Unused content (SSB4)

The following unused content is known from the development of Super Smash Bros. 4.

Fighters

Much like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, SSB4 has a reasonable amount of unused fighter 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^[1]. 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 characters were originally intended for the game's initial release.

Scrapped

Ice Climbers - The Ice Climbers were originally planned to return as characters. While reportedly functioning on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the Nintendo 3DS's technical specifications made it difficult to properly incorporate the two into Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, as well as other characters with multiple models such as Olimar.^[2] 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 didn't want the Wii U version to have an exclusive character, the Ice Climbers were ultimately cut, but still appear in-game as a trophy and returned in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Rhythm Heaven character - Data mining has revealed an unused emblem reference for a potential Rhythm Heaven character.^[3] The emblem reference appears in the emblem database on for Wii U. Rhythm Heaven is, notably, one of the few universes to not have a representation other than a Smash Run enemy and collectible trophies,^[4] 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 Dark Pit, Dr. Mario, and Lucina were originally going to be alternate costumes for Pit, Mario, and Marth, respectively. They were promoted to full characters due to either Sakurai wanting to add, or already having, a feature that made them unique^[5]: Dr. Mario with his Megavitamins and Dr. Tornado, along with his down aerial; Dark Pit with his Electroshock Arm and 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 Mario. Regarding the decision to make Lucina a full-fledged character, however, Sakurai stated in a 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. ^[6]

Considered

Takamaru - In a Niconico interview, Sakurai states that Takamaru was briefly considered as a playable character, but didn't make the cut as Sakurai felt that such a character lacked popularity, resulting in his Assist Trophy role.^[7] A Mii Swordfighter costume based on Takamaru appears as DLC.
Chrom - In Sakurai's weekly Famitsu Column after the reveal trailer for Robin and Lucina, Sakurai stated that he considered adding Chrom in the game and even planned a moveset for him. However, he instead chose Robin, feeling that Chrom wouldn't offer anything unique over Marth and Ike.^[8]^[9] Chrom appears as part of Robin's Final Smash, and a Mii Swordfighter outfit based off of him (the latter as DLC). He later became a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Echo Fighter of Roy.
Geno - Geno, who was previously considered for a playable character in Brawl, was once again considered as a playable character, but was not added for unknown reasons^[10]. A Mii Gunner costume based on Geno appears as DLC.
Ridley - Ridley, who was previously considered for Brawl, was once again briefly considered to be playable, but was decided against because Sakurai felt that getting Ridley to fly was difficult during development.^[11] Ridley was later added as a playable fighter in Ultimate.
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 movements would have been too difficult to implement.^[12] A Mii Brawler costume based on Heihachi appears as DLC. Kazuya Mishima, another Tekken character, was added as a DLC fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, who was added over Heihachi due to the Devil Gene making Kazuya more unique^[13].
Other Final Fantasy characters - While discussing potential candidates from the Final Fantasy series to include in SSB4, Sakurai stated in an interview with Square Enix veteran Tetsuya Nomura that he could have included characters such as Fusoya from Final Fantasy IV, Bartz Klauser from Final Fantasy V, or Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI.^[14] However, Sakurai ultimately said it was difficult to imagine a Final Fantasy character to include that was not Cloud, primarily owing to his design and iconic status.
Steve - After Steve was announced as a DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, former Minecraft production director Daniel Kaplan revealed that negotiations between Nintendo and Mojang for Steve to appear in Smash had been going on "at least" since 2015, suggesting the possibility of him being planned for Smash 4 at one point.^[15]

Stages

Hidden with the games files exist stages that were planned to be included in SSB4, but were not implemented in the final release. For some stages, it remains unknown whether they were meant for the 3DS or Wii U version.

Some of these stages were meant to have hazards or other elements, as the game's files depict file called SSB4\param\ui\ui_character_db, which refers to boss characters such as Ridley, the Yellow Devil, and Metal Face.

Text exists in for Wii U which suggests that the Gamer and Temple stages were once unlockable.

There exists unused files in for Wii U for Mushroomy Kingdom and 3D Land; however, the only files remaining in each directory is the item parameter file, meaning these files are mere remnants from for Nintendo 3DS.

