have been called Koopa Troopa Beach though because NokoNoko means Koopa Troopa in Japanese. These areas can still be accessed using Action Replay DS. Waluigi Pinball was also slightly different (mostly in texture and music, the latter of which was strangely from Yoshi Falls, and the slot machine seen near the end of the lap was part of the course for players to drive over.) in betas, albeit probably a programming error. There was also a track with a similar layout to Waluigi Pinball Beta (pinball_course) with textures from the Tart Top battle arena on the floor and bumpers etc (luigi_course). Demo copies of the game actually showed it with quite a few object differences (such as more bumpers and a less direct launch towards the beginning). The demo version also depicted DK Pass with (perhaps more thematic for its eponymous character) a grassland theme rather than a snow one, with a lone Thwomp near the finish line, as well as many other small differences mostly regarding walls and jumps. The filename of this track is donkey_course but the real DK Pass is called snow_course. There was a beta version of Wario Stadium called wario_course which was exactly the same but missing fireballs and crowd cheering. The real Wario Stadium is called stadium_course. Finally, the last beta course is test1_course whose map is the same as Rainbow Road but contains other objects such as the bridge from Delfino Square and the gears from Tick-Tock Clock. There is also a mysterious "test_brock" whch is basically a 3D checkered thing. Finally, demo version guides released for stores by Nintendo depicted the Chain Chomp (which could not actually be retrieved in the demo version itself) as an item; it is presumed that this Chomp munition would work in a manner similar to that of the Chain Chomps in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, making it likely that Chain Chomps were removed from the game in favor of Bullet Bills (although the listing of the Chain Chomp in these beta guides may have been a simple mistake, though this is unlikely). Course filenames: Figure-8 Circuit=cross_course and the beta is cross_courseD Yoshi Falls=bank_course Cheep Cheep Beach=beach_course and the beta is beach_courseD Luigi's Mansion=mansion_course Desert Hills=desert_course Delfino Square=town_course and the beta is town_courseD Waluigi Pinball=pinball_course and the beta in the Final version is donkey_course but it is supposed to be pinball_course Shroom Ridge=ridge_course DK Pass=snow_course Tick-Tock Clock=clock_course Mario Circuit=mario_course Airship Fortress=airship_course Wario Stadium=stadium_course Peach Gardens=garden_course Bowser Castle=koopa_course Rainbow Road=rainbow_course SNES Mario Circuit1=old_mario_sfc N64 Moo Moo farm=old_momo_64

''Mario Kart Super Circuit
Early Nintendo Power screenshots showed that the character had different, "Super-Deformed" sprites. Said screenshots also showed that the HUD was different. Some tracks also had more detailed background.

''Mario Kart Wii
The game's original name was going to be Mario Kart X when it was still in development. Also, the designs for Standard Kart S, Standard Kart M, and Standard Kart L were different, as well as the HUD. Also, Boo was supposed to be in the game, but King Boo replaced him.

When all of the files are extracted from this game, a course called "old_mario_gc_b" is found. It is just like GCN Mario Circuit, the fourth course in the Leaf Cup, but the difference is that there is no Chain Chomp, The Pirahna Plants are not in Warp Pipes, and the player's icon goes off of the screen as there is no map. This could be a course used for future tournaments, or it could be a simple debugging stage.

An early screenshot shows Donkey Kong going down a snow cover hill that looks similar to DK Pass, this might of been an early design for DK Summit or probably DK Pass was going to be in this game. Also an early clip shows DK racing on the same race track, also when the blooper shot its ink at the player, the ink were actual spots of ink like what a real world squid does out of water instead of a sticky, gooey splat of ink.

''Mario Party DS
Wiggler's Garden was originally called Petey's Greenhouse, with Petey Piranha needing help as a member of Petey's army (aka Piranha Plant) had betrayed him and was destroying his greenhouse. Also Toadsworth was going to appear in the item house, but was replaced by a Monty Mole. However, he is not totally absent, as he is mentioned in the item gallery a few times, just never seen.

Another thing is that the players used to have their own boxes at the top screen that have the "X" in the Coins storage and the Stars storage. In the final version, it was removed possibly because Coins can reach over two hundred. It was also going to have Wi-Fi, but scrapped possibly due to memory constraints, lack of time, or because other Mario Party games didn't have Wi-Fi.

''Mario Power Tennis
In the intro of the game where Wario and Waluigi are drawing on the scorechart in the left the player can see Toad and Toadette's heads. It is unknown if they were going to be playable and Nintendo forgot to take their faces off the score chart.

