List of Super Mario 3D Land pre-release and unused content

The following is a list of beta elements from the game Super Mario 3D Land.

Different Designs

 * World 1-2 - The design of World 1-2 was different in the E3 demo, and the Warp Zone had three green pipes in it instead of one orange pipe, probably because the Warp Zone has not been developed at the moment. Also, the first two pipes lead Mario to the pipe besides each other, and the third pipe takes him to the normal exit. In the E3 demo, where there were two Paragoombas, which were replaced by three Koopas in the final version. Also the Ball 'n' Chains only appeared above the bridge, and the second one in that part was removed in the final version.




 * World 2-1 - This level would have, originally, an early Roulette Block that turns into a used block when hit. Also there were no yellow spotted jumping platforms after the cutouts of Goombas. Instead, these were white Note Blocks. In the early World 2-3, the Super Mushroom platform had a yellow cap, and less features. The Mario platform had a Warp Pipe.


 * World 3-1 - At the start of the level, it doesn't contain a Coin ring seen from the cannon.


 * World 3-3 -(World 4-5 in release version) This level was different in the E3 demo. The orange yellow platforms were generally smaller in comparison to the release version. In the level where the Mystery Box is and just after the second Warp Box, there was no Boomerang Bro. The second star coin was where the group of 10 second time extenders were in the release version. Where the Midway Flag was the Warp Box did not disappear and the sides of the platform had no railing.

Mario Stomp Effect
In the demo version, when Mario stomped on a Goomba, a coin would pop-up for Mario to collect, like in various of his 3D games. However, in the release, when Mario stomps on an enemy, a coin appears for a second and then disappears, while Mario collects it automatically.

Mario Rolling Mechanics
In the E3 demo, Mario while walking or dashing, could perform a roll when 'L' or 'R' was pressed. In the release version, Mario can only roll if he crouches first (crouching can be performed by pressing 'L' or 'R' while standing still). He cannot go straight into a roll from walking or dashing. Trying to perform a roll using the controls from the demo in the release version, will cause Mario to do a slide while crouching. However, it's still possible to roll while moving - simply run, press R, and then Y. This was probably done to make the game a bit more reminiscent of the older games, where Mario could slide under obstacles by crouching while running, and also make it possible to roll like in the demo. Due to the change, when Mario long jumps, he doesn't do a flip as seen in early videos. Instead, a "regular" animation is used. Even this has an exception: it's actually possible to do the flip, the player simply needs to press the jump button while in a roll, as stated in the game's electronic manual.

According to the official Super Mario 3D Land Iwata Asks feature, Miyamoto disapproved of the beta rolling controls because they weren't intuitive and didn't make immediate sense.

Different Functions
The Warp Box originally also send him to bonuses, like the Mystery Boxes, what happens more rarely in the original game. Later, the Warp Box was purple instead of orange.

Invincibility Leaf and P-Wing
The Invincibility Leaf was supposed to appear after eight deaths in one level, and the P-Wing was supposed to appear after sixteen deaths. But instead, the Invincibility Leaf appeared after five deaths, and the P-Wing appeared after ten deaths.

Name
The game was tentatively called "Super Mario", also being called like that in E3 2011. Then Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime called it "Super Mario 3D", however, the addition of "Land" was not revealed until the news on the drop of the 3DS price and one of the newer trailers - the same one as the first but with the logo replaced. A lot of merchandise based on the game never had the logo name changed.

Glitch Fixes
In the E3 demo level W1-2, there was a glitch which allowed the player to escape the level while in the small isle with the Midway Flag. It was possible using the Tanooki suit to bounce up the wall and get on top of the level and out of the level boundaries. This was patched in the release version by making it impossible to bounce off the wall after a certain height.

Menu Interface
The E3 demo Menu Interface was shown to be very different to the release version. Some notable differences include:
 * A translucent checkerboard pattern over laying the paused game(as opposed to nothing)
 * The 'PAUSE' symbol blinked faster
 * The slightly larger and horizontally stretched font on the menu items
 * Using "To Course Selection" instead of "Select Course"
 * The button selector was gold instead of brown and never was fully inside the selected button. It also did not appear unless the player used the D-pad or thumb pad. Also the button selector could be made to disappear by touching the touchscreen.
 * Buttons acted as if they were being pressed when the button selector is over the button

Different Music
In on the E3 Demo, the battle with Boom Boom featured Peewee Pirahna's theme from Super Mario Galaxy 2, but was later changed. The music was likely a placeholder for the music that ended up being in the final version.

Level Location Changes

 * World 5-2 was originally World 2-5, but was moved because the producers believed World 2 was too early to make the reference to The Legend of Zelda. In the first trailers and demos, no World Map was shown.
 * In the E3 demo, was originally called World 2-5.
 * In the E3 demo, World 4-5 was originally World 3-3.

Retro Suits
While the Super Leaf and P-Wing returned, and Hammer Mario returned in the form of Boomerang Mario, director Yoshiaki Koizumi said he would definitely put some more of the other classic suits but there are none in the game. Goomba's Shoe was once confirmed but was later rejected.

Golden Tail Goombas
In the second game trailer, golden verisons of the Tail Goomba are seen in World 2-1. They can glide farther than the regular ones. However, they were removed in the final version.

Small Green Objects in World 2-3
In the first game trailer when Mario enters the pipe of a mushroom-shaped platform (which appears to be a beta of World 2-3), the camera zooms out to show two round green objects on the platform as well as the two pipes. It is unknown what these objects are but they appear to be enemies with small black eyes. It is possible that they are early versions of Coin Coffers or completely different enemies.

False Bowsers
It can be seen in the E3 2011 trailer that the False Bowsers did not have a Tanooki Tail. Unless there were no False Bowsers included in the game at the time and the real Bowser was fought several times throughout the game instead of twice.

Flagpole
When the player grabs the Flagpole, it originally still shows the Bowser flag as the player slid down and it stayed at the top, then when the player reached the bottom, the flag changed to Mario's emblem. Also, after clearing a boss level, the same normal flagpole appears, and the fanfare used for clearing a normal level plays.

Early Animations and Sounds
In the E3 demo, Mario had a different walking animation, like he did in the beta version of Super Mario 64. Also, the last few notes of the dying music were a bit different in the demo. The sound effect when Mario gets a Coin was originally similar to Super Mario Galaxy's. The sound effect when Mario gets a Star Medal is different, and Boom Boom also had different sounds.

Midway Flag
In the demo, touching the Midway Flag would add 100 extra seconds to the timer. This was removed in the final release and levels simply lasted longer.

Cut Levels
A grassy spacious area and a level with many Donut Lifts, platforms and arrow blocks were cut.

Backup Stash
In the beta version of Super Mario 3D Land, in the map screen, the backup stash would be shown on the bottom left instead of just below the lives counter, and can be seen in the second preview.

Lives
In the E3 demo, the maximum number of lives was 99.