Super Mario Bros. 3 Box Features Mystery Level
Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 4:18pm by Will
While I was researching the design of old video game boxes for an assignment, I happened to come across a unique screen shot on the back of Super Mario Brothers 3. The box featured an unplayable level that I don’t remember ever playing. I find it strange that levels were cut out of the game but left on the box to tease you. Has anyone ever notice anything similar to this happening on other game boxes?
April 10th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
This drove me crazy for years as a kid!! I kept trying and trying to find this level. There is only one level in the game with those enemies and it is in the sky world. It completely takes place in the clouds. It makes me wish there was a level editor with the game, that would have rocked!
April 10th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Yes, I always noticed this too growing up. This also is the case on the back of Super Mario Bros. 2 box art. There’s a winter scene that doesn’t exist. check it out!
April 10th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I don’t believe this! I’m going to play the game this weekend now.
April 10th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Couldn’t you unlock that level using the E-Reader for the GBA version?
April 10th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Has anyone compared it with the Japanese version? There were all kinds of art changes between the Japanese and the North American versions….
April 10th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Wow, good eye!
April 10th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
The world 1 map is different also.
April 10th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Wasn’t there a gun on the back of the goldeneye box that was never in the game, check it out http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/image/197462.html?box=42225
April 10th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I find this stuff fascinating!
For whatever reason, it’s quite common that the boxart etc is designed/produced some time in advance of a game’s completion but nevertheless it’s still nice to get a glimpse into what may have been
April 10th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I think that is the original design for the RPC90 in the Goldeneye screen
April 10th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I also remember Goldeneye had that island you couldn’t get to in the Dam level. Bond was supposed to be able to get to it by boat, but decided against it. They removed the boat, but kept the island in the game. It wasn’t on the box art, but it was a cool easter egg.
April 10th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
One of the screenshots on the box for Twilight Princess shows a magic meter, even though there isn’t any magic meter in-game.
April 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Similar to Goldeneye, Timesplitters 2 has a gun on the back of the box that isn’t in the game.
April 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
There was a vide for Sonic in Brawl on the Smash Bros website that showed a scene from Subspace Emmisary that wasn’t in the game. It showed Mario running through the jungle, then getting run over by Sonic.
April 10th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
@ Bigsaskatuna, yeah I remember that pic, could never work out why they’d put a screen of the game on the box that obviously wasn’t included in the actual game
.
April 10th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
If I’m not mistaken you can see this screen in this post on youtube. The music notes are throughout this video. Have a look at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmmz7SOToXs
April 11th, 2009 at 2:44 am
Way to waste my time Owilde…
April 11th, 2009 at 7:26 am
also in one of the screenshots on the back of the wii version os zelda:twilight princess, a majic bar is shown whih was removed from the game
April 11th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
@Lite: You sure that was supposed to be in the SSE? I’m pretty sure that was just a promotional video for the announcement of Sonic being included in Brawl.
April 11th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
@ HyperSonic:
When Mario gets run down, he pulls an animation you can’t see in the game.
April 11th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
That might be one of the levels in the gba version that are unlocked with the e-reader
April 13th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
[...] Infendo pointed out a screenshot on the back of the original box for Super Mario Bros. 3 that doesn’t actually appear anywhere in the game. In fact, those bad guys that you see only show up in one level and it looks nothing like that level on the box. Is it possible that this level is in the Japanese version of the game, or has it remained hidden for all these years? Share and Enjoy: [...]
April 14th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
[...] Link [via] Read More Super Mario Bros. Matryoshka Dolls Remind Us of the MotherlandThe Super Mario theme has lyrics?Sweet Super Mario Brothers 3 T-ShirtSuper Mario Bros. Wall DecalsSuper Mario Power Up! Energy Drink Makes You Crash Harder Than Luigi On A Bender TAGS: cheat, easter egg, hidden level, luigi, missing, nintendo, super mario 3, super mario bros, super mario bros. 3 SHARE: Stumble Upon, Digg, del.icio.us, Reddit this, SlashdotSend to a FriendPermalink [...]
April 14th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
[...] Link [via] [...]
May 13th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Zelda: OOT box has screenshots from beta, never seen on any version of the game.
