Development:Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island/Level Backgrounds

This is a sub-page of Development:Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

This article is a work in progress.
...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

Tilesets

Tilesets present in the final game, or in the prototypes. The file paths and dates given are based on the first usage, though in many cases it can be found across multiple files.

Global Tileset

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/kusa-real.CGX 07 November 1993 21:58	hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-SORA.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-SOAP-B.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-YUKI.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-SOAP.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-pas1-mask.CGX 14 April 1994 00:36	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-sample-test.CGX 24 May 1994 02:17

nogami/yoshi/v-kusa.cgx 05 July 1994 19:10	hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/V-KUSA-FUTOSEN.CGX 10 July 1994 20:52	hino/yoshi/V-KABE-BAK.CGX 31 August 1994 21:27	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA.CGX 28 October 1994 21:19	hino/yoshi/-NOTE----YUKI.CGX 31 October 1994 21:10	ys_romX_0 Prototype	Final
					File:YS romX GlobalTileset.png	File:YI FinalGlobalTileset.png

The global tileset, used in every normal stage, naturally saw many changes.

The first iteration, which only contains a single door, drastically different in style to the ones seen in the final game, where doors are instead sprites.
The second iteration adds a transparent block. Possibly an early ice block, though the final game's ice blocks are 2×2 tiles large.
The third iteration adds a much rougher cloud platform. While the previous block was removed, in its place are two new ones: a wooden one and a cement one.
The fourth iteration refines the cloud platform to be closer to the final design. The wooden block has become a ? Block in the meantime, and a coin has also been added.
The fifth adds some new platform types, such as the castella blocks and some others not seen in the final. This is also the first version to include the Bandit House, albeit with much simpler shading.
The sixth adds graphics for the early goal which can be seen in other files, as well as the first version of the goal platform. Like with the Bandit House before it, it lacks the pastel shading seen in the final.
The seventh replaces the ? Block with an Egg Block, as in the final. This Egg Block has more detailed shading than the final, however. Some more new block types have also been added, possibly predecessors to the horizontally and vertically expanding checkered blocks. This iteration also sees the first version of the red stairs/platform, which aside from being quite a bit thinner, is brown.
The eighth changes the stairs/platform to be red, as in the final. It also introduces the arrow signpost, which is surrounded by a white trim, unlike the final ones.
The ninth is the first to add the pastel shading, including the early goal, which would be scrapped soon afterwards.
Not before the tenth iteration, which adds Donut Lifts.
The progression of the cement block isn't exactly consistent, as while both of the previous two iterations had the graphics used in the final, the next couple more closely resemble the cement blocks in the prototypes. In other weirdness, the signpost is darker than in any other file. Donut Lift graphics have been finalized, and the old goal graphics have begun to be overwritten by the Yoshi House ones. This is also the first to add the horizontal platforms, which are merely recolored Flatbed Ferries in this iteration.

CHIKA (Cave 1)

hino\yoshi\NEW-color\VV-CHIKA.CGX 06 June 1994 21:32	ys_romX_0 Proto	Final
		File:YI-Final Cave1Tileset.png

A version of the first cave tileset that predates the version used in the ys_romX_0 prototype or the final game. The ground is a bit more colorful than in the final.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-CHIKA-sanple.SCR is largely identical to B1-KUSA-sanple.SCR, but lacks the pipe of the latter.

09 May 1995 19:31

With VV-CHIKA.CGX	With Final Graphics

hino/yoshi/B1-CHIKA-sanple-2.SCR.BAK 09 May 1995 20:03	hino/yoshi/B1-CHIKA-sanple-2.SCR 25 May 1995 00:16

B1-CHIKA-sanple-2.SCR lays out various decorations in the tileset, such as the waterfalls.

KUSA (Forest 1)

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/new-bg.cgx 08 September 1993 19:20	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-pas1-mask.CGX 14 April 1994 00:36	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-sample.CGX 24 May 1994 05:55	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-YUKA.CGX 10 May 1994 03:54

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-KUSA-pas2.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-IWAYAMA.CGX 25 July 1994 19:10	hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/V-KUSA-FUTOSEN.CGX 10 July 1994 20:52	Final
			File:YI-Final Forest1Tileset.png

Besides the earliest iteration being much rougher than the final tileset, the associated palette is also quite different, with blue-green grass instead of the final's olive green. It appears that Little Mouser nests were once part of the tileset itself, rather than a sprite object. A larger variant seems to have also been scrapped.

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/kusa-real.CGX is a rather interesting file. It contains a forest tileset that is completely different to the one used in the final game. It also has a radically different art style.

07 November 1993 21:58

Scratchpad

Much of hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/new-bg.cgx is used as a scratchpad for this tileset. Contains some unshaded wooden posts and smaller flower decorations.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple.SCR lays out much of the tileset, including top solid wooden platforms, wooden posts, and cross-sections.

25 May 1995 00:49

The broken graphics are for the larger Little Mouser nest, and appear correct when supplied with older graphic files. There also exists a backup from 31 March 1995 01:21, which lacks the dirt blocks, but is otherwise identical.

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-2.SCR lays out a sample level, though it still has a hint of the previous tilemap at the bottom.

02 March 1995 00:33

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-3.SCR lays out the tiles for cross-sections. It also contains the scrapped large nests, which appear incorrect when supplied the final graphics.

22 May 1994 23:48

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-4.SCR lays out dirt blocks in various arrangements.

31 March 1995 01:18

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-5.SCR lays out the background hills seen in stages like Lakitu's Wall, and includes some tiles which go unused in the final game.

31 March 1995 01:18

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-6.SCR lays out some of the dirt block arrangements from B1-KUSA-sanple-4, but also contains train tracks.

12 July 1994 02:15

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-7.SCR lays out some cross sections, as well as a tree. The glitched graphics, once again, belong to the larger nests.

31 March 1995 01:27

A backup exists for this file, dated 07 September 1994 03:24. The only difference is that it lacks the tree.

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-sanple-No1.SCR lays out the ground and dirt blocks. It also seems to contain some background tiles for some reason.

25 May 1994 05:29

MIZU (Pond)

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-MIZU.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-MIZU.CGX 05 June 1994 21:01	Final
		File:YI-Final Pond Tileset.png

One of the earliest surviving tilesets, though scarcely used in the final game. Aside from the addition of tulips, it didn't change much.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-MIZU.SCR lays out a sample level using this tileset. It also exists under hino/yoshi/MIZU-1.MAP.

18 December 1994 23:27

hino/yoshi/MIZU.MAP lays out more-or-less everything this tileset offers.

10 November 1993 01:55

NAMI (3D Stone)

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-NAMI.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/hati-toru/enkei/v-nami.cgx 27 June 1995 02:11	nogami/yoshi/KINKEI-VRAM/V-NAMI-STOMACH.CGX 31 January 1995 20:43	Final
			File:YI-Final 3DStone Tileset.png

Another tileset that didn't see many changes during development. The only major additions include pipes and Prince Froggy's stomach.

hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-NAMI-No1-SHIRO-BAK.CGX 14 February 1995 00:37	Final

A rougher version of the blocks seen in the room of the Hookbill the Koopa boss.

This file also contains a scratchpad with some other early designs of these blocks.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-NAMI-sample-0.SCR lays out most of the tileset, including lava, blocks, pipes, and even the unused spike tiles.

18 November 1994 23:41

hino/yoshi/B1-NAMI-sample-1-meiro.SCR lays out a sample level making use of the pipe blocked by a cork, found in 6-4.

18 November 1994 23:41

hino/yoshi/B1-NAMI-SHIRO-0.SCR lays out the blocks used before the Hookbill the Koopa boss.