Differences

Magicant - the Flying Men were intended to be given unique three-dimensional models as opposed to sprites. In a weekly issue of Famitsu, Sakurai stated that the sprites, adapted from EarthBound, were used as to lessen the strain on the 3DS's hardware. An image of the Flying Man's 3D model was featured in the column. While the model itself was removed from the official game, it was later reworked as a paid DLC costume for the Mii Brawler. In Ultimate, even absent hardware limitations, the sprite versions of the Flying Men were preserved for Magicant's return.
Mario Circuit - Unused textures exist for a blue Toad's model, suggesting that Toads were planned to appear as racers on the stage. However, as with Rainbow Road and Mario Circuit (Brawl), only Shy Guys in their Standard Karts appear instead.
Boxing Ring - hidden in the files of the 3DS version of Super Smash Bros. 4 is a screenshot of the Boxing Ring stage. However, this image contains multiple differences from the final game: both Mario and Link's icons are ripped straight from Brawl, the background is simpler and brighter, and the jumbotron is directly ripped from the arcade version of Super Punch-Out!! (Vodka Drunkenski and Little Mac's icons can just barely be seen at the top.). All these differences imply this screenshot is from one of the earliest, if not the earliest, builds of Smash 4. This same image can be found in the data of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, possibly as a carryover.
- Interestingly, this image contains multiple errors: Mario is depicted as having 32% on the jumbotron, however, he has 0% on the main screen; Link is shown on the jumbotron standing on the opposite side of Mario, however, he is out of bounds on the actual stage; and the jumbotron seems to be projecting the same screen three times.
  - The screenshot also appears in the background during the original E3 trailer, right before Villager's reveal.

Reworked

Kirby's Epic Yarn stage - A planned stage based on Kirby's Epic Yarn was reworked into The Great Cave Offensive when Yoshi's Woolly World was announced, suggesting the goal was to distinguish it from the Woolly World stage.^[16]
Super Mario Land stage - A stage based on Super Mario Land was slated to appear before being reworked into Dream Land for unknown reasons; both stages are based on well-known Game Boy titles.^[17]

Removed

Dr. Mario stage - An unused boss character named "Virus" exists, with Virus a potential reference to the ones from Dr. Mario. This implies that Dr. Mario was meant to have a home stage with a boss. Unused portraits for the Virus characters were found in the game, and the Virus uses the unused render for their trophy stance, further suggesting this. No files have been found for the stage.
Brain Age stage - A file called mark_30_braintraining.nut exists, referencing the Japanese, British, and European name of Brain Age, suggesting a stage based on the series was meant to be included in the game. However, the file itself is empty.
"Plankton" - A file called Plankton exists, suggesting that either Hanenbow or another stage from Electroplankton was to appear in SSB4. No files were found to reference plankton or Hanenbow; the only reference is in the emblem database, also raising the possibility that it is merely leftover data that was ported from Brawl.
"Diary" - This stage could possibly refer to the Swapnote messaging application for the Nintendo 3DS, the Japanese name of which includes "Diary". The only reference to this is inside the emblem database, and no other files are present in the game.

Comparison of the unused 3D model and the EarthBound sprite.
A beta version of Boxing Ring.

Gameplay

When comparing the final game with earlier builds, as well as viewing unused data left on the game disc/cartridge, some differences have been found:

