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 animations. This game has unused areas. This game has unused code. This game has unused objects. 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

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

Subpages

Unused Courses Earlier versions of a few courses.

Unused Course Elements Unused stuff found in the final version of the courses.

Early Character Models

Early Vehicles

Unused Bones & Animations

Unused Objects A lot of things to speculate upon.

BRLYT Text Unused text left across many layout files!

Oddities It's no Space Oddity, but these are pretty odd nonetheless.

English Translation Differences You though Smash 3DS had a lot of English text differences? This game has almost completely different English text!

Inaccessible Content All the content that died along with Nintendo WFC. Rest in peace.

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!!

This was probably the one to be cut earliest in development, as Petey and the Hammer Bro are facing left and fit along with the final character icons, whereas this one stands out like a sore thumb.

Hammer Bro

An icon of a Hammer Bro exists in the game files. This would have been Hammer Bro's debut in the Mario Kart series before their eventual inclusion in Mario Kart Tour.

Mii Outfit C

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.

Leftover parameter data for Mii Outfit C still exists in the game, like character identifiers, parameters for the size of the Mii's head, etc. A button also exists for Mii Outfit C, but due to the way it's coded, the character ID is immediately replaced with Mii Outfit A when selected. Fixing this "bug" reveals Mii Outfit C fails to load because all of its files have been removed from the disc. If these files are replaced, Mii Outfit C will work as intended.

A Gecko code to load Mii Outfit C in game is available at MKWii.com.

Unused Code

Player Number on the Minimap

There's a disabled feature in the minimap icons to display a line with the player number on it, similar to Double Dash!!. It is very big, and player icon headlights are rendered on top of it, making it invisible when they overlap. The colors for each player also seem to be in line with the Wii's default, rather than the different format the game uses.

A Gecko code to enable it is available at MKWii.com.

Exception Handler

When the game crashes, press the following buttons (in order, from left to right) on the 1st Wii Remote (Vertical) to bring up an exception handler:

Up, 1, Down, 2, Right, -, Left, +, B, A

Use the D-Pad to scroll.

(Source: Skawo)

Alternative Main Loop with Performance Monitor

Mario Kart Wii has two main game loops. The used one is game specific, but there is an extra unused loop included in the EGG library, shared across multiple games. The following differences are known:

• The health and safety screen on startup has an instance of EGG's ProcessMeter, with three bars on the bottom of the screen displaying CPU, GPU, and overall usage. This screen also doesn't listen to GameCube controllers.
• The game immediately displays the exception handler on crash, rather than waiting for specific controller inputs.
• The title screen lacks gameplay demos or the opening movie, but the music still fades out expecting the scene to switch.
• Selecting the final OK button to start the race plays the wrong sound effect.
• Races are missing several sound effects like drift sparks and tricks, and don't seem to render any 2D effects at all.
• VS mode crashes the game.

A Gecko code to use the unused game loop is available at MKWii.com. Another code to display the performance monitor is also available at MKWii.com.

Network Debug Messages "DWC_Log"

To do: Get an image that actually displays DWC messages in the console and possibly a video.

DWC_Log is a method providing logging functionality to the DWC library, which is the library used for online mode (Nintendo WFC). When online, the game outputs messages like "I am New Server!!" to the non-existent console. The developers of the game would have had a cable connected to the console allowing them to view the log on development software. The game also contains debugging messages using the printf method, which are also sent to the non-existent console.

(Source: Custom Mario Kart Wiiki "DWC Log")

(Source: Custom Mario Kart Wiiki "PrintF")

Draggable Blue Shells

Blue Shells seemed to have been once intended to be held behind the player before they use it. The game contains a list of values for each item that define what the item does when the player uses it. For example: Red Shell uses 0x01, which means that the item is held behind the player and fires when they let go of it. An item like Star would be 0x00 for the game to immediately use the item as the button is pressed. For some odd reason, Blue Shell is listed as 0x01, which means the item should be held behind the player like a red shell. This doesn't happen because the game has code that prevents it, meaning you immediately fire it. Disabling this code reveals that the Blue Shell has an unused animation for it. There's also an unused action for when a player hits it, which works even if the game is modified so that the blue shell lands on the ground if someone loses it. Here is an AR/Gecko code to enable it:

	PAL	NTSC-U	NTSC-J	NTSC-K
Gecko Code	0048A5B30 00000000	048A1058 00000000	048A4C90 00000000	04893F90 00000000

Unused kartCameraParam.bin Parameters

kartCameraParam.bin has 3 additional duplicated entries for camera entities that are never used.

Online Squish Command

In the online protocol, there is an unused bit that can make players squished on command. This could mean that originally, players that you hit in a Mega Mushroom on your screen would make them squished globally, instead of just them getting squished on their screen.

Unused Music

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. Judging by the filename, it is possible that this theme was intended for when beating bosses in the early Mission Mode as well.