''Mario Strikers Charged Football
Screenshots shown that during matchs, there were no music, both in the classic stadiums and the new fields arenas. The aesthetic of the gadgets located on the top of the screen, would have a more futuristic design, featuring the captains' emblem of the teams, while the items appeared in other gadgets. Later, gadgets had a rusted appearance, still showing the captain's emblem of the team, which they were replaced by the faces of the captains lately. The Super Abilities of the captains were rendered as particular icons for each one (e.g.: The Super Ability of Mario, Super Mario! was shown as a red letter M; Bowser's Fire Storm! was shown as a fireball).

''Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
The top screen looked different. It was always outside on the top screen. Also, Cool Kongs used to wear spiked helmets, had purple goggles, and were darker, along with the "C" on their ties being a "W." The sprite used for when a Mini-Mario hanged onto a Cool Kong's tie was also different, with the Mini-Mario facing forward as he did so. Hearts were also present (apparently as collectible items) for unknown reasons. Mini-Shy Guys were dark red instead of the red-pink color used in the final game. Wall Jump bars were also originally red, being reddish-pink (much like Mini-Shy Guys) in the final game. Falling poses were the same has unactivated poses as well. Additionally, Gold Mini-Marios were going to appear in every level, by looking at the top screen of screenshots.

''New Super Mario Bros.
The working title for this game was Super Mario Bros. DS. Also, during early stages of production, Mega Goombas were going to be a generic species (the result of a Goomba colliding with a Super Mushroom and powering up) rather than an individual boss. (It is possible that other enemies were to be compatible with this situation, too, considering the giant enemies like Super Dry Bones and Super Piranha Plant that remain in the game in generic, already-large forms.) There was also supposed to be a Mario and Luigi co-op mode at a time. Interestingly, an illustration of beta map icons still exists as a screenshot on page twelve of the final game's manual. There were originally three item reserve spots rather than one. There also was an underwater stage which also featured Manta Ray in VS. Mode. Spindrift was also supposed to be in the game, but got replaced by the blue spinning platforms in World 1-3 and other levels.

In another image, it's possible to obtain the Blue Shell by first defeating a Blue Koopa Troopa. Then when the player Ground Pounds on the shell, the player gets in the shell and becomes Shell Mario. This feature is removed possibly because the designers wanted a power-up that can be obtained from a ? Block, however it survives in Vs. Mode. Mega Mushrooms were also originally intended to be red. The advertisement accenting the Vs. mode revealed some levels that were not available on the final release, including a desert stage, an underwater stage and a few others. The Mega Mushroom was going to look like a large Super Mushroom rather than a chubby-looking mushroom that was yellow with red spots.

It was possible to kick and punch in the game but is also removed.

The game contians among its minigame data sprites and graphics from Wrecking Crew. The file names suggest that these sprites were intended to be in both a single and multiplayer minigame. There is also data to support a single player snowball throwing minigame (which was actually used in Multiplayer Mode), that was probably scrapped due to the DS's inability to support sophisticated enough AI.

''Super Mario 64
This game was originally to be called Super Mario FX, using the FX Chip and was also being planned for the Super Nintendo. Luigi may have also been said to been playable in the FX, but was scrapped for unknown reasons. In the Beta version, it would've had a numbered health bar instead of the pointed one. Many stages and bars would be different. The Thwomps would also have a scarier look and Mario would have a different jump (one that let him spin around after a triple jump in a way similar to the result of being hit by a Tweester in Shifting Sand Land). Early screenshots also show a tan Cheep-Cheep, not found in the final game. Other screenshots show a Pokey with interestingly different graphics, a skinnier Penguin, and Princess Peach's Castle was different and also used darker shades of color and Lethal Lava Land is different. Mario was voiced differently (possessing a screechy, childlike voice rather than his current Italian accent), and Bowser sounded more tiger-like. There was also going to be a Blargg, which is still in the game's data, that would appear in the Lethal Lava Land stage. Also, in the beta, Big Boo held a key instead of a Star inside of him. The purpose of the keys ware to unlock a variety of the various doors in Big Boo's Haunt - there was even a "key counter". Thirty-two levels were planned for the game, but only fifteen of them made it into the final product. In the game, there are small and large bullys, using two models; small and large bully models, a related species called "Chill Bully" appeared in Course 10: Snowman's Land, it too had a small and large model but only the large model was used, its possible that there were going to be small and large like in Lethal Lava Land but was scrapped. Water mines (with graphics identical to spick bombs) were going to in a water level, this can be seen trough a hack. Yoshi egg graphics are stored in the games code, this too can be seen through a simple hack. A debug function stored in the game is the "level select", in this, some of the courses have different names and some symbols can only be seen in the Japanese game. eg. Whomps Fortress is simply called "Mountain".

