September 2021

This is a sub-page of Proto:Plants vs. Zombies 3.

This page or section needs more videos.
There's a whole lotta words or pictures here, but not enough videos. Please fix this.
Specifically: There are a few unused animations, most notably of a Bowling Zombie

After wide negative reception toward the initial beta, the game's art direction was given a huge rework.

Unused Graphics#

Unused Seed Packets#

Potato Mine#

A seed packet sprite for Potato Mine, who doesn't appear in this version. This uses a different design from the final Potato Mine.

Snow Pea#

A seed packet sprite for Snow Pea, who doesn't appear in this version. This uses a different design from the final Snow Pea.

Chomper#

A seed packet sprite for Chomper, who doesn't appear in this version, and has yet to appear in an official release (aside from the Chinese version).

Starfruit#

A seed packet sprite for Starfruit, who doesn't appear in this version, and has yet to appear in an official release.

Cabbage-Pult#

A seed packet sprite for Cabbage-Pult, who doesn't appear in this version, but would appear in a later version with this sprite being used.

Kernel-Pult#

A seed packet sprite for Kernel-Pult, who doesn't appear in this version, and has yet to appear in an official release.

Melon-Pult#

A seed packet sprite for Melon-Pult, who doesn't appear in this version, and has yet to appear in an official release. This has a different design from the Melon-Pult that appears in the Chinese version of the game.

Silversword#

A seed packet sprite for Silversword, who doesn't appear in this version, but would appear in a later version with this sprite being used.

Sunshroom#

Sunshroom exists as a placeholder under Sunflower's seed packet.

Coconut Cannon#

Placeholder sprites for Coconut Cannon, who was an unused second cascade plant alongside Grapes of Wrath.

Early Grapes of Wrath Meter#

Early sprites for the Grapes of Wrath meter, which was originally in a shape of a semicircle and multicolored, as well as using a still image of Grapes of Wrath instead of the plant's idle animation.

Placeholder Bowling Zombie#

Early placeholder sprites for the Bowling Zombie and his bowling ball are present in this version. This zombie would be added to the game in a later version.

Placeholder Crazy Dave#

A placeholder excited sprite for Crazy Dave, using his design from the pre-2021 version of PvZ3 with 2 red exclamation points drawn next to him.

Lawnmower#

An unused sprite of a lawnmower. Lawnmowers don't appear in PvZ3, and are instead replaced by Mo.

Another lawnmower sprite exists, this time meant for the main HUD.

Plant Food Boost#

An unused level boost button for plant food, which doesn't exist in this version of PvZ3. Based on data in unused levels, it seems plant food was planned to return from the pre-2021 version before being scrapped.

Boost Drops#

Unused thought bubble sprites of different boosts intended for a mechanic where zombies could carry boosts, similar to Plant Food in PvZ2. These bubbles all use placeholder sprites like Cherry Bomb from pre-2021 PvZ3, Jalapeno from PvZ2, and Chilly Pepper from PvZ Heroes.

Early Sun Meter Background#

An unused sprite intended for the background of the sun meter. In the final version of the beta, the sun meter is part of the seeds sidebar.

Plants vs. Zombies Online Sod#

An unused sprite of the Sod plant from the now defunct Chinese exclusive game Plants vs. Zombies Online. The purpose of this sprite is unknown, though it was evidently taken from the Plants vs. Zombies wiki, as its filename, "Hq_sod", is the exact same as an HD image of the plant on the wiki.¹

Unused Lawns#

Elevation Demo#

An unused lawn likely used for testing lawn elevation, which was seen in later builds of PvZ3. It is the front yard lawn with a large dirt image thrown overtop it.

Cliff Demo#

A lawn that takes place on a desert cliff.

5x9 Combat Grid#

A grid likely used for testing lawns. Its colors are very similar to that of Lost Keys Lake.

Shared Combat Board#

Another grid for testing lawns, this time possibly sharing grids between multiple different lawns based on the name. These sprites are scaled down versions of the ground used in the Sunnyside Farm lawn in the pre-2021 version of PvZ3.

Unused Models#

Plant Models#

Silversword#

A model for the upcoming Silversword plant. Appears in some promotional material.

Unused Text#

Dialogue Test#

Test dialogue between Crazy Dave, Peashooter, and Wall-Nut. Note that in the first 2 lines, Crazy Dave is supposed to be a 3D model.

Left Character	Dialogue	Right Character
	Dave: Howdy neighbor!
	Dave: i've calmed down
	Dave: Now I'm 2d!
	Dave: i've calmed down again
	Peashooter: it's me peashooter
	Peashooter: i'm talking to wallnut
	Wall-Nut: hi peashootah!
	Wall-Nut: peashooter left!

Pre-Battle Overlay Test#

Some text for testing overlay test in the main menu.

Dialogue
This is a brain
Get ready to tap the play button
Hit play

Unused Levels#

Data exists for many unused test level tracks.

Grave Danger#

An unused track of 3 levels, likely named after the scrapped minigame from the first game. These levels all feature Gravestones, which didn't exist in this build and weren't added as grid objects until the 2024 soft launch. They also use plants and zombies found in the pre-2021 version of PvZ3 but haven't appeared in any modern iteration of the game such as Chard Guard, Skeleton Zombie, and Gravedigger. Pine Needler, a plant who didn't reappear until the Evolved beta in 2025, is also selected for Grave Danger 2 and 3.