STRM_N_TRUCK_N

The second part of Wario's Gold Mine (inside the mine) has an opening to its track. While technically not unused, this opening is never heard, since the race always starts outside. In addition, no online tournaments taking place in this level start inside.

Unused Sound Effects

Early Trick Sound

Early	Final

An early trick sound effect can still be found in /sound/revo_kart.brsar (index 644). It is the fourth sound located inside GRP/GP/N/RAINBOW.brbnk (the sound files for Rainbow Road). In comparison, it has a higher pitch and it is also slightly longer. It can be heard in a prerelease trailer.

Curiously, a variant of this sound was used in a few competitions/tournaments, more specifically the ones that had the player race a Wiggler, when said character does a trick (named SE_CC_HANACHAN_JUMP_ACTION). However, besides sounding slightly different than the one documented above, it is also sequenced, while both the early and the final trick sounds are streamed.

This sound is actually used in the sequel, Mario Kart 7, when the player does a trick in Rainbow Road and SNES Rainbow Road.

Unused Graphics

To do: Document the unused symbols from the game's text fonts. Also one of the "F" letters has the wrong glyph (it shows up when writing a "G"). Figure out if these two D-pads and the green squared graphics are unused or not. Is tt_fence_32x32.tpl (found in /Scene/UI/Race.szs, inside /./game_image/timg) unused? Add Bullet Bill's (also present in the Thundercloud model?) unused shading texture (found in /Race/Common.szs). Add a possibly unused .brref effect named rk_koukasenSTest (/Race/Common.szs/Effect). Also add some possibly unused textures, named rk_hamonTest and ringTest7, found in the .breft file in the same directory.

Additional Lakitu Signs

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.

Unused copies of these are located in Common.szs, while the ones used in the final game are located in Common_X.szs (where X is replaced with the letter corresponding to the language setting).

Country Flags

Old USA Flag

A very old American flag graphic.

"Country Unknown" Flag

Named flag_blank_00.tpl, it was probably meant to display when a player didn't have a region set, but in the final game, the space where a flag would be is empty if there is no region set.

Misc. Graphics

Coin

A coin graphic from Super Mario Bros, named tt_coin_type1_000.tpl. It is found in /Scene/UI/Race.szs, inside /./game_image/timg

Mario in Classic Dragster

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

Placeholder Mii

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

If you convince the game to not load a Mii for the image on the license, this graphic will load instead.

Unused Mario Kart Channel Question Mark Icon

An unused question mark icon, named tk_iconEvent_00, exists within the banner for the Mario Kart Channel. It can be seen on a prerelease trailer.

Test Graphics

From left to right, these circles are named st_aka1_32x32.tpl, st_aka2_32x32.tpl, st_ao1_32x32.tpl, st_ao2_32x32.tpl, st_kojin1_32x32.tpl and st_kojin2_32x32.tpl ("kojin" stands for "individual"). They're all found in /Scene/UI/Race.szs.

Given how the filenames follow the same structure as the characters' icons seen in the course's minimap (starting with "st_" and ending with "_32x32"), and also how these textures are listed by the layout file character_map_icon_common.brlyt, it is likely they were used as placeholders for those.

Some additional unused graphics.

Early Wii Wheel Icons

Early 2-Star Wheel User Icon (Online)

Early Wheel User Icon (Time Trials)

An ever earlier Wii Wheel icon, named tt_remocon_han_body_mini3 and found in the files of the Mario Kart Channel. It can be seen on prerelease footage.

Early Luigi Circuit Banner

An early version of the banners that display for each course when checking time trial rankings. It is named tt_ghost_ranking_course.

Unused Name Taglines

Two unused name tagline textures can be found in the file /Scene/UI/Race.szs, inside /./game_image/timg

tt_race_chara_name_line_gray_map_ver00.tpl

This graphic actually appears in the unused Player Number on the Minimap feature.

tt_race_chara_name_only_line_gray_ver02.tpl

Early	Final

This graphic is very similar to the final version (which is named tt_race_chara_name_line_white_ver00.tpl), albeit with the end of the line being opaque instead of semitransparent. This was actually seen in prerelease footage.

Unused Finish Line Graphic

Unused	Used

An unused version of the finish line graphic that appears on the course's minimap can be found in the file /Scene/UI/Race.szs, inside /./game_image/timg, and it is named tt_start_line_32x32tga.tpl (for reference the used texture is called tt_start_line_22.tpl).

They're both identical looking, with the only difference being that the unused variant has a size of 32x32, while the final is 22x4, which actually fits the graphic. Interestingly, the filename for the unused version lists its original image format (.tga).

Honeycoupe's Hidden Chain Chomp

Vehicle's body (Texture)	Vehicle's body (Texture mapping)

The bottom right area of the texture of the Honeycoupe has a Chain Chomp with a Prohibition symbol on top of it, and half of a Chain Chomp eyeball. Southwest of the "W" emblem seems to be a Chain Chomp mouth, but with the red part of the mouth removed, and right of that are Chain Chomps teeth. These are never used in game because of the texture mapping. These oddities are in every character's version of the Honeycoupe. Perhaps it relates to the scrapped Chain Chomp item? Or maybe the Honeycoupe was originally going to be a Chain Chomp version of the Piranha Prowler.