14 February 1995 00:10

YUKI (Snow)

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-YUKI.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/hati-toru/enkei/yuki.cgx 27 June 1995 02:11	hino/yoshi/V-YUKI.CGX 13 October 1994 00:39	hino/yoshi/-NOTE----YUKI.CGX 31 October 1994 21:10	Final
				File:YI-Final SnowTileset.png

As per usual, the earliest iterations of this tileset had thinner outlines compared to the final. The only major additions were the decorative trees and rocks, and the ice. Interestingly, the ski lifts were given thicker outlines along with the rest of the tileset, but were reverted back in the final game, possibly to make it more clear that they aren't solid. They're absent in the second iteration, being replaced with the background graphics for Mini Battles for some reason.

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/yuki-real.CGX, much like kusa-real.CGX, doesn't resemble the final snow tileset at all. It does appear to have been edited from the aforementioned file, however.

07 November 1993 23:20

Scratchpad

hino/yoshi/-NOTE----YUKI.CGX contains a scratchpad which lays out some ice and water.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-YUKI-sanple.SCR lays out the ground and ski lifts in the tileset.

13 July 1994 06:59

hino/yoshi/B1-YUKI-sanple-2.SCR lays out the trees and rocks found in the tileset.

29 October 1994 06:42

SOAP-No1-JUNGLE (Jungle)

hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-SOAP-No1-JUNGLE-BAK.CGX 26 November 1994 01:21	hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-MIZU-No2-JUNGLE.CGX 24 November 1994 09:56	ys_romX_0 Proto	Final
		File:Ys romX 0 JungleTileset.png	File:YI-Final JungleTileset.png

The jungle tileset saw a drastic overhaul, with many elements being moved around and/or redrawn.

The palette used here is actually much more greener than the version used in the prototypes, though it doesn't line up with either of the palettes paired with this tileset in the final.

Scratchpads

hino/yoshi/-NOTE-----AMAZON-TEST-0.CGX 20 November 1994 03:10	hino/yoshi/-NOTE-----AMAZON-TEST-1.CGX 21 November 1994 21:22	hino/yoshi/-NOTE-----AMAZON-TEST-2.CGX 28 November 1994 20:30

Several scratchpads dedicated to working out this tileset.

Sample Tilemap

hino/yoshi/B1-JUNGLE-sample-0.SCR contains just about everything in the tileset: grass, dirt, blocks, vines, and even water!

30 November 1994 07:51

KABE (Marble Castle)

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-KABE.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/V-KABE-TEST.CGX 22 July 1994 20:54	nogami/yoshi/V-KABE.CGX.BAK 03 August 1994 05:54	hino/yoshi/V-KABE-BAK.CGX 31 August 1994 21:27	ys_romX_0 Proto	Final
				File:Ys romX 0 MarbleCastleTileset.png	File:YI-Final MarbleCastleTileset.png

Saw many changes over development. The earliest iteration has a much more chiseled-stone appearance to it, but is more monotonous than the final game's striped bricks.

The next iteration bizarrely resembles the bricks used in the Mini Battles more than it does the final bricks, with the following iteration looking even more similar.

It isn't until the fourth iteration that the bricks finally match the final design. The unused 32×32 fixture also saw most of the same changes with them.

The top-solid ledges also saw many changes, going from a flat look, to a more stony look, then to the more rugged appearance seen in the proto, before reaching the final peg-like design.

Scratchpads

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/yuka.CGX features some early concepts for this tileset. Besides the early train track graphics, the bricks could be said to resemble quite a few things, such as the bricks in the Pond tileset, the striped goal platforms, and so on.

04 October 1993 04:39

V-KABE-TEST.CGX (the second iteration above), contains a scratchpad of more finalized backwall, early pillar designs, and brick designs closer in line with the final game's art style.

V-KABE-BAK.CGX (the third iteration above), contains another scratchpad of brick designs, finally reaching the striped design seen in the final. It also contains the unused fixture.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-KABE-sanple-1.SCR lays out the brickwork, windows, dirt, and lava. It also showcases the intended use of the unused 32×32 decoration found in the final game. A duplicate of this file also appears under hino/hati-toru/kinkei/kabe-1.scr.

25 May 1995 03:11

hino/yoshi/B1-KABE-sanple-2.SCR lays out pipes, spikes, and the colored bricks.

17 March 1995 06:44

hino/yoshi/B1-KABE-sanple-3.SCR lays out more background wall, and includes the shaded bricks which wound up unused in the final game. A duplicate of this file appears under hino/hati-toru/kinkei/kabe-3.scr.

15 May 1995 02:09

hino/yoshi/B1-KABE-sanple-4.SCR lays out the sponge blocks seen in 5-4. A duplicate of this file appears under hino/hati-toru/kinkei/kabe-4.scr.

17 March 1995 06:49

512px

HANA (Grass 1)

hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-sample-test.CGX 24 May 1994 02:17	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-MIZU.CGX 22 May 1994 23:59	hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-HANA.CGX 03 June 1994 02:52	hino/yoshi/V-HANA-NIGHT.CGX 01 August 1994 23:39	hino/yoshi/V-HANA.CGX 13 October 1994 00:39	Final
					File:YI-Final Grass1Tileset.png

Earlier iterations lack the thicker outlines, as per usual. The earlier iterations have notably different shading on the grass itself.

Scratchpad

A potential scratchpad can be found in hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/V-KUSA-2.CGX. It seems that this tileset was built directly off of the forest tileset. This scratchpad also contains an earlier attempt, which crudely recolors the dirt green.

18 May 1994 00:43

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-1.SCR lays out most of the tileset. Interestingly, it also lays out the Yoshi Houses usually seen at the end of levels, without the usual accompanying goal platform.

18 February 1995 05:09

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-2.SCR lays out ground and cross-sections.

23 June 1995 04:55

There also exists a backup of this file, dated 23 July 1994 01:35. The only difference is the lack of the decorative flowerbeds.

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-3.SCR lays out the grassy wall ledges.

23 July 1994 01:55

The top of hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-4.SCR is identical to the first tilemap, but the bottom has some different ground cross-sections.

23 July 1994 02:03

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-5.SCR lays out dirt blocks in various arrangements.

23 July 1994 02:07

CHIKA-No2 (Cave 2)

nogami/yoshi/KINKEI-VRAM/V-CHIKA-No2-KINOKO-TEST.CGX 30 October 1994 23:11	nogami/yoshi/KINKEI-VRAM/V-CHIKA-No2-KINOKO.CGX.BAK 31 October 1994 05:49	hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-CHIKA-No2.CGX 27 February 1995 01:50

ys_romX_0 Proto	nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/V-B2CHIKA-NEW.CGX 30 May 1995 20:33	Final
File:Ys romX 0 Cave2Tileset.png		File:YI-Final Cave2Tileset.png

Despite the first iteration being labelled a test, only slight modifications were made to it before the final. Most of what changes can be observed happened between the prototypes and the final.

Scratchpad

In addition to the tiled graphics shown above, V-CHIKA-No2-KINOKO-TEST.CGX also contains a scratchpad of various elements, such as the mushroom platforms and crystals.

KUSA-No2 (Forest 2)

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/kusa-2-FILE.CGX 24 February 1994 20:16	hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-en-kin.CGX.BAK 19 May 1994 05:31	Final
		File:YI-Final Forest2Tileset.png

As usual, the earlier iterations have thinner outlines than the final.

Scratchpad

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/V-KUSA-MIZU.CGX is a rather odd file that could be a scratchpad for this tileset, as it has the trees unique to it. As the file name suggests, this file contains a sample of a pond area with translucent water. In the final game, the only tileset to have translucent water is the Pond tileset, which is scarcely used.

01 August 1994 00:08

Sample Tilemap

hino/yoshi/B1-KUSA-No2-sample.SCR lays out the trees and plants unique to this version of the tileset.

