Mario Kart Wii

Mario Kart Wii
Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Wii Released in JP: April 10, 2008 Released in US: April 27, 2008 Released in EU: April 11, 2008 Released in AU: April 24, 2008 Released in KR: April 30, 2009 This game has unused areas. This game has unused code. This game has unused modes / minigames. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has regional differences. This game has a notes page This game has a bugs page This game has a prerelease article

To do: There are more unused graphics, and check what's up with Rosalina's voice replacing an average male Mii's sound clip.

Mario Kart Wii is the sixth game in the series (not counting Arcade editions), which introduced bikes and... Mushroom Gorge.

Subpages

English Translation Differences Nearly completely different English text.

Unused Character Icons

Petey Piranha

Petey Piranha's icon appears in the game files. He was a playable character in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, but was scrapped here. Rarrrrrrrrrrgh!!!

Koopa Paratroopa

Paratroopa was also a playable character in Double Dash!! Interestingly, he uses a different pose here than in the final Double Dash!! icon.

This same icon can be seen in early screenshots of Double Dash!!

Hammer Brother

An icon of the Hammer Bros. exists in the game files. This would have been the Hammer Brothers' debut in the Mario Kart series.

Unused Mii Outfit

Apparently, there was going to be a Mii Outfit C. Oddly, though, it has a different icon compared to Outfits A and B. While Outfits A and B are circles with "Mii" on them, C appears to be a grey jacket with the letter "C" on it, suggesting it didn't get much further than testing.

Unused Courses

old_mario_gc_b

This course is identical to GCN Mario Circuit. However, there is no Chain Chomp, and the Piranha Plants lack pipes (they are floating in mid-air). There is no minimap, and the minimap icon of the character scrolls off the screen. This may in fact be a direct port of the data from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, since shadows no longer give off a 'shading' effect to anything that passes under them, and the Piranha Plants attack any time a player nears them if the course is accessed in Time Trial mode (the course's Double Dash!! behavior), rather than periodically like in Time Trials for the final version of the course.

draw_demo

This course served as Nintendo's first tex0 test. It's identical to Mario Circuit, but with corrupted textures because the pointers that tell the course which textures to load miss slightly. No objects or items are present. Due to a lack of checkpoints, the lap counter does not work, and Lakitu doesn't tell you to turn around when you're going backwards. It does have a minimap, though, which is also identical to Mario Circuit.

If you replace the BRRES files from Draw Demo into Mario Circuit, you'll get Mario Circuit with stars textured everywhere. However, if you point the Draw Demo MDL0 to Mario Circuit's textures, everything is exactly like the normal Mario Circuit.

Galaxy Colosseum

This track was used in three tournaments and is now unused. It has an outer-space theme and features a Topman enemy from Super Mario Galaxy. In the tournaments, players had to knock the Topman off of the arena without being knocked off themselves. The outer rings of the arena would fall and disappear in tournament play, but this does not happen when accessed from elsewhere as the script to activate it is not present. This track uses a music file called "n_BossMi_32", unique to the course. It can be accessed with codes by entering the code 008A8093 00000036 (PAL) or 008A33BB 00000036 (US) and selecting Mushroom Gorge.

old_mario_gc_hayasi, old_mario_gc_narita and old_mario_gc_yabuki

Appear to be unused versions of GCN Mario Circuit, much like old_mario_gc_b. They lack of object data, and the course model use and old BRRES and KMP format.

Unused Course Objects

To do: Some more course objects have been found.

Stored in Race/Course/Object, there are various models for objects that either have never been used anywhere or only as part of a few unused courses. Most of these objects use an old BRRES format.

castle_tree1

An unused tree model, probably intended to be on Mario Circuit or unused versions of GCN Mario Circuit.

castle_tree2

The model for this object consists of a plane with a texture of a tree, presumably the same tree from castle_tree1.

choropu

This object stores the model for the Monty Moles enemies found in a few of the tracks in the game. Since the model data for all the obstacles found in the courses are stored inside the track's .szs file, this goes unused.

kinoko_lift1

An unused object that resembles a nail. The name suggests that it could have been a test version of the bouncy mushrooms found in Mushroom Gorge.

kuribo

This object stores the model for the Goomba enemies found in a few of the tracks in the game. Since the model data for all the obstacles found in the courses are stored inside the track's .szs file, this goes unused.

npc_mii_a

Believed to be the model for the unused Mii (Outfit C), it appears that, according to the file name, it was actually going to be an outfit that only NPC Miis would wear (those seen in tracks like Luigi Circuit or Coconut Mall). Since all NPC Miis faces are 2D, this could suggest that it was planned for those to be 3D at early development.

It has only one animation: wait, which has 29 frames. As it was never finished, though, the animation does nothing except corrupt the geometry.

It has 4 bones: kinopio_all_root, skl_root, spin and face_1. The first two bones are connected to the entire model; spin controls from the waist upwards; and face_1 is connected to the hat only.

pakkun_f

This object stores the model for the Piranha Plants enemies found inside pipes in a few of the tracks in the game. Since the model data for all the obstacles found in the courses are stored inside the track's .szs file, this goes unused.

pendulum

An unused platform object. Judging by its filename, it could've had a pendulum-like movement, and it would have appeared on an early version of Toad's Factory.

