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Prerelease:Mario Kart 64

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This page details prerelease information and/or media for Mario Kart 64.

This cactus is UNDER CONSTRUCTION
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.
Notes: Still need to add more content.
Hmmm...
To do:
Add pics/vids.

Shoshinkai 1995

A prototype build of Mario Kart 64 was shown at the Shoshinkai Software Exhibition on November 24, 1995, under the working title of "Super Mario Kart R" (the R standing for "Rendered"). While the game looked complete for the most part, there was still lots of content that didn't make it into the final.

Magikoopa

A Magikoopa, most likely Kamek from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, was originally planned to be playable before being replaced by Donkey Kong. The model used for Donkey Kong in the final release was provided by Donkey Kong Country developer Rare, so it's believed Kamek was used as a "catch-all" in the case Nintendo ultimately couldn't get the pass from them. Kamek would eventually make his Mario Kart series debut in Mario Kart Tour, 25 years later.

MK64MagikoopaPrerelease.jpgMK64KamekIconPrerelease.jpg

(Source: The N64 Information Page)

Banshee Boardwalk

Pre-release Final
MK64BansheeBoardwalkPrerelease.png MK64BansheeBoardwalk.png

The "Welcome" sign was moved further along the track, closer to the castle.

Pre-release Final
MK64BansheeBoardwalk2Prerelease.png MK64BansheeBoardwalk2.png

Beams with lanterns were added at various points along the boardwalk.

E3 1996

Another build was shown at E3 1996. It appears to be very similar to build shown at Shoshinkai '95, though more things have been revealed.

Title Screen

Prerelease Final
Super Mario Kart R Title Screen.png Mario Kart 64.png
(Source: Super Mario Wiki)

The title screen appears to be very different from the final version.

Title Screen Music

Prerelease Final

This track is very different from the final's, though it's worth noting this same track was also heard in a Silicon Graphics tech demo, meaning it was likely used as a placeholder.

The same track was found within the N64 SDK files (on the May 2020 Nintendo Leak), under the name of "BassDrive.mid", further confirming it was likely a placeholder.

(Source: N64 Press Conference B-Roll, N64 Silicon Graphics SimpleCW tech demo)

Character Select

Prerelease Final
MK64-Prerelease-Character-Select.jpg Mario Kart 64 character select.png

The grey bars showing the characters' names are missing, and the icons of the characters show higher-quality pictures of the early sprites. Notably, lower-quality sprites of the heads of Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad were retained in the Game Select screen.

Koopa Air Billboards

Prerelease Final (Japan) Final (International)
GoodEarMK64Prerelease.png MK64KoopaAir.png MK64KoopaAirINT.png

The Koopa Air billboard originally said "Good Ear", with a rabbit head symbol. They likely changed it to avoid too much of a similarity to the actual Goodyear logo, and to give it more of a Mario theming. The graphic itself can be found in the contents of the 2020 Nintendo gigaleak.

Speech Bubbles

Super Mario Kart R Speech Bubble.png

A speech bubble appears when Mario hits part of a track.

Various Pictures

It was not uncommon for screenshots from different builds to be used in a single publication, so figuring out which build a given image is from can prove difficult, if not impossible. The images in this section may be from any build prior to the final release.

Item Boxes

At one point, the Item Boxes were opaque black cubes with colored question marks on them instead of the more transparent, rainbow-colored box seen in the final.

Cape Feather

The Cape Feather item from Super Mario Kart was originally going to reappear, only to be scrapped in the final release. Its code can still be found within the final build, and the graphic seen here was found in the July 2020 leaks.

The Cape Feather would eventually make a proper return in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a Battle Mode-exclusive item.

(Source: Unseen64)

Mario Raceway

  • The brick texture is slightly different.
  • No Piranha Plants are present.
  • A Nintendo billboard is present at the beginning of the track, which was replaced by the sign with Mario saying "GO!" in the final.
  • There's a big hill on the right at the pipe, but it was flattened in the final release.

Choco Mountain

  • The boulders that drop during the turn are absent.

Moo Moo Farm

  • Looks to be near identical to the final, but the skybox is different: the sky itself is a brighter blue & the clouds look different.
  • The red & white wall arrows that's in a further distance are missing.

Banshee Boardwalk

  • It appears as if it doesn't have the drop ledge before the house.
  • The inside of the house is more baron with the box containing the bats & arrows on the walls being absent.
  • The first wall when you enter the house is shorter height-wise & has a different texture.
  • The welcome sign was shown when you turn a corner rather than when you enter the house.
  • If you pay extremely close on Luigi's screen in the early footage, you can see the hole on the left is still present.
  • The guardrails are present throughout the entire course.
  • Boos use different graphics and are also present throughout the entire course.
  • The wood's UV around the Cheep-Cheep pass is slightly different.
  • There's an additional wall, right before the exit of the house ruins.
  • The fog is similar to Choco Mountain, except it's black.

