List of Super Mario Galaxy 2 pre-release and unused content

This page pertains to the beta elements of Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Early concepts
Early in production, the development team suggested that the game should feature cameos from the Pikmin and Donkey Kong series. However, Shigeru Miyamoto did not approve of the idea. One of the reason provided was that the Pikmin's body shape would make them awkward to jump on, suggesting that they would have been featured as enemies. Rosalina noticably has a much smaller role in the game, where she only appears in the game's first and second endings, primarily due to the fact that Shigeru Miyamoto thought that the Storybook in the first game covering her backstory would have distracted gamers from the first game's gameplay, and made most of it focus too much on her instead of the Mario Bros.

Early builds
In the debut trailer from E3 2009 and the two Media Summit Trailers, there were several changes before the game's release date.

E3 2009 Trailer

 * A planet shaped like Mario's head could be seen. This planet is an early version of the Starship Mario.
 * In Cosmic Cove Galaxy, the switch which freezes the water into ice is placed on a wooden floating platform, similar to the place where Penguru is standing. In the final version, the switch is found on a tower.
 * Yoshi was seen in Cloudy Court Galaxy but never appeared in that galaxy.
 * The switch that slows time, which appeared in a lot of galaxies, was originally activated by a Spin, and not by Ground Pound.
 * Yoshi's Dash Pepper was originally called Dash Fruit (its Japanese name).
 * In the Spin-Dig Galaxy's second level, Silver Stars Deep Down, Star Chips were supposed to be collected instead of the Silver Stars, indicating that there could have been another planet.
 * In the Cloudy Court Galaxy, it was shown that the cymbals didn't have a Launch Star on them.
 * The starting planet in Boo Moon Galaxy was originally going to look similar to the Crystal Planet in Space Junk Galaxy from the first game.
 * When fighting Digga-Leg, Spin-Dig Galaxy's background became purple.
 * A giant Silver Chomp seemed to appear as a boss, possibly in the early Battle Belt Galaxy.
 * Hightail Falls Galaxy had a different color and terrain.
 * An early screenshot of Puzzle Plank Galaxy revealed a 1-Up Mushroom in place of the galaxy's Comet Medal.
 * On the Wiggler planet in Puzzle Plank Galaxy, four tree stumps are present. This was changed to four Ground Pound Switches.
 * The Ground Pound pillars had a yellow top instead of brown.
 * Whittles are seen to inhabit the planets of Puzzle Plank Galaxy.
 * Ground Pound symbols looked brighter and shinier.
 * Tall Trunk Galaxy's Trunk Slide Planet was apparently its own galaxy. The slide is also made of stone instead of wood.
 * The fruits that Yoshi can eat to get Star Bits originally looked more like peaches.
 * After the player fights Giga Lakitu, the entire galaxy can be seen as opposed to only that planet.
 * When a player used a Dash Pepper, the player did not glow or leave a glowing trail as in the final version.
 * In the trailer, it can be seen that the Dash Pepper looks more like a berry, and the Blimp Fruit looks like a simple sphere.
 * A Spin Drill shown on Digga-Leg's planet is always there, even when the player is currently using one. In the final version, they only appear when the player doesn't have one. Additionally, its dome did not crack when Mario attacked it.
 * Sorbetti's planet originally had crystals instead of snow mounds.
 * The room in Puzzle Plank Galaxy where the Purple Coins are has a different colour scheme.
 * Diggas' eyes resembled those of Bullet Bills.
 * At least two of the Ground Pound Switches on the first planet of Puzzle Plank Galaxy (which were actually tree stumps at that point) were not present. One space was taken by a Whittle.
 * In Sky Island Galaxy, an early galaxy, a red Koopa Troopa was shown in the far back. In the final game, only green Koopa Troopas appear.
 * On the E3 trailer, Sky Station Galaxy's music had an extra part (that sounded like a part from Gusty Garden Galaxy) that didn't make it to the final.
 * In an early version of the Blooming Garden Planet in the Supermassive Galaxy, it was shown that Goombas appeared. In the final version, they don't appear.
 * In an early version of Cloudy Court Galaxy, it was shown that the cymbal had a checkered-like pattern and that the drums which bounce the player up to the cymbal were red. There were also green mushroom platforms, which were removed from the final version.
 * It was revealed in ONM that Starship Mario was going to be mushroom shaped.
 * In one of the trailers, it showed Yoshi eating a Spiky Plant without having to use the strength to pull. In the final version Yoshi had to move to eat the Spiky Plants.
 * Good Egg Galaxy's background was used in Tall Trunk's Slide, and in Space Storm Galaxy's Topman's Tower.
 * When the Airships coming out of worm holes was shown in the E3 trailer, it appeared to be a cutscene rather than actual gameplay.
 * While the game was in development stages, it was dubbed "Super Mario Galaxy 1.5".
 * In the Honeyhop Galaxy, a Bee Mushroom is in a octohedron power-up crystal, like in Super Mario Galaxy. In the final version, the power-ups are in neither octohedron crystals, regular crystals, nor the opaque crystals first introduced in Super Mario Galaxy 2.
 * The early version, in Freezy Flake Galaxy was much longer and emptier than the final version.
 * had darker bricks in the E3 2009 trailer.

