New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Wii Released in JP: December 3, 2009 Released in US: November 15, 2009 Released in EU: November 20, 2009 Released in AU: November 11, 2009 Released in KR: August 7, 2010 Released in TW: July 3, 2010 This game has unused areas. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused enemies. This game has unused objects. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a notes page

New Super Mario Bros. Wii takes the revamped 2D side-scrolling action from the DS title and kicks it up a notch by what many fans would consider a dream come true: simultaneous cooperative multiplayer in the main game. It also marks the return of Yoshi, the Koopalings, and Kamek, and pretty much set the standard for the Mario universe in the years that followed.

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.

To do: Pa3_shiro_koopa. lift_intore.arc. Unused koopaling object that uses an early model and was seen in prerelease footage, may have other differences. Possibly unused things, including... More unused level features?. Unused world map stuff?. Empty 'openingTitle' file oddity. unused water_lift sprite that can be fixed with Newer asm hack. Unused cutscene functionality if bowser used in 1-Castle? More unused actors (objects that you can't put in a level normally). Unused Dutch language setting

Subpages

Unused Objects New hits and old favorites.

Unused Level Features Things that just don't come into play.

Unused Graphics

Japanese Text

Sometimes there's stuff drawn or written on tileset images that is invisible due to the alpha channel. They can be found on many invisible tiles used only for collision, and indicate the type of each. They may have been used in Nintendo's level editor.

Desert Tileset

The desert tileset (Pa1_sabaku.arc) has a simple collision-less palm tree object that goes unused in the game. It was replaced by animated 3D sprite palms that you can stand on.

This tileset also has graphics for upside-down slopes, but none of the tiles are even assigned to objects in the tileset.

Tower Tileset

Pa1_toride.arc 's first tile is a pink block. It's assigned to a lot of objects, but none of them are used. The block itself bears a resemblance to ones that appeared in E3 2009 screenshots, but most likely was 'dummied out' via recoloring.

Snow Tileset

As seen in prerelease screenshots, snow levels were meant to use a gray variation of the basic block tileset. They went unused in the final game, but the file is still present (Pa0_jyotyu_setsugen).

Credits Tileset

Standard	Staff Roll

The credits sequence stage gets its own standard tileset. The only tiles used there are the invisible solid ones, so the rest go unused. It appears to be a version of the main standard tileset rendered with an early alpha mask that no longer matches the texture. Most notably, the silhouettes of two arrow signboards and a climbable pole can be seen, indicating that these were once part of standard tilesets. (They are both 3D models in the final game.) There is also something else that is unrecognizable.

New Super Mario Bros. Leftovers

Early Block Roulette

obj_block.arc contains an early design for the block roulette, similar to the one in New Super Mario Bros.. It also includes early icons for the powerups. Note the change of Mini Mushroom to a 1UP in the final, and lack of Ice Flower in the early design.

Early	Final

Early Winged Block

obj_block.arc also contains a placeholder winged block, which uses the block texture from New Super Mario Bros.. The final game uses block_pata.arc.

Early Coin

There's an early coin file (coin.arc), which contains a flat model and a texture of the coin from New Super Mario Bros..

Early World Map Path

While this texture from New Super Mario Bros. is used to mark the path spots on the world map models, it's invisible in game.

Broken Pipes

obj_dokan.arc contains broken pipe models that would be used by the unused Mega-Mario flying pipe actors. As you can see, they're a bit lacking in texture, though.

Unused Backgrounds

Seen in E3 2009 footage, this fantastical 2D background was replaced by more realistic ones.

Called boss_hikousen_bg (boss_airship_background). It doesn't look anything like an airship, though.

Early Graphics

W 1-Tower Icon

The file that contains textures for the stage icons in the Coin Battle and Free-for-all multiplayer modes has an icon of Larry being battled by Mario, named im_W1_toride_00.tpl. It's never displayed by the game, as it uses im_W1_toride.tpl for the W1 tower icon. What's interesting is that it shows how the early Larry boss platform looked. It's also unique because Mario is in the image, which doesn't happen in any other Coin Battle icon.

Note

A music note, which appeared in prerelease screenshots, is still present in the game files (note.arc).

Spring Block

The checkered spring block file (block_jump.arc) still contains the old texture shown in E3 2009 screenshots.

