Editing Unused content (SSBU)

{{articleIcons|ultimate=y}}

{{incomplete|Tons of TCRF info, eg. Unused ledgehang ranges, etc https://tcrf.net/Super_Smash_Bros._Ultimate - also could note on Giga Bowser weirdness, there's quite a bit}}

The following is all '''[[unused content]]''' that is known to have been at least considered during development of ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'' before being altered, rejected, cut, or abandoned prior to the final release.

==Fighters==
===Considered for the base game===
*[[Alucard]] - In a Famitsu interview, [[Masahiro Sakurai]] stated that Alucard was considered for the spot of the playable ''Castlevania'' character, due to him being arguably the most recognizable ''Castlevania'' protagonist, but he decided to go with [[Simon]] and [[Richter]], feeling that fans would prefer the Belmonts, resulting in his [[Assist Trophy]] and [[Palutena's Guidance|cameo]] roles.<ref>https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1074578854134439936/</ref>
*{{pkmn|Decidueye}} - In an interview with Nintendo Dream, Sakurai revealed that when deciding which new Gen 7 Pokémon would be playable, the decision came down to between Decidueye and [[Incineroar]]. He ended up choosing Incineroar, as Sakurai had a desire of creating a character with a professional wrestling-based moveset.<ref>[https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1087124581867958273 PushDustIn on Twitter: "Sakurai confirms in an interview: Decidueye was almost chosen for the new Pokémon spot"]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/1062726902341746691 Source Gaming on Twitter: "Sakurai wanted to pick a newcomer to represent content from a newer game. With Ultra Sun and Moon, a Pokémon 'slot' was left opened. Eventually after some consideration, they went with Incineroar. Sakurai says he wanted to try making a pro wrestler...."]</ref>
*Fighters from {{uv|ARMS}} and ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' - In an interview with Nintendo Dream, Sakurai confirms that due to ''Ultimate''{{'}}s playable roster being decided with the game's project plan finalization in December 2015, long before the announcement of both games in January 2017, no characters from either ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' or ''ARMS'' could be made playable in the base game, resulting in [[Rex]], [[Nia]], [[Spring Man]], and [[Ribbon Girl]] becoming [[Alternate costume (SSBU)/Mii Fighter|Mii Fighter Costumes]] and [[spirit]]s (with Spring Man also being present as an Assist Trophy).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japanesenintendo.com/post/182181277319|title=Decidueye Almost Chosen For Smash|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124011353/http://www.japanesenintendo.com/post/182181277319|archivedate=2019-01-24}}</ref> Both games would eventually get playable characters through the {{h2|Fighter Pass|Fighters Pass Vol. 2}} with {{SSBU|Min Min}} and {{SSBU|Pyra}}/{{SSBU|Mythra}}.
*[[Steve]] - After Steve was announced as a DLC fighter, 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 the base game at one point.<ref>https://twitter.com/Kappische/status/1311773807175180296</ref>

===Considered as DLC===
*[[Slime]] - In a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szGPHfQ4BBM ''Dragon Quest XI S'' livestream interview], Sakurai had said he would have dropped [[Hero]] in favor of [[Slime]] if Square Enix had not allowed him to use the Hero.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928174302/https://www.siliconera.com/2019/09/26/masahiro-sakurai-and-yuji-horii-discuss-smash-ultimates-hero-dlc-director-philosophy-and-more/|title=Sakurai on Slime}}</ref>
*Other ''Dragon Quest'' protagonists as alternative character costumes for the Hero - In the same ''Dragon Quest XI S'' livestream interview, Sakurai wanted to include eight different character alternative costumes for the Hero; however, poor development time left him with half of the alternative costumes to be recolors of the previous four instead of fully implemented characters.
*[[Ninjara]] - During Min Min's reveal on June 22nd, 2020, Sakurai mentioned that he considered either Min Min or Ninjara serving as the {{uv|ARMS}} fighter. However, Min Min was ultimately picked over Ninjara for the spot on request from Kosuke Yabuki, the game's producer.
*[[Rex]] - At one point in development, Rex was planned to fight alongside [[Pyra]] and [[Mythra]] similar to the {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}}, but he was removed due to technical issues with the implementation of the idea, like getting both characters to move at the same time which was impossible to do, Sakurai also stated that Rex as the main fighter with Pyra/Mythra behind him was also too difficult.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeDBCgDSiB4&t=414s</ref> Rex ended up being delegated to a supporting character, appearing in Pyra and Mythra's up taunt, Final Smash, and two victory poses each.
*[[Heihachi Mishima]] - In {{h2|Mr. Sakurai Presents|Mr. Sakurai Presents "Kazuya"}}, Sakurai revealed that Heihachi, who was previously considered to be playable in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', was almost chosen to be the ''Tekken'' fighter for ''Ultimate''. Instead he chose [[Kazuya]], as he thought that because Kazuya has the [[Devil Kazuya|Devil Gene]], there was a better potential moveset for him than his father.

===Mii Fighters===
*An unused Mii with the codename "sordsman"{{sic}} exists in the game's files. It appears identical to the default {{SSBU|Mii Swordfighter}}, albeit with a red favorite color rather than royal blue. It was possibly intended to be a placeholder Mii for the default Mii Swordfighter.<ref>https://sites.google.com/view/miilibrary/NX/SmashUltimate/Sordsman</ref>

<gallery>
Sordsman.png|The unused "sordsman" Mii.
</gallery>

==Stages==
===Differences===
*During the "Everyone is here!" segment of the E3 2018 Direct, the background of [[Fourside]] features a skyscraper with the text "Department" going down its facade. In the final release, the skyscraper is still present; however, the text is absent.
*[[Lylat Cruise]] in the E3 2018 demo appears to use its stage select image from ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]''.
*In {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s character trailer, he is seen climbing up a ladder in [[75m]]. The stage appears to be identical to its ''Brawl'' and ''Wii U'' incarnations in this trailer, but in the final release, the stage's platforms are angled differently to make the "3D" effect seem less prominent and the stage has been recolored, to better reflect its appearance from its game of origin.
*In one screenshot, [[Knuckles]] appears as an [[Assist Trophy]] on [[Green Hill Zone]]. In the final game, this is impossible and he will only appear on the stage as a background character.
*A few stages' images have differences on the stage select screen in the August 8, 2018 Nintendo Direct from the final game.
**{{SSBU|Battlefield}}'s image is zoomed in more in the final game.
**[[Spear Pillar]] in the Direct depicts the green hue that normally appears when [[Cresselia]] is present, but doesn't actually have any Pokémon in the image, while the final game depicts the image with the purple hue with [[Palkia]] in the background.
**[[Reset Bomb Forest]]'s image is zoomed out more in the final game.
**The position of the clouds in [[Onett]]'s image are in slightly different spots in the final game.
**A few elements of the [[Princess Peach's Castle]] and [[Town and City]] stages are in slightly different spots in the final game.
*Battlefield:
**The stage had at least 18 different conceptual designs settling on the final design.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wsGOOhnjY</ref>
**The stage originally had two flags like in ''Smash 4''.
*In {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}}'s reveal trailer, Gruntilda can briefly be seen flying around [[Spiral Mountain]] on her broomstick in a static, unanimated pose, as opposed to the final game in which she jovially bounces around as she flies in the background.
*Within the files for [[Garreg Mach Monastery]], there are two files which have an unmapped portion—one for the Golden Deer and another for the Blue Lions—suggesting {{iw|fireemblemwiki|Ignatz}} and {{iw|fireemblemwiki|Sylvain}} respectively were planned to appear on the stage at some point in development. Sylvain has files for both color and material properties, whereas Ignatz has a file for material properties but his color file is solid grey.
*[[Minecraft World]]'s lighting was tweaked during development to make it fit with {{uv|Minecraft}}'s lighting engine instead of ''Ultimate''{{'}}s.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*[[Cloud Sea of Alrest]] was noticeably different between production and release, such as platforms having different textures, few models moved to the foreground, and cloud animations.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*[[Mishima Dojo]]:
**The stage featured less details in both its inside and outside views during production. A desaturated filter was added in order to fix some details that were not visible due to the stage being set at night.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
**The easter egg from ''{{iw|wikipedia|Tekken 7}}'' in Mishima Dojo was missing during production, being engraved names of [[Heihachi]] and Kazumi.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*[[Hollow Bastion]]:<ref name="yt_200924"/>
**The stage had a different color shade for the waterfall, resembling ice.
**Platforms and background structures featured less pronounced relief in both Hollow Bastion and its Dive to the Heart section. This includes less color shades for the foreground and darker or less details in the background.
**The Dive to the Heart section had more gloom to its platform, making characters blends with the stained glass or their attacks blend with the main platform.