27 October 1994 07:04

MIZU-No3-SHIRO3 (Wood Castle)

hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe1.cgx	hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe2.cgx	hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe4.cgx	Final
			File:YI-Final WoodCastleTileset.png

The first iteration of this tileset sticks much closer to the marble castle tileset, still containing the darkened pillar object, and much brighter than the final tileset.

The darkened pillar was quick to be dummied out, as it is already gone by the second iteration. On the topic of the pillar, it is now more detailed, but it is clearly just a rotation of the horizontal blocks here. The unique design for the unused 32×32 window has been implemented, though! The background wall has a cross-hatched pattern in this iteration. A duplicate of this iteration also exists as ki-kabe3.cgx.

The third iteration finally adopts the darker palette used in the final. The wooden bricks have the same circle patterns as the horizontal blocks in this iteration. Despite said horizontal block getting redrawn, the pillars are still just a simple rotation of this block.

Scratchpads

Each iteration of this tileset has accompanying scratchpads. ki-kabe1.cgx contains the least of the three, only containing some duplicated graphics, and the unused fixture.

ki-kabe2.cgx adds the new backwall and unused gear fixtures. The pillars are an even more blatant edit here, as they aren't even recolored. The shading on the unused fixture was updated, and the unused gear variation lacks blending with the rest of the brickwork here.

ki-kabe4.cgx overwrites the scratchpad with the redesigned horizontal bricks, backwall, and pillars.

While the main graphic space of ki-kabe5.cgx is identical to the final tileset, it also contains one final scratchpad for the pillars and the unused gear fixtures.

NAMI-No2-DOKAN (Sewer)

nogami/yoshi/TEST/DOKAN-ROOM.CGX 26 October 1994 19:52	nogami/yoshi/V-NAMI-No2-DOKAN.CGX.BAK 17 October 1994 23:30	Final
		File:YI-Final SewerTileset.png

Despite being one of the more complex tilesets in the game, this tileset didn't see many changes. The rocks became slightly brighter, and more background elements were added, but that's about it.

Scratchpads

nogami/yoshi/V-DOKAN.CGX.BAK contains a very early scratchpad for this tileset, along with some early attempts of tiling it. It doesn't appear to work well with the final palette for this tileset.

07 September 1994 01:45

DOKAN-ROOM.CGX also contains some sample room layouts using early graphics.

Sample Tilemaps

Likely due to its complexity, this tileset has significantly more sample tilemaps than others.

nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-1.MAP.BAK 12 September 1994 02:23
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-1.MAP 16 September 1994 05:32
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-2.MAP.BAK 09 September 1994 20:29
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-3.MAP.BAK 09 September 1994 06:16
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-4.MAP.BAK 09 September 1994 20:38
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-5.MAP.BAK 09 September 1994 20:43
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-6.MAP.BAK 08 September 1994 23:13
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-7.MAP.BAK 08 September 1994 23:33
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-12.MAP.BAK 09 September 1994 05:51
DOKAN-2 Corrected
DOKAN-3 Corrected
DOKAN-4 Corrected
DOKAN-5 Corrected
DOKAN-6 Corrected
DOKAN-7 Corrected
DOKAN-12 Corrected

The first set of tilemaps all appear broken, requiring some work to appear correct. These mostly lay out the pipe structures in this tileset.

nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-1.MAP 10 September 1994 02:21
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-2.MAP 10 September 1994 02:42
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-3.MAP.BAK 10 September 1994 06:43
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-3.MAP 11 September 1994 20:27
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-4.MAP 12 September 1994 02:42
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-5.MAP 12 September 1994 07:25
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-6.MAP 12 September 1994 20:04
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-SAMPLE-7.MAP 12 October 1994 02:13

The second set features much of the same features as in the first set, but in more natural settings. This set also features some proper sample layouts.

nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-ROOM-SANPLE-1.MAP 14 October 1994 21:39
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-ROOM-SANPLE-2.MAP 14 October 1994 21:44
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN-ROOM-SANPLE-3.MAP 14 November 1994 20:18

The third set lays out some rooms and the rock wall background.

nogami/yoshi/TEST/DOKAN-BOSS.SCR lays out the layout for a boss using this tileset. This could be related to the Naval Piranha fight, or it could have been something completely unrelated.

07 October 1994 01:42

YUKI-No2-FLOWER (Flower Garden)

ys_romX_0 Proto	hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-YUKI-No2-FLOWER-OLD.CGX 03 April 1995 01:09	hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-YUKI-No2-FLOWER.CGX 03 April 1995 21:06	Final
			File:YI-Final FlowerGardenTileset.png

A few iterations of this tileset between the ones used in the prototypes and the final.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-FLOWER-sample-0.SCR lays out a flat field of flowers. A duplicate of this file exists as hino/hati-toru/enkei/b1flower.scr.

10 November 1994 21:35

hino/yoshi/B1-FLOWER-sample-1.SCR lays out the jagged rocks and a gap.

03 April 1995 05:51

nogami/yoshi/TEST/B1-FLOWER-TEST.SCR, judging by the file name, was a test for using this tileset.

09 March 1995 23:32

SOAP-No2-SORA (Sky)

hino/yoshi/V-SOAP-No2-SORA.CGX.BAK 20 October 1994 23:19	ys_romX_0 Proto	Final
	File:Ys romX 0 SkyTileset.png	File:YI-Final SkyTileset.png

A version of this tileset, predating the one used in the prototypes. It features very scratchy-looking rocky cliffs that aren't topped with snow, and log platforms with the centers holed out.

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-SORA.CGX is a rather interesting file containing a completely different sky tileset. This one also features the ski lifts from yuki-real.

Scratchpad

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/SORA.CGX is a scratchpad of the scratchy-looking rocky cliffs seen in V-SOAP-No2-SORA.CGX.BAK.

14 September 1994 06:03

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-SORA-0.SCR lays out a single cloud platform. The multicolored hatch marks are likely just for marking the solid parts.

14 October 1994 06:37

hino/yoshi/B1-SORA-1.SCR lays out more clouds, as well as the bridges and cliffsides.

18 December 1994 20:03

KABE-No2 (Stone Castle)

ys_romX_0 Proto	nogami/yoshi/KINKEI-VRAM/V-KABE-No.2.CGX.BAK 26 December 1994 02:12	nogami/yoshi/KINKEI-VRAM/V-KABE-No2.CGX.BAK 26 December 1994 05:34	nogami/yoshi/KINKEI-VRAM/V-KABE-No2.CGX 28 December 1994 06:10	Final
File:Ys romX 0 StoneCastleTileset.png				File:YI-Final StoneCastleTileset.png

Had a much different look in the earliest iterations. V-KABE-No.2.CGX.BAK is interesting in that it contains two different iterations of the tileset in the same file. This iteration looks much closer to the final design, but still features faces on the brickwork. The second iteration updated the graphics for Relay Heiho.

The iteration after that is almost finalized, with the pillars gaining coloration being the only thing to be changed in the final.

Scratchpad

A scratchpad for the prototype version of this tileset can be found in nogami/yoshi/akasaga.CGX.BAK, containing some alternate pillar designs

12 July 1994 22:05

HANA-No2 (Grass 2)

hino/yoshi/V-HANA-IWAYAMA.CGX 30 June 1994 23:13	hino/yoshi/V-HANA-No2-BAK.CGX 14 August 1994 01:27	ys_romX_0 Proto	hino/yoshi/V-RAM/V-HANA-No2.CGX.BAK 09 June 1995 23:45	Final
		File:Ys romX 0 Grass2Tileset.png		File:YI-Final Grass2Tileset.png

The first iteration is based on an earlier version of the grass tileset. However, it has been modified to add collision lines. Incidentally, there are no line guides or trees yet.

The second iteration adds the trees, albeit much rougher looking than in the final.

