SM64 Exposed Beta
By James S.
Here I talk about the beta, unused objects that still remain in the released versions of Super Mario 64 for the N64. I use my own findings to explain how the beta objects may have worked and to try to confirm how much of each beta object was left in the released games. Gameshark codes can be created to make use of these beta objects, showing how the game may have played in the beta version.
Note: 0x means a hex value (e.g., 0x1C).
Blargg
Blargg is a baddy known form Yoshi video games but he was to be an enemy in Super Mario 64 as both his graphics and animation are loaded in Bowser in the Fire Sea, Lethal Lava Land, and Wing Mario over the Rainbow. Blargg was probably only intended for Lethal Lava Land but due to the way Nintendo grouped certain graphics and animations together, Blargg can also be used in the other mentioned levels.
Blarr's apperance is far from finished; he has no textures meaning, most noticeably, he has no eyes. If the Blargg graphics and animations are used, Blargg appears quite small but his behaviour may have made him much bigger.
I have found only 2 Blargg animations which are (with their segment/offset values):
0x05006154 Sleeping (bobs up and down).
0x05006070 Attack (jumps up and opens mouth).
The behaviours for objects are set up using scripts which are lists of instructions, one of which sets the start of the object's animation (if it is to be animated), thus if the Blargg behaviour script was in the released game, we could find it by searching for Blargg's animation value, which appears to be 0500616C. However, that value is not used in any behaviour script, confirming that the Blargg behaviour is not (at least not in script form) in the released game. The fact that graphically Blargg is not finished further suggests that Nintendo did not do the Blargg behaviour or it was taken out before the released game (but that is very unlikely since behaviour scripts take up very little space compared to graphics and animation data).
Boo key
Going by the beta screenshots, Mario would have to collect a key (very different from the keys you get from Bowser) from possibly Big Boo or perhaps all the smaller Boos. Although the Boo key was probably only to be used in Big Boo's Haunt, the Boo key graphic is also loaded in the courtyard with the Boos.
There doesn't seem to be any behaviour coding that updates the Boo key display (see below) that uses the key character only in the Japanese versions of the game. We can try to find the Boo key behaviour by searching for its graphic ID, which is a value that represents the graphic that is used for creating the object. The Boo key graphic ID is 0x55 which can be found, along with a behaviour value, in the list of preset object values:
13001778 00550000
The segment/offset behaviour value is first, followed by the graphic ID.
If an object is spawned with the above values in Big Boo's Haunt or the courtyard with the Boos, it spawns the Boo key which rotates on two axes. Collecting the key removes it and spawns some sparkles but there is no collect sound and the key display does not show. This suggests that the behaviour was never finished, possibly because Nintendo ran out of time or because collecting the Boo keys was scrapped but the remains of the Boo key and other features were left in as unused.
Boo key display
We know from beta screenshots and videos that it was originally intended for the player to collect keys in possibly Big Boo's Haunt to unlock the doors. What keys that Mario has collected were to be displayed at the right of the screen with up to 6 keys could be shown at once. The actual mechansim for displaying the keys remains in the released versions, however, the key symbol is an actual textual character and is only in the two Japanese versions of the game. In the PAL UK version the key symbol is replaced by the Ü character and in the NTSC USA version it appears as a glitched-up character (since the game is trying to use a character that isn't there).
There appears to be no behaviours to make use of the key display so perhaps Nintendo never got around to adding that feature. If the keys were to be used to unlock doors then there must have been plans to develop a behaviour that would allow using the collected keys to unlock the doors in Big Boo's Haunt. Note that the key display works in all levels but that probably isn't significant since the key display would only display after collecting keys in Big Boo's Haunt.
Mine
We know from a video showing the beta version of Super Mario 64 that there were to be mines in the tunnel area underwater in what looked like Dire, dire docks but in the released game they are replaced with rings of coins. However, the same graphics used for the mines are used in the Bowser boss fights as a way of defeating Bowser but as that is also shown in a video of the beta version it's hard to say if the mines were used first in the water levels or the Bowser fight levels. Interestingly, if Mario makes contact with any of the bombs in the Bowser fight levels he will be harmed, which would be like the behaviour of a water mine. I've always thought it strange that Mario could actually be harmed by the Bowser fight level mines since if you blew up enough of the mines there wouldn't be any left to defeat Bowser.
