Super Mario Galaxy/Unused Models

This is a sub-page of Super Mario Galaxy.

Enemies

BossCrab

An early version of what would become Megaleg. This model has three related models, BossCrabCannon, BossCrabCannonSwitch, and BossCrabKiller (note that "Killer" is the Japanese name of Bullet Bills). It has a full range of motions, including one for the introduction demo before the boss fight. This boss can be seen as a shadowy figure on the underside of the Starman Fort concept art in the Prima guide.

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  BossCrab

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  BossCrabCannon

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  BossCrabCannonSwitch

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  BossCrabKiller

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  BossCrabKiller (another angle)

DamageBomb

An early version of Bob-omb. It uses the same environment texture as other early models. Note that Bob-omb is normally called Bomb-Hei.

Donketu and DonketuKing

These models are recreations of the pushy enemies Bully and Big Bully from Super Mario 64, even down to the flat-picture-of-a-ball body. They have all their animations and nicely polished textures. It is difficult to tell from the image, but DonketuKing is significantly larger than Donketu.

FlameGun

The Pig-faced Flame Gun

This one actually works in-game; it shoots invisible fire! (OK, maybe the fire model just wasn't included, but it still works!)

IceMan

A scary looking guy made of ice. He has animations such as AngryDemo and DeathDemo, indicating he was possibly some kind of boss. He also has animations for throwing ice chunks, which are named IceManIce. It is helpfully labelled in the Japanese name field for objnametable.tbl as 削除予定 (planned for deletion). The ice chunk was repurposed for Baron Brrr.

(Japanese translation: divingkataetheweirdo)

IronBall and IronBallBossDonketu

Old versions of Chomp. Like the final version, both of them have the insides of their mouth modeled, but these versions actually have a texture that would have gone on the inside. They also have a higher quality eye texture. Despite the name "Boss", both models are still smaller than the final model, coming in with diameters of 3m and 4.5m, compared to the 5m diameter of the final. A related model IronBallSpin has a generic spinning effect used to indicate forward acceleration.

KariKari

An early version of Slurple, the small blue leech enemy. It has a file for being frozen, named KariKariFreeze. The name for the final version of Slurple is Karipon, though the object name used is still KariKari. This purple version can be seen in the first demo. Interestingly, the Karikari and Kamikami enemies in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, which have the same behavior, use exactly the same file name.

KarikariFreeze

A chunk of ice fit for a Slurple, suggesting that the enemy could be somehow frozen or found in a frozen state. Possibly tied to KarikariIce.

(Source: CometMedal)

Kinopi

A fake Toad enemy that hops around. It's rather adorable, really. The name comes from taking Toad's Japanese name ("Kinopio") and chopping off the "o" at the end. The shine texture has the unusual name HammerDPDSpe.

Mocina

A strange, peachy whale-blob anchored to the floor. It apparently has a thing for coins, and will go after them. It is somehow related to the unused Torimoti enemy, as its texture is named torimoti2.

OctopusQueen

A large... Piranha Plant. It has only a few animations and no shading.

OtaJack

A large octopus creature with six tubey tentacles. The name indicates it is related to OtaKing, better known as King Kaliente, as well as OtaRock, the large, gray enemies that look similar. The "Jack" part of the filename may be a reference to playing cards, which include Jacks and Kings. Strangely, it only has animations for waiting and being picked up. He is very shiny. A similar looking boss appeared in Shiverburn Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

SandGolem

To do: Picture of the fully-assembled model.

A lumbering pile of animated sand bricks. The main SandGolem model only contains skeleton and animation data, with SandGolemBlock and SandGolemColumn containing the simple bricks that make up the creature. It has large claws, which it holds out to the side with huge arms. Interestingly, one of its animations is tpose. It does just that. The pieces do not fit together neatly when using the natural rotations of the joints, and the joint names do not indicate which of the two pieces should be used where, so there is no way to know what the assembled golem should truly look like without uncovering the code behind it.

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  SandGolemBlock

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  SandGolemColumn

StarMan

A strange enemy with a very simplistic form. It has no animations, but does have files to alter the model at different levels of damage. A duplicate of this enemy exists under the name SpotLightEnemy.

