This is a sub-page of Mega Man 3 (NES).
Unused Tiles#
Magnet Man#
A number of unused tiles for Magnet Man's stage, including an electric current, broken platforms, and some little smiley faces.
While never constructed in the ROM's data, here's a mockup of what some of the broken platforms might have looked like in context. The wire ones in particular needed minor color corrections to fit with the stage's background palette, implying that the background itself might have looked slightly different at one point.
And another reconstruction of how the other metatiles could've been used, compared to their in-game counterparts above. It seems most of these background tiles would have been used for added variation (with exception of the third, which outright completes a tile that seems to be missing a corner). While it is unknown what the remaining striped metatiles were used for, they could have been prototypes for the rings on the stage's mechanical purple cylinders.
It should also be noted that with some of the tiles being broken, there exists a possibility that Magnet Man's stage was once intended to have been reused as a Doc Robot stage instead of Spark Man's. Doc Robot stages tend to have a destruction/decay theme to them, as can be observed in Spark Man's Doc Robot stage. Curiously, a prerelease screenshot shows their positions on the stage select screen were the other way around at some point.
Hard Man#
And near the bottom of the tileset is this piece, which fits the most closely with the metal girders found in the foreground.
Unused Blocks 16x16#
Needle Man#
Background Blocks#
Two unused tiles for Needle Man's stage.
Gemini Man#
Big Planet#
This giant Saturn-esque planet is supposed to appear at the beginning of Gemini Man's stage. Despite taking up a large chunk of CHR ROM and boasting a unique animation using two of the four background palettes, it's never actually seen. The planet's background tiles are placed on the second screen of both versions of Gemini Man's stage, however, the stage uses a parallax scrolling technique that only uses the starfield background from the first screen, preventing the planet from ever being seen. The planet uses background palette 2, while the rings use background palette 1, with the exception of one metatile which mistakenly uses palette 1 in the normal version of the stage.
Multiple planets can be seen in early shots of Gemini Man's stage.
(Screenshot: Chris Covell)
Hard Man#
Floor Blocks#
With countless tiles that make up the grounds, walls and ceilings of Hard Man's stage, there were bound to be some casualties.
Background Blocks#
These unused tiles appear to be for the mountains in the exterior sections of the stage.
Top Man#
Unused Spikes#
Two unused background tiles for a different spike graphic and a background detail that may have been used for pits or even in conjunction with this spike. Despite never being used in the stage, the spike's metatile is perfectly functional.
Early Background Metatiles#
In-Game |
Hex Values |
Recreations |
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An early screenshot of Top Man's stage shows it using a very different background: There is a fence at the top of the screen and a city with towers at the bottom. The 16×16 metatiles for this background are actually still defined, but the individual 8×8 tiles that comprise them have been replaced with square placeholders. The cycling palette used by the light panels in the background was likely a darker blue originally.
(Source: Chris Covell (Scan), Dragonsbrethren (8×8 tile recreations))
Circle Background#
In-Game |
Hex Values |
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In addition to these, there are also 16×16 metatiles for background structures not seen in any shots: Something circular, which has been partially overwritten by tiles used in the final stage, and a standing structure of sorts with one of its tiles still present.
Snake Man#
Unused Ladders#
A variant of white ladders with a blue background that is not used at any point in stage.
Beam Platform#
A construction beam-like platform, defined as block 66 in the game. It's a simple solid tile that uses the fourth stage palette.
Palette 4 might have changed at some point in development; as it is now, one of the colors is used for the animated cloud effect, and that color is also used on this block, creating an unintended transparency effect.
Unknown Blocks#
In-Game |
Hex Values |
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These eight 16×16 blocks in Snake Man's stage are unused. The original graphics for these blocks were overwritten by the Proto Man stopper used in Gemini Man's stage. Some of them can be seen in-game via a glitch: if you play Gemini Man's stage and do a precise slide-jump to skip the Proto Man cutscene, the penguin mechs seen later on will be a garbled mass of sprites, including some of these unused Snake Man tiles.
The four blocks on the first row, 46-47 and 4E-4F use Palette 4. The blocks on the second row, 56-57 and 5E-5F, use Palette 2. All eight blocks are defined as solid foreground pieces.
Spark Man#
Broken Ladders#
Despite their appearance, these 16×16 metatiles actually function as a ladder. The upper tile is the top of a ladder, while the lower tile is a standard ladder. They were probably drawn for the destroyed version of the stage, but aren't used in any of the 32×32 metatiles.
Broken Mesh#
This tile would've been used for the background mesh seen in various parts of the Doc Robot version of this stage.
Broken Floor?#
There is a variation of the floor that is never used in the level, which, interestingly, has some placeholder tiles, in addition to using the same color palette seen in the junkyard section.
Unused Spikes#
The graphics and individual 16×16 metatiles are all that remain of these spikes; however, they do still work as intended. Pop!
