Following the huge leak of Nintendo Wii source code and files back in May, leakers have recently moved on to examining Nintendo 64 prototypes — and boy, have they been busy.
First up, an early build of Super Mario 64, titled “Ultra 64 Mario Brothers,” has been discovered and features a fully playable Luigi! Back in 1996, Director Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that Luigi was originally intended to appear in the game, but was ultimately removed due to “memory issues.”
THEY COMPLETED THE MODEL
IT'S NOT PHOTOSHOP THIS TIME pic.twitter.com/lq9SPx3cYh— Spangle (@SpangleZeKankle) July 26, 2020
super luigi 64 in Real pic.twitter.com/2mbm8wlnK3
— axo #BlackLivesMatter (@axoonium) July 26, 2020
It’s thought that the timing of this leak was very much intentional, as it possibly references the popular “L is Real 2401” theory within the Super Mario 64 community. “L” is thought to refer to Luigi, and as for “2401,” it has been 24 years and one month since Super Mario 64’s Japanese launch date in 1996. We’re currently only a few days off from the original release date of June 23rd, too!
Super Mario 64’s original artwork, box art, and character models have also been found:
Original Quality SM64 Cartridge Arthttps://t.co/821RRmMQjJ pic.twitter.com/FQ3X8wFEOx
— Kaitlyn Molinas (@orcastraw) July 25, 2020
Not to be completely outshone by his brother, Mario has some unused animations, including some adorable dance moves.
Still haven't went to bed. Still doing Mario 64. Bunch of unused animations I'm going to take a peak at now, here's "windemoAold", which is mario doing a cute little dance. This was supposed to go instead of the star dance animation. pic.twitter.com/qhuNOTkkod
— Nova (@Marionova64) July 26, 2020
Source code and files were also discovered for another of Nintendo 64’s flagship titles, Ocarina of Time. Leakers have supposedly uncovered references to “Ura Zelda,” a Nintendo 64 Disk Drive expansion that was cancelled due to the commercial failure of the 64DD peripheral. Some prototypes dungeons have been found, as well as what appears to be an early build of Kokiri Forest.
ROOM3, 4, 5, 6 pic.twitter.com/depBe0SmpD
— xdaniel@がんばらない (@xdanieldzd) July 25, 2020
There’s even an early model of a Stalfos, complete with several, bone-chilling animations.
As with Super Mario 64, original, high-quality art assets were also found for Ocarina of Time, including official artwork of Link from the game’s box art in full resolution:
Full Quality Asset from "Folder labeled Zelda N64 package"https://t.co/D4FU9SFY3R pic.twitter.com/nxgCVv8Csr
— Kaitlyn Molinas (@orcastraw) July 26, 2020
Star Fox 64 fans aren’t being left out here either, as all the entirety of the game’s beloved dialogue has been shared online in its full, uncompressed glory. You can listen to it all in one place, but allow me to direct you to what you really came to hear:
Now that the floodgates have fully opened, there are sure to be even more exciting leaks to come. We’ll keep you informed if any more groundbreaking discoveries surface!
Written by Reece Heather
A lifelong Nintendo fan and a longtime editor at Zelda Universe, Reece will forever be grateful that he somehow dodged the Naughty List of Christmas 1998, when Santa delivered the life-changing gift of a Nintendo 64 with Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Mario Kart 64. When he's not playing games, Reece is usually reading Punisher comics, delving helplessly into the weirdest depths of anime and manga, or spending time with his cocker spaniel Gracie -- the goodest girl ever!
