New Super Mario Bros./Unused Graphics

This is a sub-page of New Super Mario Bros..

Unused Powerup Graphics

Lightning Bolt

A yellow lightning bolt.

The E3 2005 floor demo featured an early version of VS mode where Mario and Luigi would race to the end of a multiplayer version of a level. There was a lightning bolt powerup, that when touched would turn the other player into their Mini form, like the Lightning powerup from the Mario Kart series.

There is also an empty leftover sound file for the powerup: SE_OBJ_GET_THUNDER.

(E3 2005 Floor Demo preview: Press the Buttons)

"Preliminary" Placeholder Icon

The text says "preliminary". Most likely a placeholder for something else.

Placeholder Curved Line

A simple curved line. Most likely another placeholder.

Unused Images

New Super Mario Bros. Logo

Present in root/ARCHIVE/menu_title.narc/menu/title/UE_title_ncg.bin is an old version of the game's logo, which bears a strong resemblance to the logo used in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. Nintendo released a high-resolution version of this logo as part of their E3 2005 press kit. The title screen of the E3 2005 demo used this early logo design.

Mario & Luigi Start

obj/A_text_mariostart_ncg, A_text_luigistart_ncg
Text depicting "MARIO START" and "LUIGI START".

This text would have appeared at the beginning of a level, like in Super Mario World and SNES and GBA ports of Super Mario Bros. 3.

You can see it used in early footage here and here.

(Source: commanderliamthx on YouTube)

Unused Numbers

Graphics: obj/A_OBJ_item_fontM_01_ncg
Palette: /uiStudio/UI_O_1P_game_in_o_ud.ncl.bin
These Super Mario 64-style numbers can be seen in a number of pre-release videos and screenshots, but go unused in the final game.

Unused 8-Bit Menu Tiles

In the graphics file for the title screen background on the touch screen there are some unused graphics: the grey block is from the castle levels of Super Mario Bros., while the green pipe is from this game but in lower quality.

Sideways Mushroom Stalk

In I_kinoko_kuki_yl is a sideways small Mushroom stalk. What this would be used for is unknown.

Sideways Bouncy Mushroom Stalk

In I_kinoko_kuki_yl is a sideways Bouncy Mushroom stalk. What this would be used for is unknown.

Early Pre-Rendered Koopa

obj/sample_256_nce_ncg & sample_256_ncl

Based on the name "sample", it seems to be a test image. When pieced together, the tiles show an early version of one of the Koopa Troopa's pre-rendered sprites. The most notable difference is that the shell is smaller and cut off a bit, but the eyes are also black instead of slightly green.

Sample	Final

Early Wanted! Graphics

Early	Final

The unused Wanted! sprites from Super Mario 64 DS remain in New Super Mario Bros, with the tiles and palette files now located in the directory root/ARCHIVE/mg_luigi.arc/ with the same file names.

Unused Models

World Icons

map/world1 kinoko, world2 desert, world3 water, world4 ancient, world5 ice, world6 machine, world7 sky, world8 koppa
These icons depict early versions of the game's eight worlds with a bird's-eye view of the terrain. The icons for Worlds 1 and 4 are the most detailed, while Worlds 5-7 are rather vague.

• World 1's icon features a variety of terrain, with a mixture of grassy and sandy areas, as well as a long and straight brown feature that is either a cliff or road of some kind. The coloring of the icon is also considerably more realistic than the bright greens and oranges used in the final version. This is consistent with some of the earliest known screenshots of the game, such as the one documented under the 3D Koopa model (see below).