TetuKuri

The name translates to "Iron Goomba". It has the basic animations of a Goomba, but none for being hit by a spin attack, implying that either it may have been immune to them, or that the model predates the spin attack.

Torimoti

A strange purple blob creature. Despite having no animation files associated with it, it is fully rigged. The name is a Kunrei-shiki spelling of the Japanese word for birdlime, torimochi. It was possibly cut because of the controversial nature of torimochi.

Spiny / Uminoko

The brown and pink Sea Spinies

This is what appears to be an aquatic version of Spiny. It crawls around as would a creature that spends most of its time underwater. It only has one texture, with all of the shading and highlights baked on. The special pink shading is done in the same way as Bugaboom's redness. It has animations for being hit with a spin attack, meaning it was most likely made for this game and not brought in from something else. An exact copy of the model exists under the name Uminoko. Uminoko means "child of the sea", or possibly "Sea Koopa Troopa", in Japanese. Perhaps coincidentally, the name Uminoko would later be used as the internal name for the enemy "Snortoise" in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

ThornPlant, ThornPlantEye and ThornPlantSting

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  ThornPlantEye

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  ThornPlantSting

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  ThornPlant

A strange collection of files that seem to make up a spiny plant enemy. ThornPlantEye is the head of the plant, and features two animations for opening and closing its 'eye', ThornPlantSting is a single spike that may have possibly been used as a projectile, and ThornPlant lacks any files besides a single .bti texture for a stalk. This enemy and all its associated files go completely unmentioned in the game's DOL.

(Source: CometMedal)

Creatures

A set of strange bugs and their larval forms. They have a unique, alien style of textures in common with them, unlike other models in the game. The butterfly model used in the game shares this style.

Larva

The larva

A small larva. It has animations for squirming, attacking, and dying. It bears a striking resemblance to Pikmin's Male Sheargrub.

BigLarva

The big larva

Another strange larva with a handful of animations, all of which are squirming and wriggling. The cocoon is named biglarvacobweb and even has a little bit of the larva's image in the corner of the texture.

SmallFly

The Smallfly

As the name implies, the body itself is very small, but it has absurdly large wings which flap in the only animation it has.

BigFly

The Big Fly

This model comes in two parts, BigFlyBody and BigFlyWing. The body only has two animations, idle and hit. The wings only have one, in which they flap like a bird's.

BigBigFly

The Big, BIG Fly

A much larger version of the Big Fly. This enemy comes in three parts, BigBigFly, BigBigFlyWing, and BigBigFlyTusk. Surprisingly, both textures for the body have specular maps, unlike the smaller one. The body only has one animation, swishing around its large chain of segments. Again, the wings only have a flapping animation. The tusks have three animations: idle, opening, and closing. If this model is "finished", then it doesn't seem you would be able to damage it normally.

Characters

Chico

An adorable little star character that can only bob from side to side. Note that Tico is the name for Luma. In Spanish, Chico means "guy".

DummyNPC

The friendly Dummy NPC. Will you be his friend?

He comes jam-packed with two animations, one for searching, which physically flips him around, front forward, and another for waving at his new-found friend! Additionally, it comes with two Middle and Low resolution models (DummyNPCMiddle and DummyNPCLow). First off, he prefers to be called "Test NPC." And would you look at that! He wants to give you a hug! ...You wouldn't deny him a hug, would you? Would you?

TicoJii

A character resembling the Millennium Star from Mario Party 3. The name indicated it would be an elderly Luma of sorts. It has three MessageIDs dedicated to it but they are linked to blank text.

(Source: NWPlayer123 for the MessageID discovery)

Planets

BombTimeAttack2Planet

A colorful version of the planet used in the Bob-omb trash destroying minigame.

BossBazookaTower

An early version of the final planet from Toy Time Galaxy's third star. The final version is made of cake and a jar of gumballs, and has a shorter starting platform. It also does not have any wooden platforms on the side.