Early Mii's Body Pose

Early	Final

An early version of the Female Mii's body (used in the photo you get for completing all the cups in the game). It is found in /Scene/UI/MenuOther.szs/ma_mii_f.brres. There is also a placeholder head texture that is never seen.

Early Luma's Shading

Luma (Regular Gameplay)	Luma (Award Ceremony)

tico.brres in /Race/Common.szs (the model for Luma that accompanies Rosalina) has an unused metal texture, named metal_3.tex0. The version of the model that is seen at the Award Ceremony (found in rs.brres and rs3.brres inside /Demo/Award.szs) actually uses this texture in an early version of the model's shading. In consequence, the main texture for the Luma is different.

Luma (True Ending Credits Video)	Luma (Award Ceremony)

Interestingly, this early version of the Luma's shading can be seen in the video used for the true ending credits of the game.

Fog Particle Effect

In /Race/Common.szs, inside Effect/RKRace.breff/rk_gasSmokeTest2 is an unused particle. Probably a test as the name implied.

Invisible (A) Button Graphic

An image with the letter "A" on it, named tt_a_body.tpl. It is likely its purpose is to alert players to press the A button to register their controller.

This graphic is actually used in the Controller Registration screen in the Local Multiplayer mode. It appears in the squared frame when a controller is not assigned for a given player. However, it is invisible in-game, since it uses the RGB5A3 image format (the image above was converted to the RGB565 format so that it could be seen).

This texture has a white outline variant, just like the other controllers, named tt_a_light.tpl, and is also invisible. However, this texture seems to be completely blank.

Unused Controller Question Mark

An image with a question mark on it, named tt_hatena_body.tpl.

While the purpose of this graphic is exactly unknown, it is likely it could have been used when the player tried to register an unsupported controller. In the final game, if this happens, the game shows the GameCube controller image instead. Interestingly, a similarly named animation file, common_w055_message_connect_hatena.brlan, contains references to the invisible A button graphic, which could mean it was originally meant to appear in the Controller Registration screen in the Local Multiplayer mode.

This texture has a white outline variant, just like the other controllers, named tt_hatena_light.tpl.

Unused ??? Player Number

In the texture for the players controller numbers, there is an unused black graphic with three red question marks. Found in /Scene/UI/Font.szs, inside /./indicator_font.brfnt

Unused Mario and Luigi Title Screen Blur

Unused	Used

There is an unused Mario and Luigi Title Screen blur graphic named tt_title_bokeboke.tpl in /Scene/UI/Title.szs, inside /./title/timg. In comparison, the unused graphic appears less blurry, and it is stored as a full texture, whereas in the final version it is divided in two (the upper part with the logo and the lower part with Mario and Luigi).

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 prototype without the 仮, but it was replaced by the Bullet Bill in the Final.

Boo

Nintendo Power Volume 227 mentions that a Boo item was among the items to be included in the game. The only trace of anything resembling it in the game files is the lack of any behavior for item 0x13. (Normally if the game tries to execute behavior of an item that doesn't exist, it just gives a mushroom, but the fact that it does nothing implies that an item was present at slot 0x13 at some point and then subsequently stripped from the game).

Placeholder Items

Three placeholder item icons labeled "NEW1", "NEW2" and "NEW3" are stored in /Scene/UI/Race.szs inside /./game_image/timg, named from left to right tt_item_new1.tpl, tt_item_new2.tpl and tt_item_new3.tpl. They are obviously unused.

Unused Menu Content

To do: Are MultiPlayerConfirmOK.brctr, PlayerNumSelect.brctr and WifiPlayerNumSelect.brctr, found in /Scene/UI/Title.szs, inside /./button/ctrl, unused? Add info on the unused RomData.brctr and RomData.brlyt, found in /Scene/UI/Title.szs (and also in /Scene/UI/Channel.szs), inside /./debug/ctrl and /./debug/blyt respectively. Add a few "NULL" files scattered all over the game.

Mission Mode Button

There is a Mission Mode button switched off on the Single Player and Multiplayer Menu. Since it lacks THPs, the movie clips that appear on the button don't fit well inside it. It also lacks text and a description of the mode. The only available evidence that it is related to Mission Mode is that it takes the player to the unused Mission Mode screens and its code name, ButtonMR, stands for Button Mission Run which is the Japanese and Korean name for Mission Mode/Missions. The button is located behind the Battle button, so if you make it appear in game, it will not fit with the other buttons.