Unknown Object#
Although it's not known exactly what it was supposed to be, it still exhibits collision, which means it may have been used as some kind of object or platform.
Shadow Man (Normal)#
Unused Ladders#
Although this version of the stage never uses ladders, the blocks are still present, meaning that this was considered at some point, since they still function. Interestingly, the placement of the 16x16 blocks for the ladders is completely different in the Doc Robot version of the stage.
Metal Bar#
A metal bar that strangely uses the background palette but has collision. Furthermore, these graphics are the same as those used on the metal bars seen in the Doc Robot version of the stage.
Background Blocks#
Unused parts of the background of the filtration drains
Unknown Blocks#
Several blocks whose true purpose is unknown, which use the first palette that is not used at any point in the level, it is worth noting that none of them have collision.
Wily Stage 1#
Doors Horizontal#
These horizontal shutter tiles should have been used to lock the boss arena from the top. It's properly set up as block 0D, with the same definitions as the normal shutter. Interestingly, horizontal shutters appeared in Elec Man and Bomb Man's stages in the first game.
Early Wily 4 Assets#
Unused |
Wily 4 Assets |
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Although Wily Stage 1 and 4 share the same graphics, this does not apply to their 16x16 block assets, and curiously, Wily Stage 1 likely has leftover block assets from a possible early version of Wily Stage 4!
Wily Stage 2 & 3 & 5#
Background Block#
An unused background tile for Wily 3's boss room.
Unused Blocks 32x32#
Needle Man#
(Normal)#
IDs $E6, $E7, $E8, $E9, $EA, $EB, $EC, $ED, are unused layout blocks that are present in a room in an early version of the game.
ID $EE, probably leftovers from an early version of the background.
Magnet Man#
ID $F0, a block with part of a staircase and shaded ceiling that would be used in the small item room, which was already used in an early version of the game.
ID $F1, a block variant with a small platform, but instead of being located at the bottom left like the block ID $CB, it is on the right side.
IDs $F2, $F3, $F4, $F5 Probably walls or platform edges near a hole, or in the black part of the background on the outside.
Gemini Man#
(Normal)#
ID $A6, there is an unused boss door block with part of the background present.
ID $A7, there is a block with two shiny stones, part of the background showing. They can be found in an early version of the game.
ID $A8, a block with two small stones on the left side, probably intended for some kind of wall.
ID $A9, $AA, there are two floor blocks with a hole in the middle.
ID $AB, $AC, $AD, $AE, $AF, $B0, $B1, $B2, $B3, these are leftover block layouts removed from the water section, which was present in the early version of the game.
ID $B4, there's a block with two pole eggs on a black background. This was probably used in an early version of the game in the location below where the mystery box is situated.
ID $B5, a block with two small stones on the right side, probably intended for some kind of wall.
Top Man#
ID $E3, a stair block with slight shading on the ceiling that is not used in the level.
ID $E4, $E5, floor blocks with a metal bar on the right, which is not used in the level.
Snake Man#
IDs $E1, $E2, there are variations on the left side of the background with large bricks that are not used.
ID $E3, there are parts of the pipes, but in a background with large bricks.
IDs $E4, $E5, $E6, $E7, $E8, $E9, $EA, there are early version of the green flying platforms from the outside session.
Spark Man#
(Normal)#
IDs $DE, $DF, $EC, $ED, $EE, there are several variations of the metal tubes that are not used. Interestingly, blocks $DE and $DF are versions of these tubes that are not connected to the complete tube, looking much more like flying platforms, something that is not seen at any point in the level!
IDs $E0, $E1, $E2, $E3, $E4, $E5, $E6, $E7, $E8, various pieces representing broken robots and other miscellaneous machines. Curiously, they are the only pieces in the stage behind which Mega Man can walk! It's safe to assume they were originally placed at the bottom of the long vertical shaft in the middle of the stage, in the corridor with the garbage chutes.
This screenshot is a mockup of what the area might have looked like; the more compact-looking tiles on the right are actually the solid junk tiles used in the final game.
Wily Stage 1#
ID $A0, $9F, $A1, there are some background blocks that are not used in the level.
ID $A2, $A3, there are two blocks of ground floor with part of the metal platforms.
Wily Stage 2 & 3 & 5#
ID $DC, a platform that looks like metal tubes, probably intended for some kind of boss.
Unused Palette#
Top Man#
Unused Orange Palette |
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This palette is loaded after descending the first ladder: It replaces the fourth BG palette, which is used by the light panels, the Tama minibosses, and the early 16×16 metatiles mentioned above. It is only loaded for three screens and doesn't really fit any of the final graphics it's applied to.
Shadow Man#
Unused First Palette |
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The first palette seen in the stage isn't really used anywhere, apart from some 16x16 blocks that aren't used either. In the Doc Robot version, this palette was eventually replaced by the red spikes palette.