''Super Mario 64 DS
The working title for this game was Super Mario 64x4. Also, several beta screenshots were released for the game. One of these screen shots show an unused background. Originally, all four characters could fight Bowser at the same time, and fly. This feature was removed, as the four characters can only fight Bowser by their own (with Yoshi utilizing hats to be able to swing Bowser).

At E3 2004, there was a demo called Mario's Face, where the user could use the stylus to mess around with Mario or Wario's face, and have them be 3D or outlined like a cartoon. This could have possibly been the beta Mario Mini for Super Mario 64 DS.

The caps the player uses were originally enclosed in boxes labeled M, L, and W. The boxes can still be found in the test level. Also, early screenshots depicted Wario with his original long shirt sleeves before adopting the shorter ones for the final product. The game was originally supposed to have a co-op mode but was canned probably due to memory constraints. There was also supposed to be a purple rabbit. A picture of this rabbit can be found on page 30 of certain version of the instruction booklet for the game. Red koopa trooper graphics can be found in the game, but its original purpose is unknown.

If one uses cheat codes to play as Yoshi in the Chief Chilly boss battle, the boss will say this unused speech; "Hmm? I see you have no mustache! Poor, little, bald creature. Its not a fair fight for you, but luckily, I'm not a fair fighter! Lets go!" and if Yoshi beats him he says "I simply can't believe that I lost to a hairless pip-squeak like you! My mustache was my only joy! Now what will I do?!"

''Super Mario Advance
In addition to Super Mario Bros. 2, a remade version of Super Mario Bros. was also meant to be available, but was cut. Giant Eggplants replaced Giant Turnips in some levels.

''Super Mario Advance 4


In Super Mario Advance 4 here was found some sprites. These includes:
 * SMB3 NES Cheep Cheep. It's unknown why it's in game data.
 * Dolphins
 * Fishbone
 * Yoshi's Fireballs (when he spit red shell)
 * Flying Wiggler from SMW2
 * Fuzzy (SMW)
 * Boo from SMW2

They propably was meant to e-levels, but none of them are possible to spot in e-levels.

''Mario Smash Football
Beta videos and beta screenshots showed that there would be no items in the game. Also in the beta version, Donkey Kong wouldn't hit the ball with his feet but with his fists. The costumes were very different as well and Donkey Kong would have another voice. Mario's voice would also be different, making it possible that all characters as well had different voices.

''Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Delfino Plaza is the main plaza of the game. However, in movies before release, it showed that there was going to be a different plaza (or possible prototype for Delfino Plaza), with a giant Strollin' Stu-like creature walking all over the place, and many more different things. It was allegedly called a Tramplin' Stu. The beta also reveals that Humans were intended to be citizens of the plaza. F.L.U.D.D was going to be skinnier and Gooper Blooper was going to be dark blue and fought on top of the bridges of Ricco Harbor instead of in the market and helicopter area.

Additionally, Mario's health bar would simply be a sun with a number in the middle indicating his health. The water meter was originally placed in the center of the "sun" life meter. The F.L.U.D.D. pack was actually Nintendo's 3rd favorite choice, with many other forms of water-pump functionality suggested. One other notable device in the top 2 was a water gun but was abandoned deciding that some players may render it too violent. There were some abandoned sprites as well, including Yoshi vomiting any water he may have swallowed. There was also going to be a brown Pokey, and they were going to have white flowers.

A book is found behind a door in some ruins-like structure in a certain level in Noki Bay. The player can see it by turning the camera. There is a glitch in the game that can allow you to reach reach the book, but there is know known way to get ou of the strucure. (The door does not work from any side and it looks diffrent from the doors in the hotel in Sirena Beach.) This may be a beta element, easter egg, or just a detail that was never meant to be taken seroiusly, but it's intresting nontheless.

A test level is playable through an Action Replay. There the player can see Rock Blocks that were edited out, possibly in favor of Watermelons. Also, a small book can be found in an alcove of a cave in the bottom of the bottle in Noki Bay's third episode that was suposed to be for a level. .

''Super Paper Mario
This game was originally intended as a Nintendo GameCube game. While on the GameCube, it would appear that all characters' special abilities would be activated with the R-Button rather than the different buttons they had on the final Wii version. Most Pixls (initially "Fairens") would be activated with the X-Button, and all Pixls but Tippi seemed to be one Pixl who would morph into others to use "Fairy Abilities" (such as Fairy Toss, Thoreau's predecessor, and Fairy Hammer, Cudge's predecessor). It is unknown what button would activate Tippi in the GameCube version.

The game was eventually moved to Wii exclusive (as it is now), although it at times was (as aforementioned) considered to be only for GameCube and even for both consoles, a la The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. By summer of 2007, Super Paper Mario was moved to Wii.

