Dragon Marked For Death

Dragon Marked For Death is what happens when you smash together Mega Man Zero, Xanadu, and Sorcerian, make it multiplayer, then spend 14 years trying to fix it without exploding. Now you have a 2008 game released in 2019.

DMFD is a multiplayer-focused 2D side-scrolling action game for up to 4 players. It was in development from 2006-2019, spanning through four console generations (PSP, Xbox 360, 3DS, and Switch). The game was further heavily updated throughout 2020.

Unsurprisingly, it's probably the Inti Creates game with the most unused content ever.

Notes Unused TextUnused translations, unused items, unused flavor text, unused... everything. You are pretty much going to find the entire script here!

Unused Areas#

To do: Add footage of the blocked-off area from the Quest "Lost in White", which is confirmed a remnant of an early version of the Tarpol Mountains (Quest "The Frigid Nest") from one of the pre-release English livestreams. Discovered by Adroit Fang (please add the credit when completed).

Debug Room#

Watch on YouTube

The Debug Room is stored in the file st000.stb (hashed as 60e85a0ef47154b0ad108220b60b374e in the Steam version).

The room contains several similar slope testing areas with different tile types (normal, ice, conveyor belt, etc.). When loaded in place of the Sica Village location in the quest "Ogre Fort," the Debug Room has no associated minimap, and the player spawns on a semi-jagged hill area. The room ends with a long, empty stretch and a wall of normal tiles.

Lanza Channel Second Boat#

Watch on YouTube

Turn on captions for more information.

Located directly to the right of the main boat is a separate map for a second boat that appears to be floating in midair, complete with its own mini-map. However, the mini-map does not match the actual location of the second boat. There is no water, no sails, and the ceiling is very low, so that the player cannot stand on the top masts. The walls and floor have collision detection. There is a wooden door that cannot be opened leading into the hull, but it is impossible to enter the hull, even through no-clipping.

Tarpol Mountains Placeholder Tiles and Odd Map Placement#

Watch on YouTube

Turn on captions for more information.

In the top-left corner of the map, there are white, hollow placeholder tiles as well as what looks to be a remnant or a copy of some level tiles. Some tiles at the top include ice spikes, wooden platforms, broken wooden platforms, and some background elements. This continues until around the middle of the overall mountain map.

There appears to be an unreachable tree branch placed much higher than the other branches. In the quest "Over the Ice Wall," this branch is accompanied by a tree stump that the Empress can hook onto. However, there are no other tree stumps near that area.

In the quest "Over the Ice Wall," there is a switch across the far-right barrier of the mountain. Clipping there reveals that it is attached to the wall you must destroy in the quest "The Frigid Nest".

Labyrinth of Flame Lower Area#

Watch on YouTube

Turn on captions for more information.

Located directly underneath the main map, there appears to be an unused or placeholder loading area, with its own mini-map. This area does not appear to be traversable by any normal means. There is a copy of one of the Asura Goblin boss areas in the middle of the map. Most of it is submerged in a void with various background assets floating around. Some areas are covered in the fog filter, while others are not. There is no barrier at the bottom of the map, so it is possible to get lost by falling into the void while the camera does not follow.

Developer Text in Maps#

Watch on YouTube

Unused Enemy Content#

Unused Common Enemy Palettes#

Name	Icon	Sprites (Mockup)	Notes
Asura Bat
Battle Crab	N/A		Most likely Wind element
Demonpillar			Most likely Fire element
Demonpillar			Most likely Thunder element
Flygolin	N/A		Most likely Wind element
Flygolin	N/A		Most likely Poison element
Flygolin	N/A		Most likely Fire element
Lampic			Most likely Ice element
Ogre	N/A
Skullbee
Skullbee
Tough Chick			Most likely related to the unused enemy name "Metal Chick"
Tough Chick
Void Spider	N/A
Void Spider	N/A		Was accidentally used in the first launch of the PS4 version of DMFD
Watcher

Unused Boss Enemy Palettes#

Name	Icon	Sprites (Mockup)
Jinryu / The Celestial's Goliath
Lycanthrope

Mismatched Lycanthrope Icons#

Unused (Correct)	Used (Incorrect)

Although the actual white-haired, pink-colored Lycanthrope palette is unused, it is incorrectly used as the Lycanthrope's icon in the final game.

Unused Enemy Icons#

These "enemies" are in the game, but do not necessarily appear on the HUD as such.