BroadBeanPlanet

A large bean planet very similar to the ones in Gusty Garden Galaxy. It strongly resembles the planet with the first Prickly Piranha Plant on it, but has a different structure to the sandy areas. It also has a different reflection texture than the other beans. The model is named BroadBeanPlanet, whereas the other bean planets have a letter in the name, indicating this is likely the first bean planet created. This version of the planet was used in the E3 2006 demo. Curiously, the model BroadBeanPlanetLow is the low-poly model for a different planet that was also used in the E3 2006 demo.

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  BroadBeanPlanet

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  BroadBeanPlanetLow

FlexibleSphere

Likely an early version of the multiple holey, hollow planets found in the game.

HellDossun2DPlanet

An early version of the C-Shape Planet in Melty Molten Galaxy. The design has changed very little. (Dossun is the Japanese name for Thwomp.)

JumpGuarderRoomPlanet

A room planet similar to BegomanRoomPlanet, with the name referencing the pink laser-ring-shooting, spring-loaded enemy found in various levels. Unlike BegomanRoomPlanet, not every wall has a modeled backside. It is probably an early version of one of the rooms in Battlerock Galaxy.

NormalGalaxy

A very plain sphere with a mildly sandy texture. It comes with two normal maps, low-resolution and 512×512.

OnimasuZoneGoalParts

A very early version of the Cyclone Stone in Beach Bowl Galaxy, found under the name OnimasuZoneGoalParts. Corresponding models for the other parts of the planet exist, though OnimasuZoneStartParts has been wiped. The dark blue squares indicate the safe zones from the rolling boxes.

RockEntrancePlanet

An early version of the entrance to the interior of the Battlerock, named RockEntrancePlanet.

StarPlanet

Note: NOT Planet Popstar

A big textureless star shape with exactly 1,000 polygons. It does have a collision version. Several instances of this planet also appear in the Starman Fortress concept art.

Placeholder Planets

To do: Explain how these might have been used/why they aren't used.

Some planets only have placeholder models, as they were never finished before being cut from the game. Planets that use the Temporary High Model placeholder include BigRelayPlanetB, HiTowerGoalPlanet, HiTowerGoalPlanetLow, OceanOnimasuPlanet, OctopusTrapPlanet, PhantomCavePlanet, SeaStormPlanet, WaterTransparentPlanet, and WaterTransparentPlanetLow. Planets that use the Temporary Low Model include OceanOnimasuPlanetLow, OctopusTrapPlanetLow, PhantomCavePlanetLow, SeaStormPlanetLow, and TwinPeanutsPlanetBLow.

Ironically, the low model placeholder is much larger and has way more polygons than the one for high models.

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  Danger, Danger, High Model

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  1% Daily Dose of Planet

Low-Poly Planets

To do: Add a picture for EyeBeamerCubePlanetLow.

Since certain planets are either the center of a galaxy or are never seen from far away, their low-poly distance models never kick in. Their existence indicates that, at some point, these planets were likely part of a bigger galaxy and were shuffled around or re-positioned. As such, a number of them feature older designs.

BigRelayPlanetALow

The low-poly model for Good Egg Galaxy's BigRelayPlanetA features a grassy texture, as opposed to what should be a rocky texture.

(Source: CometMedal)

DeathPromenade2DPlanetLow

pink

A model intended to be the low poly model for the 2D race planet in Boo's Boneyard Galaxy. The race planet only spawns when the Warp Pipe connecting it and the starting planet is entered, meaning a low poly model is never necessary. The model consists of only 1 triangle.

(Source: CometMedal)

DinoPackunBattlePlanetLow

The planet on which the game's first boss is found was originally more colorful. The only trace of the version found in the E3 demo is this low-poly model, which is still used in the game. Strangely, the old design of the model is featured in Good Egg Galaxy's map selection model. A very similar copy of this model exists for Fiery Dino Piranha's planet, with the notable difference of there being an extra mark on it in the shape of a six-pointed star. The low-poly model was not replaced, and can be seen here in this video.

DorayakiFortressPlanetLow

The low-poly model for the unused DorayakiFortressPlanet. Although it is lower in polygons than its counterpart, its grass texture is more defined, despite being smaller and of lower quality.

(Source: CometMedal)

EyeBeamerCubePlanetLow

This planet is used in Dreadnought Galaxy. However, the Low-poly model is a duplicate of the High-poly model.