The version on the Multiplayer Menu is also located behind the Battle button. And for some odd reason, it loads the "Controller Registration" screen, despite it being codenamed ButtonMR. It could possibly be the game doesn't have a screen for it to load, so it just acts as the next button in the table, which is usually the back button. That is not the case, however, as unlike the Single Player screen, each button's linked screen is defined by its own unique code. The code for ButtonMR is different than the code for the back button, so changing the screen the button links to will not change the screen the back button is linked to. It couldn't have been initially intended to link there by the developers, because the code name is ButtonMR, and MR is short for Mission Run, so it either was a placeholder, or that's where the Mission Mode screens were initially placed. The Mission Mode screens can't load on the Multiplayer Menu, since its main archive, MenuMulti.szs, is missing necessary files.

multi_top.thp

There is an unused movie clip in /thp/button that seems to have once represented the background of the buttons on the multiplayer menu. The final game just uses the single player menu's movie clip, single_top.thp. Because of the waving flag and the coins + balloons, it is reasonable to suspect that the the back models, the animated models behind the buttons (like the flag, stopwatch, etc.), would have been on the buttons instead of behind them. It also seems to be wide enough to cover the entire buttons, while in the final game, it only covers nearly half of the button with a transparency gradient.

Interestingly, earlier version of the vehicles can be seen in this video.

Extra Ghost Races Button

Normally this feature is accessible VIA the Mario Kart Channel, but it actually has a button on the Wi-Fi main menu as well. This button's codename is ButtonGhostBattle and it uses the same text ID as the button in the Mario Kart Channel. Unlike the Mission Mode button, this one isn't hiding behind another button, and if we turn it on we can see that it was supposed to be located below the Friends button. Sadly, unlike the Mission Mode one, this button has no properties linked to it, so it does nothing when pushed.

ELO Leaderboard Button

On the Online Time Trial Rankings screen is a button called ButtonELORanking, It has no text or behaviour associated with it, but from its name we can guess that it was supposed to be some sort of leaderboard for the online players with the highest ELO, which was later implemented in other games such as Mario Tennis Aces ("The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in competitor-versus-competitor games." and Nintendo probably just renamed it to VR). This feature was completely scrapped in the final game, probably because the VR system isn't the most in depth thing ever, and it was quite easy to max out your VR.

Default Drift Type Setting Button

On the License Settings screen is a button called DriftMode, It has no behaviour associated with it, but it uses the same text ID as the drift selection screen. We can guess that it was supposed to be a way to set a default drift option for whenever you boot the game. In the final game, your drift mode is saved as whatever you used last, even after powering off your Wii (However, your character and vehicle choices are always set back to Mario and the Standard Kart M whenever you power on the game)

Drift Fix Buttons

Also on the License Settings screen are two more button layout (.brctr) files; FixDriftModeButton.brctr and FixDriftModeMovie.brctr. Loading them in-game results in this screen. The first two buttons seem to ask for a drift type, and the third button's purpose is unknown, but based on the code name, ButtonUnfix, it seems it would have once disabled the default drift selection. This is believed to be the screen DriftMode would link to.

Extra Character Buttons

On the Character Select screen, there are 4 button layout files for the three weight classes and one for both Mii outfits. There are also three separate layouts which are chosen depending on how many characters you've unlocked. On the fully unlocked screen, there are a total of 10 unused buttons. Three of the unused buttons are shared evenly across the 3 weight classes, meaning each class has an unused character. The last seven are for the Mii outfits.

It would normally be likely that the 3 unused buttons for the weight classes were just from a programmer who, while entering the number, didn't realize 0 also counted as its own button. But that is most likely not the case as this doesn't happen with any other screen layout. The buttons all merge and stack in the exact same position, which isn't a position that fits with the used buttons around it. They don't have any character IDs assigned to them. They don't have any delay for the animations when the game enters the screen, so they come on screen at the exact same time as the top row of characters, which they aren't close to at all.

The unused Mii buttons are all over the place. Their horizontal positions all appear to fit with the rest of the buttons though, which isn't the case with the other buttons. All but three of them have character IDs attached to them, including the unused Mii Outfit C IDs. Like the unused character buttons, these also have no animation delay for entering the screen, causing them to load way before all the other Mii buttons. The Mii Outfit C buttons just load the Mii Outfit A ID without modifications.

No Ghosts Screen

To do: Add picture of the Rankings menu variant of this screen.

A screen that appears if there are no ghosts for a given course. This screen is never seen, since every course has a staff ghost on it.

Unused Rules

Team Race Rule

In the rules menu there would have been an option to select whether or not you want to play with teams. This exists for both VS and Battle, and the option didn't exist in any form for the latter in the final game, so battle mode can only be played with teams. In the final game, VS mode had a dedicated screen for selecting this rule.

Endless Race Count

The rules menu has an option to select the race count for a VS race, which maxes out at 32. The options are very restricted and are read from a table. If the value is -1, the game is half coded to have an endless race count. This option sadly only exists on the menu, and was never actually implemented. If it was fully implemented and selected, the race count number should read "Endless", but the text ID it is meant to display, 0xD7B where it is normally 0xD88, is actually blank, and the text "エンドレス" is actually one of the hidden brlyt text entries.

