With the emergence of recordings from an old Japanese program, we can take a brief look at the beta versions of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario RPG, which had remained hidden from the public until then.
The program, called Games Catalogue 2, aired during the 1990s and belonged to Famitsu. As its name suggests, it showed news about games.
In the video below, we can see the beta version of Super Mario 64. The differences are not very large and include changes to textures and the User Interface. This is evident in the frame that gives access to the Cool Cool Mountain world, which contains only a generic mountain instead of a cartoon-like setting.
The most noticeable difference in the beta is the absence of Charles Martinet’s classic voice for Mario. It is replaced by a temporary voice.
In the video below, we have the beta version of Super Mario RPG, the result of Nintendo’s collaboration with Square. We can see some differences, such as the absence of the racetrack on Yo’ster Isle and Croco’s coloring, which is now green instead of the purple used in the final version. The color may have been changed to distinguish him from Yoshi, since otherwise both would be green reptiles.
It is always interesting when old versions of well-known games are discovered by the public. They reveal interesting facts about development and about content that was added or cut from the final product. The beta version of Pokémon Gold/Silver, for example, was rediscovered in recent months and showed the world several Pokémon that never saw the light of day.
If you had the chance to play a beta version of a game, which one would you choose?
