Mario Kart DS/Unused Graphics
This is a sub-page of Mario Kart DS.
 | To do: There's more. |
Contents
Unused Bottom Screen Maps
Early GCN Yoshi Circuit
Found in unused courses' and StaffRoll(True)'s archives is an earlier version of the maps for GCN Yoshi Circuit. The map depicts most of the differences from E3 2004 version of the track, such as the blue wall at the start being instead a gray stone wall, and different curves in parts of the track, which can be seen in E3 2004 gameplay too.
MR_stage4
The unused MR_stage4 course contains an earlier version of MR_stage3 (King Boo coin battle)'s local map, which depicts some coloring and shading differences compared to the used map.
This version of the map has the lava and the track rendered on the same map, while the used map renders the track on local2 with transparent background, and animates the lava on background through local3.
Early Emblem Editor
Graphics from an early emblem editor can be found in Edit.carc. The structure is similar to the editor from the Kiosk Demo, though only three templates can be found: a ball, a star, and a heart. The eraser is also absent; instead, there is an unknown icon with a blue square, probably meant to be the eraser. There was also only a long "START" bar at the bottom of the screen, instead of a "START" and a "SELECT" bar.
| Kiosk Demo | Early | Final |
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It is not possible to get this working in the final game, because the archive is missing files that the final uses. When the missing files are added from the used archive, the graphics won't load correctly since the files are too different; it may have worked on an earlier version of the game, likely a later version than the Kiosk Demo.
Below is a mockup of how the editor might have looked:
Early Character Selection Portraits
Palette: select_character_s_o.NCLR
Texture: select_character_s.nce.ncgr
Found in CharacterKartSelect.carc are early portraits for the character selection screen, each with an X on bottom-right, marking their scrappage. Differences include Daisy having red lips and R.O.B. lacking eye lights.
Early Question Mark
An early version of the question mark for the item box, found inside an early model of the item box. It can be seen in early screenshots.
Early Team Emblems
Two early versions of the red and blue team emblems from VS Mode.
Shy Guy Character Icon
A character selection icon for Shy Guy exists in the game, but Shy Guy is exclusive to Single-Card DS Download play.
However, you can see this icon by using Action Replay code 023CDD40 0000000C to force Player 1 to be Shy Guy and getting a Grand Prix or Time Trial record. No icon for the "Standard SG" kart exists, however.
Press the A Button
This can be found in the files for the title screen, and was used in the Kiosk Demo. It's translated into the other supported languages, so it was probably scrapped late in development.
It's notable that the Italian version of this graphic is unfinished; it doesn't have a shadow, is somewhat misaligned and is missing the spaces between PREMI IL and PULSANTE A. The Spanish graphic is also missing a space between BOTÓN and A.
Debug Font
Most likely used for debugging and such during development.
Cup Icon Placeholder
Found in the files for the results graphics. A simple placeholder for the cup icons. The label カップ translates as cup.
Friend's Emblem Placeholder
Another placeholder, used for the emblems on the friends records screen. The label エンブレム translates as emblem.
Results Player Icon Placeholder
Another placeholder, used for the player icons for the battle results screen. It has two sizes and multiple palettes. The label キャラ is the shortening of キャラクター which translates as character.
Early Emblems
The textures of the kart models contain some early designs for emblems, most of which are numbers. They were shown in some early screenshots of the game. It's unknown if these emblems are just placeholders, or if they were going to be in the final version.