===Considered===
*Mount Huji along with other areas from the ''Dragon Quest'' series were considered to be replacements for [[Yggdrasil's Altar]] during development.<ref>https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-and-yuji-horii-on-how-hero-made-it-into-smash-bros-yggdrasils-altar-was-almost-scrapped-initially-just-luminary-and-erdrick/</ref>
*[[Small Battlefield]] was at the very least considered to have forms for every stage, similar to [[Battlefield form|Battlefield]] and [[Ω form|Ω]] forms.<ref>https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1290823951518560256</ref>
*[[Masahiro Sakurai]]'s original concept for Minecraft World was to include a level editor that would allow stages built in ''Minecraft'' to be imported and played in ''Ultimate''. The concept was abandoned early on, as technical issues made it impossible.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Sephazon/status/1321481979108282368 Robert Sephazon on Twitter]</ref> Minecraft World's texture sheet shows multiple textures that go unused, such as carved pumpkin blocks, gold and diamond blocks, and the command block. These unused textures may be related to Sakurai's original concept.

===Removed===
*The [[Miiverse]] stage was intended to return, and a ''[[Rhythm Heaven]]'' stage was intended to be introduced{{fact}}. Looking into the <code>ui_series_db.prc</code> file, it includes ''Rhythm Heaven'' (rhythm) and Miiverse, this could be a carryover from ''Smash 4'', and while the save file index for the list of series is in the same order as it was in ''Smash 4'', they have two omissions, ''Brain Age'' (braintraining) and ''Swapnote'' (diary).<ref>[https://sourcegaming.info/2015/07/24/smash-for-wii-u-and-brawl-emblem-order/ Smash for Wii U and Brawl Emblem Order]</ref> ''Rhythm Heaven'' and Miiverse are in close proximity to other stage exclusive series in the parameters, this would suggest they were purposefully left over in the series database to be used for their own stages.
*The {{forwiiu}} iteration of {{SSB4|Battlefield}} was used in the development environment of ''Ultimate''. Although it is not present in its release, development screenshots on the stage have been shown on several occasions by Masahiro Sakurai, depicting the stage with ''Ultimate''{{'}}s lighting engine. It was used as a test stage as late as the development of ''Ultimate''{{'}}s final DLC character, {{SSBU|Sora}}.<ref name="yt_111723">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKQ2v9kno9I Odds and Ends of Supervising <nowiki>[</nowiki>Graphics<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</ref><ref name="yt_200924">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqjXBzWX3_A Odds and Ends of Supervising: Sora Edition <nowiki>[</nowiki>Graphics<nowiki>]</nowiki>]</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1232500719527137283</ref> Besides the lighting being different and used as a test stage for that, there are noticeable differences between the two games.<ref>https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1232863954407325701</ref>

<gallery>
Unused Fourside Grand Department Store.jpg|The background of Fourside with the unused Grand Department Store.
Minecraft_World_Texture_Sheet.png|The texture sheet for the blocks used in Minecraft World.
UnusedGarregMachMonestary.png|Head textures for the Blue Lions students in Garreg Mach Monastery.
UnusedGarregMachMonestary2.png|Head textures for the Golden Deer students in Garreg Mach Monastery.
</gallery>

==Gameplay==
*The {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} route files for {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}} and {{SSBU|Mega Man}} each contain data specifying a [[Hit points|stamina]] HP value of 120, but have stamina mode disabled. This implies that these fighters' Classic Mode routes may have once been planned to use stamina battles. In the final game, {{SSBU|Ryu}}, {{SSBU|Hero}}, {{SSBU|Terry}}, {{SSBU|Byleth}}, {{SSBU|Steve}}, {{SSBU|Pyra}}/{{SSBU|Mythra}}, {{SSBU|Kazuya}}, and {{SSBU|Sora}} are the only fighters whose routes uses stamina battles, with a HP value of 150 for Ryu, Hero, Terry, and Pyra/Mythra, while Byleth, Steve, Kazuya, and Sora start with 100.
*In an interview, Sakurai stated that he had planned to lower the run speed for a campy playstyle. However, it was eventually scrapped because he believed it was nearly impossible to tell what was campy.<ref>https://twitter.com/Meshima_/status/1087194909705101312</ref>
*The usage of [[wikipedia:GGPO|rollback netcode]] for online gameplay was considered, but was ultimately decided against due to each implementation attempt creating multiple side effects.<ref>https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1301055140900737024</ref>
*Unlike other bosses, [[Giga Bowser]] can be used as a fighter with the works of hacking, many unused elements can be found for him like a {{SSBU|Kirby}} [[copy ability]], a full moveset (albeit without access to certain moves), and many other elements that go unused. With all this in mind, it seems that Giga Bowser was ported over from ''Smash 4'' where he was a transformation Final Smash for {{SSB4|Bowser}}.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6PthMfdBuc</ref>
*Chef Kawasaki, after being summoned (assuming at least one person is trapped in his attack), will always leave behind a food item before disappearing. However, inside the file <code>generate_param_assist.prc</code>, there are some food items Chef Kawasaki can never generate due to spawn rate being set to "0", despite them all being defined to be spawnable. The following are food items Chef Kawasaki can never spawn:<ref>[https://tcrf.net/Super_Smash_Bros._Ultimate#Unused_Assist_Parameters ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' on The Cutting Room Floor]</ref>
**Cherries
**Pears
**Milk
**Tea
**Cola
**Sushi
**Tenshin
**Corn Potage
**Chocolate
**Popcorn
**Salad
**Kiwi
**Mont Blanc
**Pasta
**Grape
**Candy
**Lemon
**Fried Egg
**Apple
**Roasted Chicken
**Steak
**Steamed Bun
**Pizza
**Pineapple
**Doughnut
**Cheese
**Peach
*In a similar case, [[Rodin]] has weapons he can never gift the player due to their spawn rate being set to "0". The following are weapons Rodin can never generate:
**Fire Flower
**Gust Bellows
**Fire Bar
**Golden Hammer
**Hammer
**Homerun Bat
**Lip Stick
**Star Rod
*Dragonite, despite already having a model used in the [[Kalos Pokémon League]] stage, has a different model that can be found in the folder that contains Poké Ball Pokemon in the game files. This version of Dragonite has upscaled textures and shading that makes it look more in line with the assets created for ''Ultimate''. Due to this, it can be assumed that Dragonite was once going to be a summonable Pokémon, but was cut from the game for unknown reasons.
**Another Pokémon, Scizor, has a case similar to this. However, unlike Dragonite, Scizor can actually be summoned (unless the player is on the Kalos Pokémon League stage, in which case it can never be summoned).
*Leftover data implies that [[Ditto]] was originally meant to have an entrance, victory pose(s), and perform Final Smashes. However, Ditto cannot do any of these things in the final game.
*Out of the current 115 stages in ''Ultimate'', only 59 stages can be viewed using the Nintendo Labo VR headset. However, modding the game to make all stages playable in VR reveals that some of the unavailable stages have defined camera parameters, implying that they were intended to be played in VR mode, but aren't available in the final version of the update. The current stages confirmed to have working camera parameters are:
**75m
**Midgar
**Mementos

<gallery>
SSBU UnusedDragonite Render.png|The unused model for Dragonite.
</gallery>