Stale-move negation was not present in earlier demo versions of the game showcased during E3 2013, though it could have simply just been turned off for the demo like it is for single-player modes in the final game.
In the first trailer of the game, Link can be seen with his old dash attack, which was later changed into an entirely new attack.
In the playable E3 2014 demo build, Luigi could wall-jump, but in the final game he cannot for unknown reasons.
As seen in Mega Man's reveal trailer and in the Developer Direct video, his Leaf Shield originally had much faster start-up.^[18]
In the Super Smash Bros. Developer Direct, Bowser can be seen performing his old neutral attack animation, which was later changed into a new animation involving Bowser punching instead of swiping his claws.
In Sonic's reveal trailer, his Spin Dash is shown to behave exactly like in Brawl, whereas in the final version, the short hop performed on release is much quicker.^[19]
In the Super Smash Bros. Direct and the E3 2014 demo, the Power Star Rosalina summons during her Final Smash stays at a constant size, whereas in the final game it grows gradually.
Also in the Super Smash Bros. Direct, Mega Man's Final Smash has a different animation, and it is slower. ^[20]
Trophy Rush originally had a longer maximum time.
Many attacks and Final Smashes originally dealt significantly more damage and knockback than in the final version; for example in the E3 2013 demo, Mega Man's down smash was a multi-hitting attack that dealt over 40% uncharged, while the first hit of Mario's down smash was seen KOing Mega Man under 100% uncharged from the center of Battlefield. A few attacks did less damage.
At one point in development, it had been considered to allow characters to attack with their tail while under the Super Leaf's effect, similar to how Racoon and Tanooki Mario can do it in the Mario series.
In for Nintendo 3DS, unused graphics exist for clearing stages 8 and 9 of Classic Mode and/or All-Star Mode. In the final game, only stages 1-7 are used.
Banana Peels used their Brawl behavior.
Even when launched at extreme speeds, characters could still get Star KO'd and Screen KO'd. They could also get Star and Screen KO'd in Sudden Death. In the final game, Star and Screen KOs cannot happen under these conditions.
X Bombs KO'd as early as 80%.
Mushroom Kingdom U and Skyloft featured Star KOs, whereas they cannot occur on these stages in the final game.
The vertical knockback cap found in the final game did not exist in early versions.
Roy has an unused attack animation still left in the game's files. The animation is very similar as Marth's second jab animation, suggesting that Roy was possibly going to have a consecutive neutral attack like Marth, although it is also possible that it was just a placeholder until Roy's new jab was made.
Rosalina originally had a different animation for her down smash.
Zelda was originally going to still transform into Sheik (and vice versa) for her down special move, but the idea was scrapped and replaced with Phantom Slash due to the limitations of the Nintendo 3DS's hardware while Sheik received Bouncing Fish. A similar treatment was done to both Samus and Zero Suit Samus when their Final Smashes are concerned, and Pokémon Trainer, where he is dropped in favor of his Charizard operating on its own. Pokémon Trainer would later be re-implemented in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, in addition to Pyra and Mythra being introduced as new transformation characters.
Strangely, Olimar's entrance animation contains a hitbox; the Yellow Pikmin Olimar plucks has a hitbox that deals 16% and has electric properties. In normal gameplay it is impossible to hit anybody with this hitbox since all characters are stuck in their entrance animation at the start of the match, so its purpose is unknown.
Lucas' forward aerial has another sourspot hitbox that deals 6%. The hitbox still exists in the final game, however the game deletes it the frame it is loaded, making it impossible to land without the use of mods.

A screenshot of Trophy Rush with 3:21 left. This is impossible in the final version, as the maximum time possible is 2:30.
The graphics for clearing stages 8 and 9, alongside stage 7, which is only used in All-Star Mode.
Roy's unused neutral attack animation.
Rosalina"s unused down smash animation.

