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E3 2001#
Trailer #1
- As with many early Smash Bros. trailers, the sound effects are rather basic compared to what we get in the final release.
- The game's physics act almost nothing like those seen in the final product, with many moves seeming to chain into each other in ways not even remotely possible in the final game. This is most noticeable with Peach, Samus & Captain Falcon's combo montages, but is present throughout the trailer.
- The top of Cranky Kong's house in Jungle Japes has a different texture, almost appearing as if the platform itself is untextured.
- Adventure mode's version of Mushroom Kingdom has a different layout, more rocky textures for the columns, and a tree.
- Peach has no voice clips during any of her actions. This may indicate that her voice lines from the final game were not recorded yet.
- Peach is seen walking out of bounds in Onett, implying it was once bigger. Yoshi & Captain Falcon also appear to have a scrap in this area as well.
- There is an extra platform in Temple, which appears to be connected to one of the higher level platforms via a rope.
- Yoshi has a different, rougher looking taunt animation that more closely resembles the equivalent animation from the previous Super Smash Bros.
- Yoshi's Story has a different layout, with a very out of place blue platform at the stage left. There are also decoratory ornaments, wooden circles and the like in the background, which would later be removed. It's unknown whether these assets were connected. Additionally, Yoshi's shadow can be seen on the sky, indicating that it is much closer to the foreground.
- Yoshi's Island has 5 extra blocks and contains a much steeper hill on the right side. The dark hills in the background are closer to being violet than blue, and the sky is much brighter.
- Yoshi's aerial Side B has notably different physics, bouncing higher and more often than the final game. It also has no sound effects.
- Multiple characters appear on-screen together with the same color palette (notably 4 Kirbys, Ness' and Foxs in their montages), although this may be via the debug controls.
- Kirby's Vulcan Jab Neutral attack doesn't feature the small projectiles in front of his hands. Notably, this is also true in the final game's Special Movie.
- Kirby's down throw attack is much slower than in the final game.
- Pokémon Stadium has a blank screen.
- Ness has the generic double jump sound instead of his unique sound as in the final game. The associated visual effects for it are also missing.
- Great Bay seems to have originally included the Laboratory setting as part of the level, with Ness being seen exiting from it. This feature is totally absent in the final release.
- Corneria seems to include more generic building structures in the background, and a single Arwing appears to follow consistently toward the front of the Great Fox.
- Fox's Blaster is very noticeably slower, acting more like it does in the original Super Smash Bros.. It also makes a different sound effect.
- Fourside has much less colorful textures, particularly notable with the buildings, which are all grey as opposed to multicolored.
- The Falcon Punch comes out much faster, as it did in the original Super Smash Bros.
- Captain Falcon's down throw sends Samus straight to the floor as opposed to bouncing her upwards.
- Mute City contains a very out of place boost-pad which doesn't appear in that location in the final game. The rest area pods on the roadside also lack the pink shade.
- Pikachu's Up Special lacks its visual effects.
- Link's Bow special move does not glow upon being fully charged. This can also be observed in the final game's Special Movie.
- Sheik's Chain appears to be able to negate most sorts of projectiles, something which would have perhaps been too overpowered.
- Both Samus and Ice Climbers are seen fighting in Adventure Mushroom Kingdom, which is a single-player only stage.
Trailer #2
- The main menu says "Top Menu".
- Options, Data and Special Melee are obscured with question marks.
- The menu select sound appears to play at a higher pitch.
- Rainbow Cruise is completely different, in terms of design, layout and textures.
- The trophy lottery has a much more elaborate background, including a casino board and a ship. It's also shown from an angle as opposed to straight on, and contains a different HUD than that depicted in the final product.
- The Goomba trophy differs slightly.
Footage Reel Watch on YouTube
- Mario has rougher animations.
- Entei doesn't have a fire pillar, he just catches on fire.
- When Pikachu picks up the crate, it directly warps in front of him.