Unused Code

Multiple ghosts in Time Trial

To do: Get a better description and better video for this.

Unused code was found that can be used to put up to four ghosts (or three ghosts and a human player, etc.) into a race at once. It's hard-coded to 4, and trying to load more that 4 forces one to be unloaded. This feature was implanted in Mario Kart 7, although the limit was increased to 7 ghosts.

Alternate main loop with performance monitor

The game includes an unused copy of the main game function, possibly a debug or earlier test build. It includes a performance monitor consisting of three bars displaying frame timings on the bottom of the screen.

Unused Music

n_BossMi_32

This music is only heard in the now-unused Galaxy Colosseum course.

o_Crs_In_Fan_mission

This sound used to be used at the beginning of certain tournaments. The file's name suggests that the game was originally going to have a Mario Kart DS-esque mission mode. It was most likely scrapped in favor of online tournaments.

o_FanfareMIWinBoss_32

This song would have played whenever you win a boss at certain tournaments that had them. However, in the final game, winning a boss would play the same song as for winning in battles.

STRM_N_TRUCK_N

The second part of Wario's Gold Mine (inside the mine) has an opening to its track. Since the race always starts outside this opening is never heard. In addition, no online tournaments taking place in this level start inside.

Unused Graphics

Additional Lakitu Flags

Through hacking, it is possible to add more than three laps to a track. Doing so shows that Lakitu actually has extra graphics on his flag for laps 3 through 9! While flags 3 and 4 were used in 2 tournaments, where you race the babies in Cookie Land and race around rooms of DS Twilight House with 5 laps, the flags indicating laps 5 through 9 go unused. The lap 5 flag goes unused because in the Cookie Land and Twilight House tournament, Lakitu uses the final lap flag on Lap 5.

Misc. Graphics

A coin graphic from Super Mario Bros.

A very old American flag graphic.

The icon of Mario in the Classic Dragster might have been an early design for the banner icon on the Wii Menu.

This Mii is of Shuzo Matsuoka that was sent out to Japanese Wiis in 2007. It could have been used for testing licenses.

While the Wiimote graphic is used, it's only seen with the Nunchuk.

Some additional graphics that are not used. The circles appear to be simple test graphics.

Unused Bones

Koopa Troopa's and Dry Bones' Wings

The Koopa Troopa character texture, in which we can see the unused wing textures.

Koopa Troopa and Dry Bones have two unused bones named wing_l1 and wing_r1 in their model files. While the bones aren't used in this game, they were used in the game's predecessor, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, as Paratroopa's flapping wings, since both Koopa and Paratroopa shared the same model in that game. These were probably just leftovers from when Nintendo ported the Double Dash!! model to Mario Kart Wii. The bones aren't referenced in any of Koopa Troopa's or Dry Bones' animations, so if someone were to hack a texture over the bones, they wouldn't move.

The fact that Dry Bones has the same unused bones as Koopa Troopa implies that its model was based on the latter's.

Unused Items

Chain Chomp

While Chain Chomps DO appear in Mario Kart Wii as obstacles in courses such as Mario Circuit or Chain Chomp Wheel/Roulette, there is an icon for the Chain Chomp item, as seen in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Next to the mouth is the kanji for "temporary" (仮). Interestingly, this Chain Chomp icon can be seen in an early Mario Kart DS without the 仮, but it was replaced by the Bullet Bill in the Final.

Placeholder Items

Three placeholder items labeled "NEW1", "NEW2" and "NEW3" are stored in the game's graphics, and are obviously unused.

Unobtainable Item Boxes

There are 3 item boxes in DK Summit located under the map. They are a bit after the S curve, but on the bottom of the level (on the respawn plane). In the image to the left, they are highlighted in red.

A video can be seen here (go to 1:38, and watch out for the volume).

Debug Folder

An empty folder named debug can be found in the game's file system. Its exact purpose is unknown. File paths in the executable referring to this folder also contain names of letter texture files (the envelope and content of letters) being posted to the Wii Message Board and the ones being received when a tournament starts. Maybe Nintendo used this to more easily test new variants of the letter?

Unused Game Modes

Mission Mode

There was originally a Mission Mode planned for Mario Kart Wii. Note that most, if not all of the known stages were used in tournament mode on WiiConnect24.

The menus for Mission Mode have no available text, but the game is trying to load them; they've simply been erased. The only surviving piece of text is "Choose a mission" after finishing a mission. Similarly, a massive file that would've contained mission parameters is not present, and without it, the mode can't start - unless you simulate its existence. The sub-routine still exists, though. It attempts to load files out of the /Race/MissionRun folder on the disc, but that folder is empty, but that affects nothing since that folder would only have contained extra data (like where to place enemies or similar). Some of the surviving stuff is drift restrictions on some levels, and/or a video (but since the videos are missing, the game loads a picture). The last level with a video is 2-4, and that's most likely where they decided that they weren't going though with it. Interestingly, the code trying to load the videos still have the original video names.