Aesthetics

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.
- Ike's Eruption originally had red flames as in Brawl. In the final game, the flames are blue.
- In the Super Smash Bros. Direct, Diddy Kong and Lucario's portraits alongside their damage meters use their Brawl artwork, presumably as a placeholder. The final game appropriately uses their SSB4 artwork.
- The pose that Zero Suit Samus performs for Paralyzer was taken from Brawl in early shots. It has changed since then.
- In the Super Smash Bros. Developer Direct, the designs of the revival platforms and Capsules appeared unchanged from their appearance in Brawl, but they were changed in the final game.
- In the Super Smash Bros. Developer Direct, returning characters used their voice clips from Brawl; some characters (Kirby and Fox just to name a few) have new ones in the final game.
- Link's old Spin Attack animation can be seen in the E3 2013 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.
- In the Super Smash Bros. Direct, Sheik could be seen with her standing idle animation from Brawl.
- In Sonic's reveal trailer, his back aerial and up aerial each use the Brawl animations.
While some characters have always been mirrored on for Wii U, some characters such as Bowser and Kirby have been seen facing away from the screen (akin to Brawl) on for Nintendo 3DS in the Super Smash Bros. Developer Direct. This was fixed in the final version.
An early screenshot on the official website shows Villager using his up smash, with the firework canister having a simple red and white design. In the final game, it was changed to match the fountain fireworks from the Animal Crossing games. Villager also did not panic upon its usage.
- Another early screenshot on the official website shows Villager using Ness' up taunt, possibly as a placeholder.
Similarly, an early screenshot on the official website shows Donkey Kong using his down taunt, with his eyes being normal and his mouth not opening. In the final game, his eyes shrink, and his mouth makes its more iconic shape, forming a more humorous expression.
In the E3 2014 demo build of for Nintendo 3DS, the character select screen displayed the names of the characters under their icons. In the final version, only the icons are displayed.
- Fox and Greninja's icons have different background colors in the final version.
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.
Prior to Little Mac's reveal, screenshots and footage of the Boxing Ring stage featured brighter overall lighting compared to the final version of the stage.
Windy Hill Zone originally didn't feature the animal friends in the background.
In an early screenshot of Reset Bomb Forest, the image of Viridi that appears before the Reset Bomb is dropped is smaller and she has a pair of roses on her hairband.
Ridley originally had a thinner neck and thinner limbs, as seen in the Smash Direct.
Fox Illusion had more detailed after images.
During the results screen, when the winning character's name is displayed, a sound is played; the E3 demo build of for Wii U used the splash art sound from the newcomer trailers. The final build uses the same sound effect as for Nintendo 3DS.
In an early trailer, both the Smash and Team Smash selections in For Fun mode had the additional heading "For Fun" upon each of them. These headings are absent in the final version.
In the Smash Direct, songs in My Music are labeled with "Arrangement". In the final game, however, they are labeled with "Remix".
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.
In the E3 2014 for Nintendo 3DS trailer, Samus was listed in the Sound Test, but in the final game she is not listed.
The trophy for Rayman originally had an eye partly open in a Director's Room post. Both eyes are wide open in the final game.
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.
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 Pac-Man was first revealed, he had a placeholder victory theme, which differs from the final version.
In the E3 2014 demo, Pit's victory pose was shown at a different angle than in the final game.
- His clapping animation was also different.
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.
Mario originally had his mouth closed when performing his neutral aerial. In the final game, his mouth is open.
In Mega Man's reveal trailer, he only had three emotions (normal, mouth open, and hurt); he has now been changed to better express feelings of anger and happiness. Also, he was originally shown to blink, but doesn't do so in the final game.
At E3 2014, the player 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.
At E3 2014, the large preview on the stage select screen showed the stage's game of origin on the top right corner of the preview. In the final game, it was moved to the top left corner.
Some characters' Screen KOs were changed for the final release, most notably with Pit, who showed no expression when he was Screen KO'd. Screen KOs were also changed to be less dynamic, this can be seen with characters such as Pikachu, who cannot have a sideways position when Screen KO'd in the final release.
The background of the stage did not fade away when Olimar used End of Day.
Greninja's KO voice clips and its high knockback voice clips were swapped for the final release.
Characters only occasionally used their KO voice clips, other times, it's just the KO sound effect.
Blast KOs had a much smaller explosion.
Spiny Shells flipped slowly instead of spinning.
Stock icons were originally to the bottom right of the damage meter (and deplete from left to right), in the final game they are on the bottom left (and deplete from right to left).
When characters get KO'd and "-1" pops up, this animation was much faster than in the final release.
A Crash Bomber can be seen exploding on a Screen KO'd character.
The Damage meter had a different animation upon the corresponding character being damaged.
In Lucas' trailer video, he uses a different voice clip when using his forward smash, which is the one used when using a smash attack with a Beam Sword.

Note that the names under the character selection slots are not present in the final versions of for Nintendo 3DS. Also note Greninja and Fox's different background colors on the screen.
Villager's original up smash design.
Villager using Ness' Up Taunt.
Ike's red-flamed Eruption.
Link on Spirit Train with the Spirit Tracks Link as the conductor. Alfonzo would instead be the conductor in the final version if Link and/or Toon Link are present.
The My Music menu as it appeared the April 2014 Nintendo Direct.
An early screenshot of the Boxing Ring, showing off brighter overall lighting.
A more finalized screenshot of the stage, with darker lighting.
Windy Hill Zone without the animal friends in the background.
Viridi with roses on her headband.
Shadow of Ridley's old model.
The more detailed Fox Illusion.
Zero Suit Samus's Paralyzer pose before it was altered.
The capsule before its redesign.
Beta Classic Mode screen with lowercase letters in Zelda's name.
Rayman's trophy when it initially appeared.
Rayman's trophy in the final version.
Pre-release screenshots of Kirby showed him as less expressive when using some moves.
Samus listed in the Sound Test.
Mario performing his neutral aerial with his mouth closed.
The stage select screen in the E3 2014 demo. Note the placement of the Skyward Sword logo.
An early version of the Screen KO. Note Pit's expression is different from the final release.