Unused NPC Content#

Medius City NPCs#

Medius City "Hopeless" Sprites#

Every interactable NPC in Medius City, both in the slums and in the Upper City, have unused sprites where they appear to look sad, hopeless, and almost lifeless. There are no transitional animations for these sprites. Currently, it is unknown what would have triggered these sprites to appear. According to DMFD's director Ryota Ito in a 2020 interview:

"Early designs for DMFD shared a system with Dragon Contract — 'Sacrifice.' The protagonist could offer the souls of his allies to the elder dragons in exchange for power. Using the dragon’s power would cause these allies’ souls to slowly erode though, which eventually rendered them unable to talk."⁶

Based on the early DMFD designs and the lack of transitional animations, these sprites may have been intended to appear as a consequence of sacrificing the related NPCs' souls.

np131_np Unused NPC#

This hooded old man NPC was discovered in the file "np131_np", located alphabetically next to the NPC Ciconia ("np130_np") from the Dragonblood Bandit DLC scenario. He has an unused dialogue mugshot and a single animation of him stroking his beard. He does not appear in any known concept art.

Philip Unused NPC Sprites#

Philip, the General Store (Upper City) shopkeeper, has unused animated sprites for a cut appearance in the town.

Melior Unused NPC Sprites#

Melior, the Weapons Shop (Upper City) shopkeeper, has unused animated sprites for a cut appearance in the town.

Dreaming of Treasure Canere Run Animation#

Canere from the quest "Dreaming of Treasure" has an unused run animation. In the final game, Canere is idle.

Sea of Tumult Bandero Animations#

Bandero from the quest "Sea of Tumult" has unused blinking and pouch animations.

Dangerous Wine Caymar Animations#

Caymar from the quest "Dangerous Wine" has unused coughing and walking animations. These animations are identical to those of the NPC Capire from the Upper City.

Cruise Escort Yunda Animations#

Yunda from the quest "Cruise Escort" has unused coughing and walking animations. These animations are identical to those of the NPC Capire from the Upper City, but in a blue costume instead of maroon.

Over the Ice Wall Bao Run Animation#

To do: Rearrange the order of the sprites and fix the animated gif (the order of sprites seems to have been mistakenly put backwards).

Bao from the quest "Over the Ice Wall" has an unused run animation. In the final game, Bao is idle.

Werewolf Hunting Cauda Walk Animation#

Cauda from the quest "Werewolf Hunting" has an unused walk animation. In the final game, Cauda is idle.

The Bell Tolls Gratio Animations#

Gratio from the quest "The Bell Tolls" has unused blinking and coughing animations. The coughing animation is identical to that of the NPC Capire from the Upper City.

Haunting Grounds Wursuth Animations#

Wursuth from the quest "Haunting Grounds" has unused blinking, neck scratching, and walking animations.

Twin Dragon's End Unknown Character#

This unknown NPC from the quest "Twin Dragon's End" has unused blinking, sighing, and surveying animations. This character is shown in the game's concept art as "シスター系" but currently does not have any known in-game name.

The Sleeping Tome Kasper Animations#

Kasper from the quest "The Sleeping Tome" has unused scratching and walking animations.

A Cry from the Tower Propei Shivering Animations#

Propei from the quest "A Cry from the Tower" has unused shivering and walking animations.

Pillar Maintenance Paries Animations#

Paries from the quest "Pillar Maintenance" has unused animations for walking, getting alarmed, and dying. Combined with the stage dialogue, these animations imply that "Pillar Maintenance" may have been an escort mission (similar to "Undying Dragon" and "The Castle Burns") at some point. In the final game, Paries simply arrives at the top of the tower before the player.

Interestingly, a unique idle animation, in which he blinks then thumbs his nose, plays only after the quest end gate appears. The nose-thumbing and the hammering animation are the only used animations Paries has.

Unused Graphics#

Playable Character Mugshots#

Original from the sprite sheet	Edited for clarity

Unused mugshots for the first four playable characters were discovered in the top left of the raw Mugshots sprite sheet. For some reason, these four mugshots are the only ones with a shadow covering. According to Inti Creates's president Takuya Aizu in a 2018 interview:

"One of the biggest things you wouldn’t know just from the original trailer is that there’s a main story for the game. Also, each of the four characters, Empress, Warrior, Shinobi, and the Witch, have their own individual stories. When playing online, players will be able to progress their respective character’s story by playing the same map and advance that character’s story at the player’s own pace. There comes a point in the story where the stories intertwine and you find a common enemy to fight later on in the game."⁷

It is likely that these mugshots are remnants of when each playable character was supposed to have individual narratives.

