Unused content (SSB4): Difference between revisions

Much like ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''SSB4'' has a reasonable amount of unused character data. The reasons mainly include a combination of time constraints and hardware limitations. This is supported by [[Masahiro Sakurai]] stating this during a post-release interview<ref>http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/2qvwwp/really_long_japanese_interview_with_sakurai_needs</ref>. However, he refused to give any sort of information on what other scrapped characters were, other than stating that characters unlikely to appear in new games in the foreseeable future were given lower priority. It is unknown whether any of the [[downloadable character]]s were originally intended for the game's initial release.

*[[Ice Climbers]] - The Ice Climbers were originally planned to return as characters. While reportedly functioning on {{forwiiu}}, the [[Nintendo 3DS]]'s technical specifications made it difficult to properly incorporate the two into {{for3ds}}, as well as other characters with multiple models such as {{SSB4|Olimar}}.<ref>http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/07/09/i-answer-some-questions-sakurai-famitsu-column-vol-461-464</ref> Sakurai stated in his Famitsu collection, ''Thoughts About Making the Video Games 2'', that they even went as far as disabling effects such as [[gravity]] and removing joints in attempt to get the Ice Climbers working. Since Sakurai wished for both games to have identical rosters, the Ice Climbers were ultimately removed from it, but still appear in-game as a [[trophy]].

*{{uv|Rhythm Heaven}} character - Data mining has revealed an unused emblem reference for a potential ''Rhythm Heaven'' character.<ref>http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/01/26/smash-4-wii-u-data-discoveries</ref> The emblem reference appears in the emblem database on ''for Wii U''. ''Rhythm Heaven'' is, notably, one of the few [[universe]]s to not have a representation other than a [[Sneaky Spirit|Smash Run enemy]] and collectible trophies,<ref>[http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/07/24/smash-for-wii-u-and-brawl-emblem-order The order of the emblem]</ref> and the name suggests that a character from ''Rhythm Heaven'' was planned to be included before being scrapped at some point in development.

*Alternate characters - Sakurai has stated that {{SSB4|Dark Pit}}, {{SSB4|Dr. Mario}}, and {{SSB4|Lucina}} were originally going to be [[alternate costume]]s for {{SSB4|Pit}}, {{SSB4|Mario}}, and {{SSB4|Marth}}, respectively. They were promoted to full characters due to either Sakurai wanting to add, or already having, a feature that made them unique<ref>http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/07/09/i-answer-some-questions-sakurai-famitsu-column-vol-461-464</ref>: Dr. Mario with his [[Megavitamins]] and [[Dr. Tornado]], along with his [[down aerial]]; Dark Pit with his [[Electroshock Arm]] and [[Dark Pit Staff|Final Smash]]; and Lucina with her hitbox placement. In addition, Sakurai felt that Dr. Mario's fans would be upset if he behaved identically to {{SSB4|Mario}}. Regarding the decision to make Lucina a full-fledged character, however, Sakurai stated in a [https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqGH9l5mlg Miiverse post] that "whenever there is even a small difference in abilities, that character gets an actual roster slot."

*[[Alph]] - Information from interviews and Sakurai's design documents shows that Alph was next in line to get his own roster spot as a clone, and would use Rock Pikmin. He was scrapped possibly due to time constraints and instead, became an alternate costume for Olimar.

*[[Takamaru]] - In a Niconico interview, Sakurai states that [[Takamaru]] was briefly considered as a playable character, but didn't make the cut due to lack of fan familiarity, resulting in his [[Assist Trophy]] role.<ref>http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/03/22/mewtwo-dlc-takamaru-and-sakurais-nico-nico-appearance/</ref>

*[[Chrom]] - In Sakurai's weekly Famitsu Column after the reveal trailer for {{SSB4|Robin}} and {{SSB4|Lucina}}, Sakurai stated that he considered adding Chrom in the game. However, he instead chose Robin, feeling that Chrom offered nothing unique over Marth and {{SSB4|Ike}}.<ref>http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/06/28/sakurais-famitsu-column-vol-457-abilities-unlike-any-other/</ref> Chrom appears as part of [[Pair Up|Robin's Final Smash]], and a {{SSB4|Mii Swordfighter}} outfit based off of him (the latter as DLC). He later became a [[Chrom (SSBU)|playable]] character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' as an echo fighter of {{SSBU|Roy}}.

*[[Heihachi Mishima]] - In Sakurai's ''Thoughts About Making Video Games 2'', Sakurai states that Heihachi was considered as being a playable character, but was decided against since his moves would have been too difficult to implement.<ref>https://sourcegaming.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/800</ref> A {{SSB4|Mii Brawler}} costume based on Heihachi appears as DLC.

*At one point in development, it had been considered to allow characters to attack with their tail while under the [[Super Leaf]]'s effect.

*{{SSB4|Zelda}} was originally going to still transform into {{SSB4|Sheik}} (and vice versa) for her Down-B special move, but the idea was scrapped and replaced with Phantom Slash due to the limitations of the Nintendo 3DS's hardware. A similar treatment was done to both {{SSB4|Samus}} and {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} when their Final Smashes are concerned, and [[Pokémon Trainer]], where he is dropped in favor of his {{SSB4|Charizard}} operating on its own.