Sounds

In the E3 2013 Developer Direct, several music pieces appeared that were replaced with remixes. Those being Menu (Melee), Gerudo Valley (while both appear in the Wii U version, are replaced with remixes in the 3DS version), Full Steam Ahead, Bathtime Theme, 3D Land Overworld Theme, and The City (Day).
Some sound files were found that had Kirby call out all three of Palutena's neutral special moves, suggesting either Kirby was planned to be able to copy customs, or Palutena's default custom hadn't been decided.^[21] Eventually, his voice clips for Explosive Flame and Heavenly Light would become unused as he cannot copy custom moves. He will, however, use Olimar/Alph's custom side special moves for copying their neutral special. A voice clip for PK Freeze also went unused for a while as it was not Ness's default special, but ended up being used upon Lucas being added.
A sound clip was found in the files of the Wii U version features the announcer saying "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U" at the end of the opening cinematic, in a similar vein to the announcers for Smash 64 and Melee respectively.^[22] Xander Mobus even stated he was unsure why this was removed from the final version.^[23]
Unused files exist for Lucina saying "My turn!" or "You're mine!" that were meant to be used for Counter and Marth's exclamations from previous games upon countering. In the final build, the two simply grunt; however, after the 1.0.8 patch, Lucina will speak upon countering.
The sound effect that played during Sheik's entrance in Brawl exists as an unused file in for Wii U.
Likewise, Captain Falcon, Meta Knight, Ike, Luigi, Mario, Peach, Pikachu, Sheik, and Zelda have their unused voice clips from Brawl in for Wii U; this is likely due to their voice files being directly ported from Brawl. These unused sound from Brawl have since been deleted in Ultimate.
- Likewise, Only Link and Captain Falcon's "heavy ouch" voices from Brawl and Pikachu's unused victory cry were deleted after being directly ported. Since release, Link and Captain Falcon have completely new "heavy ouch" voices.
Similarly to the entire Brawl cast, Corrin has two "heavy ouch" voices for both gender, but in the final build, Corrin is silent when receiving high knockback due to coding error. These were eventually repurposed for Ultimate.
The "Forest Stage" track from Kirby Air Ride was found in the April 16th, 2015 patch on the 3DS version, along with the music for Dream Land, indicating it was meant to be the alternate music on that stage. While it is indeed used as a My Music option on the Wii U version, it is absent from the 3DS where it was originally found, with a remix of "Ice Cream Island" from Kirby's Adventure taking its place.
- Also in this patch was the original victory theme from Street Fighter II, however, in the final game, it is replaced with a remix of the same theme.
There are sound clips of the announcer saying "Mii Brawler", "Mii Swordfighter" and "Mii Gunner", in the files, as the Mii Fighters were likely supposed to be separate fighters. However, in the final game, he only says "Mii". The sounds were later used in Ultimate. There are also voice clips for "Clear", similar to Brawl's (also unused) "Stage Clear" clip, as well as alternate voice clips for the Tourney mode, with the announcer saying "Round 4" and "Final round". The latter was also reused for Ultimate as well, albeit only "Round 1", "Round 2" and "Round 3" clips.

Minor elements

A major amount of content for SSB4, revealed in Famitsu or leaks, were either removed or revamped.

Scrapped mode features

Co-op play for Smash Run (3DS) was planned, but had to be scrapped due to limitations with the hardware.
- Co-op power-ups for Smash Run were also planned.
Special rule-sets for 8-Player Smash were planned, similar to the online mode Light vs. Dark in Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Custom Moves

Some custom moves were awarded in the E3 demo build of for Nintendo 3DS. Only neutral and side specials were awarded, but they were presented as up and down special moves, respectively.
Hacking has revealed that characters were intended to have three custom move options for each special, instead of two in the final game^[24]. Through hacking these scrapped custom moves can be accessed, though they're significantly incomplete, lacking sounds, visual effects, animations, some of them even freezing the character or crashing the game, and all except Mario's lacking any sort of hitboxes: a Fireball variant with ice properties (like Luigi's Iceballs), a Cape variant that deals very little damage but very much shield damage, and a F.L.U.D.D. variant that deals electric damage.