Similar, albeit scrunched-up, mugshots were used as placeholder character icons in the Party menu during the Hangin' at Inti HQ Livestream on September 27, 2018 (YouTube, Timestamped 40:18).

Status Effects and Icons#

To do: Confirm which version of the game had enemies with elemental resistances

• Status effects in the first column are completely unused. The first most likely indicates "DEF Up."
• Status effects in the second column were used from Version... [wip]
• Status effects in the third column are completely unused. It is unknown what their functions were, though they seem to relate to aggro, escorts, sight, smell, and hearing.
• The icon in the fourth column, which is a drop of water or a smooth gemstone, appears to indicate a collection quest that was removed or revamped.

Silver Artifacts#

These sprites were likely used for a fetch quest that was scrapped or revamped.

Tarpol Mountains Alabaster Moon Background#

This unused background in the stage "Tarpol Mountains" appears to be a recolor and edit of the red sky background seen in the stage "Ensys Castle." Unlike the background in "Ensys Castle," this background contains a white moon and animated shooting stars (not pictured). In the final game, the only background used in the stage is a cloudy, grey background.

This background was used in the stage "Tarpol Mountains" during the Hangin' at Inti HQ Livestream on September 27, 2018 (YouTube, timestamped 56:45).

Quest Tag with Writing Animation#

This is a manually arranged mockup animation of an unused quest tag sprite. It shares the spritesheet with the quest roster showing the "CLR" and "NEW" sprites. The style of the tag—a scrap of paper with a yellow loop at the end—has a similar design as the "Depart" tag seen in the Recruit menu. The red text appears to spell out "Investigating." Currently, it is unknown what this tag was for.

Fingerprint Quest Stamp#

These two fingerprint sprites share the spritesheet with the quest roster showing the "CLR" and "NEW" sprites. For some reason, there is a large and small variant. Currently, it is unknown what these stamps were for.

Blue and Red Clear Quest Stamps#

These four Clear sprites share the spritesheet with the quest roster showing the "CLR" and "NEW" sprites. For some reason, there are large and small variants. Currently, it is unknown what these stamps were for.

Event Splash Arrows#

These arrows share the spritesheet with the Event Splashes reading "Quest Start" and "Time Up," for example.

These arrows were used as pointers in various stages during the Hangin' at Inti HQ Livestream on September 27, 2018 (YouTube).

"Danger" and "Go!!" Event Splashes#

Currently, it is unknown exactly what these splashes were for.

"Medius City" Location Splashes#

Language	Graphic
Japanese & English
Korean
Chinese (Traditional)

Location splashes for an area called "Medius City" are available in the Japanese (English), Korean, and Chinese (Traditional) spritesheets. Location splashes appear only at the beginnings of quests. While Medius City is a location in the game (notably the Upper City), it is not considered a quest as it instead serves as a hub area.

Bar Details Menu Background#

This sprite was found in the sprite sheet with the Bar's town background. Based on the shape of the sections in this sprite and the stamp, it seems to have been used to list player details. Currently, it is unknown how this details menu was originally supposed to look like.

In the final game, player details are listed simply on a clean, rectangular menu style within the Party menu.

Old Tutorial Paper Pop-ups#

These paper tutorial pop-ups (file name "zentame00") appeared in the Quest "The Doomed Clan" in one of the older builds of DMFD, during an English stream. (NOTE: PLEASE PUT A LINK AND TIMESTAMP -G.R)

Old Atruum's Den Menu Graphics#

This is the old version of the Atruum's Den (in this sheet, "Dragon's Cave") menu graphics (file name "s_o0301") featured in the "System" page of the Dragon Marked For Death official website.

Unseen Graphics#

Although these graphics are in the game, they are obscured by other elements such as text or extend past the borders of the camera.

Character Healthbars#

Underneath the the character icons and other components, the character healthbars have eye sockets and other details.

Uos Tower Third Floor Background#

The margins of this background stretching to Hasta (far left), Marlayus (far right), and the bottom of Litus (bottom) cannot be seen in the game.

Cadena Forest Hasta Background#

This background is used in the beginning area of the quest "Undying Dragon." It depicts the Hasta Divine Weapon behind the port town. However, nearly the whole top half of this background cannot be seen in the game, even at high altitude.