An early version of the game had a different looking version of the Whoa Zone from Chapter 4, and Mario is still wearing a helmet, when he wasn't supposed to be. Also, an early screenshot shows Mario under the effects of the Mega Star, but is colored very differently (giving his current colors rather than the initial ones seen in Super Mario Bros.). Oddly, he is shown in his proper colors in the official trailer that was released at the same time, which may imply that the screenshot's release way simply delayed. Also, Yoshi was going to make an appearance, but it was scrapped, Though he made a cameo as a statue in chapter 5.

In a screenshot featuring Big Blooper, there's an odd Pixl that is shaped like a ladder. It never actually appears in the final game. This could be an early version of Carrie, however, carrie dose not appear until later. Also, in the same screenshot, Tippi is present, but she was kidnapped by Francis at this point in the game, and by the time she is rescued, Big Blooper cannot be fought again. Finally, the scene depicting Bowser and Peach's wedding at the beginning of the game was also slightly different in beta versions; the ceremony would appear to have once taken place in more of a room than an open area, there were no flowers decorating the columns, the rising of the Chaos Heart was surprisingly light, and Count Bleck raised his cloak up earlier than he did in the final version. Plus, in the screenshot, Peach is standing instead of having been knocked over, and Bowser looks normal rather than shocked.

''Super Princess Peach
The Koopalings were originally going to be in the game, but were taken out for unknown reasons. All of the Koopalings' lost sprites have been discovered by now. Oddly enough, Morton's sprites were spread around the internet long before those of his siblings. Also, Roy was given a green shell instead of a pink shell. This may have been either a design change or a mistake. Lost sprites of Glad and Calm Goombas have also recently been discovered. In the game, only Mad and Sad variants appeared. The Glad Goomba (which was a bronze or yellow color), based on its sprite, could be able to bounce or dance around (as the glossary says most Glad Enemies do), and the Calm one (which was green and rather sickly-looking), based on the Calm Enemies, it would probably be sleeping and act like a normal Goomba when Peach is too fast. Finally, a very early screenshot shows the "Peach's face" screen, which ended up on the bottom screen, to be on the top screen and totally devoid of Heart Panels and also having a bright green, solid background and a different design for Peach. The fact that the Heart Panels, which were used to change Vibes in the final game, are lacking from this screenshot suggests that Super Princess Peach was once planned to not use Vibes and be a more average side-scroller.

''Diddy Kong Pilot
Diddy Kong Pilot was originally the sequel for Diddy Kong Racing, but with flying as the only means of transport. Donkey Kong characters would be playable, and a new Kong, who looked like a hillbilly, would have been introduced. However, after Rare was sold to Microsoft, Nintendo received the trademarks for the Donkey Kong characters, so Rare converted the game into a series it owned, resulting in Banjo-Pilot.

''Diddy Kong Racing
Some tracks were left out of the game. One track is unfinished. The screenshots below will show the unfinished beta track.

''Mario Party Advance
Early screenshots showed that Shroom City would be really different from what it looks like in the final version. Also, the die is replaced by a Mushroom.

''Mario Superstar Baseball
Mario Superstar Baseball was originally known as only Mario Baseball and had a different logo from the current one.

''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Birdo was originally going to be a playable character in the game but appears to have been cut out for unknown reasons. Note that because her model wasn't finished properly, Birdo looks odd in the screenshot. Silver the Hedgehog from Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 was seen in the intro of the game, making fans believe that Silver was meant to be playable. Donkey Kong and Jet the Hawk, from Sonic Riders, have also been found to have been planned for the game. Donkey Kong and Silver did, however, make it into the sequel as playable characters.

''Mario is Missing
Dialogue intended for the ending of the game has recently been discovered in the Deluxe edition of the game.


 * [Game ending reconstructed with voices.]

Super Mario Bros. movie
In a recent interview with Mark McCoy, designer of the movie, McCoy released an early script of the movie-the original script was much different from the one that remained. The unused script has a character known as Doug that doesn't make the final cut and the scene where Mario and Luigi meet Daisy was changed. There is also another unused script from 1991 written by Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein. This 1991 script is more fantasy based and is closer to the video game, having more elements from the game than the actual version. The copy of this script can be bought of Scriptfly.com.

Nintendo Wi-Fi
Many Mario games were originally going to have Nintendo Wi-Fi; however, it was taken out of some. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 and Yoshi's Island DS (known as Yoshi's Island 2 back then) were the two games that were going to have Wi-fi however got it removed. Most likely the Wi-Fi in Mario Hoops 3 on 3 was going to be, facing off in a basketball match with another internet user. It is unknown what the Wi-Fi in Yoshi's Island DS was going to be for, possibly a Co-op mode. Mario Party DS was also supposed to have Wi-Fi.