(Source: Xandog)

FloaterLandPlanetLow

A low-poly model for Buoy Base Galaxy's main planet exists, showing off the planet's original design. There are a lot more platforms and metal beams, as well as a series of bars connecting the rings around the water, forming a sort of maze. On the other side of the planet is a target landing pad, seen later in Super Mario Galaxy 2. The presence of a low-poly model indicates it was to be part of some larger galaxy. Two copies of one of the early tower parts exist under the names FloaterLandPartsA/B.

GhostShipCavePlanetLow

A low poly model of Deep Dark Galaxy's starting planet. The player is never far enough away for this model to activate, so it's never seen. Strangely enough, a small hole can be seen in the side of the planet that is not present in the high poly model, and there is an unused path within Deep Dark that supposedly leads from the Boo Box, into this hole, and towards the Ghost Ship.

(Source: CometMedal)

HatchWaterPlanetLow

A low-poly model for the galaxy's water ball planet also exists, which looks suspiciously similar to a Poké Ball.

HolePlanetLow

The metal, holey planet in Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor was originally made of dirt and grass, as part of the first demo. The model is used in-game, but only during the fight with Megaleg.

StarEggRoadEggPlanetDLow

The planet that is created by the Hungry Luma in Good Egg Galaxy was originally intended to be a large egg, like most of the other planets in the stage. The texture is not tiled very well on the side, which indicates that it might not have been finished. It can actually be seen in-game by going into first-person view on the final planet of the mission.

SubmarineVolcanoPlanetLow

A low-poly model of Bonefin Galaxy's main planet is present, indicating that it was meant to be part of a bigger galaxy.

TeresaMansionPlanetBLow

The interior of the mansion also has a low-poly model. It likely appears under the same conditions as the exterior's model, but because of the player's viewing angle, it is impossible to see.

TripodPlanetLow

A low poly model of Megaleg's Moon. Since the player is never far enough away from Megaleg's Moon, this model never kicks in. Strangely, what should be the rusty red patches on this model are patches of green grass.

(Source: CometMedal)

UnderseaTunnelPlanetLow

A low-poly model of Bigmouth Galaxy's only planet is present, indicating that it was meant to be part of a bigger galaxy. The only change in appearance on the model is the color of the "eyes".

WaterRoadCavePlanetLow

The unused low-poly model for Sand Spiral Galaxy's main planet reveals that it was originally going to feature water instead of sand. This explains the name of the planet being WaterRoadCavePlanet. The fact it even has a low-poly model implies that the planet would have been part of a larger galaxy.

Miscellaneous

BillBoarder, BillBird and BillDog

A character made entirely of flat textures that always face the screen, which are commonly referred to as "billboards". He has a whopping 50 actions, ranging from running, jumping, various types of punching, and wall climbing. He can even punch while wall climbing! There are two closely related models, BillBird and BillDog. You can guess what they are.

ChargeSpot

A panel featuring a unique lightning bolt symbol not used anywhere in the final game. It is possible the light texture in the spiral would have scrolled either inwards or outwards.

ChupaChups2

A duplicate of the pompom flowers found in Honeyhive Galaxy and Gold Leaf Galaxy exists under the name ChupaChups2. Judging by the name of the model (and subsequently, its texture, named Candy), this unused plant and its used counterparts may have been inspired by Chupa Chups, a brand of lollipop.

(Source: CometMedal)

ChupaChups4

An unused bush. Its name suggests it may have some relation to ChupaChups2. It has no animations, and the texture associated with the model is named CutTree, possibly reused from the unused CutTree model. Although CutTree and ChupaChups4 use textures of the same name, the texture associated with ChupaChups4 is recolored to be darker and greener.

(Source: CometMedal)

CutKinoko

A mushroom as tall as a tree with a cut plane halfway up the stalk. Presumably, this is where it would be sliced.

CutRadish

A large smiling superveggie. It has a cut plane just below the green part.

CutStinger

An unfriendly plant that can be cut just above the base.

CutTree

A thin tree that can be cut at about the same height as the mushroom.

RustleBush

A simple bush. It has animations for being shook, and gently swaying in the wind.