Choose Mii from Wii Remote

There is layout data for an additional tab to choose a Mii from a Wii Remote on the Mii selection screens (both when choosing a Mii for a license, and selecting a Mii for use in a race), named TabRemote (the existing ones are named TabWii and TabGuest). It is positioned almost in line with the console and guest buttons, though it is slightly misaligned vertically. There does not appear to be any remaining code for actually loading Miis off of a remote.

Early License Positions

Unused	Used

The file LicenseSelect.brctr in Scene/UI/Title.szs/./button/ctrl contains an early layout for the license selection screen, with the licenses being in a bit different places compared to final.

Early Licence Management Screen

FileAdminTop.brctr (found inside /Scene/UI/Title.szs, in /./button/ctrl) contains an early button layout for managing the creation/deletion of licences. It includes three buttons:

Button Codename	Message (BMG) ID	Message
ButtonCreateFile	0x836	New Licence
ButtonChangeMii	0x898	Change Mii
ButtonDeleteFile	0x837	Erase Licence

None of these buttons have any associated code, so nothing happens when pressed. In the final game, a new licence can only be created by pressing on an empty one, and it is not part of the same menu as the Change Mii and Erase Licence buttons.

Test Menus

The menus from ID 0x6-F don't load properly because of missing code. These menus attempt to load the file "/Scene/UI/Test.szs" and then load the screen 0x00 by ID. Test.szs and screen ID 0x00 don't exist anymore, so it is unknown what purposes these menus had. These menus also exist in the Mario Kart Channel.

Empty or Deleted Folders & Files

Debug Folder

To do: Do the leftover strings actually refer to /debug (in the filesystem's root) or instead to /debug inside /Scene/UI/Channel.szs? There are also strings referring to the letter files in the subdirectory /LetterForm inside that same .szs file.

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?

A list of files that once resided here are located within the game's code.

• thumb_jp_d.bin
• letter_jp_d.bin
• thumb_jp_v.bin
• letter_jp_v.bin
• thumb_jp_c.bin
• letter_jp_c.bin
• thumb_nj_d.bin
• letter_nj_d.bin
• thumb_nj_v.bin
• letter_nj_v.bin
• thumb_nj_c.bin
• letter_nj_c.bin

MissionRun Folder

Another empty folder, called "Race/MissionRun" (Japanese and Korean name for Mission Mode), can be found in the game's files. It has been discovered that file resources for Mission Mode, such as mission_single.kmt and mrXX.szs would have been found here.

.svn Folders

All of the game directories (except for /debug and /Race/MissionRun) contain an empty folder named .svn. This is a leftover from Apache Subversion, a version control system. All of these folders were removed in the Korean version of the game.

Scrapped 3D Wiimote Model

Strings exist for a file called wii_controller.brres which would reside within Race/Common.szs. BRRES files are visual model files, but a file of this name/description exists nowhere on the disc.

Scrapped Character Sound Method

To do: Add the information from the video here.

In the game's code, there is a definition of a BRASD folder inside the of character archive files.

Unused Dutch Language

Oddly, Dutch is the only selectable language in the Wii Menu that is not available as a language option for Mario Kart Wii, but if your Wii is set to Dutch, the Home Button menu and Wii Remote safety screens will be in Dutch, and the rest of the game will be in English. This seems to not have always been the case, however, as the code that detects which language is set in the Wii menu and adjust the game accordingly has an unused pointer to a set of files that end with "_N.szs" (N standing for Netherlands).

Unused _Dif Files

Similarly to the section above, another reference exist in the code for files ending with "_Dif.szs". Supposedly, these files were meant to be used as multiplayer variants for the courses. The game would have loaded the original course file as a base, and then the "_Dif" file would contain a few modified files from the base course that would eventually be replaced with the respective ones from Single Player at runtime to create the multiplayer version of the track. While a similar approach was used for competitions/tournaments, as well as in the unused Mission mode, the final multiplayer versions of the tracks are actually stored in the disc itself, ending with "_d.szs", which already contain all the necessary files to load the entire course.

BMS Files

Strings in the games memory refer to .bms files, but these files exist nowhere on the disc. They were probably similar to BMM Files.

BFOG and BFOBJ Files

BFOG and BFOBJ Files are defined in the code, but the game only uses BFG Files instead, probably because they have a simpler format. This may be a remain from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, as both games share the same EGG library.

BDOF File Extra Functions

BDOF (Binary Depth Of Field) is a post-effect file that controls effects like focus, sharpness and blur in tracks.

There is unused code that allows the usage of a secondary BDOF file, named posteffect.bdof_demo. This one has the same format as a normal BDOF file, and it seems to be used only in the course introduction if present.

