Super Mario World (SNES)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Super Mario World (SNES).

This prototype is documented on Hidden Palace.

This was documented on Forest of Illusion.

A US localization prototype of Super Mario World was released on December 24, 2022 by Forest of Illusion. The source cart is dated October 25, 1990, ten months before the US release, and just under a month before the Japanese release.

This prototype appears to be a slightly earlier version of the build shown off in two US commercials for the game, as it features the same font and overworld debug functionality but lacks the "Super Mario Bros. 4" subtitle seen on the commercials' title screens.

General Differences#

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

Prototype	Final

• The text box font is slimmer and has a differently stylized "4". This font can also be seen in the aforementioned commercials.
  • The font would end up being partially used in the ending text of the final US version; the lowercase letters use this early font while the uppercase letters use a variant of the classic thick "Atari" font.
• The graphics contain a few more leftover Japanese characters than the final US version does.

Japan	Prototype	International

• The sign on the mailbox at Yoshi's House is different, lacking shading as with its Japanese counterpart.
• Donut Plains 2 and Donut Secret House still have their layouts from the Japanese version. Funky has all the extra green berries from the US version, but the end still says "YOU ARE SUPER PLAYER !!"
• The ability to re-enter completed castles by pressing L + R has not yet been implemented.
• Yoshi's inability to eat dolphins from the US version is already in place.

Title Screen#

Japan	Prototype	Final (USA, Europe (Rev 0))

• The title screen is identical to the Japanese version aside from the translated file select text, which matches the final US version. The unique star graphic for files with 96 goals has been implemented as well.

Prototype	Final

• The letters A and B have already been redrawn from the Japanese version, but the numbers "1" and "2" haven't.

Textbox Differences#

Some of the game's dialogue and textbox strings are slightly different. Aside from minor typos and spacing differences, the prototype's script refers to the A/B/X/Y buttons by their color on the Super Famicom's controller rather than their letter, as in the Japanese script. As the American models use two different shades of purple for their controllers instead (a darker shade for A and B and a lighter shade for X and Y) and the localization was in production alongside the American SNES, it's possible that they either had originally intended to keep the Japanese coloring on the US controllers or that the localization team weren't aware of the US controller's redesign. (It's worth noting that despite the color differences, the Super Famicom controller still labels its face buttons as A/B/X/Y, just like the Super NES controller.)

- SWITCH PALACE - 
The  power  of the
switch  you   have
pushed  will  turn

      into     .  
Your progress will
be saved also.    

- SWITCH PALACE - 
The  power  of the
switch  you   have
pushed  will  turn

      into     .  
Your progress will
also   be   saved.

Hello!   Sorry I'm
not  home,  but  I
have    gone    to
rescue  my friends
who were  captured
by Bowser.        

         - YOSHI  

Hello!   Sorry I'm
not  home,  but  I
have    gone    to
rescue  my friends
who were  captured
by Bowser.        

         - Yoshi  

Hooray!  Thank you
for  rescuing  me.
My name  is Yoshi.
On   my   way   to
rescue my friends,
Bowser trapped  me
in that egg.      

Hooray!  Thank you
for rescuing   me.
My name  is Yoshi.
On   my   way   to
rescue my friends,
Bowser trapped  me
in that egg.      

To   pick   up   a
shell,   use   the
Blue    or   Green
Button.   To throw
a  shell  upwards,
look up and let go
of the button.    
 

-POINT OF ADVICE-
To   pick   up   a
shell,  use  the X
or  Y  Button.  To
throw    a   shell
upwards,  look  up
and let go of  the
button.           

To do a spin jump,
press   the    Red
Button.    A Super
Mario   spin  jump
can break some  of
the   blocks   and
defeat some of the
tougher enemies.  

To do a spin jump,
press    the     A
Button.    A Super
Mario   spin  jump
can break some  of
the   blocks   and
defeat some of the
tougher enemies.  

Press  Up  on  the
Control Pad  while
jumping   and  you
can  cling  to the
fence.    To go in
the  door  at  the
end  of this area,
use Up also.      