Wind Effects

The file env_wind contain some cloudy textures similar to those used for the usual cloud/mist effects. These textures, however, have writing all over them. According to the text, the first three are meant for regular stages, while the last three are meant for desert stages. Since the textures are almost entirely white with transparency, the above image shows the files on a black background. The original files can be found below.

• 

  wny_wind.0

• 

  wny_wind.1

• 

  wny_wind.2

• 

  wny_wind.3

• 

  wny_wind.4

• 

  wny_wind.5

The final game only uses one type of wind effect, and its textures are stored as wmy_bgsnow.3 (and 4 and 5) inside env_snow.arc. It's also handled by the same sprite as the falling snowflakes effect, and uses most of the same code.

Prickly Goomba

The Prickly Goomba enemy from World 9-7 has an early model under the name iga_kuribo.arc. It lacks the frames for the Goomba's eyes and has different animations.

Search Lights

Found in light_search.arc are light_double and...

light_search. light_single is used.

Question Mark Bubble

This may have released items or acted as a switch when popped.

Green Coins

The coin object file (obj_coin.arc) contains a model and texture for a green coin, but it never shows up in-game. It was originally going to be used as the "collect 8" object in the enemy world map ambush courses, but it was later replaced by Toad Balloons. The Toad Balloon object is still named EN_GREENCOIN by the game. Green Coins are used in the sequel New Super Mario Bros. U, with the same appearance but a different functionality.

Green Snake Block

There are two files for a normal, non-icy snake block; block_snake.arc and snake_block.arc. They both contain a texture similar to the one used in New Super Mario Bros.. For some reason, snake_block.arc 's texture is of a higher resolution.

Ghost House Pole

Early	Final

The purple climbable pole found in 3-Ghost House is rendered as a 3D model. An unused 2D version also exists, which has somewhat different coloring and shading. It's actually fully functional if placed in a level.

Duplicates

For some reason, dossun.arc, the file containing Thwomp models, has duplicate Giant Thwomps. They're named big_dossun and dossun_big, and are identical.

The sledgehammer (lift_zen_hammer.mdl0) that appears in World 8-6 has a duplicate inside the Tower Boss Door archive (obj_door_torideboss.arc).

Dummy Cube

A black unused cube is found in BGM_Anim_Dummy.arc in the Object folder. This model is used to implement the coins and question/brick blocks in some levels (particularly in World 7) which hop back and forth in time with the music. The hopping/dancing movement is an animation on the model, and the in-game object changes position along with the cube. The cube itself is normally invisible, but can be made visible by setting a specific global variable to a non-zero value. (In the European/PAL version, set the byte at RAM address 80935D80 to anything but 0 to show it.)

World 3 Palms

The model CS_W3_Palm is an arrangement of palm trees meant for the island-themed world. This indicates that the island-themed world was originally going to be World 3, just like in New Super Mario Bros., instead of being World 4. To further support this, the name of the tree texture in both models is W3_YashiA. The texture used by the World 3 version is twice as wide as the final version, adding more ridges to the tree leaves. The tree arrangement barely matches with the terrain of World 4 at all, with two of the trees being higher up than the ground and none of them being at beach height. It also only has 8 trees, all the same size, rather than the 18 trees of two sizes used in the final version.

World Map Grid

In cobGrid.arc in the WorldMap folder is a simple grid, most likely used by the mappers to create world maps.

Unused Hint Movies

There are a total of 82 hint movies. While 62 of them are used, the rest of them go unused. They mostly contain Super Skills, and are broken due to the level layout being different from when the inputs were recorded.

1-3: Four unused Super Skills
2-2: Four unused Super Skills
2-5: Three unused Super Skills
3-2: One unused Infnite 1-Ups
3-5: Three unused Super Skills
6-Castle: One unused Super Skills
7-Tower: One unused Star Coin & one Super Skills
9-8: Two unused Super Skills

World 7-Tower

Star Coin

~ Player jumps on Bullet Bills to get 1-Ups
~ Collects the first star coin above Banzai Bill
~ Breaks the hidden block and jumps onto the roof
~ He goes into the pipe an collects the second star coin
~ Jumps onto the moving platform and kills himself

Super Skills

~ Player starts with Helicopter Suit
~ The player gets hurt two times
~ Shows the secret exit

Unused Animations

Big/Medium Goomba

The Big/Medium Goomba model has one unused animation in which it becomes flattened. It is different to the the small Goombas' flattening animation.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Midway Flag

• swing_L
• swing_R

These both were likely used with early versions of the model, because they do not fit the current bone structure of the model and look wrong when these animations are used through hacking.

