Mario

The working beta title for this game was Super Mario Bros. DS. Also, during early stages of production, Mega Goombas were going to be a generic species (the result of a Goomba colliding with a Super Mushroom and powering up) rather than an individual boss. (It is possible that other enemies were to be compatible with this situation, too, considering the giant enemies like Super Dry Bones and Super Piranha Plant that remain in the game in generic, already-large forms.)

There was also supposed to be a Mario and Luigi co-op mode at a time. Interestingly, an illustration of beta map icons still exists as a screenshot on page twelve of the final game’s manual. There were originally three item reserve spots rather than one. There also was an underwater stage which also featured Manta Ray in VS. Mode. Spindrift was also supposed to be in the game, but got replaced by the blue spinning platforms in World 1-3 and other levels.

In another image, it’s possible to obtain the Blue Shell by first defeating a Blue Koopa Troopa. Then when the player Ground Pounds on the shell, the player gets in the shell and becomes Shell Mario. This feature is removed possibly because the designers wanted a power-up that can be obtained from a ? Block, however it survives in Vs. Mode.

Mega Mushrooms were also originally intended to be red. The advertisement accenting the Vs. mode revealed some levels that were not available on the final release, including a desert stage, an underwater stage and a few others. The Mega Mushroom was going to look like a large Super Mushroom rather than a chubby-looking mushroom that was yellow with red spots. [Info from Mariowiki]

The e3 05 had starmen, backflips, wall kicks and ground pounds the co-op was more of a competitive race, in the multiplayer mode there were lightning bolts that shrink the other player (still a lightning sprite can be found in the ROM somewhere), there were blue blocks that, if hit by the player behind, it would warp back the player in the lead. The demo at e3 05 had Field, Desert and Fortress levels to play.

Also, some unused gears models were found by Tanks in the games’ code! Some more info cames from UltimatePisman on Youtube, that went to Gameplay/TMF Game Awards 2005 and played a beta demo of NSMB.

“I’ve played only one level, through (the grass level).

But it’s not that I can remember much. In the menu’s, I could choose between a grass level, dessert level and underground level. There was a Warp Pipe, which shot me out to the other half of the level. And if I go to the Warp Pipe, which leads me to the right, I had to ground pound a giant Goomba. After that was finished, I had to hang on the flag at the end, with a block on the bottom.

Then it said “Thanks for playing”. That’s all I can remember.

Maybe that was Fortress. Looked like the Underground on the Menu.

Oh, and one more thing. I now remember the dancing mushroom platforms. And that the Giant Goomba became giant while touching a mushroom. It looked indentical to this one!

Only the Mario Kart Music couldn’t be there, since MKDS was in final, back then.

That mushroom with the Giant Goomba, I tried to get it.

But it hides back into the block. That’s the reason why I had to ground pound it. That’s what I remember, but I’m not sure about it, through.”

Some more info on the beta differences can be found at Flying Omelette. Also, more info can be found in the early interviews:

• When you collect 3 special mushrooms you turn giant
• There were mini mushroom powerups in the beta
• There were mushrooms that bend over depending on where you are standing on them maybe like the purple ones in the final version
• There were trees like those mushrooms they bend over
• There was a blue block when it gets hit by you it brings your oponent to your posistion
• There were starmen you could get them by ducking near a pipe
• There were lightning bolts that shrink the other player
• The red rings are checkpoints not making red coins apear
• Mega mushrooms have to be pumped out of ? blocks a few times to make them come out

Mariofanatic64 and Hiccup are working on a new a Beta Remake of New Super Mario Bros. Here are the features it will include:

The beta grassland and castle level from e3 2005 (see videos below)

The beta desert levels from e3 (see videos below)

Other beta levels based around screenshots

Beta Graphics

Beta sfx and music

You can check a video from this beta remake in here.

Thanks to FullMetalMC and Hiccup for the contributions and videos! Credit to Treeki and Sgaagar the Barbarian for their NSMB hacks!

Images:

Videos:

marios voice for jumping insted of sfx
differant backgrounds
differant ground ,blocks, pipes, coins, koopas, ? blocks, bricks, goombas
mega goomba boss goomba eats mushroom to grow
mario has his normal animations when he is mega(running and walking insted of stomping around)
bowser stands there and hes dead in one hit and in an overworld level

co-op
classic smb jumping sound
differant hud:
all hud is on bottom screen
progress bar is green, round, higher up, has flag icon for end of level insted of castle
three item slots
differant item slot powerup icons
old fashiond stop watch thing for timer icon

differant mario/luigi model
differant yelow wooden bricks
differant giant dry bones behaviour: the giant dy bones act like the small ones, they don’t need ground-pounding to be stund/brocken apart
coins don’t have ridges
lava is like the unused lava in the final game (in the unused/lost level)
? blocks are squarer
koopas darker
mushrooms are more spotty and squarer
blue rings [they are checkpoints]
pirana plants that are in pipes are bigger and stick out of the pipes more
pipes are smaller and the metal pipe joiner is squashed
sharks from final game have differant behavour
mega mushroom is bigger chubier wobaly and red
mega goombas as normal enemies
punching and kicking

differant castle background and tileset
differant grass background and tileset
differant desert background and tileset
differant cave background and tileset
differant underwater background and tileset

castle level looks simmilar to world 4 castle

classic smb jumping sound
empty ? blocks (? blocks after there hit) are yelow
no delay when you get a power up
phisics is differant (jumping + falling)
for the e3 demo there is no lives
! switches are big
platforms are differant (used in the final game once in turny platforms seen in this video as were in beta not unused)
! blocks (like from sm64)
doors are like the unused one in the final game (will be in my next nsmb unused/beta stuff video) (they make pipe sound in but not the final game)
differant boss room tileset
? switches are tiny and red
keys apear in the middle of the boss room (final game the key allways apears at the right)
? switch give you points and pops in a differant way and platforms oop differant when the key is got when they disapear
camera zooms in when key is got and boss defeating
mario does sumersult after getting key and defeating boss
mega mushrooms has to be pumped out of ? block a few times
kicking
mario can stomp run when he is mega
flag has empty block for base and red flag that faces right
camera zooms in when mario takes hat of at end of level
no castle
differant logo
differant sound effect for getting item out of item circles
blue ring [check points]

differant logo
says ‘MARIO START’
classic smb jumping sound
? blocks are squarer
coins have no ridges
mushrooms look differant
no power up delay
cannons blast higher
pipes look smaller
differant sound effect for getting item out of item circles
blue ring [check points]

Also, it appears that in some point of early development, NSMB could have been a 2.5d side scroller, much like Kirby 64, as 2 unused 3D models of a lift and Star Switch like the ones in Super Mario 64 DS, look awkward when seen in the view of normal NSMB levels. Either that, or they were meant for the world map.