List of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pre-release and unused content

This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Considered for the base roster

 * Alucard was briefly considered as a playable character, according to Sakurai in a Famitsu interview saying he was very recognizable, but he was ultimately replaced by Simon and Richter, because Sakurai himself felt that fans would probably want the Belmont boys more, they were also chosen due to the Smash Ballot.
 * Decidueye, one of the Pokemon from Generation 7, was originally meant to be featured instead of Incineroar, but when Sakurai felt that Decidueye lacked uniqueness and would play too similarly to an existing fighting style, Incineroar was used instead.
 * Fighters from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and ARMS were usually considered for the base roster, but were ultimately scrapped because the game was complete before the announcement of both games in January 2017. Both games would get Min Min from ARMS and Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Considered for DLC

 * Sakurai stated in a Dragon Quest livestream interview on YouTube that if he could not use the Hero, he would have picked Slime instead. But he ultimately succeeded in getting Hero from Square Enix.
 * Ninjara was considered alongside Min Min as the ARMS fighter, but due to the request by Kosuke Yabuki, the game's developer, to add Min Min. He was dropped in favour of Min Min, a Mii Brawler costume based on Ninjara appears as DLC.
 * When Pyra and Mythra were revealed, Sakurai stated that he considered having Rex fight alongside Pyra and Mythra similarly to the Ice Climbers, so Rex and Pyra/Mythra could work together during battle. The idea, however, was removed after running into technical issues with the implementation of the idea, one issue was getting both characters to move at the same time, which the development time considered impossible to do. Another problem was dubbing Rex as the main character was Pyra/Mythra behind him, which was difficult to develop. Also, Sakurai felt that Pyra and Mythra have the most complex designs in the game, thus ultimately leading to Rex's cameo appearances and Sakurai deciding to go with Pyra and Mythra switching back and forth instead.
 * Heihachi Mishima, who was previously considered a playable character for Super Smash Bros. 4, was briefly considered again to be the playable character from Tekken. However, Sakurai felt that because Heihachi lacked the Devil Gene, all he could do was throw punches and kicks, so Sakurai chose Kazuya instead as he felt that because Kazuya possesses the Devil Gene, he was more outstanding.

Stages

 * Final Destination in the E3 demo was simply the Omega version of Battlefield, as the final design was not revealed at the time.

Character select screen and costumes

 * Ridley has two alternate costumes based off of Meta Ridley, but they were not present in the demo, instead featuring black and white recolored Ridleys as placeholders.
 * In the demo, Villager's seventh and eighth alternate palette swaps had light skin like in the previous game, while in the final game, they have dark skin. Similarly, the Pokémon Trainer's seventh palette swap had light skin, but was changed to dark skin in the final game.
 * In the E3 demo, Sonic's fourth alternate costume used a pale blue shade of fur rather than white fur like in the previous game. This has since been fixed.
 * In the E3 demo of the game, Mario, Pikachu, Villager, and Link's portraits used their in-game models as opposed to the renders made for them in the game. This has since been fixed.
 * However, Link's hat in the Tunic of the Wild costume was pointed toward the top right, while in his official render, it goes behind his head and is pointed to the left.
 * In the demo, the Ice Climbers on the character select screen always showed Popo in the front. The final game would show Nana in the front for the 5th-8th alternate costumes.
 * Wario's buttons on his overalls in the E3 video were gold, as opposed to their usual white. However, in his default overalls artwork, they are white.
 * A pre-release image of Luigi in his Waluigi inspired costume has the "L" colored green. In the final game, it is colored purple, just like in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
 * An unused texture for the Sans Mii outfit can be found in the files that shows his blue glowing eye.

Victory themes

 * Mario's victory theme used the full theme as with the previous games in the demo. In the final game, it is slightly abridged in the end.
 * Fire Emblem victory themes used the same tempo as the previous games in the demo. In the final game, it is sped up.
 * The Legend of Zelda characters, Pokémon characters, and the Ice Climbers used their respective victory theme originating from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In the final game, they each receive new victory themes which are shorter versions of the originals (the Legend of Zelda characters' uses a new arrangement altogether).
 * Ness used his standard victory theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, while in the final game, he and Lucas receive a new one based off of the final two of the Eight Melodies from EarthBound.
 * In the demo, Corrin used the normal Fire Emblem victory theme with Marth and Ike, while in the final game, they have a unique victory theme, based off of "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" from Fire Emblem Fates.
 * Ridley's victory theme sounds different in the demo compared to the final game.

Gameplay

 * In Rosalina's character showcase video, her Final Smash Power Star took on the appearance of a Power Star just like in the previous game. However, in the actual game, the Final Smash now uses a Grand Star.
 * In Pikachu's character showcase video, Mr. Game & Watch could be seen in normal form when using his forward smash based on Fire Attack. In the final game, he takes on the appearance of the characters from Fire Attack just like many of his other moves.
 * This had the unintended side effect of attracting criticism for its portrayal of a Native American stereotype (itself sourced from the original version of Fire Attack). Nintendo of America responded to the criticism by removing the feather via an update patch, similar to a previous change in its re-release in Game & Watch Gallery 4.
 * During Olimar's character showcase video, his Final Smash End of Day did not show visible Bulborbs even though the chomping sound effects and visuals could be heard and seen. This was fixed in the final game.
 * In the E3 demo, Ike did not speak during his victory poses.
 * In Roy's character showcase video, he is seen with a new dashing animation, but in the final build of the game, he reuses his old dashing animation from the previous game.
 * During Luigi's character showcase trailer, Dr. Mario's Super Sheet uses Mario's Cape animation, rather than the new animation specific to Dr. Mario.
 * When King K. Rool used his Final Smash Blast-o-Matic in the early builds of the game, the target(s) would take damage before the laser actually hit Donkey Kong Island. This was later fixed.
 * King K. Rool's Super Smash Blog entry on the official website refers to his down special move as "Stomach Attack." This would be changed to Gut Check in the final game.
 * In the E3 trailer, King Dedede's eyes are wide open when he crouches. In the final game, they are partially closed.

Other

 * On the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct on August 8, 2018, the description of the Smash mode was "Battle with up to 8 players in regular battle!" In the final version of the game, it instead says, "Battle up to eight fighters." The image for Smash mode was also different, with Mario, Link, Samus and Bowser. The final version has Kirby, Bowser, Mario and Pit.