Later Build

Title Screen

Pre-release Final
MK64TitleScreenPrerelease.jpg Mario Kart 64.png

The logo has a registered symbol. It was changed to a trademark symbol in the final game.

Early Racer Icons

MK64-EarlyRacerIcons.jpg

The icons for the drivers are flipped horizontally. The numbers are also positioned to the right, but positioned to the left in the final game. As well, Princess Peach’s icon has her at a different angle to that of the final game.

Luigi Raceway

Pre-release Final
MK64LuigiRaceway1Prerelease.jpg MK64LuigiRaceway1.png
Pre-release Final
MK64LuigiRaceway2Prerelease.jpg MK64LuigiRaceway2.png
Pre-release Final
MK64LuigiRaceway3Prerelease.jpg MK64LuigiRaceway3.png

The "64" sign was moved from the beginning of the last turn to behind the start line, a wall was added to the right side of the track, the Luigi sign was added, the "Koopa Air" sign was added to the barrier, and the item boxes were removed.

Moo Moo Farm

Pre-release Final
MK64MohMoh1Prerelease.jpg MK64MohMoh1.png

The "Moo Moo Farm" gate was added, and the skybox appears to have changed from evening to midday.

Kalimari Desert

Pre-release Final
MK64KalamariCrossingPrerelease.jpg MK64KalamariCrossing.png

The railway crossing signs were added.

Pre-release Final
MK64KalamariTrainPrerelease.jpg MK64KalamariTrain.png

Smoke emission from the train was added.

Early Themed Bombs

MK64WinterBomb.jpg MK64-Prerelease RainbowBomb.png

  • Originally, the bomb hazards would be themed according to the level. In Frappe Snowland, for example, a winter-themed bomb was present. The multiplayer HUD is also different, as Players 2 and 4 share the same layout used by Players 1 and 3. In the final version, the layout was mirrored.
  • The bomb hazard in Mario Raceway has colored stripes.
(Source: Nintendo, Nintendo Magazine System Issue 51 (December 1996))

Bowser's Castle

MK64 prerelease Bowser's Castle.png

The second room in Bowser's Castle had four Thwomps in front of the archway at one point. The final game has 1-3 there depending on difficulty.

(Source: CoroCoro Comics (December 1996))

Battle Mode

Pre-release Final
MK64BattleModePrerelease.jpg MK64BattleMode.png

At one point, the text 「バトルモード」 (Battle Mode) was displayed on the middle of the screen during a match. Additionally, the item icons were positioned at the top of the players' screens rather than the bottom.

Early Fake Item Box

Scan-Magazine-1461-17.jpg

The Fake Item Boxes had bombs instead of upside-down ?s inside, and the Mini-Bomb Kart had colored stripes. The early Fake Item Box can also be seen in the Wario Stadium screenshot, and the feather is seen in a Mario Raceway screenshot.

(Source: Computer and Video Games #181 (December 1996))

Track Order

The track order was different at one point.

(Source: Nintendo Magazine System Issue 51 (December 1996) (apparently))
Prerelease Final
Mushroom Cup
Luigi's Raceway Luigi's Raceway
Moo Moo Farm Moo Moo Farm
Koopa Troopa Beach Koopa Troopa Beach
Kalimari Desert Kalimari Desert
Flower Cup
Banshee Boardwalk Toad's Turnpike
Frappe Snowland Frappe Snowland
Choco Mountain Choco Mountain
Mario Raceway Mario's Raceway
Star Cup
Bowser's Castle Wario Stadium
Sherbet Land Sherbet Land
Wario Stadium Royal Raceway
Royal Raceway Bowser's Castle
Special Cup
DK Jungle Parkway DK Jungle Parkway
Yoshi Valley Yoshi Valley
Rainbow Road Banshee Boardwalk
Toad's Turnpike Rainbow Road

Nintendo 64 '96 ~ '97 Shinsaku Software Intro Video

At this point, the game is very similar to the final version, but there's still some minor differences and changes in detail:

  • Luigi Raceway and Kalimari Desert have now been finalized.
  • The item icons are still on top of the players' screens during a battle match or a VS race.
  • During a battle, the Japanese text is still displayed at the middle of the screen.
  • The feather is still present.

64マリオスタジアム (eng. 64 Mario Stadium)

The footage starts at 19:58

  • The feather is still present, as shown in the video documented above.
  • Kalimari Desert's music track had no organ assigned to the right channel; instead, both the left and right channels used the Bass & Lead instrument which is only heard on the left channel in the final version.
Early Final