The next iteration is the one used in the ys_romX_0 prototype.

The fourth is just about finalized. However, the line guides are monocolored; the same as in previous Mario games. In the final, they were made dotted for visibility.

Scratchpads

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/BG-1-BLOCK.CGX contains a scratchpad of the falling rock platforms.

29 June 1994 23:46

BG-1-BLOCK-2.CGX contains some thinner platforms.

14 July 1994 01:05

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/BG-0.CGX contains some scrapped background graphics, as well as a scratchpad for the Raven platforms.

03 September 1994 02:04

Sample Tilemaps

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-No2-0.SCR is an edited version of B1-KUSA-sanple-2, with the cross-sections removed, and in their place, trees!

17 August 1994 19:37

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-No2-1.SCR lays out donut lifts, stone blocks, and Raven platforms.

07 September 1994 02:35

hino/yoshi/B1-HANA-No2-2-SEN.SCR lays out line guides.

09 June 1995 23:48

YOGAN (Wasteland/Volcano)

hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-00.cgx	hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-01.cgx	hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-02.cgx	hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-03.cgx	hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe7.cgx	Final
					File:YI-Final VolcanoTileset.png

The unique version of the forest tileset used in World 6. The first iteration has a much more lush design compared to the final, though the wooden posts were topped with skulls. Retains a lot more of the decorations from the normal version in comparison to the final.

The second looks closer to the final tileset, albeit much more porous. Still lacks the unique decoration found in the final tileset.

The third updates the background hills, and the fourth is the first to contain this variant's unique bone decorations.

Scratchpads

b1-w6-00.cgx contains a scratchpad of early, unshaded ground, and a more traditional wooden post.

b1-w6-01.cgx builds on the previous scratchpad, updating most of the ground and replacing the wooden posts with bones.

b1-w6-02.cgx cleans out some of the scratchpad, and only features minimal changes.

b1-w6-03.cgx contains the bone decorations unique to this tileset.

Sample Tilemaps

hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1w6-0.scr is an edit of B1-KUSA-sanple, adding spiked pillars to it.

hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1w6-smp.scr lays out some ground and bone decorations.

SOAP

hino/yoshi/BAK-chr/V-SOAP-B.CGX 06 June 1994 19:20	hino/yoshi/V-SOAP-BETA.CGX 07 September 1994 21:34

A tileset that was slated to be used at one point in time, but was entirely replaced in the final! Is based on soap bubbles, and was replaced by the Jungle tileset in the final game.

This tileset even has a sample tilemap, hino/yoshi/B1-SORP-sanple.SCR, which lays out some things that would have been featured in this tileset!

27 April 1994 00:30

Palette Comparisons

File Name	Final Palette ID		Notes
Caves
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/CHIKA.COL	00	File:YI FG Palette 00.png	Breakable dirt is darker. Lines 1-3 use much duller colors, with only the first being fully filled out.
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-CHIKA.COL	00	File:YI FG Palette 00.png	More of the palette is filled out, though the browns and grays swapped lines in the final.
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/CHIKA-B.COL.BAK	11	File:YI FG Palette 11.png	Lines 1-3 are unchanged from the final Palette 00. The highlights on line 4 were made more gradual.
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/CHIKA-C.COL.BAK	12	File:YI FG Palette 12.png	Uses fewer vibrant colors overall, for instance, the mushroom decorations on line 5 completely lack their red coloration in the early palette.
Forests
hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/new-bg.COL	01	File:YI FG Palette 01.png	Doesn't resemble any of the final palettes. The palette itself is rather unorganized.
hino/yoshi/KUSA-pas1-mask.COL		File:YI FG Palette 01.png	A bit more organized than the previous one. The backwall for train tracks on lines 2 and 4 are a very dull brown color.
hino/yoshi/KUSA-en-kin.COL.BAK		File:YI FG Palette 01.png	Train tracks have been cleared out of lines 2 and 4. Grass is much brighter, and is on line 3, rather than line 5. The ground uses much more saturated colors.
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/KUSA-MIZU.COL		File:YI FG Palette 01.png	Combines the blue grass, similar to KUSA-pas1-mask, with the now finalized olive green dirt.
hino/yoshi/KUSA-IWAYAMA.COL		File:YI FG Palette 01.png	Beginning to resemble the final palette. Still has the blue grass, and colors for the tree decorations are absent. Line 5 contains colors for the falling rocks, which are not present in the final palette.
hino/yoshi/KUSA-MIZU.COL		File:YI FG Palette 01.png	Now the grass is more vivid than the final. Line 5 is identical to FG Palettes 10 and 14.
3D Stone
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/NAMI.COL	03	File:YI FG Palette 03.png	Has a different arrangement. Blocks have a much more bluish tint to them.
Snow
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/YUKI.COL	04	File:YI FG Palette 04.png	Dirt is darker, whereas the wooden posts are brighter. The same early backwall palette seen in KUSA-pas1-mask returns here.
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-YUKI.COL	04	File:YI FG Palette 04.png	And the backwall palette is gone again, allowing the ground palette to move to line 4, as in the final.
Jungle
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/MIZU-No2-JUNGLE.COL.BAK	05 (Proto)		Greens on line 2 are more vibrant. Dirt is much more brighter on line 4, while the vines are a bit darker.
Marble Castle
hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/yuka.COL	06 (Proto)		Arrangement is completely different to the final.
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/KABE.COL			Slightly more organized than above. Contains the dull backwall palette seen in a few other early palettes.
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-KABE.COL			Slightly reorganized, now begins to resemble the final arrangement.
nogami/yoshi/KABE.COL.BAK			Nearly identical to the palette used in the prototypes. The pillars are more saturated, and brick stripes on line 4 are blue-gray instead of brown.
Grass
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-HANA.COL	07	File:YI FG Palette 07.png	Cross-section dirt is blue instead of pink.
hino/yoshi/HANA-IWAYAMA.COL	07	File:YI FG Palette 07.png	Much closer to the final palette. Greens in line 1 are brighter, and aren't duplicated on line 2. Tree colors are missing from line 5.
hino/yoshi/HANA-NIGHT.COL	N/A	N/A	An entirely unused palette, meant for night stages using this tileset.
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/HANA-B.COL.BAK	15	File:YI FG Palette 15.png	The greens on lines 1 and 2 are taken straight from line 3 in this version. The browns are also much more saturated.
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/HANA-C.COL.BAK	16	File:YI FG Palette 16.png	Extremely minor change: the purples on lines 1 and 2 use the brightest shades rather than the darkest shades.
Wood Castle
hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe1.col	0E	File:YI FG Palette 0E.png	None of the colors match the final tileset, being much brighter. The rest is unmodified from Palette 06.
hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe2.col		File:YI FG Palette 0E.png	Largely the same as the previous iteration, but some of the oranges on line 4 have been changed to maroon, and some minor adjustments were made to line 5.
hino/hati-toru/kinkei/ki-kabe4.col		File:YI FG Palette 0E.png	Background walls use dimmer colors. Identical to the final palette now, otherwise.
Sewer
nogami/yoshi/DOKAN.COL.BAK	0B	File:YI FG Palette 0B.png	Has a brighter, overall more green coloration, rather than the final blue-green one.
Flower Garden
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/B2-TAKOYAKI.COL.BAK	09	File:YI FG Palette 09.png	Jagged rocks are darker in both lines 4 and 5. The flowers, which are white in the final, are green here.
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/YUKI-No2-FLOWER-TAKO.COL.BAK	09	File:YI FG Palette 09.png	The previously green flowers are now white. However, they are actually a very bright yellow in the final.
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/YUKI-No2-FLOWER-GREEN.COL.BAK	0F	File:YI FG Palette 0F.png	The tulips on line 4 are identical in color to Palette 09.
Sky/Clouds
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/SKY.COL	0D	File:YI FG Palette 0D.png	Lacks any of the colors used by the clouds in the final tileset. The contents of lines 2 and 3 are also different, though not used in this tileset. Cliffsides are much more bluish, and the bridges are more saturated.
hino/yoshi/SKY.COL	0D	File:YI FG Palette 0D.png	Cliffsides have been updated, but are still more saturated than the final. The bridge palette is missing now, however.
Wasteland/Volcano
hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-00.col	10	File:YI FG Palette 10.png	Has more leftovers from Palette 01 in lines 2 and 3. Generally brighter than the final palette.
hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-01.col		File:YI FG Palette 10.png	Seems a bit incomplete, having only minor tweaks to coloration.
hino/hati-toru/kinkei/b1-w6-02.col		File:YI FG Palette 10.png	Moves some of the darker browns previously on line 4 to 2, as in the final. Ground is actually a bit darker than the final palette.