===Fighter movesets===
*In the E3 demo, {{SSBU|Bayonetta}} was able to use [[Heel Slide|After Burner Kick]], Downwards After Burner Kick, and then gain another After Burner Kick before landing.<ref>https://twitter.com/SoraKibzu/status/1023587885914759169</ref>
*In {{SSBU|Pac-Man}}'s character trailer, he is shown able to actually ''attack'' the water from his [[Fire Hydrant]], making it completely disappear. However, this is impossible to do in the final game, as the water functions exactly how it did in the previous game.
**Also in his character trailer, it is shown that attacking the trampoline would turn it green, and it would also put enemies into a helpless state when they jumped on it (regardless of the current level). Both of these changes were removed in the final game.
*[[Smash attacks]] in the air were considered by Sakurai and the development team in the original plan for ''Ultimate'', but were scrapped due to being too complicated to implement.<ref>https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1455924991971631107</ref> Min Min would eventually bring this concept exclusive to her.
*Several characters have animation folders coming from the previous installments. Like with {{SSBU|Lucina}}'s, the folders have no animations inside.
*While relatively minor, several characters who returned from ''Brawl'' to ''Smash 4'' will briefly resume their idle animations from the latter game when using a dash attack or a tilt attack with a battery item (ie. Beam Sword, Home-Run Bat, etc.). This oddity can be seen by using the game's Frame-by-Frame feature in Camera mode.
*Like in ''SSB4'', characters that could [[glide]] in ''Brawl'' retain the code for it despite the mechanic being removed. However, newcomer {{SSBU|Ridley}} has code for gliding despite not being able to. While the exact reason for why Ridley has gliding code in the first place remains unknown, further inspection reveals it is nearly identical to {{SSBU|Charizard}}'s, suggesting Ridley was created by using Charizard as a base, and that the code for gliding was a carryover. However, this would result in a T-pose due to the lack of animation (although the "trans" bone does move).
*[[Giga Bowser]]'s move scripts frequently make calls for Final Smash variables, implying that the reason for Giga Bowser's character slot is that he was intended to act like his ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'' appearances until late into development.
**This is further implied by his Final Smash being an unfinished version of [[Giga Bowser (Final Smash)|Bowser's Final Smash from ''Smash 4'']], even featuring a slightly different version of the green flash featured in the previous game.
*{{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}:
**Donkey Kong originally had his opponent facing the same direction as him while using his forward throw. In the final game, the opponent is held so that they are facing away from him instead.
**An unused model for Donkey Kong's bongo drums can be found in the game files. Donkey Kong used bongo drums in [[Konga Beat]], his Final Smash in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'', and due to its updated design and textures (despite not being used), it can be assumed that Konga Beat was meant to return for ''Ultimate''. However, Donkey Kong has a new Final Smash in ''Ultimate'', that being [[Jungle Rush]].
*{{SSBU|Roy}} was briefly shown having a unique running animation in his character trailer. Additionally, it sounds noticeably slower than it currently does, indicating that at one point, Roy's running speed may have been either unchanged or even slowed down. It was eventually replaced by his original run from ''SSB4'' and sped up.
*{{SSBU|Olimar}}'s Pikmin still have their pummel animation from ''Smash 4'' and their [[Pikmin Chain]] animations from ''[[Brawl]]''. They respectively go unused because Olimar now pummels on his own, and his up special was changed to [[Winged Pikmin]] in ''Smash 4''.
*{{SSBU|R.O.B.}} retained his scripts for [[Super Diffusion Beam]] despite having his Final Smash changed.
*Lucina has animation folders labelled "bow" and "bowarrow" but have no animations inside each. This is either a mistake due to copying asset folders from {{SSBU|Link}}, or an indication that she was going to have a bow in her moveset referencing ''Fire Emblem Awakening'' and ''Fire Emblem Heroes''.
*Mega Man has animation folders for articles pertaining to his [[Character customization|custom moves]] from ''Smash 4'' such as [[Rush Coil#Customization|Beat]] and [[Leaf Shield#Customization|Skull Barrier]] but they have no animations inside them.
*{{SSBU|King K. Rool}} was originally supposed to take damage when successfully using [[Gut Check]]. The move's code has a parameter called "damage_mul_special_lw", and on frame 7, the game requests a damage number to calculate. However, the parameter's multiplier is set to 0, which causes the damage to never actually occur. Notably, the Techniques menu lists Gut Check as a move using [[Belly Super Armor]]. A possible alternative explanation is that the parameter is instead a way to have the move use the same clanging sound effect as Belly Super Armor, with the damage parameter being set to 0 in order to prevent K. Rool from taking damage.
*{{SSBU|Piranha Plant}} has some interesting aspects of its data:
**Some of its data files are identical to {{SSBU|Bowser Jr.}}, suggesting the latter was used as a basis to create Piranha Plant.
**Data character data (before its official release) reveals that it was originally supposed to have three jumps instead of the standard 2. The parameter that controls its max number of jumps ( "jump_count_max") had its number decreased from 3 to 2 in the day one patch for ''Ultimate''. The animation for the third jump is leftover in Piranha Plant's animation folder.<ref>https://twitter.com/Meshima_/status/1091407461460758528</ref>
**In Piranha Plant's reveal trailer, it is shown that its up special could be angled down; for unknown reasons, this feature was removed when it was released.
*When {{SSBU|Joker}} was initially datamined, his code implied that he would have a [[neutral attack|rapid jab]] as part of his moveset. However, in the final game, Joker's jab only goes up to three hits.
*In Hero's reveal trailer, the MP cost of [[Command Selection|Psyche Up]] and [[Command Selection|Oomph]] are different than they are in the final game.
*In Banjo & Kazooie's reveal trailer, the duo's [[down tilt]] can be seen launching an opponent vertically, rather than horizontally as in the actual game. [[Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster|Breegull Blaster]] also has a faster firing rate than in the actual game.
**Additionally, the duo's forward and back aerials have flags for ending intangibility. However, as they lack a flag for starting intangibility, nothing happens in the final game.
*Min Min:
**Min Min has animations for an unused down special in her files; they depict her performing both an aerial and grounded version of Captain Falcon's down special, [[Falcon Kick]], suggesting that Min Min was created by using Captain Falcon as a base. Her down aerial in the retail version, which is a dive kick, somewhat resembles the aerial version of Falcon Kick.
**Min Min also has an unused dash attack hitbox that has [[reflection]] properties, suggesting she was planned to have two moves that reflect projectiles.<ref>https://twitter.com/Meshima_/status/1280091688514383874</ref>
*Pyra/Mythra:
**Mythra has unused carryover animations from Pyra, with an example of a carryover being Pyra's up special, [[Prominence Revolt]].<ref name="mythora"/>
**[[Rex]] has unused Final Smash animations for [[Burning Sword]] and [[Sacred Arrow]], presumably meant to be used if the Final Smashes missed. These animations are static, and have no keyframes for expression.<ref>https://twitter.com/bahbe59/status/1673890495062261760</ref>
*Kazuya has hitbox data for a rapid jab, but with no animation associated so it is unknown what it looked like. The hitbox data is unique, suggesting it wasn't carried over from a different character being used as a template; the rapid jab lifts the opponents off the ground, unlike the vast majority of rapid jab in ''Ultimate'', while the finisher has unique knockback values, with high base knockback but low scaling. It's also unknown if this rapid jab replaced the 10-Hit Combo entirely, or could be transitioned from one of its hits, similarly to the Flash Punch Combo.<ref>https://twitter.com/Ruben_dal/status/1419009775514255360</ref>
*Sora:
**He has data for a reverse {{b|Counterattack|Sora}} strike, presumably suggesting that he was initially going to have a counter detection hitbox that covers his entire body, like most counterattacks. However, it lacks essential bone movement, leaving Sora in a [[T-pose]] when modded back in.<ref name="mythora">https://twitter.com/bahbe59/status/1671330816352198658</ref>
**Numerous animations and frames were tweaked for his moveset, including his Final Smash, throughout development.<ref name="yt_200924"/>

