Super Mario All-Stars/Unused Graphics

Super Mario All-Stars has a lot of unused graphics for Super Mario Bros. 3, most of which are leftovers from the NES version.

General


The unused animations of Mario walking left/right and up on the map were unused in the NES version, but have inexplicably been updated for All-Stars. Again, the first frame from each is used during the game over sequence, but the final frames are, in fact, unused.



An alternate version of the small Mario sprite used for the mini-game intros. This is in the NES version too, but it's been updated here.



This graphic of Hammer Mario sliding can only be seen in one place: the bonus room of World 6-10. If you're sliding while grabbing the Hammer Suit power-up, you'll continue sliding as Hammer Mario.



Most of the graphics from the cut bonus games are still in the ROM, unchanged, though the Koopa Troopa and Hammer Bro hosts are not present.

The original Spiny Cheep-Cheep graphics are still in the ROM! It was changed to a blue color and redrawn in All-Stars.



Four of the six end-of-level outlines still exist in All-Stars, they're just unused. Unfortunately, the Plains and Clouds outlines have been overwritten with other graphics.

The other unused map graphics from the NES version have been removed. The map tileset was definitely cleaned up the most.



This Koopa appears after the 2-player mini-game graphics. It's styled like the Super Mario World Koopa Troopas, but it isn't a straight port! The shading is more detailed in this sprite compared to the World version, and the arms have been redrawn.

Plains


This starts a trend that shows up in the other tilesets: the removal of foreground scenery. The big clouds seen in the NES version have been totally removed from the Plains levels, but they've been updated with new shading!

Bizarrely, the double-layered bushes, unused in the NES version, were updated for All-Stars! Whoever was in charge of redrawing the graphics must have thought these tiles were used in-game.

Grasslands


The small and large clouds still appear in the tileset, updated but unused.

The corner pieces that aren't used in the NES version are still in the tileset. They haven't been updated at all, and still use a 4-color palette!

Higher Plains


The neat spiral clouds of the NES version were updated for All-Stars, along with the unused cloud platforms! The original hills were changed to a different design, but the original tiles have been updated and are still in the tileset.

Caves


No more small clouds for the cave levels.

Desert


The foreground pyramid has been redrawn. Doesn't mean it's used, but there it is.

The multitude of unused desert tiles in the NES version still linger, unchanged in the tileset.

Ice


A big cloud. Think it appears in the SNES version? Please check previous sections for answer.

Sky
The cloud corner tiles of Unused Level 15 remain in the tileset, and remain used in the SNES version of said level...although they're glitchy because they still have a 4-color palette.

Underwater


The propeller has been updated with a new design. Too bad it's still not used.

The alternate block hasn't been removed or updated.

Castle


This mysterious unused border/frame was never deleted when the tileset was ported over. Odd.

World 8


The unused tires and spikes were updated as well.



This particular ? Block was originally used in World 8 of the NES version for the tank/battleship levels. Due to the restructuring of graphics in VRAM, it goes unused in the SNES version. Note the kinder, gentler look the updated block received.