Sprites

kuppa-0.OBJ

06 October 1989 17:58

Animations of four of the Koopalings. In the final game, none of them have fire-breathing animations, while Lemmy and Wendy don't stand upright during their boss fight.

map-obj.OBJ

25 October 1989 10:43

Mario riding a cloud on the world map. This might have been Jugem's Cloud from Super Mario Bros. 3, where it was used to skip a level.

bul-kuppa-down.OBJ

16 November 1989 13:38

Chargin' Chuck originally had a unique animation for getting hit from the side, but the body was overwritten with Super Koopa graphics.

The clapping animation had smaller hands.

A turning animation.

A small, walking cannon. A similar enemy, known as a "Kaboomba" (Taihōkun in Japanese), ended up being used in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

A wind-up key likely meant to be attached to the cannons, although it looks huge compared to the small cannon.

Sprites of Raccoon Mario, a powerup from Super Mario Bros. 3 that was replaced by what would ultimately become the Cape. These graphics are similar to those shown here, but they aren't exactly the same, as the color of the hat's brim is different.

player-musasabi-Q-X-new.OBJ

04 March 1990 19:48

An animation of Mario flying without a Cape. A near-identical sprite still exists in the final game, albeit unused.

player-musasabi-1-Q-X-1W-kaiten.OBJ

07 March 1990 15:27

More complete flying animations for the flying squirrel power-up that include frames with his hands on his head.

player-musasabi-QX1W-met.OBJ

10 March 1990 15:26

The Raccoon form was replaced by Cape Mario, who originally wore a helmet.

player-hane-QX0W-hane.OBJ

13 March 1990 21:18

Another potential replacement to the Raccoon form that depicts Mario wearing wings. A similar powerup, the Wing Cap, would later be implemented in Super Mario 64.

player-hane-TEST-0.OBJ

14 March 1990 11:34

More animations of the winged Mario power-up.

kuppa-car.OBJ

12 April 1990 14:46

Several completely-unused Bowser cars, which may have been early concepts of the Koopa Clown Car (hence the name).

shoulder-attack-bul.OBJ

30 May 1990 11:19

A Chargin' Chuck in its blue palette casually running rather than charging.

kuppa-chr-I.OBJ

26 June 1990 13:07

An animation of Bowser turning in the Koopa Clown Car. The final game does not have a turning frame. The propeller also resembles a wind-up key here.

doragon-house-demo.OBJ

11 July 1990 17:18

A cut elderly Yoshi with animations for walking and talking. Based on the filename "Dragon House Demo" ("Dragon House" being the original name of Yoshi's House), it would have been used in Yoshi's House, probably as an NPC.

shiro-end-demo-zoom.OBJ

10 August 1990 01:26

Animations for a castle destruction cutscene that sees Mario traveling in and out of the foreground.

chr-stock-2-minidragon.OBJ

12 July 1990 10:44

Various animations of Mario riding an early version of Yoshi. It's more evident that Mario is hitting Yoshi in the head here.

chr-stock-2-minidragon-1.OBJ

12 July 1990 10:44

An animation of Yoshi eating a yellow shell.

chr-stock-7.OBJ

12 July 1990 10:44

An unknown large bird flying. It appears to be gripping something, which may be related to the unused cage levels.

An animation of Mario, with a red hat brim, swimming.

A baby Yoshi specifically eating what seems to be some kind of blue Para-beetle, which never made it into the final game as an enemy.

A very early version of an Urchin. This appearance is closer to how real sea urchins look, with thin spikes and a black appearance.

Mario and Luigi

v-ram-kabe

02 Oct 1989 11:15

A row of early Mario sprites farther along than those seen in luiji.CGX. The most noticeable difference is Mario's hat, which has a red brim rather than the black brim of the final. These can be seen in the Ghost House pre-release screenshot and some of the Castle screenshots. "Kabe" means "wall" in Japanese.

v-ram-mode-7-peach-test

30 Aug 1990 21:21

Unique sprites of Mario standing up straight, curiously capless too. Most likely intended for the cutscene after Bowser's defeat, due to these being grouped with Peach sprites.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

An early version of the fireballs thrown by Fire Mario.