Layer 2 Backgrounds

Early iterations of backgrounds that appear in the final game.

HATI-TUKI (Woods)

The following tilemaps can be found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

b2tuki2b

Graphics	Tilemap

Tilemap is very rough, including tiles for a reference gradient in it.

It also contains a small scratchpad:

b2tuki2a

Graphics	Tilemap

Graphics are mostly unchanged from the previous iteration, but the tilemap has been shifted down to make use of more vertical space. The tree stumps, which were slightly redrawn, were moved over slightly.

The scratchpad space is identical to b2tuki2b.

b2tuki2

Graphics	Tilemap

The tiling on the trees has been improved, as have the tree stumps. The scratchpad was also updated, but only has minor shading differences. It seems there was some kind of attempt to make the treetops, but it really doesn't look that great.

The graphics for the tree stumps is also more detailed in this version, which is interesting because...

b2tuki3

Graphics	Tilemap

...the graphics here seem to regress to the simpler design featured in the previous two iterations. It would be reasonable to assume that this iteration came first, but the scratchpads being identical suggests otherwise.

The trees were also rather hastily redrawn, although this didn't stick.

b2tuki2c

Graphics	Tilemap

Trees now match the final background, with the scratchpad being updated as well. Stumps have been redesigned, and now flow much better with the rest of the tileset.

hino/yoshi/V-B2-HATI-TUKI.CGX 01 February 1995 23:42	hino/yoshi/B2-HATI-TUKI.SCR 22 June 1995 00:16

The shading on the tree stumps was improved once more...only to be scrapped in the final background.

RED-WOODS (Unused Red Forest)

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/V-FLOWER-B2-TEST.CGX and V-FLOWER-B2-TEST-1.CGX contain earlier iterations of this background, which wound up unused in the final game.

V-FLOWER-B2-TEST.CGX 04 May 1995 19:40	V-FLOWER-B2-TEST-1.CGX 08 May 1995 21:45

The first iteration is interesting, as it contains cherry blossoms instead of pine trees. The second one is closer to the final background, but has more bubbly clouds than it.

MORI (Forest)

nogami/yoshi/TEST/KINOKO-MORI-TEST.CGX.BAK 16 March 1995 01:25	nogami/yoshi/TEST/KINOKO-MORI-TEST.CGX 20 March 1995 06:39

Two test scratchpads for this background. The backup uses far simpler shading, and as the file name suggests, also contains mushrooms. The second adds the pastel shading seen in the final, and the leaves of the trees.

nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/V-KUSA-KINOKOMORI.CGX is more-or-less finalized, with the removal of the mushrooms from the background.

V-KUSA-KINOKOMORI.CGX.BAK 22 March 1995 01:56	V-KUSA-KINOKOMORI.CGX 22 March 1995 08:07

ENKIN (Jungle Mountains)

kinkin-kei.CGX 01 February 1994 02:22	kinkin-kei-1.CGX 02 February 1994 03:16

Scratchpads for an earlier, leafier design of this background can be found in hino/yoshi/CHR-stock. It features the trees that were left unused in the final game. The second iteration contains some rougher mountains seen in the final background.

A duplicate of the first scratchpad also exists, as kinkin-kei-0.CGX, dated 01 February 1994 03:31.

hino/yoshi/kinkin-kei.SCR gives a rough idea of what this earlier design might have looked like in-game.

01 February 1994 21:40

HATI-TAKI (Waterfalls)

The following tilemaps can be found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

b2taki00

Graphics	Tilemap

Structurally similar to the final background, but with a much different style. The graphics file includes multiple different styles of rock, with not all of them being used in the tilemap.

b2taki01

Graphics	Tilemap

Style shift, but to the final perspective used for this background. The graphics lack definition on the lower rocks, and the waterfall hasn't been set up to use a cycling palette yet. The tilemap is very basic, simply duplicating the graphics twice with no variation.

b2taki02.cgx lacks a tilemap. Contains some leftovers from the previous iteration, but also adds some much needed detail to the lower rocks and waterfall.

b2taki03

Graphics	Tilemap

First tilemap featuring an animated waterfall, which looks more or less identical to the final. There's a second layer of bushes that was removed in the final background.

b2taki04

Graphics	Tilemap

There's some graphics in the scratchpad for a rippling effect at the bottom of the waterfalls that ultimately got scrapped. This animation can be seen in taki04.obj.

YUKA (Distant Grounds)

hino/yoshi/V-KUSA-YUKA.CGX 10 May 1994 03:57	hino/yoshi/B2-YUKA-BAK.SCR 09 September 1994 07:47

An earlier, flatter version of this background, with the top being notably barren.

FUJI (Volcano)

The following tilemaps can be found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

b2kazan1

Graphics	Tilemap

This background once had a much friendlier tone to it. The graphics file notably contains foreground graphics for the flower garden tileset, rather than the unique tileset used in World 6 in the final.

This iteration of the background in particular is very rough, with the tile borders of otherwise empty tiles being marked. Regardless, this iteration is the first to contain the funnel shaped mountains seen in the final, rather than the previously rounded ones.

b2kazan2

Graphics	Tilemap

Adds more details to the previous iteration, particularly in the treetops. The palette is also a bit less garish. It also includes some baked-in gradients, which, when combined with the HDMA gradient backgrounds used by the game, probably would not have looked very good.

b2kazan3

Graphics	Tilemap

The faces on the volcanoes was lowered, and changed from a smiley to a frown. The "tile boxes" have been removed, however, the right side of the tilemap is clearly less complete than the left side. The gradient was redrawn, but it has been removed from the tilemap.

b2kazan4

Graphics	Tilemap

And now they're smiling again. The background has also been moved down to allow for a more detailed cloud line, which have also resulted in the removal of the gradient from the graphics file.

b2kazan5

Graphics	Tilemap

Outlines have been removed, and the volcanoes have been moved around some. There's still some garbage tiles that haven't been updated since the previous iteration.

b2kazan6

Graphics	Tilemap

Mostly just a cleaner version of the previous iteration. The graphics file is arranged for the clouds to be animated, which can be seen in hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan6.obj.

b2kazan7

Graphics	Tilemap

The graphics file adds palm trees to make the bottom treetops less plain, but the tilemap doesn't really seem to have been updated to make use of them.

b2kazan8

Graphics	Tilemap

The graphics file is mostly the same as the previous iteration, just compressed. The tilemap has been updated to use different clouds, and to make proper use of the palm tree graphics.

b2kazanb.scr is an alternate tilemap, repositioning the volcanos, and removing their faces.

b2kazanb.scr	Final

IWA-2 (Crystal Cave)

nogami/yoshi/B8-BF.CGX.BAK contains earlier graphics for this background with some minor tweaks made to the crystals.

25 June 1995 23:48

B8-BF.CGX.BAK	Final

WOOD-KABE (Wood Castle Cobwebs)

nogami/yoshi/B2-WOOD-KABE-BAK.SCR contains an earlier tilemap for this background. Some of the windows would be repositioned in the final.

