List of Super Mario Bros. pre-release and unused content

This is a list of pre-release and unused content for the game Super Mario Bros.

Early iteration

The development of Super Mario Bros. began with a 16x32 pixel square used as a placeholder, which could not jump at all and moved about a single screen. After taking notice of the sales figures for Mario Bros., Takashi Tezuka proposed the idea of using Mario for the game to Shigeru Miyamoto, which was accepted. Visible checkpoints were considered in development.

Sketch of a cloud level.

The game was initially far more focused on shooting than platforming. Mario could carry weapons (with a rifle and a "beam gun" mentioned as being usable), and the control scheme was different; the up arrow of the was used to jump, while pressing used whatever item Mario carried or kicked when empty-handed.

The game was initially divided between ground and sky segments, which had Mario riding a rocket (or a cloud in later stages of development) and shooting enemies. The sky-based bonus round of the final game are apparently a remnant of this idea.

Shigeru Miyamoto initially wanted Mario to ride a dinosaur-like creature in the game, but technical limitations of the NES prevented the concept from being implemented. This idea eventually evolved into Yoshi, who was able to be introduced in Super Mario World for the more powerful Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The development sketches included in Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition show that the game initially had screen-by-screen scrolling (similar to the later-released Super Mario Bros. Special) rather than continuous scrolling as in the final version.

Concept artwork was released in Super Mario Maker promotional videos. In one piece, it is shown that the Turtle Tribe were tentatively named and designed after the Shellcreepers from Mario Bros., in addition to a cut enemy resembling unshelled Koopa from Super Mario World. Another piece shows a cut cannon-operating turtle resembling a Hammer Brother. The red Koopa Troopa's Japanese description in one of these sketches states that it would "walk a little faster," similar to how the red Shellcreepers behaved compared to their green-shelled counterparts. Other unused enemies from these sketches contain a Koopa Paratroopa with a seemingly pterosaur-like head, a Spiny-like enemy that would "start a fire with concentric steps," and an early version of Bowser referred to as the "Boss Creeper."

More concept artwork would be revealed two days after the game's 38th year since its Japanese release, which showed an early version of the Fire Flower that looked somewhat like the Power Flower from Super Mario 64 DS with a "P" on it, as well as a never-before-seen enemy resembling a serpentine dragon with three spikes on its head and an underbite akin to the final game's Goombas (similar to the Snake enemies in Mario Clash).

• 

  The original control scheme

• 

  Several Turtle Tribe members

• 

  Other early enemy concepts

• 

  Early, unused poses for Super Mario

• 

  Mario riding a dinosaur-like creature that would later become Yoshi

• 

  Concept art of Princess Toadstool, the mushroom retainers, a Podoboo, and an early tileset

• 

  An early green title screen

• 

  Concept art of the scrapped sky segments

• 

  Another piece of concept art for the sky segments

• 

  More concept art of Super Mario, with more unused poses, with what appears to be a propeller hat similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii's Propeller Mushroom

• 

  Even more concept art of Super Mario

• 

  Early sprites for Small Mario, reusing his walk cycle from Family BASIC

• 

  An early Fire Flower

• 

  A dragon/snake-like enemy

• 

  Early sprites of Bowser

• 

  Concept art of Bowser, then named "Boss Creeper"

Early builds

Ending theme

Koji Kondo originally composed the "Ending" theme with an AABA structure, but, since the song would take up too much memory, the "B" portion was cut. The original version of the ending theme was later used for the Famicom Disk System version of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

Unused Game Over theme

An unused alternate version of the Game Over theme was found in the game's code. It was very similar to the regular Game Over theme, but was more simple.

Unused content

There is a brown ball that looks similar to the top of the flagpole. Mario can climb it, similar to a vine. When he climbs the object, the sound made when hitting a block from below plays repeatedly.

A short Fire-Bar that rotates counterclockwise quickly, along with a few other Fire-Bars, can be glitched into the game.

Lakitu was supposed to throw Spinies in a curved fashion like he would starting with Super Mario Bros. 3. However, due to a glitch, he throws them straight down instead. This glitched behavior was carried over to Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario All-Stars, and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, and the behavior is referenced in its Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The theme that plays at the beginning of Worlds 1-2, 2-2, 4-2, and 7-2, where Mario is entering a Pipe, has a "hurry up" version, even though the timer is locked for this scene and the ensuing levels have Time Limits well above 100 seconds. This unused content presumably carries over to The Lost Levels for Worlds 1-2, 3-2, 5-2, 6-2, A-2, and B-2.