Prerelease:Super Smash Bros. Brawl

This page details prerelease information and/or media for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

E3 2006 Trailer

• Link's running animation displayed at the beginning is completely different to both the running animations used in Melee and the final game.
• Mario's F-smash has very little ending lag, almost the same as in Melee.
• Both Kirby and Link's Final Smashes have more cinematic cutscenes not present in the final. Most notably, Kirby's looks more gruesome, and might have had a completely different purpose. This also could have been specifically for the trailer.
• Voice clips are in a very primitive state: all of the veterans use audio from Melee, Wario reuses clips from Wario World, the Nintendog Assist Trophy is at a much higher pitch than usual, and both Meta Knight and Pit are silent save for a few almost inaudible grunts.
• Meta Knight is able to use his neutral combo in the middle of a dash, something which is impossible to replicate under normal circumstances.
• Snake's codec resembles Metal Gear Solid 2, as opposed to the Metal Gear Solid style in the final. It's also untranslated aside from the subtitles.
• Kirby's Side-Special works in the air just like it did in Melee. It works completely different in the final.
• The docking station seen at the beginning of the Halberd stage has much darker lighting than usual, and it apparently would've been enclosed by a roof which later opens up as opposed to in the final version, which is outside to start with.
• Snake's box is visible behind the Nintendog, but this is simply as done to foreshadow his reveal at the end.

SpaceWorld 2006

• Sound effects are still noticeably primitive, particularly for sword-based attacks. Veteran voice clips are also still in use here.
• Character art renders are far more "grainy" and detailed compared to how they would eventually look. Pit's wings are far more elaborate, Link more closely resembles his Twilight Princess model, and Snake uses a completely different render which was eventually scrapped and replaced with one where he looks straight ahead.
• The Shy Guy karts in Mario Circuit are all white (akin to Mario Kart DS), as opposed to being multicoloured in the final version. Additionally, the billboard in the background which normally shows a map of the course is totally blank.
• The exterior of Shadow Moses Island seems to have originally been accessible in some manner, with Snake traversing it in the trailer. While this is modeled out in the final game, it is inaccessible, and can't actually be seen without the use of external devices.
• Perhaps the most memorable part of this trailer: Fox is shown constantly carrying his trademark Blaster in his initial reveal, a feature which does not carry over later on. This also affects his idle animations, as the one where he raises his arm originally seems to involve him adjusting his weapon in a manner similar to Zero Suit Samus.
• Link's Side-Special has a different animation in the trailer. In the trailer, the attack has wind lines going all around Link, while in the final it's a solid, player-colored trail that follows the end of the sword.
• An earlier version of the main menu theme (which is based on the main theme itself) is heard here.
• Kirby's jump animation is different, he stays more round here.

"Snake Joins The Brawl"

• One of Mario's "heavy damage" voice clips still exists in his sound bank, but goes unused until the next installment.
• Snake's D-Smash has a different voice clip.
• Snake's animation when under the box lasts longer.

"Sonic Joins The Brawl"

• Kirby's Up-Special does not contain a voice clip.

"E For All" 2007 Build

A demo build of Brawl was among the many games featured on the show floor at the Entertainment for All expo in Los Angeles, featuring some significant differences to the game's final incarnation.

VS.

• Sonic is selectable by default, but has to be unlocked in the retail game. This can likely be attributed to his official reveal occurring only a few days before the expo.
• Donkey Kong's clapping animation is exactly the same as in Melee. It was changed slightly before the game was released, his hands receiving more animation at the cost of his arms not stretching as widely.
• Camera angles for any characters' victory poses are noticeably zoomed out on the victor.
• The announcer's "The winner is..." voice clip occurs right as the victors' series symbol appears on-screen in this build. It occurs slightly later in the retail build, shortly after the camera zooms out.
• The sound for scrolling through post-match stats is completely different, and isn't used at all in the retail build of the game, which instead reuses the "menu select" sound.

Subspace Emissary

• HUD positions in the Subspace Emissary were altered slightly to appear less cluttered.
• There is no transition between cutscenes at this point, whereas the retail build adds a brief black screen between them.
• A "player select" icon appears in place of where Player 2 would appear if only one person is in the mode.
• The character select intermissions have a "P" icon next to the characters' names. This was likely removed for redundancy, as a clearly colored player arrow already exists above the fighters.
• Giant Goombas were originally named Mega Goombas.
• The Sea of Clouds level starts with the players falling from midair and descending onto solid ground, a unique entrance which isn't used by any other level in the demo. The retail build has you spawn in normally via a flash of light, the entrance used for every level.
• The end of every level features a provisional banner for the Subspace Emissary which, while used on the website, can't be seen anywhere in the final game.

Early Subspace Emissary Plans

A few cutscenes were planned for the game's Adventure mode, but never materialized. These were only uncovered once the game's director, Masahiro Sakurai, revealed these plans on the official website in an expository article, which also explored the motives behind each character's actions.

• The first of these cutscenes would involve the Subspace Army launching an all-out offensive against Meta Knight to claim his famed ship, the Battleship Halberd, as their own. This would explain why the Halberd appears so frequently as the Subspace Army's mode of transport, as well as why Meta Knight doesn't seem to own the ship like many would initially assume.
• The second planned cinematic was related to the above scenario, but instead involved King Dedede attacking Meta Knight in the midst of the ensuing chaos, which presumably wouldn't have allowed Meta Knight to concentrate on defending his ship. Judging from the way Sakurai phrased the events as if they were concurrent, they very likely would have taken place immediately after one another.

These cutscenes were presumably scrapped very early on in development, since given the narrative presented in-game, there is nowhere these cinematics could conceivably fit within outside of flashbacks.

Miscellaneous Information

To do: Add the necessary information and reorganize it into something better.

• A screenshot shown on the official website shows the "Castle / Boss Fortress (Super Mario World / SMB3)" theme originally played on Delfino Plaza, though it plays on the Luigi's Mansion stage in the final release. This change is understandable, since the theme itself is rather dark and is a stark contrast to the colorful surroundings of the former level.
• Another screenshot (need to find it) shows that Saria's Song was originally going to be a track on either the Temple or Bridge of Eldin stages. However, not only does it not appear in the game at all, it doesn't even have any internal references indicating it was ever planned to be included, quite contrary to many of the game's other cut tracks. It is unknown whether this track was a leftover from Melee.

Saria's Song would later be revealed as a selectable remix in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U during the "50 Fact Extravaganza" Direct Feed, mixed with Ocarina of Time's mid-boss theme for the Skyloft level, and the original remix of Saria's Song from Melee later returned to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

• The "Battlefield Fortress" level accessible in the Subspace Emissary had much brighter lighting earlier in development, looking rather similar to the later level, "The Wilds". The final incarnation of this level is incredibly gloomy and contains a more industrialized theme, with additional props in the background.
• The font for Subspace Emissary enemy names was quite different early on.