List of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island pre-release and unused content
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This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
Early iteration
Nintendo marketing department initially pressured Shigeru Miyamoto to have the game use prerendered 3D sprites similar to Donkey Kong Country.[1] The 3D models of Baby Mario and Yoshi used in the introduction are leftovers of this period of development.[2]
During development, the game was subtitled Super Mario Bros. 5 on the Japanese logo,[3] and was referred to as such in at least one preview.[4] This was shortened to Super Mario in the final Japanese title, although the English localization retained the connection to Super Mario World. Additionally, Super Mario 5 was said to be in development for Super CD.[5]
Several gameplay mechanics were tweaked from early builds, such as Yoshi performing Egg Throws closer to how they will in the Super Smash Bros. series and being able to lick up yellow walls of dirt,[6] as well as Piranha Plants needing to be touched to pop after withering.[7]
Early concepts
- The developers experimented with several concepts for two of five years of development before settling with the final idea of "a game where even though you hit enemies, you don’t die".[8] One of them was to have Yoshi move independently from Baby Mario and guide him around the levels.[9]
- The Powerful Mario form was initially supposed to transform Baby Mario into an adult, mustachioed Mario but it was pointed out this concept would seem strange. Shigeru Miyamoto joked he still prefers this early idea to the final version.[9]
In late July of 2020, the source code for many prototypes of Super Nintendo games were dumped online, and include many sprites showing various entities in different stages of creation, as well as wholly unused concepts.
A Burt-like creature
- YI DryBones.png
A test enemy resembling Hookbill the Koopa
An early Big Baby Bowser, resembling adult Bowser
A big bomb to be used instead of Giant Eggs against Big Baby Bowser
Unused graphics
An early sprite of Yoshi spitting out seeds
![An unused sprite of Yoshi and rotations of a magnet. The magnet was hooked to the Helicopter in unused minigames.[10][11]](https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/0/04/SMW2Magnets.png)
An unused sprite of Yoshi and rotations of a magnet. The magnet was hooked to the Helicopter in unused minigames.[10][11]
Early sprites of Yoshi skiing
An early sprite of the Vehicle transformation
An unused plane transformation
An unused mushroom transformation
An unused tree transformation
An early Train crossing the rails. The final version has a red "nose" instead of matching the Yoshi's color
Several unused Baby Mario sprites. The kanji is 仮, meaning "temporary"
An unused sprite of Baby Mario striking a victory pose
![A sprite of Baby Mario sitting in a different art style than the used Baby Mario sprites, meant for an unused minigame.[11]](https://mario.wiki.gallery/images/b/b0/SMW2BonusMario.png)
A sprite of Baby Mario sitting in a different art style than the used Baby Mario sprites, meant for an unused minigame.[11]
An unused but fully coded Missile Bill, but it appears in the level Endless World of Yoshis in the GBA port
An unused Bob-omb
An early sprite of a Big Boo
An early sprite of a Boo
A mockup of an Incoming Chomp using the right half of the sprite. The game only uses the left half and mirrors it. This does appear in the GBA port, however.
Either an early Nipper Plant, a Muncher, or an early Piranha Plant bud
An early Sluggy
A spinning wrench, possibly indicative of Rocky Wrenches
Possibly the lower half of a Rocky Wrench
An unused animation of a Shy-Guy lifting an object. The feet are missing due to being separate graphics from Shy-Guys' bodies.
A mockup of the Snifit with the propeller used by Toadies in the final.
Sprites of a Shy-Guy and Tweeter from Super Mario All-Stars
An unused sprite of a Bandit, likely intended for minigames
A large Grinder resembling Donkey Kong
A Dragon Coin, which may have possibly been replaced with Smiley Flowers
A ? Block
An alternate sprite of a crate found in the stone bridge tileset, as the final one is depicted on it front side, and lacks the question mark
![An unused sprite of Yoshi and rotations of a magnet. The magnet was hooked to the Helicopter in unused minigames.[10][11]](/File:SMW2Magnets.png){kind=small}
![An unused sprite of Baby Mario crawling. Similar sprites were originally used when hit instead of floating away and crying in a bubble[12] and an unused minigame.[10]](/File:SMW2MarioCrawl.gif)
![A sprite of Baby Mario sitting in a different art style than the used Baby Mario sprites, meant for an unused minigame.[11]](/File:SMW2BonusMario.png)
![What appears to be early versions of Woozy Guy's sprites with orange highlighting, meant for an unused minigame.[13]](/File:SMW2BonusShy.gif)
![A small Snifit lacking feet. A prototype indicates it also wore a propeller on its head and was replaced by Kamek's Toadies.[12]](/File:SMW2SnifitEarly.png)
Unused Music
The following music sounds distorted in places. They are related to the main theme, which suggests that they might have been used at one point during development but were scrapped. The MIDI data contained might have had parameters changed.[citation needed]
References
- ^ The Ultimate History of Video Games: The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World, p. 518.
- ^ "Due to the success of Donkey Kong Country, a similar CG visual style was considered for Yoshi’s Island before swinging the completely opposite direction. Early CG graphics can still be seen in some of the game’s cinematics." - Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 16 Bits Tab.
- ^ Akfamilyhome (July 24, 2020). Twitter post featuring gameplay of a Yoshi's Island prototoype. Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ Nintendo Magazine System (AU) Issue #30, page 10.
- ^ Nintendo Magazine System (AU) Issue #2, page 62. "As mentioned in Nintendo News Network last issue, not much is known at this stage, but we believe that the Super CD will be the same size as the Super NES. It will connect by the external port on the Super NES and the two units will become one by piggybacking. Super Mario 5 is said to be coming out on Super CD."
- ^ lombTV. 7/24/2020 ROM Information Dump. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ potatoTeto (July 24, 2020). Twitter post featuring gameplay of a Yoshi's Island prototype. Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Yoshi’s Island was in development for five years. The first two years were spent experimenting with different ideas, including a concept that would have seen Yoshi guiding Baby Mario through stages instead of giving him a ride." - Playing With Super Power: Nintendo Super NES Classics eGuide, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 16 Bits Tab.
- ^ a b Haou Magazine, September 1995 issue interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. (English translation by Blackoak, retrieved March 08, 2016)
- ^ a b potatoTeto (July 24, 2020). Twitter post featuring gameplay of a Yoshi's Island prototoype. Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ a b potatoTeto (July 24, 2020). Twitter post featuring gameplay of a Yoshi's Island prototoype. Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ a b Akfamilyhome (July 24, 2020). Twitter post featuring gameplay of a Yoshi's Island prototoype. Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
- ^ potatoTeto (July 24, 2020). Twitter post featuring gameplay of a Yoshi's Island prototoype. Twitter. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
