List of Super Mario World pre-release and unused content

This article pertains to the beta elements of Super Mario World.

Magazine and television previews
Dinosaur Land was drastically different, possessing an appearance similar to the various kingdoms of Super Mario Bros. 3. Specifically, it was to feature things such as Toad Houses (which could possibly mean that Toads were once considered to populate Dinosaur Land) and more Super Mario Bros. 3-style Fortresses. In addition to this, the game originally had the subtitle "Super Mario Bros. 4"

Test Cartridges
SNES test cartridges also exist and, among other things (some of which are Mario-related), they include an early build of Super Mario World. These cartridges reveal that, at one point, Goombas were to be able to be stomped (even earlier test cartridges show that Goombas also once possessed their normal, mushroom-like appearance rather than the Goom-like Goombas seen in the final game and later builds), Koopa Troopas were to walk on all fours, and normal Piranha Plants and even Venus Fire Traps were to have been present. These elements were used in the Super Mario World cartoon. Interestingly, several of these cartridges' early sprites were merely simple Super Mario Bros. 3 edits. Lastly, the Super Leaf and Raccoon Mario form were both present in early builds. The test cartrdiges also has several sprites not used in either it or the final version, like a yellow Big Boo.

Super Mario Advance 2
Early screenshots of the Game Boy Advance port (Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2) showed that the HUD was originally identical, unlike the final version.

Beta Levels
Among the data on the Super Mario World ROM, there are many levels that did not make it into the released game. The majority of these are not referenced by the game's level pointer table, which means that a standard copy of Super Mario World won't be able to play them, even though their data is present. It also means that most of them don't have names, and those are listed here by their address in the ROM.

Red Switch Palace
There is an unused Switch Palace to the left of Valley of Bowser 3. Since it leads to an "empty" level, it is probable that it was scrapped early in development. Beating the Secret Exit of Valley of Bowser 3 would cause Mario to walk to this switch palace, except that Valley of Bowser 3 has no secret exit, and there is no path for Mario to walk on. This glitches the game, causing the player to be trapped in a endless Bonus Game. Actually when the player find a way to get on the Switch, the player can enter this level. It's almost identical to the well known TEST level, although it has garbled background.

Level 0x30200
Probably the most famous of the SMW unused levels, this is also one of the few referenced in the pointer table. Actually, around half of the references are directed to this level. Due to this, this was one of the first unused levels discovered. The actual level is a short plain with TEST spelled out in turn blocks in the sky. At the end is an arrow pointing into a small hole. Mario will die if he goes down this hole. Mario will also receive a 1-up if he either walks to the end of the level, or slides down the side of the first T. He cannot receive both. In the copy that was originally discovered, Yoshi could not enter the level. However, this is specific to that copy. It is not a property of the level as a whole. This level is also most likely a placeholder as once one looks at the ROM they will see there are over 60 copies of the level with no changes.

Level 0x313E5
This is actually the (used) level Donut Plains 1. However, it appears 3 times in the level pointer table. Once at level number 0x15, the copy used in-game, once at 0x16, a duplicate, and once at 0x17. It is this last one that is most likely to be a remnant of early game builds, as it is paired with a garbled background, and has the name #2 MORTON'S PLAINS. (The garbled background is the same one used in Yoshi's Island 1; switching to its tileset with a level editor fixes the background glitch, but a glitchy palette still remains.) This name is also attached to one of the copies of Level 0x30200

Level 0x382C3
This is a test for a special kind of slope that fixes a bug in the code. It is referenced in the pointer table as Level 0x108. Like 0x17, it has a garbled background, but switching to a certain unused tileset (see below) will fix the background.

Level 0x30263
This is a short level set in the sky. It contains a sprite not found anywhere else in the entire game, which behaves like the platforms from Forest Secret Area, but with no vertical movement. Due to a glitch in the way the level was originally coded, it is rendered unplayable, but fixing this is straightforward. Due to the nature of the glitch involved, it seems this was a very early level design. This, coupled with the fact that it appears before any other level in the ROM save the "TEST" level, suggests that it was the first level created for Super Mario World.