<gallery>
SSBU_Unused_DKBongos.PNG|The unused DK bongo drums.
Piranha Plant Third Jump.gif|Piranha Plant's unused third jump animation.
MinMinUnusedSpecialLw.gif|The unused down special animation for Min Min.
MinMinUnusedSpecialAirLw.gif|Aerial version of the unused down special animation for Min Min.
Mythra Carryover.png|The unused up special animation for Mythra when descending.
</gallery>

===Game Modes===
*The formerly Japan-exclusive [[Official Tourney Qualifiers]] mode contained unused English text strings in the game's data.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/d3n9en/update_on_the_datamined_convention_mode/ Update on the data-mined "convention" mode]</ref>

==Music==
*The [[E3]] reveal featured a version of [[Lifelight]] with different instruments, a faster pace and no lyrics. It was used in later trailers and advertisements (including post-launch DLC), but is absent in the actual game.
*The Battlefield and Menu themes were redone between E3 and the game's release. While they stayed mostly the same, the E3 versions were created in a digital audio workshop on a computer, while the final versions were properly orchestrated.
*In the E3 build, the {{b|Hammer|item}}'s theme originally used the same music from the NES version of ''Donkey Kong'' that was used in the last [[Super Smash Bros. Brawl|two]] [[Super Smash Bros. 4|games]], but the later builds and final version use a direct rip from the arcade version of ''Donkey Kong'' instead.
*In the August 8, 2018 Nintendo Direct, several songs shown in the [[Sound Test]] had titles that were later altered prior to release:
**[[List of SSBU Music (Metroid series)|''Metroid'']]:
***"Opening/Menu - Metroid Prime" was originally named "Metroid Prime: Opening/Menu".
***"Multiplayer - Metroid Prime 2: Echoes" was originally named "Multiplayer (Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)", as it was in {{forwiiu}}.
***"Main Theme - Metroid Prime: Federation Force" was originally named "Splash Screen (Metroid Prime: Federation Force)".
***"Magmoor Caverns - Metroid: Samus Returns" was originally named "Area 1 - 5 Torrid Zone (Metroid: Samus Returns)".
**[[List of SSBU Music (Star Fox series)|''Star Fox'']]:
***"Main Theme - Star Fox" was originally named "Star Fox - Main Theme".
***"Corneria - Star Fox" was originally named "Corneria (Star Fox)".
***"Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (64)","Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Melee)", and "Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Brawl)" were originally titled "Star Fox 64 - Main Theme (64)", "Star Fox 64 - Main Theme (Melee)", and "Star Fox 64 - Main Theme (Brawl)", respectively.
**The total number of [[List of SSBU Music (Pac-Man series)|''Pac-Man'']] tracks was shown as 13 during the Direct, but there are only 11 tracks in the final game. Incidentally, two ''Pac-Man'' music tracks were cut between ''Smash 4'' and ''Ultimate'', implying that those two tracks were originally going to return.
*In {{SSBU|Simon}} and {{SSBU|Richter}}'s reveal trailer, the ending features a remixed version of the Stage Clear theme from {{uv|Castlevania}}; it differs slightly from the ''Castlevania'' [[victory theme]] heard in the final game, in that it lacks the electric guitar, implying the remix heard in the trailer is an earlier version of the victory theme.
*In the E3 2018 demo Ridley had a slightly different victory theme, where instead of the chanting in the final game there is an ominous twinkling sound, seemingly an arrangement of the "Unknown Item Found" jingle from ''Metroid: Zero Mission''.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDrzIIUbaTk</ref>
*''Sonic Rush'' is included inside the database of game titles used across ''Ultimate'', suggesting {{SSB4MusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Right There, Ride On}} was intended to return instead of being cut.
*The original versions of both {{SSBUMusicLink|Persona|Aria of the Soul}} and {{SSBUMusicLink|Persona|Beneath the Mask}} (the former in its ''Persona 5'' rendition) can be [https://tcrf.net/Super_Smash_Bros._Ultimate#Persona found] in the game's files, despite both being remixed in the final release of Challenger Pack 1.
*Internal number gaps from [[Fatal Fury]]'s music suggests there are two cut songs, one from ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'', and ''The King of Fighters '96''. ''Real Bout Fatal Fury'' also has an unused entry inside of the game title database.
*Additional {{uv|Minecraft}} songs were planned, but their arrangements were left unfinished and not included in the final game.<ref>https://twitter.com/Sephazon/status/1321482733030289410</ref>
*A [https://youtu.be/vsY0pdCW9N0?t=1822 slightly-abridged version of One-Winged Angel] plays during ''Mr. Sakurai Presents "Sephiroth"'' in the final stage of Sephiroth's Classic Mode demonstration, missing a small portion of the opening verses. This quirk is not present in the official release; all in-game appearances of the track including Sephiroth's Classic Mode route use the full, unabridged version.
*[https://tcrf.net/Development:Super_Smash_Bros._Ultimate Non-finalized audio files] of several [[List of SSBU Music (Pokémon series)|''Pokémon'' remixes]] created for ''Ultimate'' were among the files in the [[wikipedia:Nintendo data leak|October 2024 Game Freak data leak]], alongside demonstration images and videos of {{SSBU|Incineroar}}. Presumably, these files were sent to [[Game Freak]] for feedback or approval. Of the few, there was also an outro.

<gallery>
SmashUltimateSoundTest.jpg|The Sound Test, with early titles for ''Metroid'' music.
</gallery>

==Sounds==
*Several characters, such as Link, Ganondorf and Ike, use their old voice clips from ''Smash 4'' in early footage of the game.
*In the E3 trailer for the game, the part going over [[Perfect Shield]]ing still uses the old Perfect Shield sound effect from ''Smash 4''. In the final game, this sound was replaced with a more audible sound.
*When a character is KO'd, {{file link|StockCounter.ogg|a *foowish* sound effect}} is played when the game brings up the remaining stocks. However, in the King K. Rool vs Snake video posted by Nintendo UK the sound effect is completely different, being a *bleep* instead.<ref>https://youtu.be/CBLnjibehdU?t=33</ref>
*In Wolf's character showcase video, his Blaster makes a considerably different sound than it does in the final game.
**Additionally, his sound effects of his Wolfen during his on-screen appearance is taken directly from Fox's.
*In the Hero's trailer, the voice clip used for Eight's down smash was instead used for his dash attack. Likewise, the voice clip used for Erdrick's up smash was instead used as one of his generic attack grunts.
*The voice clips for "{{SSBU|Mewtwo}}", "Excellent!", "Nice Call!", "Nailed it!", "Way to go!", and "[[Home-Run Contest]]" have louder files for the PAL versions (in a similar vein to "[[Duck Hunt (SSBU)|Duck Hunt Duo]]"), "[[Stamina Mode|Stamina Battle]]" and "Win!" (the [[Smashdown]] file) voice clips have ones for the Chinese and Korean versions, "[[Tourney (SSBU)|Semifinals]]", "{{SSBU|Daisy}}", "{{SSBU|Dark Samus}}" and "{{SSBU|Byleth}}" have ones for the Japanese version, and "Mii Swordfigher" have unused files that would be used for the female Miis and the victory screen in the languages with gendered nouns.<ref>https://www.sounds-resource.com/nintendo_switch/supersmashbrosultimate/sound/16070/</ref>

===Oddities===
Compared to previous games, ''Ultimate'' has significantly fewer unused voice clips. Characters whose voice clips are ported over from ''Brawl'' have almost all of their unused voice clips (such as {{SSBU|Captain Falcon}}'s soft "Yes!" and various short clips spoken by {{SSBU|Peach}} and {{SSBU|Luigi}}) removed altogether from their sound files (with the exception of a few voice clips of {{SSBU|Snake}}, which are repurposed in the game); this is slightly odd, as these characters did not have any voice clips exclusive to their [[character customization]]s in ''Smash 4'' (e.g. {{SSB4|Palutena}}'s [[Heavenly Light]] over [[Autoreticle]]) whatsoever; and despite {{SSB4|Kirby}}, {{SSB4|Pit}}, and {{SSB4|Lucario}} (three of the characters who had unused voice clips in ''Brawl'') having their voice clips re-recorded in ''Smash 4'', the other characters' voice clips were left almost untouched (aside from one of {{SSB4|Pikachu}}'s voice clips and {{SSB4|Link}}, {{SSB4|Captain Falcon}}, and {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}'s heavy knockback voice clips).