(Source: Custom Track Wiiki)

Removed Symbol Maps

At offsets 0x241B2C and 0x241F28 respectively (PAL) of the main.dol executable resides leftover strings for two missing symbol maps: StaticR.SMAP (for StaticR.rel) and RevoKartR.SMAP. The Home Menu version of the Mario Kart Channel also mentions another removed symbol map for it at offset 0x313EC8 (PAL) of its main.dol executable variant, named RevoKartNR.SMAP. All of these files would have resided in the /rel directory.

Interestingly, there is leftover code to load the RevoKartR.SMAP file, as shown in the following decompiled code:

if (MAIN_SMAP != nullptr) // "/rel/RevoKartR.SMAP"
	{
		u32 map_size;
		mpMap = SystemManager::sInstance->ripFromDisc(MAIN_SMAP, pModuleInfo, 0, &map_size, 0);
		if (mpMap != nullptr) {
			EGG::Exception::setMapFile(mpMap, map_size, pModuleInfo);
			OSReport("[SYS] Load MapFile \"%s\" success.\n", MAIN_SMAP);
		} else {
			OSReport("[SYS] Load MapFile \"%s\" fail.\n", MAIN_SMAP);
		}
	}

(Decompiled code: riidefi)

Alternative Mario Kart Channel version

At offset 0x37F4A4 (PAL) of StaticR.rel, there's a string referring to a missing version of the Home Menu version of the Mario Kart Channel, named RevoKartTR.wad (for reference, the final version is named RevoKartNR.wad).

RKChRes.arc

At offset 0x241173 (PAL) of the main.dol executable there is a string that mentions a removed file, named RKChRes.arc, that would have resided in the root of the game's filesystem. While it is unclear what this file would have been for, it is listed alongside the files from the /contents directory inside an array in the game's code, which also reveals that it has an ID assigned to it (8).

Interestingly, the IDs assigned to the files from the /content directory in said array match the numbering of the equivalent files from the extracted Mario Kart Channel, plus 00000008.app contains most directories and files found in the main game's filesystem root, which matches in how RKChRes.arc would have resided in the root. Sadly, said file is not found in that .app container either.

Unused Modes

Mission Mode

To do: see if you can record what might have been for the videos that no longer exist in the game and rename and reformat them to the videos names and try to see if that changes anything. Try recording in game footage of you doing those things.

There was originally a Mission Mode planned for Mario Kart Wii. All of the missions that were originally created for the mode have been wiped from the game disc, meaning they have been lost. It is very similar to tournament mode on WiiConnect24. You can even port tournaments to Mission Mode and it will work almost exactly the same, which means that it is possible that missions originally created for Mission Mode were ported over to be tournaments.

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. The files would have contained things like where to place objects, the objective, the score required, the time limit, the engine class, which character and kart you were restricted to, etc. Because this content is missing, it is impossible to know what the original missions were.

Some of the surviving stuff is drift restrictions on some levels, and/or a video (but since the videos are missing, the game just displays a still image of the last loaded video). The last level with a video is 2-4, and that's most likely where they decided that they weren't going through with it. The game doesn't even attempt to load any mission that is 3-4 or later. 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.

Game Modes

There seems to be 14 valid game modes.

Game Modes

ID	Code Name	Objective
0x00	MiniTurbo	Release miniturbos to score points.
0x01	LapRun01	VS Mode. Complete 3 laps before time runs out.
0x02	LapRun02	VS Mode. Complete 3 laps before time runs out. (Seems identical to mode 0x01).
0x03	Drift	Perform any drift to score. (Faulty, increments score too quickly, Manual only)
0x04	ItemBox	Break item boxes to score points.
0x05	EnemyDown01	Hit enemies with items to score points.
0x06	EnemyDown02	Attack a boss to score points. (E.g. Spiky Topmen, Big Pokey, etc)
0x07	EnemyDown03	Unknown. (Most likely unused or deleted. A piece of text in StaticR.rel, "EnemyDown03" may indicate it used to be related to modes 0x05 and 0x06, attacking something).
0x08	CoinGet01	Gather coins to score points.
0x09	ToGate01	Drive through gates to score points.
0x0A	RocketStart	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	ItemHit	Hit CPU opponents with certain items to score points. (All projectiles. Stars, Mushrooms, Mega Mushrooms and Bullet Bills do not score).
0x0C	Wheelie	Perform wheelies to score. (Faulty, increments score too quickly, increments for wheelies on the spot).
0x0D	Slipstream	Get slipstreams from CPU opponents to score points. (However, the score also increases if they slipstream someone, too).

There are code names for each of these modes which include an extra 12 of them. The names of them suggest that more were planned but weren't coded.

The names for the extra 12 are: BalloonBattle, CoinBattle, Jump+Halfpipe01, Jump+Halfpipe02, Star3, Star2, Star1, A, B, C, D, E.

Though it is unknown, Star3, Star2, Star1, A, B, C, D, and E seem to represent ranking in order from best to worst from the GP ranking design. It is unknown why these are listed as game modes.