Here is a list:

Filename	Estimation of Contents
00_curve.thp	Steering without drifting (?)
01_drift.thp	Manual Drifting
02_miniturbo.thp	Obtaining miniturbos from Manual Drift
03_autodrift.thp	Automatic Drifting
04_jumpaction.thp	Performing tricks on ramps
05_halfpipejump.thp	Performing tricks on halfpipe ramps
06_wheelie.thp	Performing wheelies
07_spinturn.thp	Turning on the spot (using A+B)
08_back.thp	Reversing (?)
09_startdush.thp	Getting a boost start in the countdown
10_jugemdush.thp	Getting a boost start after respawning
11_slipstream.thp	Getting a slipstream from another racer
12_itemthrow.thp	Throwing/using items
13_itemequip.thp	Dragging items behind you

There is no penalty for losing, as the win music plays, and the results screen is bugged.

There seems to be 14 valid game modes.

Game Modes

ID	Objective
0x00	Release miniturbos to score points.
0x01	VS Mode. Complete 3 laps before time runs out.
0x02	VS Mode. Complete 3 laps before time runs out. (Seems identical to mode 0x01).
0x03	Perform any drift to score. (Faulty, increments score too quickly, Manual only)
0x04	Break item boxes to score points.
0x05	Hit enemies with items to score points.
0x06	Attack a boss to score points. (E.g. Spiky Topmen, Big Pokey, etc)
0x07	Unknown. (Most likely unused or deleted. No references are found to this mode in the game's code).
0x08	Gather coins to score points.
0x09	Drive through gates to score points.
0x0A	Perform any level of boost start to immediately win the mission. (If you miss the boost start, you can no longer win, at all).
0x0B	Hit CPU opponents with certain items to score points. (All projectiles. Stars, Mushrooms, Mega Mushrooms and Bullet Bills do not score).
0x0C	Perform wheelies to score. (Faulty, increments score too quickly, increments for wheelies on the spot).
0x0D	Get slipstreams from CPU opponents to score points. (However, the score also increases if they slipstream someone, too).

(Source: MrBean35000vr Video 1)

(Source: MrBean35000vr Video 2)

Internal Project Name

The game is referred to internally as "RevoKart". "Revo" is short for "Revolution", the Wii's internal project name.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences

Across different regions, certain tracks and vehicles have different names. These are the names that differ between the European and North American releases, along with a direct translation of the Japanese original (not counting retro courses).

Course Names

Japanese	European	American
Moh Moh Country	Moo Moo Meadows	Moo Moo Meadows
Kinoko Canyon	Mushroom Gorge	Mushroom Gorge
Kinopio Factory	Toad's Factory	Toad's Factory
Coconuts Mall	Coconut Mall	Coconut Mall
DK Snowboard Cross	DK's Snowboard Cross	DK Summit
Wario Kouzan	Wario's Gold Mine	Wario's Gold Mine
Maple Treehouse	Maple Treeway	Maple Treeway
Guragura Kazan	Grumble Volcano	Grumble Volcano
Karakara Iseki	Dry Dry Ruins	Dry Dry Ruins
Moon Ridge & Highway	Moonview Highway	Moonview Highway
Koopa Castle	Bowser's Castle	Bowser's Castle
Block Hiroba	Block Plaza	Block Plaza
Aqua Resort	Delfino Pier	Delfino Pier
Wanwan Roulette	Chain Chomp Roulette	Chain Chomp Wheel
Dosun Sabaku	Thwomp Desert	Thwomp Desert
Galaxy Colosseum	Galaxy Arena	Galaxy Colosseum

Vehicle Names

Japanese	European	American
Super Baby Car	Baby Booster	Booster Seat
Super Pukupuku	Cheep Charger	Cheep Charger
Mini Charger	Concerto	Mini Beast
Hot Rally	Rally Romper	Tiny Titan
Jet Ball	Bubble Bike	Jet Bubble
Rocket Killer	Bullet Bike	Bullet Bike
Raid on Kamek	Magikruiser	Magikruiser
Pokémotor	Nanobike	Bit Bike
Speed Swan	Quacker	Quacker
B Dash Mk. 2	B Dasher Mk 2	Sprinter
Nostalgia	Nostalgia 1	Classic Dragster
Fantasia	Royal Racer	Daytripper
Super Gesso	Turbo Blooper	Super Blooper
Wild Star	Wild Wing	Wild Wing
Candy	Bon Bon	Sugarscoot
Dolphin Kick	Dolphin Dasher	Dolphin Dasher
Interceptor	Nitrocycle	Sneakster
Polonaise	Rapide	Zip Zip
Fast Glide	Aero Glider	Jetsetter
Tricky	Dragonetti	Honeycoupe
Fire Hot Rod	Flame Flyer	Flame Flyer
Survival Buggy	Offroader	Offroader
Pakkun Kart	Piranha Prowler	Piranha Prowler
Super Bowser	Bowser Bike	Flame Runner
Wild Spear	Torpedo	Spear
Twinkle Star	Twinkle Star	Shooting Star