New Super Mario Bros./Unused Graphics

Lightning Bolt
A yellow lightning bolt.

The E3 2005 floor demo featured an early version of VS mode where the Mario Bros. would race each other 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 a empty leftover sound file from the powerup; SE_OBJ_GET_THUNDER.

"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.

New Super Mario Bros. Logo


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, which can be seen [[Media:NSMB-Early_Logo-original_high_resolution.png|here]].

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 Bros. 3 and Super Mario World.

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

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.

Skull Icon


In early versions of the game, this skull icon was used instead of the Bowser Jr icon to indicate the location of Bowser in World 1-Castle (and possibly other levels) on the bottom screen progress bar.



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.

World Icons



 * map/world1 kinoko, world2 desert, world3 water, world4 ancient, world5 ice, world6 machine, world7 sky, world8 koppa''

The filenames for World 4 and 6's map models are "ancient" and "machine", while the models don't depict the forest and mountains of those worlds. This probably means that the themes for Worlds 4 and 6 changed at some point in development.

World 4's map model depicts an island with a volcano, likely that world's original theme.

World 6's map model seems to be a placeholder compared to the others, but judging from the filename its theme might have been the inside of a machine or factory.

The only other notably different icons are for World 5 for which the unused file depicts as an iceberg as opposed to the snowy plain depicted by the world map and used icon. But it could simply be a placeholder. And World 8's icon which depicts what appears to be a Clown Car at the top or some sort of living rock with eyes? Neither Bowser's Clown Car or living rocks(!) appear in the game.

Interestingly, the music for World 5, 4 and 6 (respectively, in that order) are the last in the SDAT 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 Pointing Hand


There is a 2D version of the pointing hand in the enemy directory. It was replaced by a 3D model.

Super Mario 64 DS Leftovers
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


In the final game only the fence-climbing Koopa and the Red Koopa shell that appears in the extended intro use 3D models.

In very early images and footage, you can see that normal Koopas used a 3D model. The green 3D Koopa shell is also unused.

Stairs


The file km1_dorifu is the collapsible stairs from the Bowser courses of Super Mario 64 DS. It may just be a leftover, but it may have served as a placeholder for the 2D tile-based staircase like this used in Ghost Houses.

Swing


The file rc_buranko (swing) is the metal swing from Rainbow Ride in Super Mario 64 DS. It likely served as a placeholder for the 2D metal swings seen in World 4-Castle.

Question Switch


The file hatena_switch is the Question Switch from Super Mario 64 DS, and was used in an early version of the game. It was replaced by 2D switches.

Red Switch


obj_box_switch is the red floor switch from Super Mario 64 DS.

Star Switch


The file obj_star_switch is the Yellow Star Switch from Super Mario 64 DS.

Wooden Platform


normal_lift is the Wooden Platform from Super Mario 64 DS.

From the side view it looks very similar to the wheel-attached platform that appears in World 2-Tower. In early versions of the game you can see this wheel-attached platform used as a "normal platform".

Treasure Chest


t_box is the Treasure Chest from Jolly Roger Bay in Super Mario 64 DS. While treasure chests are not seen in this game, they do appear in later games in the series.

Red Ring
The Red Ring object is strangely called obj_e3_ring and its texture is called w_ring. It is actually blue by default and has a texture animation that cycles through a few colors: These unused colors were seen...at E3. It's still a mystery why they called it "E3 Ring" when it appeared outside of E3.
 * 1) red
 * 2) green
 * 3) red & green.

Sample Textures

 * /demo/staffroll.nsbmd & staffroll.nsbtp

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

Unused Player Animations

 * jump_e A fourth "bounce off enemy combo" animation, where he spins around while punching in mid-air.
 * low_walk Walking while bending over.
 * jumped Being squished. This was used when players jumped on their opponent/got jumped on in early versions of the game.
 * small_jumped Same as above but for the small player.
 * roll_jump Rolling jumping movement. Sort of like the move in Super Mario 3D Land.
 * roll Rolling movement. Probably related to the above.
 * push Pushing against something. Like the metal boxes in Super Mario 64.
 * sldct, slpbk The dive (head-first dive into sliding on their stomach) move from Super Mario 64.
 * lost Crouching down.
 * e_down, e_damage1, e_damage2 Falling down from being hurt, like in Super Mario 64.
 * bt_goal_out The player raising their arms in celebration. May have been used at the end of boss battles; the final game uses battle_goal_jmp.

Unseen Pendulum Pivot


The pendulum platforms in the 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).