Koopa Troopa

v-ram-yane

The Koopa shell's shading changed over time, as well as eyes made squintier.

• Present in SNES Test Program.

• Beach Koopas lacked shoes early on. These can be seen in prerelease screenshots.
• Biting sprites are present. Use unknown.
• The walking animation was slightly different.
• The squashed sprite was changed from a 16×16 sprite to an 8×8 sprite that's flipped horizontally to create the other half.
• The "ejected from shell" sprites went through a few changes.

Goomba

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

An unknown creature, possibly a 16-bit rendition of the Micro-Goomba from Super Mario Bros. 3.

The Venus Fire Trap (from Super Mario Bros. 3) and a standard Piranha Plant that goes up. In the final game, standard Piranha Plants only go down. While sprites for an upward standard Piranha Plant do exist in the final game's data, the sprite for their vine was replaced in memory with one of the frames of a flopping Cheep Cheep.

v-ram-kumo

07 Jun 1990 13:40

A flower creature that strongly resembles Hanazukin-chan, the mascot of Expo '90, which was held in Osaka in 1990. It was likely an NPC that you could interact with, as it is located in the same VRAM location where the message boxes would be placed in the final.

v-ram-kumo

07 Jun 1990 13:40

The stem of the Jumping Piranha Plant was given shading.

• Lakitu's cloud was not a separate sprite yet.
• A minor change in the perspective of Lakitu's head. The graphics of Lakitu throwing something did not exist yet.

The Bob-omb's feet were different.

v-ram-game-over

08 Nov 1989 17:27

The Cheep Cheeps were originally more in line with their classic appearance.

luiji

28 Jun 1989 22:24

The classic Hammer Bros. can be seen in an early version of the forest enemy graphics set. The sprites for the hammer were reused for the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother's hammers.

v-ram-kuppa-big-block

03 Jul 1990 16:53

Sledge Bro was supposed to return in Super Mario World, complete with...shell graphics? Sledge Bros never go into shells when stomped on in any of their later appearances, so this may have been an early idea that was scrapped later on.

v-ram-yama

16 Mar 1990 22:02

Chain Chomp was set to return in Super Mario World, as it can also be found in the early forest enemy graphics set. The graphic for the chain still exists in the final game's data. Redone sprites were given for their appearance in Super Mario Maker's Super Mario World style.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

An early Muncher with different shading.

• Present in SNES Test Program.

v-ram-ghost-ship

23 Feb 1990 10:36

Sprites of Rocky Wrench, an enemy from Super Mario Bros. 3 that doesn't appear in Super Mario World. New sprites were used for the Rocky Wrenches seen in the Super Mario World style of Super Mario Maker.

v-ram-bul-kuppa-old

23 Mar 1990 11:31

In the final game, there are two different types of Dry Bones objects: The ones that are able to throw bones, and the ones that can't. However, the presence of two different types of Dry Bones in an early version of the Castle sprites' graphics set suggests that they were originally considered to be two different enemies with separate graphics. The palette is the same one used during the ending sequence, with the shoes being blue rather than red. The bones were also thicker.

v-ram-bul-kuppa-old

23 Mar 1990 11:31

An early version of the Bony Beetle with a visible beak.

Wiggler was originally green and wore a cone on its head. The lack of angered sprites can be explained by the spikes on its back.

Early Chargin' Chuck. The final changed the skin color, added more detailed shading to the helmet, and replaced the walking frames with charging. The early sprites' palette actually better resembles their artwork for this game and their appearances in later titles (such as Super Mario 3D World) and their appearance in the credits.