- Corneria has a darker sky with Arwings flying in the background.
- The platform next to the turtle at Great Bay is smaller.
- Players don't flash when they use the home run bat.
- The flipper item is a 2D texture.
- Peach's dress isn't fully animated so it clips through her at times.
- The layout of Yoshi's Story is completely different with two islands separated and platforms inbetween them.
- The layout of Yoshi's Island features 3 note blocks in the center and a wall of spinning blocks on the right.
- Fountain of Dreams has 2 platforms similar to Small Battlefield.
- Battlefield is shown for a second. Battlefield is missing the energy ball in the middle, instead having a hexagonal gray emblem. The platforms also have circles in the middle.
- Final Destination seems to have 3 additional platforms attached to the center platform.
- Onett's clouds jump in animation sometimes.
- Green Greens is completely different and Whispy Woods constantly blows to the left multiple times.
- Fourside's UFO is different.
- Kongo Jungle has a faster stream.
Spaceworld 2001#
IGN Gameplay#
2001_05_17#
- The early version of Yoshi's Story is clearly seen.
- The differences with Mute City documented above still apply here.
- Mushroom Kingdom looks almost totally different: the style of brick is more primitive, the background is zoomed in closer than what we see in the final version, the colors are much brighter overall, the bricks directly below the warp pipe aren't seen at all and the warp pipes themselves seem to be integrated into the stage akin to the N64 version of the stage.
June#
2001_06_29#
- The Great Bay lab is in the foreground. Mario and Link can be seen standing on and going inside the lab, showing that it was once part of the stage.
- The top platform which houses the Laboratory in this clip has some rather odd collision compared to the final version, where Mario almost appears to be standing in front of the platform at one stage.
- There is a pot object which isn't normally present on the stage.
August#
2001_08_27_1#
Watch on YouTubeAn early level layout for the Adventure variant of Mushroom Kingdom, although there are only minor differences:
- There are signs with the castle on it.
- The trees present in the All-Star rest area are placed here, although it's unknown whether it was meant for this level or whether it was a placeholder.
Unknown#
Brinstar Escape#
- Samus simply drops in as opposed to spawning via the usual platform, and spawns facing the opposite direction.
- The blue door next to Samus at the start strangely has more detailed texturing than the one included in the final product.
- Samus' grounded jump sound is much simpler.
- The message in the background reads "GO AHEAD". In the final game, the message is altered to "Code Red!"
- The arrow which accompanies the "GO AHEAD" message alternates between flashing and fading out, though it remains totally static in the final game.
- There is a "Coming Soon" screen, which also includes a fanfare not included in the game at all.
Onett#
- EagleLand is split into 2 words for no explainable reason.
- Just like in the Escape video, the characters drop in with no spawning platforms.
- The stage selection screen has a different layout, similar to how the N64 game's stage select was laid out.
- Onett has a completely different remix of "Bein' Friends", which sounds similar to the version used in-game, but with different instruments.
Nintendo World Report Footage#
- Similar to the Onett footage above but much longer, allowing for a better listen to the different music. With this we can notice some striking differences, such as the song never transitioning into the Eight Melodies section it has in the final game, looping as Bein' Friends for the whole track. The notes also differ very heavily, and with a good listen one can tell the song is a direct remix of the vocal version found in Earthbound Beginnings' original soundtrack, particularly the notes at the 1:39 mark of the footage.
November#
Early Special Movie#
This version of the Special Movie was included on the Japan-only Pikmin Jitsuen-you Demo Disc in 2001 prior to Melee's release. There are a few shots in this version that are not present or are arranged differently in the final version. Most notably, this version does not feature any gameplay of Zelda and instead features a splash screen and section for Sheik.
- Pikachu has a faster, more jittery, and less polished taunt animation.
- Icicle Mountain features floating ice blocks arranged in a diamond-like shape.
