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

This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game Super Mario 3D World.

Early ideas
Concept artwork shows that Princess Peach's cat form was originally going to incorporate her brooch. It also shows that the Cat forms of characters would wear normal gloves, rather than having cat paw gloves.

Additionally, Princess Peach was originally going to be kidnapped by Bowser, as in many previous Super Mario games. This was changed by Yoshiaki Koizumi, who wanted a female character playable in the game. In an interview with gaming news site, Koizumi stated "I feel like Mario games, as you know, have done lots of representation of male characters over the years... Perhaps much more so than female — so it's actually really nice to be able to have a female playable character in the game."

In an interview with the director of Super Mario 3D World, Kenta Motokura, he mentioned that Yoshi was considered for the game, but was not included, as other features existed that were similar to Yoshi's abilities:  We did think about including Yoshi, but I guess you could say that in this game there are certain abilities that are similar to what Yoshi could do. For example, there’s a piranha flower that you can carry and attack enemies with. Also, Peach has her floating jump. So we did include those elements in the game. We also like to bring up this other dinosaur character that’s called Plessie, that all four characters can ride at the same time to go through the stage. I love Yoshi as much as anybody else, but I also love this new character. The thing that you can experience with Plessie that’s totally new is that you can ride one animal, basically, using four different characters at the same time. That’s a new experience. 

Early builds
Screenshots of the intro from the Prima guide for the game use an early build of the game. The entire environment is much brighter and lacks the rim lighting on the characters when compared to the final release. The trees use a different model and there are fewer hills in the back ground. When the Sprixie Princess emerges from the Clear Pipe, the Prima screenshot seems to lack the camera movement zooming into her. When Bowser comes to capture her, the Prima screenshot lacks the motion blur, the flame coming out of Bowser's mouth, and the purple fog obscuring the bottom half of Bowser's body. The model representing Super Bell Hill on World 1's map lacks the Clear Pipe and the clouds above. The Super Bell tree is also smaller compared to the final game.

Trailer
During, Nintendo posted the first trailer for Super Mario 3D World to. In this trailer, the shadows of the playable characters were darker, and their invincible forms did not flash multiple colors, only having the trail effect from the final game. Captain Toad's character icon is much different, being much closer to that of a standard Toad, with a blue background instead of a brown one as in the final game.

Several differences are present in the course layouts from this trailer: Some sound effects were also different in this version:
 * In Cakewalk Flip, the section after the second set of Red-Blue Panels contained three Stingbies. In the final game, they were replaced by a Ring Burner.
 * Snowball Park did not have any mountains in its background.
 * Fort Fire Bros. had red lava instead of blue lava. The section seen in the trailer contains two Fire Bros., while the final game only has one.
 * The course with the Color Panel room shown in the trailer contained exactly two Green Stars; no course in the final game has that specific amount. As this room looks identical to the Color Panel room in Really Rolling Hills, it suggests that the third Green Star did not exist when this clip was recorded.
 * Captain Toad Goes Forth originally had less Biddybuds, having two red ones as well as three multicolored ones surrounding the fourth Green Star, rather than three of multiple colors near the rising platform and five surrounding the Green Star.
 * In Spike's Lost City, Chargin' Chucks appear in the trailer, but not in the final game.
 * The jingle when collecting a power-up is reused from Super Mario 3D Land. When collecting a Super Bell, a short bell plays alongside this sound. In the final game, new power-up and bell sound effects are used.
 * When Mario transformed into Cat Mario, he said "nya nya", which is Japanese for "meow meow". In the final version, he simply says "meow meow". The sound when Cat Mario uses the claw move is also different.
 * Dash Panels made a different sound when ran on, and Clear Pipes made a different sound while characters traveled through them.

Demo
A playable demo version of Super Mario 3D World was available to the public during E3 2013. In addition to at the exposition, this demo was featured at select locations during the same time period, in an event called "The Nintendo Experience".

Each of the five courses in the demo had simpler names based on their presumed placement in the course order. However, each of their positions was changed in the final game.