X-Y-1F-back

25 May 1990 10:06

A large Buzzy Beetle appears in early versions of the underground sprites bank. It would ultimately be replaced by Blargg. A Big Buzzy Beetle would eventually make its debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star and New Super Mario Bros. U.

v-ram-kumo

07 Jun 1990 13:40

Monty Mole's digging looked different.

v-ram-kumo

07 Jun 1990 13:40

The Sumo Bro was given a spike on its head in the final game, possibly to signify that it can't be jumped on. Interestingly, their official artwork is based on this early, spike-less design. There is also an unused sprite of the enemy with its mouth open as well as what is most likely early fire after Sumo Bro stomps.

v-ram-mant-kame

16 May 1990 02:47

The Pokey's original sprite resembled its Super Mario Bros. 2 appearance. The final added spikes on its head and changed its color palette to the yellow one.

v-ram-bul-kuppa-old

23 Mar 1990 11:31

The Thwimp was changed from a 16×16 sprite to two 8×8 sprites that are flipped horizontally to create the right half, which resulted in a minor loss of unique shading on the right side.

v-ram-kuppa-big-block

03 Jul 1990 16:53

The Mechakoopa had simpler shading and white hair.

v-ram-nakagon

06 Jul 1990 19:10

Early versions of the Dino Rhino, from a profile view instead of a 3/4 side view. Can be seen in a prerelease screenshot.

Banzai Bill

Fuzzy

Swooper

Post Special Zone

Early post-Special Zone Piranha Plants.

Boss Battles

X-Y-1F-back

25 May 1990 10:06

Early Koopalings. A duplicate of Iggy and Larry shell can be found in Ludwig/Morton/Roy graphics file in the final game.

Bowser

v-ram-ending-kuppa-family

27 Aug 1990 19:11

Bowser's arms were made thicker and the positioning of the fingers was altered.

v-ram-kuppa-big-block

03 Jul 1990 16:53

Bowser's fire had a completely different design.

Yoshi originally had a more crocodilian appearance and was able to breathe fire.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

The Yoshi Egg had an extra animation frame, and the cracked pieces were originally made up of four unique 8×8 tiles, which was reduced to one 8×8 tile that's flipped horizontally and vertically. The egg itself also had simpler shading. The simpler-shaded egg graphic would, however, later be used in Super Mario Kart (albeit with a different palette).

v-ram-bul-kuppa

23 Mar 1990 16:41

An unknown flaming head, possibly intended for the fireballs that Yoshi spits when eating a red/fire enemy.

Coins

The Dragon Coin went through a number of revisions until a design with Yoshi's face on it was settled on.

• A generic large coin. This coin can be seen in prerelease screenshots.
• A coin with the number "10" on it, which presumably would have granted the player 10 coins.
• This would be reduced to 5 coins.
• A coin with Mario's face on it.

Graphics intended for coin bonuses that would be earned by jumping off of multiple enemies. The coin bonuses are actually programmed into the final game, but the graphics don't exist and the only way to earn the bonus is through a glitch involving bouncing off of respawning calm Wigglers. The graphics were also found to exist in the SNES Test Program.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

The Super Mushroom had extra shading added.

The Super Leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3 that would have granted the player the Raccoon form. The Raccoon form would ultimately be replaced by the Cape ability. The power-up item for the Cape was originally a literal cape.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

The ? Block would be redesigned to have a rounder cartoony look to it.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

Empty blocks did not have eyes.

The Wood Block from Super Mario Bros. 3. It was given a makeover with glasses before being scrapped and replaced in VRAM by the ! Blocks. A fully implemented Bounce Block object goes unused in the final game's data.

The rubble that appears after breaking a block was changed many times. The third variant is also present in the SNES Test Program.

The Triangular block originally had a mechanical appearance to it, which can be seen in prerelease screenshots. It would be redesigned to have eyes, then gradually changed to have simpler shading and a mouth.

• An early P-Switch with different shading. The frame of the switch being pressed exists unused in the final game.
• The frame of the switch being pressed was originally a 16×16 tile instead of an 8×8 tile that's flipped to create the other half.

v-ram-game-over

08 Nov 1989 17:27

The corresponding pressable OFF Switch.

Pipes had sharper edges and simpler shading. The earliest iteration can be seen in prerelease screenshots. The middle iteration still exists in the final, used for the growing and shrinking pipe sprite.