Unused/Disabled Menu Content

A piece of text found in the layout files, ジャンプアクション, translates directly to Jump action. This text is in common_w088_mission_movie, which is the file responsible for the layout of the mission select (or sub-level) button. jump_action is the code name for half-pipe tricks suggesting, with the two referenced code names and the tutorial THP file, there was going to be a game mode, or maybe two, with an objective of tricking.

There is also supposed to be a level number on the left side of the mission select buttons (buttons on the right). This text is taken straight from the layout file, which only has one text entry, "1-1", but because the limitations of the font, the text would appear as "1?1" in game. The reason why this doesn't appear is because it's applied to the button but then immediately overwritten by the text appearing in the center of the button, the mission name. The text normally supplied is loaded as the text in the center and as the level number.

A star is intended to appear on the right side of the level select buttons. It does actually appear, but behind the button making it impossible to see.

A button exists for Mission Mode on the Single Player Menu, and oddly on the Multiplayer Menu as well. Both of the buttons crash the game when selected because they link to the Mission Mode screens, which aren't loaded in that context. Loading the Mission Mode screens on the Single Player Menu causes the button to work, but loading them on the Multiplayer Menu crashes because it lacks the necessary files for the screens, like layouts, textures, etc.

Accessing Mission Mode

A code to access Mission Mode and more information is available at the Custom Mario Kart Wiiki.

(Source: MrBean35000vr Video 1)

(Source: MrBean35000vr Video 2)

(Source: Custom Mario Kart Wiiki)

Special Ghosts Mode

Nintendo had once planned to have "special ghost" events, but this feature ended up never being used. If a special ghost was available, you would find it in the Time Trial rankings for its course. A notification would appear in the main menu of the Mario Kart Channel, and selecting it would take you directly to the ghost in the rankings menu. Once highlighting the ghost, the bottom right text would simply say "Battle [name]." and would prompt you to connect to Nintendo WFC once you select it. Special ghosts are mentioned several times in the game's text:

Text ID	Text
0x1C85	Join the message service to have the latest updates from the Mario Kart Channel posted to your Wii Message Board via WiiConnect24. You can opt out at any time. Messages will include information about: ・competitions ・special ghost data downloads
0x1901	Special ghost data now available!
0x17AF	Special Ghost Data

These pieces of text were translated to all languages.

The game's manual also makes mention of special ghosts, showing a unique icon that was not used anywhere else in the game, although it's present within the Mario Kart Channel's banner files, named tk_iconGhost_00.

(Source: MKWii Manual)

Early File Leftovers

In Scene\UI\ are a bunch of unused .bin files that seem to be very slightly early versions of the used .bin files (located in Common.szs).

kartParam.bin

3 Tilt Strength values for certain karts have been nerfed in the final game.

Kart	Early Value	Final Value
Standard Kart L	0.02	0.015
Tiny Titan	0.03	0.02
Sprinter	0.02	0.015

driverParam.bin

Several Slippery Road Type 2 speed values were changed as well.

Character	Early Value	Final Value
Toadette	0.01368	0.01283
Yoshi	0.01368	0.01283
Birdo	0.00684	0.00641
Bowser Jr.	0.00684	0.00641
Medium Mii	0.00684	0.00641
Wario	0.00684	0.00641
Waluigi	0.00684	0.00641
King Boo	0.00684	0.00641
Funky Kong	0.00684	0.00641
Dry Bowser	0.01368	0.01283

kartCameraParam.bin

2 Camera parameters have been ever so slightly changed.

Early Near Camera 1	Final Near Camera 1

Early Near Camera 2	Final Near Camera 2

Unreleased Chinese Version

Exclusively on the Korean disc, there are files that seem to suggest that a Chinese version of Mario Kart Wii was in development for the Wii. A Chinese version of the game was announced for the NVIDIA Shield almost a decade after the original's release.

Simplified Chinese Logo

Found in the banner data of the game.

(Source: [UNOFFICIAL Chinese Nintendo Twitter])

Simplified Chinese Wii Menu Banner

(Source: Twitter)

Chinese Safety Screen

Found in Boot\Strap\ch\Chinese.szs are the two Wii Remote safety screen pages in Simplified Chinese...

isbn_608x456

Found in Boot\Strap\ch\isbn_608x456.szs is a weird file. It is a Chinese splash screen. The upper larger texts is the "Healthy gaming advice", a 28-character health & safety advice that is required to be displayed upon a game's startup by Chinese law. The lower half consists of the publishing house information and a placeholder ISBN with all zeroes (the ISBN will be replaced by the actual one given by the government upon approval). The publisher is the exact same one used by all games published by iQue.

It roughly translates to

"Healthy Gaming Advice Resist unhealthy games, reject pirated games Be aware of self-protection, avoid being deceived Moderate gaming is good for the brain, addiction to games hurts your body Manage time appropriately, enjoy a healthy life"

(Source: [UNOFFICIAL Chinese Nintendo Twitter])

(Source: akfamilyhomeak Twitter)

Chinese Home Button Menu

Found in the hbm folder is homeBtn_CHN.szs

If you replace the normal homeBtn file with this one and load it in game, it is still mostly functional, besides a few missing bits of text.