Nintendo Media Summit Trailer

 * Megahammer was originally going to be named Mallettoid.
 * Digga-Leg was originally going to be named Digg-Leg.
 * Comet Medals were designed differently, as the comet's star had no eyes.
 * In the Media Summit Gameplay Trailer, it was shown that there was a Piranha Plant in the patch of blue flowers next to the pillar on the Starting Planet of Yoshi Star Galaxy. In the final version, there is an Octoomba.
 * On the Marble Blocks planet in Yoshi Star Galaxy, the Launch Star is revealed after Yoshi eats the giant fruit, there is a Twirlip instead of a Lakitu and Spiny, and the planet is smaller. In the final version, the Launch Star is in a cage. On page 16 of the game's manual, it shows a Launch Star misplaced on the Starting Planet in Yoshi Star Galaxy. The Launch Star is supposed to be in a cage near the pillar that has a Comet Medal in the first mission.
 * In the Hightail Falls Galaxy, on the Slope Planet, it was shown that the big coin would activate a row of Star Bits. In the final version, it was changed to coins.
 * In Flip-Swap Galaxy, there were more giant Used Blocks. In the final, there is only one giant Used Block, which is where the Cosmic Spirit stands.
 * In Upside Dizzy Galaxy, there was a spring where the row of Used Blocks are.
 * The Blooming Garden Planet is still made of dirt.
 * Gobblegut's bulbs could be popped simply with a stomp.

Sky Island Galaxy
Sky Island Galaxy is a name for a possible scrapped development level of Super Mario Galaxy 2. The galaxy's name is derived form its files; E3MovSkyIslandBarrelPlanetZone and E3MovSkyIslandShipPlanetZone on the game's ISO. Bloggers on Channel 11 Australia have said that this unknown galaxy was meant for inclusion in the game, but later scrapped with many other Galaxy sketches.It may have been possible that a scrapped level from Super Mario Galaxy had made its comeback in the testing of the game, but otherwise a slim possibility.It is unknown whether this sketch existed at one time or not, but many people have debated its existence since the release of the game on May 23rd.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 OST
The release of the official Super Mario Galaxy 2 Soundtrack by Nintendo saw the coming of the Sky Island Galaxy rumors by a forum entry in Channel 11 Australia's The Forum Section: Gaming. Track 19, entitled "Puzzle Plank Blue Grass" caught the attention of a blogger saying "Why Track 19 Puzzle Plank Blue Grass?". Another person replied, "there must be some kind of Galaxy that was scrapped but had this music." It was then that the rumors of Blue Grass went into media. At the time nobody had any idea that "Blue Grass" is a type of country music, which was the genre of Puzzle Plank's Soundtrack. Nevertheless, "Blue Grass Galaxy" continues to be the name of the Galaxy, and is a name still accepted by many people in interest of Nintendo's scrapped idea. The game coding also showed an unused track called "SMG2_galaxy08_strm". This track was scrapped before reaching the orchestra stage, since it is performed with synthesized instruments.

E3 2009 Trailer Review
Proof of this galaxy may exist in the E3 2009 Announcement Trailer of Super Mario Galaxy 2. A screenshot showing an unknown platform with Mario jumping on three Twirlips in a row also shows a planet in which resembles none of any of the planets and galaxies in the final release of the game.

"Puzzle Plank Blue Grass"
As pointed out before, track 19 of the Super Mario Galaxy 2 Original Soundtrack was called "Puzzle Plank Blue Grass". It could have been the music for Sky Island also, and not just Puzzle Plank. But this was quickly ruled out when numerous gamers reminded people that Blue Grass was a music genre, not another group of words. Even then, there is a very slim possibility of the song being the soundtrack for Sky Island. The sky and atmosphere around Mario on that galaxy in the E3 '09 Trailer has a striking resemblance to the final release version of Puzzle Plank Galaxy.

"Galaxy Song 25"
Track 9, "Galaxy Song 25" never played in the game at all in the final release. It could have been the theme for Sky Island during testing, but the fact that the song was originally recorded for the Fleet Glide Galaxy limits the possibility if it once being so.

"Space Storm Galaxy"
To most people, the music for the Space Storm Galaxy seems to be the one that fits the bill. The Space Storm Galaxy itself was a late addition to Super Mario Galaxy 2, and the music that plays in the galaxy also plays in the Battle Belt Galaxy. A lot of people can note that the music for Fleet Glide was supposed to be for Battle Belt too. There is evidence to support this.

Many people believe that Track 12, "Space Storm Galaxy" was originally the Sky Island Galaxy music and when Battle Belt Galaxy's music was recorded, it was originally Track 18, "Fleet Glide Galaxy". When Space Storm Galaxy made its debut in the game, they scrapped Sky Island and moved its music to Space Storm Galaxy. "Galaxy Song 25" and Track 9 never made it into the final release of the game. Space Storm's music became Battle Belt's as well, making up the soundtrack in its present final release order.

Unknown Planet
Only one thing is known about this galaxy and the fact that in the E3 2009 Trailer of SMG2, Mario is seen jumping on three Twirlips in a row on a planet looking unalike to any one of the galaxies in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Unknown Planet No. 2
This planet is very similar to the Second Fleet Ship planet in Sky Station Galaxy. The only differences are that there is a Red Koopa Troopa (another early element of SMG2), a few Pull Stars, and one Banzai Bill Blaster instead of just a few.

Sky Fleet Ship
This planet is the same as the one in the second mission of Sky Station Galaxy. This planet has hardly changed since earlier versions of the game. The only difference is that there are electric barriers instead of Amps.

Unused Data
In addition, there are two unused world map songs within the soundtrack. Also in the soundtrack, an unused Galaxy Song is heard as well. It can be heard here

Finally, although they are not found in the final game, Ice Mario and Flying Mario from the prequel can be playable via hacking. Ice Mario's ice blocks stil appear in the final game though. An unused texture of a "Magic Balloon Fruit" was also found. This texture had a "P" like the ones of the P-Balloons from Super Mario World. When defeated and facing down, Whomp King had an otherwise 'unused' expression that can only be seen by hacking. If the player uses cheats or the infinite flutter jump glitch to go to the Solar System Planet in Yoshi Star's first mission, Goombas can be found. If they are all defeated, a 1-Up mushroom will appear.