The spinning platform was taller, resembling its appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, and had a slightly different highlight on the top. The earliest iteration can be seen in a few prerelease screenshots.

v-ram-sora-rock

28 Mar 1990 18:57

An unknown platform that was scrapped from the final game is present, that bears a resemblance to Donut Blocks seen in previous titles. It could have made an appearance as a counterpart to the Donut Blocks in Super Mario Bros. 3, and may have had the same functionality.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

The door had an extremely minor change in shading.

v-ram-night

24 Sep 1989 20:48

An early larger keyhole that lacks a white outline. The outline was possibly added so the keyhole could be more visible against dark backgrounds.

v-ram-yane

03 Jul 1989 17:34

An early midway point. The tape is much thinner, and the shading was reversed. This can be seen in a prerelease screenshot.

v-ram-kumo

07 Jun 1990 13:40

The goal tape was originally flat, akin to the midway point's tape.

The top of the Bill Blaster was originally made up of four unique tiles, rather than two tiles that are flipped horizontally to create the right half. A later version of the bottom-right tile still exists in the final game, but goes unused (though it would interestingly go on to be used in Super Mario Maker). The bottom tiles with bolts were also removed and replaced with graphics for grass.

The sign outside of Yoshi's house originally read "Dragon" rather than "Yoshi", which suggests it may have been called a "Dragon House" early on.

Peach

Early sprites of Princess Peach screaming. The first was... thankfully redrawn, while the other's main differences are in her eyelashes and shading.

Stage Tilesets

v-ram-forest

22 Dec 1989 00:52

An early version of the plains tileset, with the most notable difference being the white highlight. The rounded corner tiles from an early screenshot can be seen here.

v-ram-sora-rock

28 Mar 1990 18:57

An early version of the rope tileset. The mushroom platform has a simpler design, which can also be seen in prerelease screenshots.

An early version of the Underground tileset, "kanaami" meaning "wire mesh". The design would be altered and repurposed for the final game's castle tileset. This can be seen being used in a few screenshots here.

v-ram-map

08 Sep 1990 02:41

A sideways 6 sign, most likely intended for the world map.

mario1-A.CGX 16 Nov 1989 21:26

Since the graphics in mario1-A.CGX do not have a corresponding palette file, they're presented here with a custom palette.

An early Koopa Troopa, and a Beach Koopa standing upright.

An early Buzzy Beetle, and a Big Buzzy Beetle. A Big Buzzy Beetle would eventually make its debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star and New Super Mario Bros. U.

kawauso

X-1W-kawauso.CGX

18 September 1990 20:01

There's a comment in a file called 日本_Ver3\asm\zel_play.asm in A Link to the Past which reads "metar gage sub (BY kawauso)" (meaning "Meter Gauge Subroutine (by Kawauso)"), so "kawauso" may also be a developer nickname. Graphics for the character also appear in the files for this game.

chr-stock-1.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

Possibly the earliest version of Yoshi, taking on a very lanky and primitive appearance. It is reminiscent of an early concept sketch of Yoshi Shigeru Miyamoto drew during the development of Super Mario Bros. 3.

A scratchpad of graphics for the bipedal Koopa Troopa.

A small Hammer Bro, an enemy that does not appear in Super Mario World.

chr-stock-2.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

Multiple early dinosaur-like incarnations of Yoshi.

Early versions of Balloon Mario.

chr-stock-3.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

Numerous sprites of Mario with a red hat brim, including the fireball throwing frame, raccoon ear tiles, and a few early small Marios.

Early versions of the Galoomba.

Early versions of the Skull Raft.

A few different iterations of the P-Balloon.

chr-stock-5.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

A sheet of early Koopalings that share the same poses. Lemmy and Wendy lack upright standing sprites in the final game.

chr-stock-7.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

A strange unknown winged creature, possibly for a cutscene or for carrying a stage object. An animation for it can be seen at chr-stock-7.OBJ.

Sprites for a Para-Beetle, an enemy seen in Super Mario Bros. 3. There were no palette files for this sprite, so a custom palette was made for it.

The shimmering animation for the Brick Block, and what seems to be an early version of the Grab Block, both of which resemble their Super Mario Bros. 3 appearances. The Brick Block would ultimately be replaced by the Rotating Block, with the Grab Block using the same graphics as the latter.