Unused Behaviors

• Spike Tops and Chain Chomps can be bounced off with Yoshi. The former is also unused in New Super Mario Bros. U. Both are used in Super Mario Maker.
• Chain Chomps, Thwomps and Prickly Goombas have hitboxes that are impenetrable by Yoshi's tongue.
• Switches can be pressed by Yoshi, even when the player is not riding Yoshi.
• Dry Bones have the standard behaviour for overworld enemies being in water (splashing when entering and moving slowly when in).

(Source: Hiccup)

Unused Lighting Setting

There is an unused "dark" lighting setting which causes triangular light beams to be generated by each player. The beams face the same way as the players.

(Source: Hiccup)

Unused Text

There are a few unused messages left in the game.

test1

First message in the file with obvious purpose.

You can play for 10 minutes. After 10
minutes, the session will automatically end.

From the E3 2009 demo. It was shown on the title screen.

EVENT VERSION

Same as above.

Thank you for playing!
You can continue
your adventure
in the retail version!

Also from the E3 2009 demo, obviously displayed when the session ended.

Unused Jingle

There exists a single unused track in the game, named cheepfanfare_lr.ry.32

Unused Sounds

Many, if not all, the sound waves that were in NSMB are also present here with their original filenames. These will not be listed.

Sound Sequences

566 - SE_OBJ_GET_COIN_OLD
The NSMB coin sound. This can be heard in prerelease footage.

1681 - SE_SYS_NINTENDO_LOGO

There is no Nintendo logo screen in this game.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Early Features

In prerelease screenshots, we see that the game originally had a Red and a Blue Yoshi. They were changed to Pink and Light Blue in the final version. The filenames for the Yoshi models, though, still follow the old colouring: Y_tex_red.arc, Y_tex_blue.arc.

The game was originally going to have Mega Mario, but it seems to have been canned very early on - EN_ITEM (the actor which manages the various powerup items) has an empty value which loads a mushroom model from I_big_kinoko.arc, but it crashes the game when used, and it does not have any other code which uses the value. There is no way to enable it without ASM hacking.

The file I_big_kinoko.arc does not exist, and it is not referenced by the game otherwise. Also, as other evidence of Mega Mario having been planned, the "flying pipe" objects were ported over from New Super Mario Bros. but are not used in the final game.

Graphical Oddities

Pipe Joint

Early	Final

The pipe joint texture used in the World 6 Map and the World 6 Map icon depicts an earlier pipe joint. It can also be seen in the 2009 demo version.

Exception Handler

The exception handler is still in the game's code, but can't be seen normally without hacking or causing an exceptionally heinous glitch. When it does crash, press HOME, -, +, -, +, 1, 2, 1, 2, A on Player 1's WiiMote. The player will then see the processor state at the time of the crash, as well as some trace info.

(Source: Skawo)

Internal Project Name

The project's internal name is "wiimj2d" or just "mj2d" (mario journey 2d?), according a multiple filenames

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Build Date

To do: Find the other versions and get the filenames from them. Previously on the page: "V2 US: Built on January 5th, 2010. Revision 37821. Disc is marked as "version 2"."

An empty file exists in the main folder with its filename, shows what revision the copy of the game is and when it was compiled.

JPN v1.0	KR v1.0	PAL v1.0
REV_INFO_r37675 COPYDATE_CODE_2009-10-03_231655 COPYDATE_DATA_2009-10-03_231209 COPYDATE_LAST_2009-10-03_231655	REV_INFO_r38018 COPYDATE_CODE_2010-03-12_153510 COPYDATE_DATA_2010-03-12_153506 COPYDATE_LAST_2010-03-12_153510	REV_INFO_r37675 COPYDATE_CODE_2009-10-03_232911 COPYDATE_DATA_2009-10-03_232433 COPYDATE_LAST_2009-10-03_232911
TW v1.0	US v1.0
REV_INFO_r38019 COPYDATE_CODE_2010-03-15_160349 COPYDATE_DATA_2010-03-15_160345 COPYDATE_LAST_2010-03-15_160349	REV_INFO_r37675 COPYDATE_CODE_2009-10-03_232303 COPYDATE_DATE_2009-10-03_231822 COPYDATE_LAST_2009-10-03_232303