May 13th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
On the back of the KotOR box, just about every screenshot has some impossibility in it – jedi PC on Taris, wookie w/ lightsabers, etc etc.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
If you look at the Half Life 2 art, Alyx is carrying a wrench- it was initially intended to be her weapon, like Gordon’s crowbar, but they decided it was too similar to the crowbar so it was taken out.
May 15th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
TF2. Trailer: Demoman Dynamite
Game: No Demoman Dynamite
May 17th, 2009 at 2:23 am
On the back of the CD case for Spryo the Dragon 2 for PS1 there is a picture of Spyro using a powerup that is not available in-game, even with hacks. :/
May 17th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
“The box featured an unplayable level that I don’t remember ever playing”
An unplayable level you’ve never played? Speaky English good so not me very much you thank!
May 23rd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
On the back of my Ocarina of Time box, there’s a picture that shows Malon in Hyrule market, but the player already has a magic meter. I don’t think that’s possible.
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
[...] Super Mario Bros. 3 Hidden Levels, and other Super Mario Bros. series glitches The story on Infendo that is currently at the top of Reddit’s “Gaming Subreddit” pointed out that [...]
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Myth 3 had a lot of claims on the back of the box for features and modes that weren’t actually included in the game.
But it was garbage.
It also featured some options in the game that were permanently grayed out and not accessible.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I can’t believe nobody’s noticed the first screenshot on the box – that isn’t the same map of World 1 as is in the game!
June 25th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
On the box for Zelda: Twilight Princess, it shows a screenshot from one of the beta builds where Link still used magic. They eventually took the use of magic out of the game, but left the screenshot on the box.
July 11th, 2009 at 2:17 am
The Chrono Trigger box art featured the ice-using character (Marle) using fire magic (which is Lucca’s power). The characters are fighting an enemy (I forget his name; he’s a boss) on a mountain (Death Peak). In the game, you fight that enemy in a cave. Death Peak is in the future era, and the cave is in the present era. At the base of the mountain, you see a town, which is non-existant in the game.
I found the Chrono Trigger box art to be unbelievably flawed…
July 14th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Mass Effect Trailers:Possible to change between characters e.g Krogan e.t.c
Mass Effect Game: AI controls squad instead
Fallout 3 screenshots: Cryolator gun that can freeze people
Fallout 3 Game:A gun that fires coffee mugs
Mercenaries 2 trailers/ screenshots :Zippo Lighter for burning fuel or trees
Mercenaries 2 game: No lighter
Fable 2 Designer Peter Molyneux’s Promises : Family that grows up and changes
Fable 2 Game: A bunch of whiny brats that refuse to help me shoot bandits
Call of Juarez 2 Trailers: Co op similar to Army of Two
Call of Juarez 2 Game : Me helping some twit of an AI
August 26th, 2009 at 12:41 am
@XxStRaDaxX:
I dont know about the others, but Im certain the fallout 3 gun that fires coffee mugs is the Rock-It-Launcher?
August 29th, 2009 at 12:58 am
Chrono Trigger’s box art is correct, they’re using the triple tech, arc impulse, I believe. It looks just like the box cover.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
This also happens with the Wii version of Twilight Princess, inone of the pics you can see a green magic bar below link’s hearts and you never get that on the game and if you look closely to the GameCube version you will see that same pic flipped to make Link left handed and the green bar is gone
October 19th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
This is a secret level which i saw on a youtube video with the some Asian characters and showed the secret room where if you are really good can match the sounds of the bgm with noises made by you or objects
December 11th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
To be honest with you, I wouldnt have ever noticed anything like that. Unless the screenshot was totally different (like a forza screenshot on COD) im pretty sure I wouldnt be able to tell.
December 14th, 2009 at 7:22 am
I once saw a map design of Super Mario World in Nintendo Power magazine (maybe I’ll look it up and scan it when I’m home if anyone’s interested). On this map it was possible to get to an island above that mountain thing on top of the map…I couldn’t find any hidden level, so probably it doesn’t exist!
January 21st, 2010 at 4:43 pm
@ Collin
That island does exist, i have been on it.