Press Up   on  the
Control Pad  while
jumping   and  you
can  cling  to the
fence.    To go in
the  door  at  the
end  of this area,
use Up also.      

Use  Mario's  cape
to   soar  through
the air! Run fast,
jump, and hold the
Green Button.   To
keep balanced, use
left and  right on
the Control Pad.  

Use  Mario's  cape
to   soar  through
the air! Run fast,
jump, and hold the
Y Button.  To keep
balance,  use left
and  right  on the
Control Pad.      

You can  slide the
screen   left   or
right  by pressing
the L or R Buttons
on   top   of  the
controller     You
may be able to see
further ahead.    

You can  slide the
screen   left   or
right  by pressing
the L or R Buttons
on   top   of  the
controller.    You
may be able to see
further ahead.    

Credits#

Prototype	Final

In the credits, "Boo" Buddies and Big "Boo" are referred to as "Boo" Diddly and "Boo" Jackson respectively. The former is in reference to musician Bo Diddley, and the latter is in reference to football/baseball player Bo Jackson. It is worth mentioning that the "Boo" Diddly name was previously used in the American Super Mario Bros. 3 instruction manual, as well as the SMB3 strategy guide sent to Nintendo Power subscribers.

Debugging Features#

• Pressing Select on the overworld map will let Mario choose any color Yoshi. In order: Yellow, Blue, Red and Green.

• Mario will not die once the timer hits 0.
• Pause in a level and press Select to instantly beat the level and unlock the path. Holding B and pressing Select activates the secret exit, where applicable (if done in a level that lacks a secret exit, the following level's event will activate).

• Mario can walk to any stage on the overworld without completing any levels. This was shown off in the aforementioned commercials.
• Holding L + A and then flying with a cape will let you fly instantly as long as you want. Pressing it again will let Mario move anywhere. Holding Y will speed up Mario's movement.
• Hold Up and press Select in a stage to switch Mario's form between small, big, cape, and fire.
• After beating a castle and you're at the castle destruction scenes, you can press L + R to replay the scene or Up + L + R to view the scene for the next castles.

These features all remain in the final, albeit disabled and requiring Game Genie codes to re-enable.

Star Road Differences#

To do: Since these stages can be accessed in the final version using a cheat code that enables the overworld free movement, this section should be moved to the main page.

Please elaborate. Having more detail is always a good thing.

As mentioned previously, Mario can walk to and enter any stage in the overworld regardless if it's unlocked or not. If Mario enters one of the Star Road points in the overworld without unlocking it, he'll be sent to an unused test stage, which stage he'll be sent to depends on the warp point he enters. Below is a list of all the stages Mario can be sent to:

Level	Screenshot	Comment
Star Road #1, in Donut Plains		Leads to a duplicate of Donut Plains 1.
Star Road #2, in Vanilla Dome		Leads to a vertical slope test stage.
Star Road #3, in Soda Lake		Leads to a stage where Mario dies instantly.
Star Road #4, in Forest of Illusion		Both lead to the infamous test stage.
Star Road #5, in Valley of Bowser
Special World		Leads to the test stage, however, the "No Yoshis" sign intro will play before it.

Unused Data#

Prototype	Final

• The prototype contains leftover Japanese text characters, which were overwritten by the unused "Super Mario Bros. 4" subtitle in the final game.
• Similarly, the X tiles were also replaced by the same "Super Mario Bros. 4" text.

"Overdump" Data Leftovers#

This build contains leftover data from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past at locations that are used as padding in the final. Additional information on overdump content can be found here.

Some of this content consists of:

• At the end of the graphics, starting from 0x77100, are early font graphics left over from A Link to the Past). It matches the ones found in the Gigaleak at ゼルダの伝説神々のトライフォース\日本_Ver3\char\moji-2.CGX.
• The section with the level data has small bits of code where in the final this area is usually FF. This may be related to the aforementioned A Link to the Past content.

Further documentation can be found here.