(Source: CometMedal)

DevilTail

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  deviltail.bti

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  DevilTail

The model itself looks like an exact copy of PoleTop and PoleBottom, except this one comes with a texture for something that is definitely not a pole.

ElementBlock

A set of blocks probably used for testing.

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  ElementBlock

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  ElementBlockFire

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  ElementBlockMetal

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  ElementBlockSmash

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  ElementBlockTornado

FlagSaveSwitch

A red button similar to the P Switch. It was possibly used as a checkpoint, similar to the flags in SMG2. It resembles the Wing Cap Switch that appears in Super Mario 64.

Foo

A single baby blue Star Bit. It has one incomplete animation for spinning, and comes in a shade of blue not seen in-game.

(Source: CometMedal)

GroundStar

A duplicate of the Grand Star, with unique mats and no animations.

(Source: CometMedal)

FooFighterAura

A flat effect model. It is unknown whether or not this was meant to be tied to the Red Star or some other character, if it even belongs to the game at all.

FooStar

A pair of pointy hollow stars that float a little less than 2m apart. The Red Star that grants Mario the Flying power-up is named PowerUpFoo, and the two models use the same exact textures. When compared to the Mario model, they float just outside of Mario's outstretched arms. It is possible these were intended to be part of the Flying power instead of simply giving Mario glowing hands.

GenieHand

A hand of unknown origin

A strange hand model with no animations or other files.

GridPlane

A set of four tiny checkered planes placed at the corners of a 100m² workspace. Each square is 0.1m².

HiddenBlock

The final version of SMG does not use any hidden blocks.

InkBall

A blob of ink. The closest thing to an enemy shooting ink in the game is Octoguy's inky black rocks. Bloopers produce ink when bumped into.

ItemBlock

This early version of the iconic item block uses textures instead of polygons for its features, and a different font for the question mark. It also has a texture animation for turning brown after use. The model is named ItemBlock, while the final block used in the game is CoinBlock. Blocks in the final game only contain coins or star bits and disappear after use.

Kinoko

To do: Model is still present in SM3DAS. Check if it's loaded/referenced in the code. Aurum remembers a pre-release screen that shows this model in-use.

A Super Mushroom, very much like the other Mushrooms in the game. Despite being never used, it still managed to make its way into SMG2's files as well. According to one of the Iwata Asks interviews, a Mushroom was "playable" instead of Mario in one of the first prototypes to test the movement of the player. The other Mushroom models were most likely based on this one. This file is loaded on boot. If the file isn't present, the game crashes. The case is the same for the version of the file in the sequel.

KoopaBall

An earlier version of the rolling ball used in Rolling Green Galaxy and other levels. It is for the most part the same, but has 500 less polygons altogether and no ring. The ring normally remains parallel to the horizon and tilts with the player's control. The axis center for the model is also located at the bottom of the ball, whereas it is located in the center of the ball in the final model, named tamokoro. The flakes inside the ball are mostly the same, with a few pieces repositioned. According to its entry in the object table, it was meant for a Bowser battle, which explains the name. This is unusual, as Bowser Battles always have Grand Stars instead of regular Power Stars.

KouraA

An early version of the Koopa Shell. There are small holes in the model where the rim meets the green on the long ends. It only has one wiggling animation.

LavaSwitch

A poundable switch bearing the old pound symbol. It looks very similar to the rock switch included in several Melty Molten Galaxy rock platform models.

MagicalWand

A primitive magic wand. It is probably the precursor to Star Wand.

MoveVector

Some kind of cursor or indicator. It uses the same texture as other early models.

NormalBlock

A simple block model with a complex texture and an object-space normal map to go with it. Each side of the block is unique, so it might have been used for testing normal map baking.

NormalMapBoard

An image used to test normal maps.

NormalMapFloor

A rectangular test platform with grassy edges potentially used for testing normal maps.

Found in the archive at ObjectData/NormalMapFloor.arc. Its in-game size is relatively large, and it may have been used for testing normal maps. On its two largest faces it has a generic checkerboard texture similar to other test objects from the game, but around the edges there is a green grass-like texture, which may indicate that the planet was intended to be fleshed out more rather than be merely a test object.