16 May 1995 06:56

B2-WOOD-KABE-BAK	Final

NIGHT (Eerie Forest Cave)

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/V-NIGHT.CGX shows the transition of this background from Super Donkey. As a result, some portions only appear correct with the palette used in Super Donkey, and others use the newer NIGHT.COL.

01 August 1994 01:09

Super Donkey Palette	hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/NIGHT.COL

HACHI-PASTEL (Smiley Mountains)

The following tilemaps can be found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

pasteru

The earliest iteration of this background: a scratchpad of multicolored smiling mountains and palm trees. Fundamentally the same as the final background, but much rougher.

paster1a

Graphics	Tilemap

The graphics are mostly untouched from the previous iteration, just tiled. Clouds are also added, which is interesting as the final background has the clouds on Layer 3 instead.

The earliest tilemap for this background. Already features some variation in the mountains, though it doesn't look very good due to the tiling. This background also seems to have overwritten the Layer 3 background, as paster1b.scr is a duplicate of this tilemap, whereas the accompanying graphic file paster1b.cgx is unique.

paster2a.cgx	paster2b.scr

More refinements to the graphics, nearly matching the final, but with thinner outlines. The tilemap has seen much improvement, though there is still some oddities in the treetops on the right side, and the mountain variation is gone.

b2pasold

Graphics	Tilemap

Minor tweaks made to the graphics, such as making the stems of the palm trees thinner. The tilemap has been cleaned up as well, and some of the palm trees are now mirrored to add more variety to the background.

b2paste2

Graphics	Tilemap

The tilemap is mostly untouched, asides from extending the grass out to the bottom of the tilemap. The graphics also take a palette closer to the final one. The only major change here is adding more definition to the outlines.

b2pastel

Graphics	Tilemap

Nearly finalized graphics now, but the palm trees are still much larger here. The tilemap is nearly finalized too, with the return of the variation in the mountains.

hino/hati-toru/enkei/pastel1.obj showcases that this background was originally going to be fully animated, with the palm trees swaying and the mountains blinking. In the final game, they became static, and the clouds were animated instead.

SUGI (Pine Trees)

nogami/yoshi/TEST/B2-YOZORA.CGX are a scratchpad for an earlier version of this background. Features more diagonal trees than the final background.

B2-YOZORA.CGX.BAK 19 October 1994 01:13	B2-YOZORA.CGX 25 October 1994 04:33

KOOPA-ROOM (Baby Bowser's Room)

nogami/yoshi/TEST/KOOPA-ROOM-TEST.CGX is a scratchpad for the background used in Baby Bowser's room. Do note that the palette used here was taken from the final game, and was not present in the files.

10 April 1995 19:36

Unused Backgrounds

Backgrounds that were scrapped or otherwise not used in the final game. Some of these have tilemaps and others do not.

hino/yoshi

/CHR-stock/chika-fukan.CGX contains graphics for some sort of tunnel background. It's not entirely clear whether this was supposed to be terrain or just background elements. The palette used is FUKANBG.COL.

07 November 1993 21:56

Graphics for an unknown cavern background can be found in /CHR-stock/18-1F.CGX, and a palette for it can be found in /BAK-color/COL-5.COL. These graphics would be replaced by the castle wall background in the final.

07 June 1994 19:20

CHIKA (Underground)

hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-CHIKA.CGX 06 June 1994 21:32	hino/yoshi/B2-CHIKA-BAK.SCR 23 February 1994 02:32

A very scratchy, hard to make out cavern background. This background was likely replaced by the water/lava falls one in the final.

SOAP (Bubbly Clouds)

While B2-SOAP.SCR was technically used in the prototypes, it didn't use the correct palette there.

10 November 1993 02:16

hino/hati-toru/enkei

hana4-1.cgx is a scratchpad containing stylized grassy hills. These graphics would be condensed in hanabata.cgx, and given a tilemap.

Graphics	Tilemap

It's likely that this background was scrapped because of being a bit of an eye sore.

hanabat2 is a background of trees on some mountain ranges. It might have inspired the final waterfall background, which it resembles slightly, or this may just be a coincidence.

Graphics	Tilemap

Two more graphic files, containing more concepts similar to the previous one. These ones do not have associated tilemaps.

hanabat3.cgx	hanabat4.cgx

iwa may have been a predecessor to the final Castle Wall background.

Graphics	Tilemap

iwa-bg2.scr is a variant which lacks the vegetation of the other tilemap. It seems like it would have been paired with a Layer 3 overlay instead.

kareki

Graphics	Tilemap

The first in a series of backgrounds which was likely replaced with the woods background seen in the final World 6. If so, it has an appropriately foreboding appearance, with dead trees in the background.

The tilemap seems notably incomplete, with tiling errors on the ground on the right side.

This version may not be using the correct palette, as kareki.col doesn't seem to line up with this background. As a result, the palette from the following iteration was used instead.

kareki2

Graphics	Tilemap

This version seems to be a refined version of the first iteration. More detail has been added to the ground, and the strange distant trees have been removed. In their place are new clouds.

The tilemap likewise is mostly the same as the previous one, but more refined.

kareki4.cgx seems to be a bit of an outlier, featuring much more simplistic graphics than either kareki3 or kareki5. It also lacks a tilemap. Despite its simplicity, a style-shift is clear.

kareki3

Graphics	Tilemap

A completely different style compared to the previous two iterations. As a result of the color palette, this iteration looks much more like an autumnal forest, and even adds flowers.

The tilemap strangely has white squares where the flowers would seemingly go for whatever reason.

kareki3a

Graphics	Tilemap

Similar to the previous iteration. The graphics are mostly just condensed from the previous iteration with only minor changes, such as the removal of the flowers. Meanwhile, the tilemap has been mostly redone, with all of the trees being re-positioned.

kareki4c.cgx, kareki6b.cgx, and kareki7b.cgx all seem to be scratchpads for this background. kareki7b even tries to add some leaves to the trees!

kareki4c.cgx	kareki6b.cgx	kareki7b.cgx

kareki4b

Graphics	Tilemap

This version trims down the background to just the front trees, similar to the final woods background.

A newer version of this background can also be found in hino/yoshi.

hino/yoshi/V-B2-KAREKI.CGX 20 December 1994 01:55	hino/yoshi/B2-KAREKI.SCR 20 December 1994 01:54

yuki

Graphics	Tilemap

A rather basic background meant for snowy levels, like those seen in World 5. Presumably would have had multiple layers of parallax scrolling.

nogami/yoshi

BOSSKABE.CGX.BAK 24 August 1994 23:20	hino/yoshi/B2-KAREKI.SCR 20 December 1994 01:54

Two scratchpads for a background that was presumably meant for boss rooms. While there is a tilemap file for this background, B2-BOSSKABE.SCR, it doesn't appear to work with these graphics. Interestingly, these graphics were tiled and are present in the final game, but go completely unused.

nogami/yoshi/TEST

B2-KAZAN.CGX contains an alternate attempt of a volcano background. Evidently didn't make it very far, as no tilemap exists for it.

01 March 1995 23:05

B2-MONET.CGX contains a scratchpad of backgrounds styled after Claude Monet. Doesn't even remotely resemble anything in the final game.

27 September 1994 05:05

B2-MONET-2.CGX contains more stylized art, which begins to resemble the Starry Night background seen in the final.

27 September 1994 05:06

B2-MONET-3.CGX iterates on the previous file, containing fingerprint-like patterns.

28 September 1994 00:55

B2-OIL-FLOWER.CGX contains some rather realistic flowers.

07 March 1995 06:51

B2-PENCILE.CGX contains a rather nice looking pencil sketch of a tree.

