First off, you want to search as many videos of it as you can. There are two beta’s out there; Beta A and Beta B. Beta B is a fan-made recreation, while Beta A is real… You can tell A from B in a video by the amount of completion. The video I commented on is the real beta, so get whatever you need for the HUD off there.

The behaviors are a lot different as well. Mario has more of a stumpy appearance, and because of this, his back is sort of arched back, his arms are shorter, and his legs are a little more delayed.

The colors are all about one or two hues lighter than the final release. Simply put (if you aren’t using an advanced game editor software), the blues are grayer, the yellows are whiter, and the reds are more pink.

The graphics, as I said, are a lot finer. The blocky edges in the final release are almost all rounded out, and and layers in anything that moves (notably Mario) are pretty much invisible.

The front yard outside the castle is pretty much the same. The trees have a slightly different form, but nothing major. The inside of the castle is also similar, but it lacks the indentation in the middle where the floor painting is, the floor painting itself, any artwork on the ceiling, and, in very early stages, stairs, although most beta’s have stairs. The keys also look more like keys for prison cells, and they spin 360 degrees left, right, up, and down. The Boos have a different form (more like the Boos in Super Mario Sunshine), but, again, nothing major.

The biggest difference with the levels is Big Boos mansion being in a door in the basement that is locked rather than in the courtyard (you need to kill the Boo that holds the mansion to get the key for this door). Additionally, Boos are present from the start of the game, rather than when you obtain 10 stars.

The first boss door requires 8 stars instead of 7.

Other differences that I don’t know you’ll have to Google search.

Have fun and good luck!

1. The rumours were all false, and Super Mario FX never really existed in any form.

2. This is what YuriOfWind said: “Nintendo locked it up in their imaginary game vault, the jerks!” That could prove something.

3. They WERE originally going to do it, but it’s like what happened with the FFIV concept(old Famicom); it was only done on paperwork.

4. This is the most likely: it will be shown in an Iwata Talks episode along with Super Mario 64 2.

Which do you think is true, guys?

Just been on Youtube looking for some episodes of Bad Influence (a games TV show in the early 90s aimed mainly at kids) and found some great footage of an early version of Mario 64 with some clips I’ve not seen before – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaVxxowHr6k

Pete.