Statues for Larry and Bowser.

Early dolphins.

A small version of Torpedo Ted.

chr-stock-B.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

A sheet of early dolphins and some kind of shark. Sharks would later debut in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and a similarly-designed character named Guppy would later appear in Super Mario Galaxy.

Some patches.

Early renditions of Yoshi with a rather large snout.

Three early sprites of Mario looking up.

A sprite of Mario's head in a profile view.

A tiny Yoshi looking ahead that bears resemblance to the one that appears in the unused No-Yoshi sign.

An early, smaller diagonal pipe, more reminiscent of normal pipes.

chr-stock-G.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

Multiple early versions of the underground tileset. Some of these graphics would be altered and repurposed for the castle tileset.

chr-stock-H.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

A sheet of early small Marios, as well as an early "Diagonal Mario" on the bottom-left corner.

chr-stock-I-kuppa.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

Early Bowser sprites, including a frame of Bowser facing the screen which doesn't exist in the final game, and some graphics of Bowser out of the Koopa Clown Car.

chr-stock-K-kuppa.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

Sprites of Bowser out of the Koopa Clown Car, showing his full body. Could have possibly been intended for a bridge boss fight similar to Super Mario Bros. Redone sprites were given for their appearance in Super Mario Maker's Super Mario World style.

An early forest tileset which looks closer to the plains tileset.

chr-stock-L-kuppa.CGX

12 July 1990 10:44

A later sheet of full-body Bowser sprites, including what seems to be an early propeller for the Koopa Clown Car, which looks more like a wind-up toy key. Redone sprites were given for their appearance in Super Mario Maker's Super Mario World style.

Very large dinosaur-like enemies that may have been early Blarggs.

A strange unfinished creature that may have been intended for underwater stages.

chr-stock-O-senkan-kuppa.CGX

15 August 1990 14:15

A scratchpad of Lemmy sprites. It includes frames of him using a fan.

X-Q-X-1W.CGX

08 March 1990 14:37

Graphics for the flying ability intended to be used by Raccoon Mario. A full animation using these graphics can be seen at player-musasabi-1-Q-X-1W-kaiten.OBJ.

X-Q-X-new-0.CGX

08 March 1990 20:36

This file includes early Mario graphics arranged to be stored in the game's data.

Differences:

• Graphics for the Raccoon form are present, which would ultimately be replaced by the Cape. Instead of Raccoon Mario having its own entire graphics set like in Super Mario Bros. 3, most of the ears and tail attachments would have been separate sprites.

Early	Final

• Mario's palette is noticeably different, with darker reds and blues, a different skin color, and other miscellaneous differences.
• The final sprites lost the shading on the shoes, due to the brown being removed to make way for the magenta used by Princess Peach.
• Small Mario originally had a much shorter stature reminiscent of its look in Super Mario Bros. 3. Interestingly, the player's appearance on the world map is based off of these early sprites.
• Mario's hat was made slightly bigger in the final game.
• Mario's diagonal head would be changed from a profile view to a 3/4 view in the final game.
• The sprites of Super Mario running at a 90 degree turn would be given wider eyes in the final game.
• Mario had a very different crouching animation that resembles the one from Super Mario Bros. It can be seen pieced together at player-pouse.OBJ.
• In the final game's sliding sprite, Mario's feet are raised higher.
• Mario's "crouching while holding an item" sprite was given a visible second foot and thumb in the final game.

X-Q-X-1W-hane.CGX

13 March 1990 10:51

A few graphics for wings intended to be used as a powerup, and a sprite of Mario wearing a helmet. The idea Mario gaining wings to fly in this manner would later be used for Wing Mario in Super Mario 64, but on his cap rather than his back.

X-Q-X-hane-TEST.CGX

14 March 1990 17:58

A revision of Mario's graphics set including the sprites for the wing powerup. All Raccoon-related graphics were replaced with wings or dummied out. Animations using these graphics can be seen at player-hane-TEST-0.OBJ.