Tharja trophy

A trophy for the Fire Emblem Awakening character Tharja was initially planned for the game, and the trophy was visible in leaked ESRB footage. Following the release of the game in Japan, however, Tharja's trophy was not found by players on Twitch, and later hacking showed that there was no data for the trophy in the final game, suggesting that it was removed some time after the ESRB footage. The reason for the removal of Tharja's trophy is considered to be related to the game's rating; her outfit as a Dark Mage was likely considered too suggestive and revealing for SSB4's intended E10+ rating, compared to Fire Emblem Awakening's T rating. As the leaked images showed a counter of 686 and there were 685 trophies prior to Mewtwo's release in the final build, Tharja's trophy was the only such trophy removed.

Tharja's scrapped trophy.

Super Smash Bros. Masterpiece

There is an unused file consisting of text that refers to a Masterpiece of the original Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, suggesting it was playable at one point. This would've been the only N64 Masterpiece in SSB4 and the first Masterpiece in both Brawl and SSB4 that was actually a game from the Smash Bros. series.

The unused text

Hidden icons

Separate character select icons for each Mii Fighter were found in the 3DS version's files. Oddly, the Mii Brawler icon is present in Prima Games' guide on page 292 in place of the regular Mii Fighter icon.
Various stage-like preview icons for All-Star Mode, Home-Run Contest, Trophy Rush, and Target Blast were found in the 3DS and Wii U version's files. A Smash Run icon and a zoomed in version of the Battlefield icon can be found in the 3DS version's files.
A Miiverse preview icon exists within the Wii U version's files with a darker background.

The zoomed in Battlefield icon.
The Battlefield icon as seen in the game.
The Smash Run icon in the 3DS version.
The All-Star Mode icon in the 3DS version.
The All-Star Mode icon in the Wii U version.
The Trophy Rush icon in the 3DS version.
The Trophy Rush icon in the Wii U version.
The Home-Run Contest icon in the 3DS version.
The Home-Run Contest icon in the Wii U version.
The Target Blast icon in the 3DS version.
The Target Blast icon in the Wii U version.
The Miiverse icon with the darker background.
The Miiverse icon as seen in the game.

Unused boss icons

The file SSB4\param\ui\ui_character_db contains unused icons of bosses in the game (which includes Virus of the Dr. Mario series).^[25] 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. The Master Giant and Master Beast artworks were later used as Spirit artworks for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Viruses
Ridley
Metal Face in a t-pose.
Yellow Devil
Master Giant
Master Beast
Master Edges
Master Shadow
Master Fortress
Master Core (present in the Wii U files, but only used in the 3DS version)

Unused boss animations

Interestingly, in the bosses folder, an unused set of strings and attack animations for Petey Piranha have been found in the code (though the animations are only present in the files of the Wii U version.

Even more curiously, there are no leftover models, textures, sounds or parameters with which these animations would correspond to, as only the animations appear to remain in the game. The lack of leftover assets would appear to imply that Petey Piranha was scrapped at a very early stage in development.^[26]

Cross-version leftovers

Several unused gameplay elements can be found within the data of for Nintendo 3DS, some of which ended up becoming integrated into the final build of for Wii U.

Announcer clips for "8-Player Smash", "Yellow team", "Master Orders", "Crazy Orders", "Special Smash", "Grab the coins", "Event Match" and "Tourney". The "Special Smash" clip still exists in for Nintendo 3DS's Sound Test, as clip 84 for the Announcer. There is also a "Boss battle" voice clip, which eventually used for Smash Tour when a boss appears.
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.

Music titles

Song titles did not seem finalized until late into development. Early in development, the song "Saria's Song / Middle Boss Battle" was named only "Saria's Song" without "Middle Boss Battle" in the title. "Ballad of the Goddess / Ghirahim's Theme" was simply referred to as "Ballad of the Goddess". "Main Theme / Underworld Theme (The Legend of Zelda)" was just referred to as "Main Theme". These can all be seen in 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.