 

File:RoyUnusedNeutralAttack.gif|Roy's unused neutral attack animation.‎

*In pre-release material, there are multiple instances of characters using animations or sound clips from ''Brawl'' that were later replaced for the final release.

**{{SSB4|Ike}}'s [[Eruption]] originally had red flames as in ''Brawl''. In the final game, the flames are blue.

**In the Super Smash Bros. Direct, {{SSB4|Diddy Kong}} and {{SSB4|Lucario}}'s portraits alongside their damage meters use their ''Brawl'' artwork, presumably as a placeholder. The final game appropriately uses their ''SSB4'' artwork.

**In the Super Smash Bros. Developer Direct, {{SSB4|Kirby}} used his voice clips from ''Brawl''; he has new ones in the final game.

**Link's old [[Spin Attack]] animation can be seen in the Villager trailer, at around 1:14. However, it is hard to notice, as the screen shakes violently.

**Link's ''Brawl'' fighting stance can be seen in the E3 Developer Direct.

**Another early screenshot on the official website shows Villager using {{SSB4|Ness}}' up taunt, possibly as a placeholder.

*In an early picture, Link can be seen on the [[Spirit Train]] stage with the ''Spirit Tracks'' Link as the conductor, but in the final game, when Link is on the stage, Alfonzo will conduct the train.

*[[Fox Illusion]] had more detailed afterimages.

*On the same image, the stage location for Skyloft is stated to be ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', while in the final it is ''The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword''.

*In the E3 2014 ''for Nintendo 3DS'' trailer, character names originally had lowercase letters in Classic Mode. In the final game, however, all letters are uppercase.

*Kirby was originally less expressive when using moves such as Hammer Flip and Final Cutter. In the final game, he has "angry eyes", but he did not in pre-release screenshots.

*{{SSB4|Luigi}} was also less expressive, as his eyes can be seen open during his dash attack in Pac-Man's trailer.

*During the E3 2014 Round Table, in which {{SSB4|Pac-Man}} was first revealed, he had a placeholder [[victory theme]], which differs from the final version.

*Little Mac's trailer showed him using his down taunt with a more fierce expression on his face. In the final build, his mouth is slightly misplaced and his expression is less fierce.

*At E3 2014, the player [http://www.ssbwiki.com/images/archive/a/a9/20140907190038%21Bowser_Bomb.png originally] had to press L, R, and X to start a match; in the final game, the player just has to press L and R.

*Greninja's KO voice clips and it's high knockback voice clips were swapped for the final release.

*A [[Crash Bomber]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ6LH5XAW6c=87s can be seen exploding] on a Screen KO'd character.

The file <code>SSB4\param\ui\ui_character_db</code> contains unused icons of bosses in the game (which includes Virus of the ''Dr. Mario'' series).<ref>https://tcrf.net/Super_Smash_Bros._for_Wii_U#Virus</ref> A majority of them belong to [[Master Core]], who notably has its health shown on ''for Nintendo 3DS'' but not on ''for Wii U''. Given that a few stage bosses in ''SSB4'' can take damage (namely the aforementioned bosses), these icons suggest that at one point, a player could see how much more damage a boss could take before its defeat, similar to how bosses from ''Brawl'' had a health gauge in the [[Subspace Emissary]] and [[Boss Battle]].

Interestingly, in the bosses folder, an unused set of attack animations for BossPackun (Petey Piranha's Japanese name) have been found in the Wii U version's code, suggesting he was meant to return as a boss in some capacity.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv4E-s6AUv0</ref>

*[[Announcer]] clips for "Yellow team", "[[Master Orders]]", "[[Crazy Orders]]", and "[[Special Smash]]". The lattermost still exists in ''for Nintendo 3DS''{{'}}s [[Sound Test]], as clip 84 for the Announcer.

*Amidst the unused clips is a sound clip for "Smash World", which could be a beta name for [[Smash Tour]] as "Smash World" is the final name for said mode in at least one version of ''for Wii U'' (as the Spanish-language releases for North American and European territories incorporate the term "Mundo Smash"), as well as being similar to the mode's final name in Japanese, "World Smash". The same name was later used for the [[Smash World]] app.

Song titles did not seem finalized until late into development. Early in development, the song "{{SSB4MusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Saria's Song / Middle Boss Battle}}" was named only "Saria's Song" without "Middle Boss Battle" in the title. "{{SSB4MusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Ballad of the Goddess / Ghirahim's Theme}}" was simply referred to as "Ballad of the Goddess". "{{SSB4MusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Main Theme / Underworld Theme (The Legend of Zelda)}}" was just referred to as "Main Theme". These can all be seen in [[:File:SSB4 My Music Beta.png|this image]]. The reason is unknown. It can also be noted that the words "Arrangement" in the image were changed to say "Remix" in the final game.

 

*[https://tcrf.net/Super_Smash_Bros._for_Nintendo_3DS ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' on The Cutting Room Floor]

*[https://tcrf.net/Super_Smash_Bros._for_Wii_U ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'' on The Cutting Room Floor]