• World 2's icon shows a single, large oasis and no ocean in sight.
• World 3's icon shows a small tropical island, but mainly focuses on the ocean.
• World 4 is labeled as an "ancient" world and features a volcanic island with distinct land formations. This type of setting is usually associated with prehistoric times and/or dinosaurs, which is likely what the theme of the world was meant to be, rather than the poisonous forest it became.
• World 5 is shown as a large white land mass with some white islands around it, indicating that the ocean might have played a larger part of the world's design.
• World 6 is named a "machine" world, and the icon itself is a metallic ball rather than a map. In the final game, World 6 is a mountain-themed world, and no main Mario game to date has had an entirely machine-themed world. The final version of World 6 features many Bullet Bills and has a tank as the boss, though whether this is merely a coincidence is unknown. The change in theme may also be reflected in the reuse of many level themes and mechanics from previous worlds in World 6, and the fact it only has three strictly mountain themed levels - i.e. the world may have been rushed after the machine theme was scrapped.
• World 7 is represented as a large swirling of wispy white clouds above the ocean.
• World 8's icon shows dark islands in a sea of lava, though the most notable features are the castle with three lit windows and a dark sphere with a glowing face reminiscent of Bowser's Koopa Clown Car. Given that the icons take a more realistic approach to world design, it is possible that this face was really meant to be the size of a castle, like in Paper Mario, instead of a symbolic reference to Bowser's presence. Note that the Koopa Clown Car doesn't appear anywhere in the game.

Interestingly, the music for World 5, 4, and 6 (respectively, in that order) are the last in the sound data file, suggesting their themes may have been the last in development.

Purple Question Block

/enemy/I_hatena_normal2 is a purple ? Block. How this color/type would be used is unknown.

2D Phantom Hand

enemy\I_obake_yubi.nsbmd is a 2D version of the Phantom Hand. It was replaced by a 3D model.

Wooden Platform

enemy\normal_lift is an unused 3D "normal lift". From the side, it looks similar to the wheel-attached platform that appears in World 2-Tower. In the E3 2005 versions of the game, you can see the wheel-attached platform graphics used instead of the current "normal lift" graphic.

Super Mario 64 DS Leftovers

To do: Compare with SM64DS versions

This page or section has one or more broken YouTube links. Please find an archived version of the video(s) or a suitable replacement.

New Super Mario Bros. uses a lot of models from Super Mario 64 DS, so it's not surprising that some of the objects they didn't use were left behind.

Koopa Model

To do: Compare with Fence Koopa model

In the final game, only the fence-climbing Koopas and the Koopa shells that appear in the intro use 3D models. In the E3 2004 video and screenshots, you can see that normal Koopas used a 3D model.

Stairs

The file km1_dorifu is the collapsible stairs from the Bowser courses. It may just be a leftover, but it may have served as a placeholder for the 2D tile-based staircases used in Ghost Houses.

Swing

The file rc_buranko (swing) is the metal swing from Rainbow Ride. It can be seen in the E3 2005 show floor trailer, being used for the swinging platforms (which in the final game, use 2D graphics and are seen in World 4-Castle).

Question Switch

The file hatena_switch is the ? Switch, exactly as the Japanese name implies. It was used in an early version of the game. It was replaced by 2D switches.

Red Switch

obj_box_switch is the ! Switch.

Star Switch

The file obj_star_switch is the Yellow Star Switch.

Treasure Chest

t_box is the treasure chest from Jolly Roger Bay. While treasure chests are not used in this game, they do appear in later games in the series.

Unused Textures

Powerups

Mario	Luigi

These unused powerup textures can be loaded if field BB6 of the player actor (i.e. the address of the player actor + BB6) is set to 02 or 03, respectively. The white one is used for the Star powerup, but only indirectly by multiplying its colors by another palette. The BB6 field is never set to 3, however, despite there being additional code to handle it.

(Source: Skawo)

Red Ring

/enemy/obj_e3_ring.nsbmd

The Red Ring object is strangely called obj_e3_ring, and its used texture is called w_ring.2.

w_ring.1	w_ring.2	w_ring.3	w_ring.4

The Red Ring model has four textures and an unused texture animation which cycles through them. The first one (blue) is unused in the final game, but was used in the E3 2005 trailer version and 2005 demo for an early version of the checkpoint. The blue ring was the checkpoint's "inactive" state, the red ring was used if activated by Mario, the green ring was used if activated by Luigi, and the multicolored ring was used if either brother touched it in multiplayer. Only the second one (red) is used in-game for the Red Ring. The rest are also unused.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Sample Textures

/demo/staffroll.nsbmd & staffroll.nsbtp

Must have been used for testing the credit images and rolling animation.