06 March 1995 02:53

BOSSKABE.CGX 26 October 1994 19:50	BOSSKABE-2.CGX 26 October 1994 19:51	BOSSKABE-3.CGX 26 October 1994 19:51

More scratchpads of the rock wall background. The third one is the most complete, showing some of how it could be tiled.

Palette Comparisons

File Name	Final Palette ID		Notes
Woods
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki2b.col	01	File:YI BG Palette 01.png	Much more coherent than the final palette. Uses both lines 6 and 7, whereas the final only uses line 7.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki2.col		File:YI BG Palette 01.png	Now only uses a single line, as in the final, but only line 6 instead of 7. The empty line is also filled with white, rather than magenta. Additionally, some of the oranges have been removed.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki3.col		File:YI BG Palette 01.png	Various adjustments. The trees became a more orange color.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki2c.col		File:YI BG Palette 01.png	Various rearrangements. Line 7 gets used once again here for the tree stumps.
hino/yoshi/HATI-TUKI.COL		File:YI BG Palette 01.png	Coloration now much closer to the final.
Forest Mountain Hills
hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/yuki-real.COL	04	File:YI BG Palette 04.png	Line 7, used for the grass at the bottom of the background, is unfinished in this version. kusa-real.COL, located in the same directory, also lacks one, but is for the green variant of this background.
Forest
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/B2-KINOKOMORI.COL	08	File:YI BG Palette 08.png	Much darker palette overall. There's also far fewer colors for the flower decorations.
Jungle Mountains
hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/kinkin-kei.COL	09, 10	File:YI BG Palettes 09 and 10.png	Mountains are more bluish in color, rather than greenish as in the final.
Waterfalls
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki00.col	0A	File:YI BG Palette 0A.png	Brighter than the final palette. Much of line 7 goes unused here. The waterfalls have not been set up for a cycling palette yet, and has a cyan coloration rather than the blue-grey one in the final.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki01.col		File:YI BG Palette 0A.png	More of line 7 has been cleared out.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki02.col		File:YI BG Palette 0A.png	Line 6 was shifted around a bit. First version to include a cycling palette for line 7. The coloration is much brighter than the final one.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki03.col		File:YI BG Palette 0A.png	Much closer to the final. Cycling palette has been shifted over, and while made a bit darker, is still much brighter than the final palette.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki04.col		File:YI BG Palette 0A.png	Cycling palette now nearly matches the final's, but still has the brighter coloration.
hino\hati-toru\enkei\taki-yu2.col	30	File:YI BG Palette 30.png	Earlier version of this alternate palette. Cycling palette now identical to the final, save for the early coloration.
Distant Grounds
hino/yoshi/KUSA-YUKA.COL	0B	File:YI BG Palette 0B.png	Less saturated than the final palette. Line 6 lacks any yellow for the wooden posts. Line 7, which isn't used, is leftover in the final.
Volcanoes
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan1.col	0F	File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	Entirely different palette.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan2.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	Colors have been rearranged. The most notable difference is the greens becoming less yellowish.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan3.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	Some more minor rearrangements. In particular, more greens have been allocated for the treetops.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan4.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	The highlights of the treetops have become a bit brighter.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan5.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	The green highlights have become much more yellowish. Line 7 begins to resemble the final palette arrangement.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan6.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	Some minor rearrangements on line 6, reducing the number of greens for the treetops down to just four. Less yellowish than the previous iteration.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan7.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	Extremely minor palette tweaks.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kazan8.col		File:YI BG Palette 0F.png	Line 6 was rearranged slightly.
Crystal Cave
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/CHIKA-No2-IWA-2.COL.BAK	13	File:YI BG Palette 13.png	Background is much brighter than the final.
Castle Wall
hino/hati-toru/enkei/siro-1.col	00 (Proto)	File:Ys romX BG Palette 00.png	Contains colors for the tarp seen in the prototypes. Is much brighter than in the final.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/siro-smp.col	00	File:YI BG Palette 00.png	Darker than the final palette.
Smiley Mountains
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pasteru.col	1A	File:YI BG Palette 1A.png	Entirely different palette, notably making more use of line 7 than the final one.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pasteru1.col		File:YI BG Palette 1A.png	A darker violet color has been added to line 7.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pasteru2.col		File:YI BG Palette 1A.png	Line 6 now matches the final arrangement. Colors are more saturated, and all but the greens were cleared out on line 7 in the final.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pasold.col		File:YI BG Palette 1A.png	Violets were shifted to add a fourth dark violet, and a few other colors were shifted on line 7.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pastel2.col		File:YI FG Palette 1A.png	Now mostly finalized, though line 7 still largely remains.
Rounded Mountains
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/B2-TAKOYAKI.COL	1B	File:YI BG Palette 1B.png	Only uses line 6, with line 7 only being a simple gradient. Despite the green color looking similar to the final palette used in 1-1, it's actually a bit more yellowish.
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/FLOWER-TAKOYAKI.COL		File:YI BG Palette 1B.png	The minor differences in the green coloration persist from the previous palette, though they've at least been moved to line 7 now. Line 6 is yellow-colored here, rather than magenta-colored.
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/FLOWER-TAKOYAKI-2.COL.BAK		File:YI BG Palette 1B.png	The first appearance of the magenta mountains. The bottoms of the mountains use the old green coloration from the previous palettes.
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/FLOWER-TAKOYAKI-2.COL		File:YI BG Palette 1B.png	The greens are now much more yellowish.
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/FLOWER-TAKOYAKI-PSYCHE.COL		File:YI BG Palette 1B.png	The greens were made even more yellowish than the previous palette.
Pine Trees
nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/B2-SUGI.COL	1D	File:YI BG Palette 1D.png	An unused daytime variant of this background. The final only uses sunset and evening variants of this background. Backups of the .COL files indicate that this variant was replaced by the sunset one in the final.

Layer 3 Backgrounds

Early iterations of backgrounds used in the final game.

CHIKA-IWA (Crystal Cavern)

nogami/yoshi/V-B3CHIKA.CGX.BAK contains a scratchpad for this background, containing some slight differences when compared to the final background.

28 August 1994 20:27

FLOWER (Flower Garden)

hino/hati-toru/enkei/b3flower.cgx	Final

An intermediary version between the version of this background used in the prototypes and the final game. Some cross-hatching has been added, but is still incomplete here.

HATI-TUKI (Full Moon Hills)

The following tilemaps can be found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

b3tuki3

Graphics	Tilemap

A rough version of this background, with notably early graphics. Features square stars and a pillow-shaded moon!

The moon was definitely not final, as the graphics file shows that the more detailed moon was already in the process of being drawn.

b3tuki2

Graphics	Tilemap

A much more complete version of the background, with a lot more stars than the final one. As with the previous tilemap, the moon is off-center here.

Duplicates of the tilemap can be found under b3tuki2a.scr and b3tuki2b.scr.

b3tuki2c

While the tilemap is identical to the centered variant of this background seen in the final game, the graphics file contains some unique clouds which aren't.

HACHI-PASTEL (Smiley Mountains)

The following tilemaps can be found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

paster1b

The earliest version of this background features a single, scratchy palm tree. If it ever existed, the tilemap for this background has been overwritten by a duplicate of the Layer 2 background.

paster2b

paster2b.cgx	paster2a.scr

Confusing file naming, huh? Regardless, the clouds begin to resemble the final ones in this iteration.

paster3a

Uses the same graphics as the previous iteration. Getting closer to the final design, though the palm trees were moved to the Layer 2 background in the final.

b3pasold

Graphics	Tilemap

Mostly minor tweaks from here out. The graphics file is notable for having some clouds with alternate shading.