Developer Text

A file called WIIMJ2DNP.str is present in the main folder lists the directory to uncompiled code:

US	Europe
d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\US\PRD\RVL\bin\d_profileNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\US\PRD\RVL\bin\d_basesNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\US\PRD\RVL\bin\d_enemiesNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\US\PRD\RVL\bin\d_en_bossNP.plf	d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\EU\PRD\RVL\bin\d_profileNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\EU\PRD\RVL\bin\d_basesNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\EU\PRD\RVL\bin\d_enemiesNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\EU\PRD\RVL\bin\d_en_bossNP.plf
Japan	Korea
d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\JP\PRD\RVL\bin\d_profileNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\JP\PRD\RVL\bin\d_basesNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\JP\PRD\RVL\bin\d_enemiesNP.plf d:\home\Project\WIIMJ2D\JP\PRD\RVL\bin\d_en_bossNP.plf	d:\Project\wii-mj2d\KR\PRD\RVL\bin\d_profileNP.plf d:\Project\wii-mj2d\KR\PRD\RVL\bin\d_basesNP.plf d:\Project\wii-mj2d\KR\PRD\RVL\bin\d_enemiesNP.plf d:\Project\wii-mj2d\KR\PRD\RVL\bin\d_en_bossNP.plf
Taiwan
d:\Project\wii-mj2d\TW\PRD\RVL\bin\d_profileNP.plf d:\Project\wii-mj2d\TW\PRD\RVL\bin\d_basesNP.plf d:\Project\wii-mj2d\TW\PRD\RVL\bin\d_enemiesNP.plf d:\Project\wii-mj2d\TW\PRD\RVL\bin\d_en_bossNP.plf

Revisional Differences

Version 2 slightly updates the code for reading/writing the save file. It also updates the tileset used in World 7-Tower's boss arena so that the blank/empty tiles below the boss platform are solid.

Regional Differences

The Taiwan release includes the fixes from Version 2 (and maybe others) and also extends an object in World 4-1 so that you can't swim below the level terrain and glitch up.

Title Screen

International	Japan

To do: Please add the Korean screenshot of the title screen.

The Japanese and Korean version's title screen logo for the most part is unchanged, but has the name spelled out in Japanese or Korean under it. In addition, the unregistered trademark symbol was changed into a registered trademark symbol. Also, the Japanese version's title screen says "Press 2 Start" instead of "Press 2 to start", and in the Korean version, the copyright year is now 2009-2010, because of the release in 2010.

Text

Europe	US
I found this rare item for you! Did I do good? I hope it helps!	Here's a rare item! I'm sure it'll come in handy...

A slight difference in the text that appears in the Star Toad Houses. The US version seems to be worded a little bit better.

Europe	US
Hit the block to see Hint Movies! Head left when you want to leave.	Hit the block to see hint movies! Go left if you're heading out.

Another small difference. This text appears in Peach's Castle. It's weird Nintendo even bothered to change this.

Europe	US
Thanks for rescuing me earlier! Go through the door for a chance to win!	Thanks! Here's a gift for you. Just head through the door!

This message appears in red and green Toad Houses that appear through rescuing a toad. The US version is a bit imprecise, since you still have to play a game to get the gift.

Europe	US
Thanks for rescuing me earlier! Here's a present for you!	Thanks! Here's a present for you! Head left if you want to go out.

This appears in star Toad Houses that appear when you rescue a Toad. There's no reason to leave the Toad Houses, so the text in the US version is strange.

Europe	US
Feeling lucky? Go through the door to try and win some items!	Feeling lucky? Step right through the door to win some items!

Appears in green and red Toad Houses. The US version is, again, slightly inaccurate, since there is a chance you won't win anything after going through the door.

Europe	US
You've completed everything in New SUPER MARIO BROS. Wii!	You've completed everything in New Super Mario Bros. Wii!

Europe is more enthusiastic. This difference appears every time the game is mentioned by its name.