The mine graphic is loaded in the three Bowser fight levels, Dire, dire docks, Jolly Roger Bay, The Secret Aquarium and Wet-Dry World. Although the mine graphic looks the same as the bomb graphic in the Bowser fight levels, the mine graphic loaded in the water levels is actually smaller than the graphic used in the Bowser fight levels. Most strange is that in the Bowser fight levels there are two mine graphics loaded (that is, two separate graphical objects) but they are the same size and look the same in every other way and use the same polygon data.
Small ice bully
The small ice bully graphic and animation are loaded in Cool, cool mountain and Snowman's Land which makes perfect sense that they were to be used in those courses, the same two levels that can have the big ice bully object (although the big ice bully only appears in Snowman's Land). What's a little strange is that the small and big ice bullies are separate models when, assuming no other complications, the bully could have been sized differently using its behaviour.
Since the big ice bully is used in Snowman's Land we know its animation value (segment/offset value: 0x06003994) from its behaviour script. As both the small and big ice bully have the same animation, logic tells us if there is a small ice bully behaviour we can find it by searching for the big ice bully behaviour animation value which leads to behaviour 0x130036C8. If this behaviour is used along with the small ice bully graphic ID (0x64) we can spawn what appears to be the small ice bully, which gives a single yellow coin when defeated.
Yoshi egg
Yoshis were hatched from eggs in the Mario games prior to Super Mario 64 so it is not much of a surprise that the Yoshi egg is a beta item in Super Mario 64. The Yoshi egg graphic is loaded in Tick Tock Clock, Wet-Dry World and Whomp's Fortress; which level or levels the Yoshi egg was to be used in is anybody's guess. Since the Yoshi graphic is loaded only outside the castle (you meet him on top of the castle using the cannon after getting all the stars), it makes it even harder to work out which level Mario was to hatch Yoshi from an egg. Possibly, as Nintendo were running out of time, or because of some other complication, the Yoshi graphics was moved to the level outside the castle for the sake of the bonus for getting all the stars.
There is no fruit graphic (fruit was used to hatch Yoshis in other Mario games) so there could have been another use for the Yoshi egg, which would have been to thrown them, possibly as Yoshi (as in SM64 DS, although in that game the Yoshi eggs are 3D but then again SM64 is a more modern game).
The animation of the Yoshi egg is made up of 8 frames and looks like the egg getting stretched vertically possibly as an idle animation or for when it hatches. Here are the Yoshi egg texture values (segment/offset), starting with the egg at its smallest height to its greatest height:
0x05008FB8
0x050087B8
0x05007FB8
0x050077B8
0x05006FB8
0x050067B8
0x05005FB8
0x050057B8
It is good reasoning that the Yoshi egg would have been animated similiar to the coins, that is, by displaying each frame in sequence. And as with the coins, selecting those different animation frames would probably have been done by the Yoshi egg behaviour (if it was ever made). However, because a 2D animation was used with the Yoshi egg it makes it much more difficult to find the Yoshi egg behaviour (if it exists) since a behaviour script can only directly set a 3D animation to be used by an object.
The Yoshi egg graphic (which includes all the animation values) has a Graphic ID of 0x57 and can be used with any object in the levels where the Yoshi egg graphic is loaded. Just like with the coins, changing the value at offset 0xF0 in any object that uses the Yoshi egg graphic will select a different animation frame (the value is 32-bit and ranges from 0x00000000 to 0x00000007).
It is well known that there are many different colour Yoshis but the Yoshi in Super Mario 64 is green as is the Yoshi egg. Nintendo used a techniue to colour 2D objects different colours (such as the coins) by using a grey texture and then applying the required colour to the texture, but the Yoshi egg textures are not grey, which suggests only a green Yoshi egg was to be used.
About the Beta SM64
From screenshots, magazines and videos of Super Mario 64 while it was in the beta stage, we know the following:
* Mario could spin jump instead of double jump.
* Yellow coins were more like how they were in previous Mario games (without the star design).
* After defeating Bowser, Mario gets a (2D) yellow star and lots of coins.
* In (Dire, dire docks?) there are mines (that look like the spike bombs used to defeat Bowser) in the tunnel area.
* There is a silver star on Bowser's sub (in Dire, dire docks?).
* The HUD was more like in older Mario games.
* The power meter had a pointer (arrow) design.
* Many of the textures were very different.
* In Big Boo's Haunt, a key could be collected from a Boo (perhaps to unlock the doors). We know there was a key display suggesting that more than one key could be collected.
More to be added soon!
All content of this and related pages is copyright (c) James S. 2003-2009