Level	Flags	Environment Modifiers	Notes
Grave Danger 1	Two	Gravestones
Grave Danger 2	Two	Gravestones
Grave Danger 3	Two	Gravestones	1 free Cherry Bomb can be used

Grave Danger 1 starts with 9 graves in a 3x3 pattern displayed below, with 0 representing empty tiles and 1 representing graves.

0	0	0
1	1	1
1	1	1
1	1	1
0	0	0

Grave Danger 2 and 3 don't start out with graves, though throughout those levels graves will randomly spawn, maxing out at 5 graves existing at a time. A Basic Zombie will randomly spawn from those graves if there are more than 4 graves. Every Grave Danger level uses the following wave data:

: The small number next to the zombie icon means that zombie will always appear in that lane, with 1 being the topmost lane and 5 being the bottommost lane.

Waves	Zombies	Spawn Time	Note(s)
1	⁵	19s
	¹	39s
	³	49s
2	³	69s	First flag.
	³	71s
	² ⁴	75s
	³	77s
	¹ ² ⁴ ⁵	79s
3	⁵	99s
	³ ⁴	103s
	² ³	105s
	¹	109s
4	³	129s	Not considered a flag despite Flag Zombie appearing.
	² ⁴	131s
	¹ ³ ⁵	133s
	² ⁴	135s
	³	137s
	¹ ² ⁴ ⁵	139s
	³	141s
	² ⁴	143s
5	²	159s
	³ ⁴	161s
	²	163s
	⁴	165s
	² ³	167s
	⁴	169s
6	³	189s	Final wave.
	² ³ ⁴	191s
	¹ ² ⁴ ⁵	193s
	² ³ ⁴	195s
	² ⁴	197s
	¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵	199s
	² ⁴	201s
	³	203s
	¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵	205s

Goats#

An unused track named Goats, which consist of 3 levels all named after goats.

Level	Flags	Environment Modifiers
Loft of Goats	Three	None
Muster of Goats	Three	None
11h. Chorus of Goats	Three	None

Campgrounds,#

A track named "Campgrounds," which has early versions of levels 96-105. They have mostly plants from this version of the game along with Sun-Shroom who would appear in later versions of PvZ3, with Sun-Shroom interestingly being the main sun producer instead of Sunflower. Every level also has Starfruit, who has an unused seed packet in this version, and also Sweet Potato in one level. The last 3 levels have Sharktronic Sand Sub, a zombie from pre-2021 PvZ3. These levels are set so that even if you fail them, you will still progress.

Level	Plants	Flags	Environment Modifiers	Notes
Old, Level 096		Three	None	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 097		Three	Water	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 098		Three	Water	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 099	Pre-planted: Two	Two	Water Surge	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 100		Three	Water Surge	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 101	Pre-planted: Two , one	Three	Water	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 102	Pre-planted: Three	Two	Water Surge	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 103		Three	Water Surge	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 104		Four	Water Surge	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.
Old, Level 105		Two	Water Surge	Each instant use boost plant has 1 use. There is also 1 Plant Food use.

Test Boosts#

A track containing a single level called "Test: Boost Drops", which was used to test zombies carrying boosts, a feature that was scrapped from the final game.

Title Update Demo,#

A track named "Title Update Demo," which contains five levels. Each level has a description to go along with them.

Level	Description	Location	Plants	Flags	Environment Modifiers	Notes
Title Update Demo, Level 01 (1/5)	Demo Only Tutorial Level Welcome Back to PvZ! PvZ Next takes the classic combat fans love, and combines it with casual best practices the mobile gaming community is familiar with. Check it out!	Backyard	Pre-planted: One , one	One	None
Title Update Demo, Level 05 (2/5)	Demo Info Tutorial Level CHA-BOOF! Boosts can be played from your inventory on the right, and can even drop from zombies. Use them to blow zombies away (especially zombies carrying Boosts!)		Pre-planted: Five	One	None	You start out with a free use of each boost.
Title Update Demo, Level 09 (3/5)	Demo Info Tutorial Level When the going gets tough Blover is on standby to get you out of a bind! When faced with a loss, play on by spending Coins to activate Blover, pushing zombies away from your House.			One	None	Mo isn't in this level
Title Update Demo, Level 52 (4/5)	Demo Info Normal Level You aren't just up against zombies! You'll have to contend with the Environment as well. Modular environments allow us to reuse mechanics you are familiar with in new ways.	Camp	Pre-planted: Two , one	Three	Water	You start out with a free use of each boost.
Title Update Demo, Level 64 (5/5)	Demo Info Normal Level As you make your way deeper into the game Combat Events will expand and twist existing mechanics to create new experiences. You may need to play a level multiple times to learn its patterns and solve the puzzle.	Camp	Pre-planted: Five , one	Two	Water, Water Surge	You start out with a free use of each boost.

References#

https://plantsvszombies.wiki.gg/wiki/File:Hq_sod.png ↩︎