The demo reveals additional differences from this version of the game:
 * The character selection screen's top border was gray instead of red.
 * Princess Peach's icon on the character selection screen used a much darker shade of pink.
 * There were no text instructions on how to play the game.
 * The screen immediately before a course starts did not show the player's top score.
 * Stamps were not present in any of the courses.
 * The sound that plays when collecting a Green Star was the same as the one that plays when collecting a Star Medal, reused from Super Mario 3D Land.
 * When playing with multiple players, additional power-ups added to the item storage were shown beneath the first power-up, rather than beside it as in the final game.
 * If a player reached the top of the Goal Pole at the end of a course, its flag did not turn gold. Instead, a small star effect appeared immediately upon touching the top. Doing so would give the player 10,000 points and one extra life; in the final game, the player only gets 10,000 points.
 * The sound effect that plays when the remaining time from the Time Limit is added to the total score was different.

Additional differences can be found in the specific courses available in the demo:
 * In Really Rolling Hills, the first ? Block in the course holds a Super Bell, while the Hidden Block above it holds a 1-Up Mushroom. In the final game, the ? Block holds a coin, and the Hidden Block holds a Super Bell. Additionally, a ? Block containing a Super Bell appeared near the Checkpoint Flag; this is not present in the final game. The area where the third Green Star is found did not have a rectangular ? Block that is in the final game. FInally, one of the ? Blocks turned into a Coin Box; in the final version, only Coin Blocks turn into Coin Boxes.
 * Really Rolling Hills contained normal Goombas in the first area. The button with Mario's emblem that reveals a stamp was not in this version of the course. The Color Panels in Really Rolling Hills displayed different colors after being stepped on.
 * In Plessie's Plunging Falls, the first Green Star was on top of the staircase of waterfalls. In the final version, this Green Star was moved to be above a ramp before the waterfall area, and a 1-Up Mushroom is on top of the waterfalls instead. The course also contained more Splounders.
 * Plessie did not wave to the characters after they dismounted it.
 * In Clear Pipe Cruise, the exit of the Coin Heaven was at the bottom of the hill before the first Key Coin. In the final version, the exit is at the top of the hill. Additionally, one Clear Pipe originally ended with the characters jumping out and going backwards; in the final version, it instead ends at a cloud platform with coins.
 * Mines in Clear Pipes originally allowed characters to pass through them after getting hit by them. In the final game, they send the player backwards upon contact, so their destruction is necessary to progress.
 * In A Banquet with Hisstocrat, when riding the gondola to the battle arena, there were no fireworks. The ? Block at the beginning of the course was also changed: in the demo, it is floating in the center of the section to the right of the stairs, while in the final version, it is up against a wall. The end of the level features a standard Goal Pole rather than the larger one found in the final game.
 * Hisstocrat's brooch was originally green; it was changed to blue in the final version.
 * In the demo, Hisstocrat is a solid purple color. In a screenshot from a press kit distributed during E3 2013, he has the same color, but he and his minion snakes also have more prominent scales rather than a flat color. In the final game, Hisstocrat also has a blue gradient on his scales.
 * The music that plays when fighting Hisstocrat is digital audio instead of being orchestrated, and the melody was played in the key of A minor instead of G minor.
 * The Ground Pound originally featured a small shockwave effect that appeared when the character hit the ground; this was removed in the final version.
 * Bullet Bill Base contained normal trees, which are replaced by Super Bell-shaped trees in the final game. The sky in the background was also lighter; it was replaced by a darker sky in the final game.

Unused content
The files of Super Mario 3D World contain two icons depicting an orange-colored Mario and an orange letter "S", similar to existing character icons shown when choosing a character. The purpose of these icons is unknown, but they may have served a similar purpose to the Super Guide feature found in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns. A third unused icon depicts a gloved hand, which may have been used for a fifth player to control an invisible hand, similar to Boost Mode in New Super Mario Bros. U. While the final version contains a touch cursor using a gloved hand, it is only activated while controlling another character.