HATI-TAKI (Jungle Pastel Clouds)

Graphics	Tilemap

hino/hati-toru/enkei/b3taki03.cgx and b3taki03.scr are for an earlier version of this background. Interestingly, it seems that this background was built off of the one seen in the Sluggy the Unshaven boss fight. The tilemap is rather unfinished, with multiple different cloud styles present.

b3taki04.scr iterates on this background, updating the bottom cloud layer, and refining the top layer.

HATI-YUHI (Sunset)

The following tilemaps are also found in hino/hati-toru/enkei.

b3yuhi01

Graphics	Tilemap

An earlier version of this background. The tilemap isn't nearly as finalized as the graphics are. The top of the trees is missing in this version.

b3yuhi02

Graphics	Tilemap

Even closer to the final version. This one just has far less space for the clouds compared to the final version.

GOGH (Starry Night)

nogami/yoshi/V-B3YOZORA.CGX.BAK 17 October 1994 08:02	nogami/yoshi/B3-YOZORA.SCR.BAK 17 October 1994 20:53	nogami/yoshi/B3-YOZORA.SCR 17 October 1994 21:13

Earlier graphics for this background, lacking the hill present in the final background. The backup of the tilemap contains some alternate arrangements of this background.

A scratchpad for this early iteration can also be found in nogami/yoshi/TEST/B3-YOZORA.CGX, containing crescent moons in differing sizes.

17 October 1994 08:02

BOSSROOM (Boss Room)

nogami/yoshi/ENKEI-VRAM/V-B3BOSSROOM.CGX.BAK 17 March 1995 01:34	nogami/yoshi/B3-BOSSROOM.SCR.BAK 17 March 1995 01:12

An earlier version of the boss room background. Despite being almost entirely redrawn in the final, is largely the same as the final background. Goes for patch tiles as decoration, whereas the final uses brick.

The backup also contains a scratchpad for this background, featuring a different window design.

The way the tiles are arranged in the top left suggest that the torches were once going to be fully animated. In the final game, only the palette of the torches is animated, while the torch graphics are static. What it might have looked like animated:

Unused Backgrounds

hino/yoshi

V-B3SOAP.CGX contains graphics for another bubble background, however unlike the Layer 2 background, no tilemap remains for this background.

09 November 1993 23:37

hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/B3-MONE.CGX 28 September 1994 02:22	hino/yoshi/B3-MONE-TEST.SCR 05 October 1994 05:43

Another Monet-inspired background of clouds.

hino/hati-toru/enkei

iwa-2bit.cgx	iwa-bg3.scr

The Layer 3 background intended to be paired with the unused stone wall background. The tilemap is very rough, suggesting that not a lot of work was put into it prior to being scrapped.

kareki4a

Graphics	Tilemap

A background that was meant to accompany the dead trees background. A newer version with proper dates can be found in hino/yoshi. It also adds clouds to decorate the top of the background.

hino/yoshi/24-27-OLD-ROGO.CGX 20 December 1994 23:12	hino/yoshi/B3-KAREKI.SCR 20 December 1994 01:59

Palette Comparisons

File Name	Final Palette ID		Notes
Mountains and Clouds
hino/yoshi/CHR-stock/yuki-real.COL	00	File:YI BG3 Palette 00.png	A common trend for early Layer 3 palettes is a lack of colors used to draw message blocks. While not necessary, many palettes, such as this one, would be simplified to fit in these colors.
Cross Section Mask
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/KUSA-MASK.COL	01	File:YI BG3 Palette 01.png	Asides from being shifted around, this palette change reflects the Forest tileset's change in dirt color from yellow to olive green.
Pond
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-MIZU.COL	02	File:YI BG3 Palette 02.png	Palette is a bit more reddish than the final one.
Slime?
hino/yoshi/KUSA-TASTUMAKI.COL	03	File:YI BG3 Palette 03.png	The first four colors are blank here.
Unused Castle Wall
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-KABE.COL	04	File:YI BG3 Palette 04.png	More empty than the final palette. A single color was also changed.
nogami/yoshi/KABE.COL.BAK		File:YI BG3 Palette 04.png	A riveting change. Now that one color matches the final palette. Still really empty, though.
nogami/yoshi/KABE-2.COL		File:YI BG3 Palette 04.png	The first four colors of the palette have been filled in. The final palette would also fill in the remainder of the colors, despite this background ultimately going unused.
Bubbles?
hino/yoshi/NEW-color/VV-SOAP.COL	05	File:YI BG3 Palette 05.png	Much more empty in this version. All of the colors used here do appear in the final palette, however.
Pastel Smiley Clouds
hino/yoshi/BAK-color/KUSA-pas2.COL	06	File:YI BG3 Palette 06.png
Night Stars
hino/yoshi/HANA-NIGHT.COL	0B	File:YI BG3 Palette 0B.png	The yellows used for the moon are more greenish here.
Crystal Cavern
nogami/yoshi/CHIKA.COL.BAK	0D	File:YI BG3 Palette 0D.png	Palette is much darker than the final. It also does not match the unused dark palettes found in the final game. It could reflect an earlier version of the sparkling palette animation used in some cave levels.
Outer Castle Wall
hino/hati-toru/enkei/siro-1.col	11	File:YI BG3 Palette 11 anim.gif	Much brighter than the final palette. This also includes the palette animation for the torches. siro-2.col is identical to the version used in the prototypes.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/siro-smp.col	11	File:YI BG3 Palette 11 anim.gif	This version is closer to the final palette, but it animates a different color of the palette, and is longer.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/siro-smp.col	17	File:YI BG3 Palette 17.png	A similar animation to the previous also exists for the unused grey variant of this background.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/siro-smp.col	N/A	N/A	Another palette variant for this background, which wound up being scrapped.
Flower Garden
hino/yoshi/V-RAM/YUKI-No2-FLOWER.COL	13	File:YI BG3 Palette 13.png	A midpoint between the version of this palette used in the prototypes and the final.
Full Moon Hills
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kareki.col	18	File:YI BG3 Palette 18.png	First palette for the "Dead Tree" iteration of this background. Entirely different palette.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/kareki4.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 18.png	A later version of the "Dead Tree" iteration of this background. Compared to the previous one, a few colors were slightly tweaked.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki2b.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 18.png	First(?) palette for the final version of the background. Uses much more saturated yellows, and the hills are much brighter.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki3.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 18.png
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki2c.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 18.png	First iteration to contain browns for the clouds in the background.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/tuki2d.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 18.png	Moon colors have been finalized. Clouds are still brighter than the final palette, however.
Pastel Smiley Mountains
hino/hati_toru/enkei/pasteru1.col	19	File:YI BG3 Palette 19.png
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pasteru2.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 19.png	The greens were made a bit darker, and some dark oranges have been added.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pasold.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 19.png	Greens have replaced the dark oranges. This is one of the two iterations unique for having message box colors, compared to either the previous iterations, or even the final palette.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pastel.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 19.png	Still has some dark yellows.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/pastel2.col		File:YI BG3 Palette 19.png	Has message box colors, but has more yellowish greens, when compared to pasold.col.
Waterfalls
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki03.col	0A	File:YI BG3 Palette 0A.png	Is just an edit at this point of the palette used for the bubbly clouds in the Sluggy the Unshaven fight.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/taki-a.col	1B	File:YI BG3 Palette 1B.png	Closer to the final. The clouds are pure white in this iteration, rather than a pale blue color.
Sunset
hino/hati-toru/enkei/yuhi01.col	1C	File:YI BG3 Palette 1C.gif	Much more orange in color, compared to the more reddish final palette. Also features a sample of the palette animation.
hino/hati-toru/enkei/yuhi02.col	1C	File:YI BG3 Palette 1C.gif	Closer to the final palette, but much more saturated. The palette animation has not been updated.
Starry Night
nogami/yoshi/TEST/YOZORA.COL	1E	File:YI BG3 Palette 1E.png	Completely different palette.