*Additionally, the {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}} have an "Unused Light knockback and Heavy Knockback". When Popo is the leader they vocalize their medium and heavy knockback based on a small probability. Both are missing a light knockback and 1 heavy knockback which goes unused in ''Brawl''. When Nana is the leader, neither she or Popo will vocalize at all in any of their smash-inputted item throwing, teetering, and light and heavy knockback voice clips. This could be an oversight, essentially making them have "Unused Knockback yells".

==Spirit Battles==
For a list of unused Spirit Battles in the game, see [[Unused content (SSBU)/Spirit Battles]].

Although every spirit in the game is obtainable, there are many that can never be battled, as they do not appear on the Spirit Board and cannot be battled in any other context (such as [[World of Light]]). This is true of every spirit that is an enhanced form, as well as many that can only be obtained by [[summon]]ing. Most of these spirits have default placeholder battle data, but some of them are modified from the placeholder data to varying degrees. This indicates that it may have been intended for these battles to be accessible before they were cut from the game.

In addition to spirits whose battles cannot be accessed, there is data for "dummy" battles as well. These battles were likely used for testing during development and were not intended to become complete, accessible battles in the game.

==Aesthetics==
===Artwork & [[alternate costume]]s===
*Two early versions of the Home Menu icon can be seen in promotional material prior to the final release. The earliest known icon is a generic ''Super Smash Bros.'' icon on a gray background. This icon was viewable for a short while on Nintendo's CDN servers and partially spotted on Nintendo Treehouse livestreams. Another early design was found in a datamine and is an edited version of a promotional image made as a placeholder before the final custom icon was created. This version notably depicts many more characters than the final version.
*In the E3 2018 Demo:
**{{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Link}} (being just his shield), {{SSBU|Pikachu}}, and {{SSBU|Villager}}'s portraits used their in-game models instead of their official artwork, with Mario being the most obvious.
**Several of {{SSBU|Sonic}}'s alternate costumes, strangely, used varying shades of blue instead of other colors (like white and purple). These were changed back for the final release of the game as well.
**If Nana is chosen as the leader, both {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}} will have all their voice clips swapped; Nana will use Popo's voice clips and vice versa.
**Ridley's [[Meta Ridley]] and Mecha Ridley costumes were replaced by a black costume and a white costume respectively.
**The male Pokémon Trainer's 7th palette swap had a lighter skin tone than in the final game. The same is the case for Villager's 7th and 8th palette swaps.
*In the segment in which Ike uses [[Great Aether]] from his character showcase trailer, there is an error in which his portrait displays him in his ''{{iw|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn}}'' outfit despite currently being in his ''{{iw|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance}}'' outfit.
*{{SSBU|Palutena}}, {{SSBU|Shulk}}, and {{SSBU|Falco}}'s character artworks were changed slightly between ''Ultimate''{{'}}s reveal and release.
*In one of {{SSBU|Luigi}}'s screenshots on the website, the "L" on his cap for his 6th alternate costume, resembling [[Waluigi]], was depicted as being green. This was changed back to purple as it was in ''Smash 4'' for the final release of the game.
*In one of {{SSBU|Wario}}'s screenshots on the website, his overalls were depicted as having golden buttons as opposed to their usual white. This was changed back for the final release of the game.
*In all of {{SSBU|Wolf}}'s screenshots excluding the last one, Wolf's default costume had his jacket and gloves a darker shade purple, the straps behind his right shin guard being colored white, and the soles of his boots being red compared to his color scheme in the final build.
**Both shinguard straps have been changed in the final build as it's now colored purple instead of black. This change is not present on his artwork.
***This also applies to all of his alternate costumes minus the seventh variant, where the straps are colored differently between the artwork and the in-game model.
*Mii costumes:
**The [[Sans]] Outfit originally contained hands with individual fingers rather than being mitten-like,<ref>https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1246633745907470336</ref> with the change to the latter being requested by Toby Fox.<ref>https://twitter.com/tobyfox/status/1246774948171059201</ref> The same model also demonstrates a noticeable glow effect on the Sans Mask and Gaster Blaster's eyes compared to the final game.
**The Sans Mask contains a blank texture mapped to the center of its left orbit.<ref>https://twitter.com/firubiii/status/1170090085787807750</ref> Its location suggests it was intended to host Sans' glowing eye that appears throughout his fight in ''Undertale'', whenever he influences the player's SOUL.
**The [[Nakoruru]] and [[Ryo Sakazaki]] Outfit and Wig were originally based entirely on their appearance in ''{{iw|wikipedia|The King of Fighters XIV}}''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDjdquhVHU4|title=Establishing Characters Through Their Design <nowiki>[Graphics]</nowiki>|publisher=YouTube|author=Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games|date=August 16, 2024|accessdate=August 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://x.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1308964374309081089|title=桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai on Twitter|publisher=Twitter|author=Masahiro Sakurai|date=September 24, 2020|accessdate=August 18, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://x.com/RaitoADV/status/1824419653512200702|title=RaitoADV (1/5 SLOTS TAKEN) on Twitter|publisher=Twitter|author=RaitoADV|date=August 16, 2024|accessdate=August 18, 2024}}</ref>
**The [[Doom Slayer]] Outfit had a different color palette during development and a bigger helmet model.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*In a press material release, there is a render of {{SSBU|Piranha Plant}} in its default red costume, but in a green Warp Pipe as opposed to a flower pot. In the final game, only Piranha Plant's even-numbered alternate costumes are all in pipes while the default and the other odd-numbered alts is always in a pot.
**Similarly, artwork of the female Pokémon Trainer with {{SSBU|Squirtle}}, {{SSBU|Ivysaur}}, and {{SSBU|Charizard}} in their default colors was shown prior to ''Ultimate''{{'}}s release, but the Pokémon use alternate colors in the actual game instead.
*Originally, Erdrick was intended to be the default costume for Hero. Later on, the first costume would be taken by the Luminary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Sora_Sakurai/status/1571416233479585792 |title=桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai on Twitter |date=September 18, 2022 |accessdate=September 18, 2022 |work=Twitter}}</ref>
**Following this change, some animations based on {{iw|wikipedia|Akira Toriyama}}'s combat movement seen in his works, like in the ''{{iw|wikipedia|Dragon Ball}}'' franchise for example, were either scrapped or tweaked to be smoother with the Luminary, then followed by Solo and Eight.
*[[Steve (SSBU)|Enderman]] has carrryover textures from Minecraft, such as its mouth textures.<ref>https://youtu.be/0p4ul3NwvbI?t=680</ref>
**Tennis and Scottish {{SSBU|Steve}} also have extra textures for their Final Smash texture sheet. Why these textures were placed is unknown.<ref>https://youtu.be/0p4ul3NwvbI?t=642</ref>
*{{SSBU|Sephiroth}}'s [[Masamune]] had a different shade in his portraits during production, making it "sharper" in his final version.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*Pyra and Mythra's Pneuma alternative costume was darker during production.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*Few events UI and pictures were different during production.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*In a [[YouTube]] video, Masahiro Sakurai showed various changes made to Sora's alternate costumes before the final release:<ref name="yt_200924"/>
**The shading effects on costume four were difficult to see, so the textures were altered to be more vibrant.
**The eyes on costume 5 were initially too tall, and its facial expression while taking damage was not strong enough. There was also a small extraneous mark that was almost impossible to see.