Level 0x302BD
This level contains the mushroom scales from Butter Bridge 1. However, they aren't functioning correctly. It also contains Super Mario Bros. 3 style Piranha Plants, something found nowhere else in the entire game. However, they have slightly glitched graphics, which causes them to have a dead fish instead of a stem.

Level 0x30338
A long hall with doors leading to each of the game's bosses. It is interesting to note that they are out of order from their appearance in the game, and that Reznor is not differentiated from the Koopalings. Big Boo is absent.

Level 0x304EB, 0x30464
A short and quite glitchy underground level. It makes use of a falling layer 2 effect, which is familiar from the end of Chocolate Secret.

Level 0x3059C
A small room with two stone cubes, two Hot Heads, and two Lil' Sparkies. Possibly a level to test the Hot Head and Lil' Sparky enemy data.

Level 0x305AB, 0x30701
An early version of #6 Wendy's Castle. It differs little from the final version.

Level 0x3073D
An area with one pipe and a long stretch of ground. Due to the music, it is likely that it was supposed to become an underwater stage.

Level 0x30875
It's similar to the exit of a Ghost House, but never used in-game.

Level 0x38218
A totally empty level. At six bytes, it has the distinction of being the smallest level in the game. Possibly a placeholder level.

Level 0x38260
Another unused Ghost House exit. This one has some cloud, but the Giant Gate tape is erroneously placed too far from the base.

Level 0x38281
A level in which 3 bushes float in a black void.

Level 0x30584
A castle-themed level in which an enterable pipe lies adjacent to a large hole. For some reason, this level is 5.5 times longer than the accessible portion.