NormalMapObject

A lumpy planet with a unique texture. It was probably used to test normal maps.

MirrorReflectionPeachCastle

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A standalone model for the reflective water present in the lake around Peach's Castle. It is covered in the Japanese character for "mirror" (鏡).

(Source: CometMedal)

MirrorModelPeachCastle

A low poly model of Peach's Castle, meant to be used as the reflection of the castle in the water. The castle reflection model used in the prologue level is baked into the model for the entire level, meaning this standalone model goes unused. It is also worth noting that this model has a few differences from the used reflection model - those being visible windows, doors, torches, and a glowing star atop the front.

(Source: CometMedal)

SpinMagic

A green sphere of magic. It bears vague resemblance to a force field of sorts, somewhat like the force field that appears around Rosalina when she is jumped on or struck with a Star Bit. Strangely, it cannot be found anywhere in the game's DOL.

(Source: CometMedal)

Note8

An early music note model with jiggy wiggling action. It has animations for success and failure, as well as files for various colors. This was replaced with the final note model before the E3 reveal.

NarutoSwitch

No, not THAT Naruto.

A switch with a similar design to the Charge Spot. It is possible that this switch was activated by spinning. A taller version exists under the name RocketNarutoSwitch.

OceanRotateStep

A solid white hexagonal platform, very similar to the floats eventually used in Buoy Base Galaxy. Looking at the model's wireframe reveals triangles on each face, pointing around the object to signify its intended rotation direction.

OniTsuTsu

A wooden Tox Box. The corner with the Japanese character for oni (鬼) is unused on the model. It doesn't quite have the same name as the Tox Box, which is Onimasu(kun/don).

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  OniTsuTsu

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  OniTsuTsu's Texture

PenguinGoodsHat

A hat meant to be worn by penguins. The model lacks proper backfaces, so it won't display properly without disabling culling.

PoisonPlant

A strange ball 3m in diameter. Looks similar to the hollow planet with the bouncy center in Ghostly Galaxy.

PowerUpLife

A 3D Model of the Life Meter, which uses a 2D graphic in the final game. Also exists in SMG2.

RollingBoxA

The precursor to Tox Box, with a yellow square indicating the safe zone. The GroupInfo file for it refers to it as NormalAnaBokoGoroIwa02, which in Japanese is an abbreviation for...shockingly... "normal rolling stone with a hole 02".

RVCon

A very primitive-looking Wiimote model. It is possible that RV stands for "Revolution", the codename for the Wii. The shape and button placement is different from the final design, with an extra button placed next to what would become the Power button.

SampleMapPartsObject

The cube

A 2m cube. What else is there to say?

SpiderItemShell

You sure this isn't a fossilized Arachnorb?

A strange ball that opens like a party ball, reminiscent of Beady Long Legs.

StarWand

A simple model of a wand containing a star in the crystal ball. It only has an environment image associated with it, and the glass does not display properly in bmdview2. It is worth noting that a seemingly-related file is named StarWandCursor.

StringSpiderArmor

A shell of armor, perfectly fit to the back of a Sprangler. Its single texture colors it a plain grey.

(Source: CometMedal)

SuperSupinDriver

A very early version of the Launch Star with a unique stained-glass texture and a misspelled name. The final name for the Launch Star is SuperSpinDriver.

SurfBoard

A very basic surfboard.

SweetDecorateePartsOrange

A small typo left this model in the game. It is one letter away from the model for the orange slice platform used in Toy Time Galaxy. Notice the kanji 仮, which means "Temporary".

Trampoline

boing!

A trampoline with a very high quality wood texture on the frame.

Turtle

A prototype version of the robotic turtle found in Dreadnought Galaxy. The name, SpringWaterTurtle, corresponds to the name of the planet, while the final model's name is OceanSmallTurtle.

TwoLegWalker

A textureless, animationless walker small enough for Mario to ride on it. It seems to be directly related to the TwoWheelTank, suggesting that it, too, was meant to be used as a vehicle but scrapped before even reaching the texturing phase.

TwoWheelTank

A Tiny Two-Wheeler Tin

A small vehicle bearing the emblem on Mario's hat. It is just about the right size to ride on.