<gallery>
SSBU_early_icon_1.png|Earliest known Home Menu icon.
SSBU_early_icon_2.png|Another early Home Menu icon.
SSBUWebsiteWario4.jpg|Wario with golden buttons.
SSBUWebsiteLuigi6.jpg|Luigi with a green L in his 6th alternate costume.
Villager beta.png|Villager's beta costumes showing their in-game models.
Ice Climber's demo palettes.png|Nana and Popo beta costumes (top) with Popo taking Nana's place, in the final game (bottom) they are reversed.
Ridley's cut palettes.png|The two cut Ridley costumes (top) and the final costumes (bottom).
Pokémon Trainer's Demo Palette.png|The cut costume for Pokémon Trainer next to the one used in the final game.
Villager's cut palettes.png|The two cut villager costumes (top) and the final costumes (bottom).
Piranha_Plant_Unused_Render.png|Piranha Plant's unused render, showing it in a pipe.
sans_old_model.jpeg|The Sans Outfit's original model.
EndermanTextures.png|An upscaled texture sheet for Enderman. Note Enderman's mouth in the textures.
</gallery>

===Final Smashes===
*During the segment of the Nintendo E3 Direct that focused on {{SSBU|King Dedede}}, his eyes are normal colored while he is wearing his mask in [[Dede-Rush]]. In the final game, his eyes are yellow.
**Additionally, in that same scene, Bowser has a different model when he is stuck onto the cage than in the final game.
*While [[End of Day]] is being used in {{SSBU|Olimar}}'s showcase trailer, no [[Bulborb]]s can be seen, although the bite marks and sound effects remain. This was later fixed.
*{{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}}'s Final Smash was still a {{iw|mariowiki|Power Star}} in their character showcase trailer; in the final version of the game, it is instead a [[Grand Star]], and the move was renamed to match the change.
*{{SSBU|Wolf}}'s character showcase trailer briefly features his Final Smash, [[Team Star Wolf]]. However, the background in the trailer is significantly different than what is featured in the final game; in the final game, the background is more akin to the background in [[Team Star Fox]].
*In the Nintendo E3 Direct, Bowser's showcase trailer, and the E3 Demo, [[Giga Bowser Punch|Giga Bowser]] had a much brighter model than in the final game.
**Conversely, during Piranha Plant's reveal trailer, {{b|Petey Piranha|Final Smash}} had a much darker model compared to the final game.
*{{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}}' [[Zero Laser]] used a different appearance in the Nintendo E3 Direct than in the final game.
*In {{SSBU|Toon Link}}'s characer showcase trailer, his version of [[Triforce Slash]] reused the same sound effects as in ''Smash 4''. In the final game, Toon Link uses new sound effects for Triforce Slash while the ''Smash 4'' sound effects are used by {{SSBU|Young Link}} instead.
*During the "Everyone is Here!" trailer, the E3 Demo and {{SSBU|Cloud}}'s character showcase trailer, the camera as Cloud was readying the final strike of [[Omnislash]] was similar to ''Smash 4'', where it would zoom in on Cloud while rapidly shaking. In the final game, the camera remains still while this is happening and is more zoomed out to see the victims.
*The textures for the Yoshi colors used in the Final Smash [[Stampede!]] uses a completely different file than Yoshi himself. Interestingly, those textures also include a ''Crafted World'' Yoshi, just like the playable character himself. This indicates that a ''Crafted World'' Yoshi is supposed to appear in the Final Smash, but for unexplained reasons it never appears, implying that ''Crafted World'' Yoshi was cut from the Final Smash.
*In Bowser's character data, there is an image of reticle with the character "{{ja|仮|Kari}}" ("Temporary") placed twice on it, indicating that this reticle was a placeholder for Bowser's Final Smash [[Giga Bowser Punch]].
*When Ridley performs [[Plasma Scream]] in his reveal trailer, he screams just before firing the attack. He doesn't do this in the final game, however.
*In the E3 gameplay, if the opponents reaches 100% damage or higher by the end of Ridley's Final Smash, they will be screen KOed. In the final game, this was changed to an [[instant KO]].
*In the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct, {{SSBU|Lucas}}'s [[PK Starstorm]] shared its background with {{SSBU|Ness}}'s. In the final game, the background resembles that of the one used during the Masked Man fight.
*During her Final Smash in the E3 Direct, Zero Suit Samus' Final Smash portrait is in an unfinished state.

<gallery>
Dede-Rush.png|King Dedede using [[Dede-Rush]] with white eyes instead of the yellow eyes in the final game.
TeamStarWolf comparison.png|The background for Team Star Wolf in Wolf's showcase (top) and the one in the final game (bottom).
Yoshi Stampede Textures.png|The textures used for the Yoshi's in Stampede showing the Yoshi's Crafted World texture which is not in the final game.
SSBU UnusedGigaBowserPunch Reticle.png|The placeholder reticle for Giga Bowser Punch.
</gallery>

===Movesets===
*In Luigi's character showcase trailer, {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}} is seen using Mario's updated animation for [[Cape]] rather than his own new and unique animation when using [[Super Sheet]], and his sheet is on his right hand, completely unanimated.
*In his own trailer, Dr. Mario is using his old animation for his down special, [[Dr. Tornado]]. In the final game, he spreads out his arms with his hands open.
*In early footage of ''Ultimate'', Lucina has her former idle pose animation from ''Smash 4'', but in the final build, her idle pose matches {{SSBU|Marth}}'s new one.
*An early screenshot of 4 Mr. Game & Watches on Flat Zone X has an old animation from ''Smash 4'' on the building, in which Mr. Game & Watch retains his regular form when using his neutral attack. In the final game, Mr. Game & Watch instead changes his appearance into that of the main character of ''Greenhouse''.
*In {{SSBU|Pikachu}}'s showcase trailer, Pikachu's attacks were not changed, but {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}} is shown using his former forward smash animation from ''Smash 4''. In the final game, however, he uses his design from the [[Game & Watch]] game ''Fire Attack''.
**More notoriously, the design for the attack originally used the original depiction of the attackers from ''Fire Attack'', based on stereotypical Native Americans (as could be seen with the feather on Mr. Game & Watch's head); due to backlash on social media against the negative stereotype, the game's day 1 patch, version {{SSBU|1.1.0}}, removed the feather from the design.
*During Wolf's character showcase video in the E3 Direct, [[Wolf Flash]] lacked any visual effects.
**Additionally, during his character showcase video, his down smash had a different visual effect along while the bayonet on his blaster lacked any effects.
*In Fox's character showcase video, his Reflector has a more cyanish color than it does in previous iterations. In the final game, it is a much darker blue.
*An unused model of a fairy identical to the one used in {{SSB4|Link}}'s side taunt is found within {{SSBU|Link}}'s game files, alongside the corresponding animation titled '''AppealS'''. This indicates that he may have once again been meant to have a fairy appear during his taunts. However, it could simply be a development leftover. In the retail version, the fairy taunt has been instead given to {{SSBU|Young Link}}, with a similar model appearing.
*Joker has an unused "results" mouth and teeth model, labeled '''Mouth_result''', implying he was supposed to talk or move his mouth in some way during his victory poses. However, there are no bones for the mouth and jaw attached to the rig.
**While Joker does talk during his victory poses, it's only after the player accesses the [[results screen]], when he is off-screen.
*Lucas' bursts of PSI originally retained their pink-and-yellow color scheme from ''Smash 4'' which is shown in pre-release screenshots, and his appearance in the {{file link|SSBU Panoramic.png|panoramic "Everyone Is Here!" illustration}}, the color scheme would later be changed to a cyan-and-yellow color scheme in the released version of ''Ultimate''.
*Kirby has an unused model of the Keyblade, suggesting he was to have his own Keyblade when copying Sora's neutral special, [[Magic]]; Kirby instead produces a makeshift Keyblade matching the element being used. The model lacks some essential files, and even properly implementing them will not spawn it in game.<ref>https://twitter.com/zrksyd/status/1566484364090826752</ref>
*Steve's tether grab, Fishing Rod, was tweaked in order to make it fit with its animation in ''Minecraft''.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*Pyra and Mythra's moveset and movements had their angles tweaked in order to make them face and attack their opponents more evident.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*Mythra's [[Foresight]] did not have an afterimage once activated during development.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*In a [[YouTube]] video, Masahiro Sakurai showed various changes made to Sora before the final release:<ref name="yt_200924"/>
**Sora's back jump animation was changed so his silhouette to look more energetic.
**Sora's landing animation was changed to fixed an issue where Sora became misaligned.
**The particle effects on the disappearing Keyblade during back throw was changed to be more subtle.
**Hit 3 of Neutral Attack was altered so the Keyblade was not perpendicular to the screen.
**Sakurai took pictures of a blank model to show how the forward aerial animations should be changed.
**The forward aerial landing animation went through several animations to look more lively.
**The layering of the down throw effects were altered to make the attack more readable.
**Sakurai spent a long time tweaking Sora's clapping animation, wanting it to not be too stiff but also not too limp.
**Blizzaga was initially too light to be visible on some stages, so some dark elements were mixed in.
**Sonic Blade had a bug where vertical mobility was significantly less than horizontal mobility. The move also erroneously had different poses between the grounded and aerial variants. The windup animation also felt sluggish and was shortened. The axis of rotation was also adjusted to Sora's center of mass.
**The final hit of Aerial Sweep was changed to look like it was cutting through opponents.
**The atmospheric elements of Sealing the Keyhole were reduced to be less distracting. Said elements were also increased when the door explodes to convey the impact better.
**Sakurai made a rough drawing with his computer mouse showing how he wanted the final smash activation animation to look.
**The Keyblade star effects had several layering issues and were too bunched up initially.
<gallery>
Fire Attack (G&W).jpg|Mr. Game and Watch's infamous feather removed in the day one patch.
SSBUWebsiteMrGame&Watch6.jpg|Mr. Game and Watch's neutral attack from ''Smash 4''.
Fox SSBU Beta Reflector.png|Fox's Reflector in his character showcase trailer.
SSBU_link_fairy.png|Unused fairy model found in Link's game files.
SSBUWebsiteLucas1.jpg|Original color scheme of Lucas's PSI.
UnusedKirbyKeyblade.jpg|Kirby's keyblade model.
</gallery>

