Summary

• Super Mario Bros. Wonder almost had even sillier and bizarre elements, like a drill power-up, in early design stages.
• Prototype levels for Super Mario Bros. Wonder showcased unique ideas such as a giant block Mario and surfing Mario.
• Fans are eager for DLC to incorporate these cut prototype levels into Super Mario Bros. Wonder for a whimsical gaming experience.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder could have had far more silly and bizarre elements, according to the game's creators. The title already saw the introduction of new power-ups that could transform the player into an elephant - something that Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto reportedly wasn't a fan of in the early design stages, saying it didn't look like a Mario character -, provide them with a drill to burrow into the ground or up into the ceiling, or a bubble-spewing flower to capture enemies.

As reported by Nintendo Life, some of the ideas from the Super Mario Bros. Wonder brainstorming sessions were shared by the game's director Shiro Mouri, and producer Takashi Tezuka during a at the 2024 Game Developer Conference (GDC) in San Francisco on March 20. These included ideas such as Mario riding a unicycle, and jumping on a pogo stick, which were shared on X by Chris Kohler of Digital Eclipse.

Nintendo Revealed An Entire Prototype Level At GDC

Including A Giant Block Mario Effect

Nintendo revealed these ideas on a slide for Super Mario Bros. Wonder's "Wonder Effect testing sessions", with several unused Wonder Effects and levels, including images of Mario standing atop a giant Goomba, and surfing along a giant wave. Perhaps the best and most bizarre idea seemed to make its way into the prototype stage for the game, as Nintendo showed footage from one of its early levels that ultimately got cut.

This prototype level showed a "giant block Mario", which was comprised of multiple, different colored blocks that created a giant version of Mario's head, with enemies chomping away at it and gradually breaking down the blocks. It's a shame this was cut, as it would have been a fun call back to the series' original, pixelated, 8-bit look.

With the team previously stating that there wasn't a deadline for Super Mario Bros. Wonder's prototype stage, resulting in over 2000 ideas, it was nice to finally see some of them at GDC. Fans have already responded positively to some of them, particularly the surfing Mario, and have expressed a desire to see such a level come to the game via DLC in the future.

Source: Chris Kohler/X (via. Nintendo Life)