Unused Player Animations

To do: Redo this entire section Use this page as a reference A good majority of these animations are ported from SM64DS, how were they used there? Many future 2D Mario games reuse NSMB's animations, some like jump_e still remain unused in SMM2, make a note of these.

player - pl

• sldct - The dive (head-first dive into sliding on their stomach) from Super Mario 64 DS
• 2jmp_b_1, 2jmp_b_2 - A forward jump seen in the beta.
• 2jmp_d_1, 2jmp_d_2 - A backflip.
• 2jmp_e_1, 2jmp_e_2 - The side somersault move from Super Mario 64 DS.
• spin_jump_st, spin_jump_off - Mario starting a spin jump by moving his arms and ending with seemingly a jump and entering free fall.
• 2jump1, 2jump2 - Alternate jumping animation.
• L_walk - Unused walking animation for Luigi seen in the 2005 builds. In the final when Luigi walks he uses Mario's walking animation.

(Source: Alzter)

player - pl2

• jump_e - A fourth "bounce off enemy combo" animation, with Mario performing a quick spin as he punches the air.

player - plnovs

• e_down - Falling down death after getting electrocuted in Super Mario 64 DS, no longer used here as Mario powers down and falls off screen when hit by an Amp.
• e_damage1, e_damage2 - Falling down backwards and getting back up, similar to a few animations found in SM64DS but not identical.
• bt_goal_jmp - Backflipping on the spot and punching forward with each arm. The punching part is very similar, if not identical, to the punching part of the "used all the Star Coins" world map animation. This unused animation was used in the 2005 kiosk demo for when the Mega Goomba boss was defeated.
• bt_goal_out - Stretching arms. Used the same as above.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Texture Animation

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Is there any actual animation data? What does it do?

w7_tree.nsbtp is an unused texture animation file for the World 7 (w7_tree.nsbmd) map tree/mushroom model. It references a material and two textures and their corresponding palettes that don't exist in the tree/mushroom, the main World 7 model (w7.nsbmd) or any other world map model. Materials/textures/palettes with similar names don't exist either. In fact, the World 7 map doesn't have any flowers in it. In the main world map models, flower textures are part of materials/textures/palettes that depict multiple things and flowers don't exist in any of the tree/mushroom models - only in the main models.

flowerP
w7_14f.1
w7_14f.2
w7_14f.1_pl
w7_14f.2_pl

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unseen Pendulum Pivot

The pendulum platforms in World 4-Castle are swinging from a pivot, but it isn't visible because of the camera restrictions set in the level (in the swinging platform sections of the level, you cannot move the camera up).

Unused Transitions

To do: Are either of the circle transitions used? Confirm for sure that the wave one is used too.

Found in Window_LZ.bin, most of these transitions are obviously remnants from Super Mario 64 DS, but not all (the faded circle and wave transition didn't exist there). Further, all of these were remade into this game's NSBMD format, which is a different format than the one used for SM64DS.

Map16 Scratchpads

To do: Compare with existing/early levels, and note the usage of unused tiles.

These drawings are present in various tilesets' Map16 (i.e. metatile) layouts, below the actual tileset. They do not have tile behaviors or tileset objects associated with them. They seem to have been made to test/demonstrate how tiles fit together.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Desert

Oddly, the left hand ground is using the secondary palette, but in the final tileset, this palette is used for the ground, so it uses incorrect colors.

Sky (World 7) and Sky (World 7, Yellow)

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Underwater

Inside Volcano

Beach 1

Jungle

Outside Volcano

Volcano Cliffs (Unused)

Snow

Desert Oasis

Mini Mario Bonus Room 1 (Unused)

Sewer

Outside Ghost House

Toad House 1

Toad House 2

Toad House 3

Bowser. Jr. Room

Beach 2

Mini Mario Bonus Room 2