===Other===
*In the E3 demo, a fighter can get a star KO in Moray Towers. However, this cannot happen in the final game and the Boss Galaga item cannot spawn on the stage.
*The E3 demo of the game did not feature the changes to [[victory theme]]s seen in the final version of the game.
**In the demo, the victory theme would start playing much sooner than in the final game.
**Ridley had a different victory theme in the E3 demo than the one heard in the final game. The most significant difference is that the E3 version ends with a mysterious harp arpeggio, reminiscent of the Unknown Item acquisition jingle from ''Metroid: Zero Mission''.
**Additionally, on the victory screen, the announcer says "Ice Climbers '''wins'''!", where in the final build, he says "Ice Climbers '''win'''!" due to their name being plural.
*In the E3 demo, {{SSBU|Ike}} did not speak during his victory poses.
*In the [[World of Light]] trailer, the Fishman from ''{{iw|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker}}'' was named "Merman"; in the final game, however, it was corrected to Fishman.
*In early footage, the main menu has a few visual differences from the final game. The highlight box when selecting a mode has a white glow instead of a colored outline matching the corresponding mode, the background of the Vault section uses dots instead of diagonal lines, the background of the Games and More section uses thicker circles, the background of the Online section uses a simpler wave effect, and the button to access the Nintendo eShop is not available.
*In early footage, the image that appears in the top right when selecting the "Smash" option in the Smash menu is different from the final game. {{SSBU|Mario}} and {{SSBU|Bowser}} have different poses and appear in different corners, {{SSBU|Link}} and {{SSBU|Samus}} are present instead of {{SSBU|Kirby}} and {{SSBU|Pit}}, and the flaming Smash symbol in the background is smaller.
*In {{SSBU|Bowser}}'s showcase video on the website, {{SSBU|Olimar}} is [[Screen KO]]'d by Bowser's [[Final Smash]], [[Giga Bowser Punch]], and is shown with his eyes closed during the Screen KO. In the final game, Olimar's Screen KO animation properly has his eyes open and exaggerated.
*In the segment of the Nintendo E3 Direct that introduced {{SSBU|Daisy}}, she had fewer facial expressions compared to the final game.
*In {{SSBU|Luigi}}'s showcase video, he uses the same smiling expression from ''Smash 4'' when charging up his [[Green Missile]], where in the final build, he sports an angry expression.
**The final pose of his up taunt also sports a different expression, with Luigi closing his eyes and frowning with his mouth open. In the final build, his eyes are wide open, his pupils are smaller than usual and his mouth shows a shocked expression instead of a frown, like in ''Smash 4''.
*{{SSBU|Ness}} and {{SSBU|Lucas}} reuse their less detailed eye animations from ''Smash 4'' in their showcase videos.
*Just like in ''Smash 4'', there are textures that imply R.O.B. was supposed to receive battle damage (indicated by cracks on his body) from taking too much damage. However, R.O.B. in the final game never takes battle damage and only his pained, green-eyed expressions from ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'' still exist. The textures are also fully updated from ''Smash 4'' despite not being used.
*In {{SSBU|King Dedede}}'s showcase trailer and {{file link|SSBUWebsiteKingDedede4.jpg|a screenshot}}, he has his eyes wide open when crouching like in Smash 4. This is changed in the final game, where he slightly closes his eyes more in a humorously seductive manner.
*In {{SSBU|Meta Knight}}'s showcase video, he closes his eyes upon using his up [[taunt]], but in the final game, they are open, like in ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4''.
*In the E3 demo, {{SSBU|Fox}}'s on-screen appearance has him facing away from the camera when facing left.
*During the "Everyone is here!" segment of the E3 2018 Direct, Zelda is briefly seen having a third idle pose, which is identical to an idle from the last game with her crossing her arms. This was removed in the final build.
*During Bowser's segment of the E3 2018 Direct, Link had a surprised expression when Screen KO'd, which included him blushing. This was changed in the final build where he winces without the blush mark on his face.
**Additionally, his screen KO'd pose was exactly the same as the one he has but mirrored. The pose was unmirrored in the final build.
*Early footage of Young Link in the E3 2018 Direct and character showcase video shows that the belt around his sheath lacked back-face culling, as it disappears when seen from the inside. This was fixed in the initial release of the game.
*In Samus' showcase video, {{b|Metroid|creature}}s would freeze like fighters in a chunk of ice. In the final game, they turn blue and plummet straight down.
*In {{SSBU|Jigglypuff}}'s showcase video, {{SSBU|Marth}} is shown using [[Shield Breaker]] and breaking Jigglypuff's shield, [[Star KO]]ing it due to its unique shield jump. This event cannot happen in the final unmodded game, due to the sheer amount of knockback always causing the Blast KO explosion instead. This suggests the limit that previously existed in ''Smash 4'' was removed in early versions of ''Ultimate'' before being added back again.
*An unused texture of Little Mac's thrown hoodie exists in the game files. This texture is slightly darker than the regular texture, and is specifically meant for costume 6 and 8, which do not throw a hoodie in the final release. The model associated with this texture is identical to the regular model.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iwETBorqnc&t=93 Little Mac Hoodie differences]</ref>
*In the demo, Pokémon Trainer's name only took up one line on the character selection screen. In the American and PAL versions of the final game, even if the character selection screen has the same amount of characters as the demo, his name will always take up two lines.
*Several of the [[damage meter]] icons were slightly modified between the demo and the final game:
**Ice Climbers, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Ike, Pac-Man, Inkling, and Ridley did not have any part of them sticking out of the damage meter in the demo.
**Charizard's portrait in the demo had its claw sticking out of the damage meter while its ears did not, while the exact opposite happens in the final game.
**Mewtwo's portrait was slightly larger in the demo.
**While the demo showed the entirety of ''Advent Children'' Cloud's left shoulder in the portrait, the final game does strangely cuts part of it off.
**Sonic, Charizard, Ridley, and Inkling's portrait placements were positioned slightly higher than in the final game while Ice Climbers was placed lower.
*In pre-release promotional material for Banjo & Kazooie such as their reveal trailer and images on the official ''Super Smash Bros.'' website, when compared to the final game the duo (more noticeably Kazooie) appear to have less expressive, ostensibly placeholder default facial expressions when using certain moves or [[dash]]ing.
*Characters [[buried]] used their bury poses from ''Smash 4'' and prior games in the demo.
*Reeling was originally the same length as it used to be in every other ''Smash'' game before ''Ultimate''. The final game speeds up the animation.
*When respawning via the [[revival platform]], {{SSBU|Inkling}} would use their landing animation from a Super Jump while descending, perhaps as a reference to the original ''Splatoon''.
*The CGI part of Sephiroth's reveal trailer was tweaked in production to resemble more to the movie ''{{iw|wikipedia|Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children}}''. This includes colors being washed-out and the environment being slightly darker.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*Kazuya used the normal knockdown animation during production, before having his own animation sourced from the {{uv|Tekken}} series.<ref name="yt_111723"/>
*The game has functionality for changing the radar's color to red, green, blue, or white depending on the stage, but black is the only color used.
*Unused file name strings revealed through a string dump prior to release were left in the data, it contained a Maya physics asset labeled <code>Jane1_pony_hairSystemShape2.mchp</code>, this file follows a Maya project file for Joker's Shujin Academy alternate costume.<ref>https://twitter.com/DrHyperCake/status/1098748513251291136</ref> Looking at the file name it would have been used for ponytail hair physics, this could have been for [[Ann Takamaki]]'s cameo in [[Mementos]] with ''Jane'' being a misspelling of Ann's Japanese name "Anne". Due to no data or mention of ''Jane'' existing in the final game it is uncertain what the true purpose of this file was, or if it was related to ''Smash''.