Muramasa Castle Moon Background#

This background in the stage "Muramasa Castle" is obscured by a large moving cloud sprite.

Bandit Poison Contract Dragon Dash#

To do: Recolor using Bandit's Poison Contract palette.

This graphic is in the game, but may be hard to see due to being obscured by special effects and other sprites.

Unused Items#

Food Drops#

These raw meat, green apples, and green cacao fruit are in the sprite sheet for Item Drops, but are unused.

• The raw meat sprites are recolors of the cooked meat sprites.
• The green apple sprites are recolors of the red apple sprites with added leaves at the top.
• The green cacao fruit is a recolor of the pink cacao fruit.

Black Market Item Chest#

Version 2.0.0n (Nintendo Switch only) introduced the Black Market system, along with the Black Market Item Chest. These small chests had a chance of dropping from certain enemies, with specific crafting materials inside. For example, killing a Battle Crab may drop an item chest with a Crab Claw. Version 2.2.0n removed the old Black Market Item Chest system and replaced it with the regional coins system. Any crafting materials earned from Black Market Item Chests could be exchanged for Litus coins.

Unused Gemstone Drops#

These gemstone drops were intended for the DLC quest "Paying the Miser". Currently, it is unknown how many points these gemstones gave.

Unused Ice Crystal Drop#

Unused	Used

This ice crystal drop was intended for the quest "Frozen Fusion". Although it has a noticeably different design from the used ice crystals, the ice crystal on the left has the exact same color palette as the crystals on the right. Currently, it is unknown how many points this ice crystal gave.

Gold Enhance Cube#

Enhance Cube	Screenshot	Amount
Gold Enhance Cube (Unused)		10 of Silver; 20 of Green; 40 of Blue; 80 of Red
Silver Enhance Cube		2 of Green; 4 of Blue; 8 of Red
Green Enhance Cube		2 of Blue; 4 of Red
Blue Enhance Cube		2 of Red
Red Enhance Cube		1 of Red

This unused Gold Enhance Cube Item exists in Version 3.1.5 but can only be hacked in. There is also no known graphic available for Gold Enhance Cube in any game version.

Unused Objects#

Pots#

Three pots are unused for unknown reasons.

• The first is a striped pot with a woven cover.
• The second is a red variant of the blue pot seen in the stage "Muramasa Castle".
• The third appears to be an industrial-themed pot related to the Pagnas region ("Tarpol Mountains" and "Labyrinth of Flame").

Cavern of Torment Breakable Block#

This unused block with a red eye in the center is from the stage objects spritesheet of the quest "Cavern of Torment". Currently, the behavior of this object is unknown.

Tarpol Mountains Bunny#

This is a mockup animation of the snow bunny found in the stage objects spritesheet of the stage "Tarpol Mountains". For some reason, there are stray red pixels in some of the frames. Currently, the behavior of this object is unknown.

Ensys Castle Rusted Bell#

Unused	Used

According to the priest's intro dialogue in the quest "The Bell Tolls," there was originally going to be a rusted bell that the player would have to clean before ringing. This is reflected in the objects spritesheet of the stage "Ensys Castle." In the final game, instead of a rusted bell, the bell is already clean.

Unused Treasure Chests#

In the spritesheet for treasure chests, there are two unused ones: a large yellow treasure chest and a small red treasure chest. Currently, it is unknown what these treasure chests were for.

Unused Abilities#

Unused Incantations and Incantation Levels#

The second unused incantation sprite is similar to the Regen incantation sprite in the final game. The fourth seems to be an alternate version of the Cure incantation. Currently, it is unknown how these unused incantations functioned.

These unused incantation levels imply that that the Witch and Oracle were originally going to be able to cast BXBXBXBX up to 4 times (Level 5).

These Level 4 and Level 5 incantation sprites were used in place of Level 2 and Level 3 incantations during the Hangin' at Inti HQ Livestream on September 27, 2018 (YouTube, Timestamped 58:54). In that build, the level-ups seemed to tint basic Wind attacks purple, and Homing Wind attacks bright green.

Warrior Guard Point#

This ability was originally used for the Warrior and the Axe weapon type. The Warrior's shield would flash orange before performing an attack similar to the Greatsword Tackle in the final game. The shield could be held onto for longer. If an enemy hit the Warrior while the shield was up, the Warrior would not be knocked over.

This ability was shown in the Hangin' at Inti HQ Livestream on August 23, 2018 (YouTube, Timestamped 32:33).

References#