Interestingly, if you change the language in Dolphin to "S. Chinese", then the text properly displays:

Uncompiled camera animation

Present in Demo/Ending.szs/Camera is just an uncompiled camera animation file titled dummy.rsca, created on 2007-11-05 16:10:33 by Eriko Kimura, from the Demo Movie team. A binary format of the said file doesn't exist in the archive so this most likely went unused. The Model folder inside it is empty.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<nw4r_3dif version="1.3.0"
	xmlns="http://www.nintendo.co.jp/NW4R/3DIntermediateFileFormat"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.nintendo.co.jp/NW4R/3DIntermediateFileFormat ver_1_3_0/rsca.xsd"
>
<head>
	<create user="kimura_eriko" host="KIMURAE-GRP" date="2007-11-05T16:10:33" source="los_cam.ma"/>
	<title>Scene Animation Data</title>
	<generator name="NW4R_Export for Maya 8.5 Service Pack 1" version="1.3.1"/>
</head>
<body>
<rsca>
<scene_anim_info frame_size="2" tool_start_frame="1" tool_end_frame="2"
	magnify="10.000000"
	bake_animation="on" frame_precision="1_1" loop="off"
	tolerance_rotate="0.100000"
	tolerance_translate="0.010000"
	tolerance_color="1.000000"
/>
<camera_anim_array size="1">
	<camera_anim index="0" name="los_camera" camera_type="rotate" projection_type="perspective"
		ref_number="0"
	>
		<camera_anim_target target="pos_x">
			<anim_constant value="-12676.701172"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="pos_y">
			<anim_constant value="6468.499023"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="pos_z">
			<anim_constant value="53316.898438"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="aim_x">
			<anim_constant value="0.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="aim_y">
			<anim_constant value="0.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="aim_z">
			<anim_constant value="0.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="rot_x">
			<anim_constant value="-5.138353"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="rot_y">
			<anim_constant value="-37.400002"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="rot_z">
			<anim_constant value="0.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="twist">
			<anim_constant value="0.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="aspect">
			<anim_constant value="1.500000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="near">
			<anim_constant value="1.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="far">
			<anim_constant value="1000000.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="persp_fovy">
			<anim_constant value="58.445305"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
		<camera_anim_target target="ortho_height">
			<anim_constant value="100.000000"/>
		</camera_anim_target>
	</camera_anim>
</camera_anim_array>
</rsca>
</body>
</nw4r_3dif>

Early	Final

It is actually possible to compile this code back to a binary file, which reveals an earlier camera angle used for the total results screen that can be seen when the player loses a Grand Prix/VS Race/Battle.

(Source: Wii-Homebrew forum)

Internal Project Name

The game is referred to internally as RevoKart. Revo is short for "Revolution", the Wii's internal project name. course.0 also indicates the project name as RVL-MarioKart.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences

Title Screen

Japan	America	Europe	Korea

• The Press the A Button text from the European and American releases is PRESS (A) BUTTON in the Japanese and Korean versions.
• The European and Korean versions display the trademark as TM, while in the Japanese and American builds it is an R.
• The Korean version displays the year 2009 in the copyright text, reflecting its actual release date. This is positioned lower than in the rest of the versions, and, in addition, the font here is in bold.
• Both the Japanese and Korean releases display the game's name in their respective languages under the romanized logo.
• Both the Japanese and Korean versions have a mistake in which the "R" from the MARIOKART logo is missing one of its corners, making the logo slightly thinner.
• The Korean version fixes a small oversight in which Luigi's Kart shadow was slightly cut in the bottom left corner.
• The Korean release (unlike with the Japanese version) has the same blur version of the background image as the one used in the European and American releases, despite its title screen having more differences, such as the game's name in Korean.

License Selection Screen and Main Menu

Japan	Korea

• When setting the console's aspect ratio to 16:9, the Korean version will display the Title Screen image slightly offset to the left, which could be seen in a prerelease screenshot.
• In the European version, the 1/2/3/4 players text numbers are slightly bigger than in the American version. In contrast, the "Player(s)" text is slighly larger in the American release in comparison to the European one.

Font

• The Korean release uses a completely different font from the one seen in the rest of the versions.
• The icon graphics for the controller buttons are noticiably smaller in the Korean version (as seen in the "Back" button, for example). They are also positioned slightly lower than in all other versions.

Translations

To do: This should go in the English Translations Differences subpage. Spanish and French text differences between the US and European versions.

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

Bold names show that the names are different between Europe and American releases.

Japanese	European	American
	Main Stages
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
	Battle Stages
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

Chain Chomp Roulette was likely changed to Chain Chomp Wheel because of US laws on gambling in video games.

Vehicle Names

Bold names show that the names are different between Europe and American releases.

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