- The version of Mushroom Kingdom shown in the Mario segment looks similar to the early version shown in May 2001 Trailer #2 and IGN Gameplay video from May, 2001.
- The shot of Link using his grappling hook on Great Bay looks slightly different. Link is standing on the platform next to the turtle, and the camera angle is slightly shifted from the later version of the Special Movie. As well, the platform is smaller like it is in the E3 gameplay footage, but interestingly it appears you are not able to walk through the laboratory (from other shots in the special movie).
Early Intro Cinematic#
An early variation of the game's iconic intro can be found on its Japanese website, with a few minor differences to the final cinematic, almost all of which pertain to the gameplay clips featured.
- The camera angles used during the gameplay snippets are all slightly different.
- Captain Falcon uses his neutral combo on Corneria as opposed to Mute City.
- Samus and Fox appear on Fountain of Dreams as opposed to Brinstar. Additionally, Fox's Blaster Fire is noticeably slower, akin to the game's initial E3 reveal.
- Kirby is seen strolling through Adventure Mode's Mushroom Kingdom - he's frolicking through the All-Star Rest Area in the cinematic seen in-game.
- The clip showcasing Peach and the Ice Climbers is almost identical to the final game, with one difference - the Ice Climbers are moving much more slowly in comparison.
- Pikachu is seen running in Pokémon Stadium - while thematically appropriate, he runs in Adventure Mode's Mushroom Kingdom in the final intro.
- Yoshi is strolling aimlessly in Yoshi's Story here - he uses his grab in the intro.
- Instead of Zelda using Din's Fire, Sheik is seen here instead, using Needle Storm in a clip also used during the initial E3 reveal.
- Link is seen using his forward smash, rather than using Spin Attack towards the camera.
- The section with Link mentioned above additionally shows the extra platform in Temple, which would later be removed from the game.
- Dean Harrington's emphatic title announcement is missing.
Special Movie#
Replaced in the European release of the game with four additional languages, the "Special Movie" is essentially a quirky showcase of all the characters available at the start of the game, showing off their abilities and placing them in wacky comical scenarios that, like the series, pay homage to traits for which they're known. Strangely, a lot of the material present in it differs hugely from what can be accessed in the game!
Retail Special Movie#
This version of the Special Movie is present within all NTSC releases of the game.
- Sound effects still differ from the final release.
- The additional platform from Hyrule Temple mentioned above appears at multiple points in this cinematic.
- The Mario Tornado acts more like it does in the N64 game, trapping opponents in for a longer time and connecting more frequently.
- A fanfare which doesn't exist in the final version in any capacity plays during the intervals.
- Captain Falcon's taunt animation isn't as smooth as it would eventually become.
- An unused voice-over for Peach (saying and "All right!") can be heard. She appears to be voiced by Leslie Swan here instead of Jen Taylor - the voice-over sounds similar to how Peach sounded in the International version of Mario Kart 64.
- Knocking Goombas away causes a screen shake effect during the Adventure showcase, which doesn't happen in-game.
- Bowser's Classic render, while exactly the same, was positioned more to the back, and so appears smaller.
- Brief parts of the movie appear to show a very early incarnation of Brinstar Depths, which aside from the lava at the bottom is almost unrecognizable, with completely different textures and stage details players never get to see in the final version (timestamps: 2:18, 8:57).
- Pikachu is silent while charging Skull Bash.
- Stock icons for the alternate character colors weren't implemented yet, as all 4 Ice Climbers use the default palette.
- Electrode doesn't change color to indicate it self-destructing, 11:20.
- An unused shout from Popo can be heard during the montage at the end.
- The Yoshi's Island stage theme uses a different mix that lacks the bongos of the final version.
Character Select Screens#
This is the character select screen used for the E3 2001 build, which contains only 10 playable characters. It has a different background and a small "PRESS START BUTTON" indicator on the right.
An earlier version of Zelda's portrait, seen in a debugging video tape.
Same as above, but with a different alternate costume.