Unused Level Components
In some cases, some objects were left in the game's code that were never used in a level. In addition to the above, it appears that the game was intended to have translucency effects in use on some levels. These can be seen in some early screenshots, and are perfectly safe to use (aside from the fact that all Message Blocks will appear blank due to their text sharing some settings) when accessed by hacking the final game with Super Mario World hacking tools such as Lunar Magic. Otherwise, they are never used.
 * 1) There are three unused graphics tilesets, two for objects and one for sprites.
 * 2) The first unused object tileset is labeled "Switch Palace 2", and has no apparent use, as every object that can be used in it appears glitchy.
 * 3) The second unused object tileset is labeled "Underground 3", and it combines the rocky foreground of the cave and underwater levels (Underground 1 and 2) with a generic background file that makes the trees for Yoshi's Island 2 and much of the Forest of Illusion, the plains background for much of Donut Plains, the sky background, and the mountain background from Yoshi's Island 3, 4, and much of Chocolate Island. This allows for the possibility of rocky levels similar to those of World 6 in both New Super Mario Bros. games. Unused level 0x382C3, mentioned above, will have its glitchy background fixed if it's switched to this tileset; the background is the same one used in Chocolate Island 3 and Mondo.
 * 4) The unused sprite set is simply labeled "Not Used" and combines two generic graphics files: one with the data for Chargin' Chucks and the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bro. and one that's generally used for foreground graphics, such as pipes, cement blocks, ! Blocks, and the Bullet Bill cannon.
 * 5) A grassy platform that was used only in a beta level of the game, and can have one of two functions. Normally, it acts much like the flying platforms from Forest Secret Area, but without the vertical movement. However, if a certain property of the level itself is changed, it will act like the floating platforms from Yoshi's Island 3.
 * 6) The "Swooper Death Bat Ceiling". This is an object that generates a cloud of Swoopers, but with a blue palette, similar to the cloud of Boos from Donut Ghost House. Because they were scrapped early in development, one of their animation frames is incorrect (looks like half a glass block next to half a Spike Top). Additionally, they lack the correct sound effects.
 * 7) A golden Mushroom with wings that floats along and follows the trajectory of a P-Balloon. If collected, it is worth one extra life. It is unknown why it is golden instead of green.
 * 8) A Red Coin similar to the above, but worth 5 coins, much like in Mario Party DS.
 * 9) The Piranha Plant from Super Mario Bros. 3. Similarly to the bat object, its stem appears as a jumping Cheep-Cheep frame because its graphics were never finished. Note that when it is used in the game, it causes VRAM errors due to it loading the wrong graphics file.
 * 10) A flying key, which for some reason can hurt Mario. It can be eaten by Yoshi, however, it acts like when Yoshi eats a normal key. When spat out by Yoshi it turns into a normal key.
 * 11) Several unused decorative grass objects. Most of them are glitchy.
 * 12) Doors that can be entered only by Small Mario, but if the door is in midair, Small Mario must be on a Yoshi to enter it. Both normal and P-Switch-activated versions exist.
 * 13) A type of Turn Block that continuously turns.
 * 14) A small, glitchy object that has the appearance of a piece of the Midway Gate. Mario cannot interact with it.
 * 15) Glitchy part of the Goal Gate. It is attached to the Goal Gate itself.
 * 16) An empty Turn Block. If Mario hits it, it becomes a Used Block, but gives no item.
 * 17) A Prize Block with a Koopa Troopa inside. When it first comes out, it will be trapped in its shell. There are a few glitches with the shell: fireballs will pass through it, and sometimes the graphics don't show up or it'll glitch other graphics nearby.
 * 18) A Turn Block that acts like the Wooden Blocks from Super Mario Bros. 3. They can be hit from the side, and one version of releases a Feather. Its graphics are incorrect: when it's actually hit, a brown P-Switch appears for the animation.
 * 19) A Turn Block that acts like a cement block.
 * 20) A "large background area" that has no use, and is glitchy. Depending on the graphics tileset, this can show up as:
 * 21) A very large, very glitchy bush (grass levels)
 * 22) A bunch of X's (Switch Palaces and Yoshi's House)
 * 23) Castle rocks (castles)
 * 24) Glitchy line guides similar to the ones that elevators, saws, and Fuzzies ride on (athletic levels like Cheese Bridge Area)
 * 25) Glitchy rocks (underground levels)
 * 26) Glitchy porthole windows (Ghost Houses)
 * 27) An unknown glitchy object (unused Switch Palace 2)
 * 28) A glitchy canvas object (the Castle 2 tileset that was only used in Room #3 of Front Door)
 * 29) A glitchy cloud/bush-like object (forest and cloud levels like much of the Forest of Illusion)
 * 30) Glitchy clouds (the Ghost House 2 set that was only used at the entrance to Sunken Ghost Ship)
 * 31) A cage which would be used on an autoscrolling level. Mario would be held inside, and would have to dodge obstacles.
 * 32) An invisible object that would initiate a level that had both horizontal and vertical components. This is never seen in the final game, in which all levels must be either horizontal or vertical, but not both.
 * 33) A different version of the Skull Raft from Vanilla Dome 3. They are much harder to use than the skulls of the final game.
 * 34) A Purple Coin that acts as a normal Blue Coin. Hitting a P-Switch will turn these blue coins into pink blocks, however the code that transforms coins into solid blocks isn't applied to this type, and it can still be collected as normal.
 * 35) Through hacking methods, the No Yoshi level intro from castles/fortresses and Ghost Houses can be used in any level with the same effect. However, the castle or Ghost House front would be replaced by a "don't sign" with a Yoshi on it.
 * 36) Dino Rhinos may have once been intended to breathe fire like their smaller counterparts. Sprites for breathing can be seen in graphics files in tile editors.

Unused Map Screen Sprites
On the Map Screen, there were four sprites that were never used in the final game. All of them are accessible via certain hacking programs.
 * 1) A Lakitu which circles around Mario's head on the overworld map.
 * 2) A Blue Jay which flies around Mario's head like the Lakitu, but will follow him to the submaps, sans Vanilla Dome.
 * 3) An animated Piranha Plant.
 * 4) A Koopaling that doesn't look quite like any of the real Koopalings. It can force Mario to enter a level, like the Hand Traps of Super Mario Bros. 3. It ambushes Mario on the overworld. Because it was not finished, it corrupts Mario's position on the overworld map, and thus makes the game unplayable except for level 0, which is a never ending bonus game. Three copies of this sprite were actually used in the game. However, due to the specific setup of the overworld, players will never see them on an unmodified copy of Super Mario World.

Debug Functions
Using the Super Mario World ROM and a hex editor, players may access debug functions that were left in the game. These include:
 * 1) The ability to cycle through Mario's different forms using up+select.
 * 2) The ability to place Mario anywhere in a level using L+A. This can also be performed using a Game Genie code.
 * 3) The ability to play in slow motion.