<gallery>
Fishman as Merman.png|The Fishman as "Merman" in the World of Light trailer.
SSBU_Early_Smash_Graphic.png|The early image for selecting "Smash" in the Smash menu.
Giga Bowser Ultimate KOs.gif|Olimar with shut eyes in his screen KO. Additionally, Giga Bowser is brighter than in the final game.
Unused ROB Battledmg Ultimate.png|Unused battle damage textures for R.O.B.
</gallery>

==Unused series names==
This is a list of game names that are listed alongside other series in the game's strings, yet no content from these games appear in the game itself.<ref>https://twitter.com/AltDeltas/status/1066276640324501504/</ref>
*''{{iw|wikipedia|Devil's Third}}''
*''{{iw|wikipedia|Jet Force Gemini}}''
*''{{iw|wikipedia|Blast Corps}}''
*''{{iw|wikipedia|Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate}}''

==Unused game titles==
This is a list of game titles located within the game file <code>ui_gametitle_db.prc</code> along with all other game titles (e.g. Mario Kart 64, linked to Mario Kart Series), yet go unused in the game itself with no text associated with them. Some of these titles might possibly be related to other unused content referenced in this article.

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 100%;"
! File Title in ''Ultimate''{{'}}s code
! Game Title Theories
|-
|ui_gametitle_paper_mario_rpg
|Unspecified ''Paper Mario'' game, though most likely referring to  ''{{iw|mariowiki|Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door}}'' as its Japanese title is ''Paper Mario RPG''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_paper_mario_sticker_star
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Paper Mario: Sticker Star}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mario_golf_64
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Golf 64}}''. While ''Mario Golf 64'' content appears in-game, it instead shares a title with ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Tennis 64}}'', internally named '''ui_gametitle_mario_tenis64_golf64'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mario_tennis_64
|Standalone version of ''Mario Tennis 64''. Same situation as ''Mario Golf 64''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mario_party10
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Party 10}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mario_party_star_rush
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Party: Star Rush}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mario_kart_advance
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Kart: Super Circuit}}''. A small amount of ''Super Circuit'' content appears in the "''{{SSBUMusicLink|Mario Kart|Rainbow Road Medley}}''" alongside ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Kart DS}}'' and ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Kart 7}}'', all sharing the title '''ui_gametitle_mario_kart7_ds_advance'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mario_kart8_dx
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Kart 8 Deluxe}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_donkey_kong_jr
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jr.}}'' While ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' content appears in-game, it instead shares a title with {{uv|Donkey Kong}}, internally named '''ui_gametitle_donkey_kong_kongjr'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_donkey_kong3
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong 3}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_diddy_kong_racing_series
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Diddy Kong Racing}}'' series. This is possibly related to cut spirits from ''Diddy Kong Racing''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_donkey_konga_series
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Konga}}'' series. While the Donkey Kong & Bongos spirit represents this series, it is instead categorized as belonging to ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Jungle Beat}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_legend_of_zelda_spirit_tracks
|''{{iw|zeldawiki|The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks}}''. While a spirit from this game is in ''Ultimate'', it is instead categorized as belonging to "The Legend of Zelda Series."
|-
|ui_gametitle_yoshi_woolly_3ds
|''{{iw|mariowiki|Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_star_fox_command
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|lylatwiki|Star Fox Command}}''. While ''Star Fox Command'' content appears in-game, it instead shares a title with ''{{iw|lylatwiki|Star Fox 64}}'', internally named '''ui_gametitle_star_fox64_fox_command'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_fire_emblem_thracia_776
|''{{iw|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: Thracia 776}}''. This one interestingly has another game title shared with ''{{iw|fireemblemwiki|Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade}}'' named '''ui_gametitle_fire_emblem_emblem_binding_blade_thracia_776''', but the actual text for it is just "Fire Emblem Series".
|-
|ui_gametile_robot_block
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|wikipedia|Stack-Up}}''. While ''Stack-Up'' content appears in-game, it instead share a title with ''Gyromite'', internally named '''ui_gametitle_robot_block_robot_gyro'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_robot_gyro
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|wikipedia|Gyromite}}''. Same situation as ''Stack-Up''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_animal_crossing_plus
|Unspecified {{uv|Animal Crossing}} game, though most likely referring to the three versions of the [[GameCube]] release, which were released in Japan as ''{{iw|nookipedia|Doubutsu no Mori+}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_animal_crossing_city
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|wikipedia|Animal Crossing: City Folk}}''. While ''City Folk'' content appears in-game, it instead shares a title with ''{{iw|nookipedia|Animal Crossing: Wild World}}'', internally named '''ui_gametitle_animal_crossing_city_crossing_wild'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_animal_crossing_amiibo_festival
|''{{iw|nookipedia|Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_sonic_rush
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Sonic Rush}}''. Possibly evidence that the music track "''{{SSBBMusicLink|Sonic The Hedgehog|Right There, Ride On}}''" was considered at some point.
|-
|ui_gametitle_mega_man6
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|wikipedia|Mega Man 6}}''. While ''Mega Man 6'' content appears in-game, it instead shares a title with ''Mega Man 4'' and ''Mega Man 5'', internally named '''ui_gametitle_megaman4_magaman5_megaman6'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_castlevania_fcd
|[[wikipedia:Castlevania (1986 video game)|''Castlevania'' (Famicom)]], titled ''Akumajō Dracula'' in Japan. Possibly evidence that music directly sourced from the Famicom versions with different instrumentation were considered at one point.
|-
|ui_gametitle_castlevania_judgment
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|wikipedia|Castlevania Judgment}}''. While content from ''Judgment'' appears in-game, it is instead categorized as belonging to the ''Castlevania'' series.
|-
|ui_gametitle_castlevania_arcade
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Castlevania: The Arcade}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_castlevania_harmony_of_despair
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Castlevania: Harmony of Despair}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_skykid
|Standalone version of ''{{iw|wikipedia|Sky Kid}}''. While ''Sky Kid'' content appears in-game, it instead shares a title with ''{{iw|wikipedia|Sky Kid Deluxe}}'', internally named '''ui_gametitle_skykid_skykid_dx'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_skykid_dx
|Standalone version of ''Sky Kid Deluxe''. Same situation as ''Sky Kid''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_yokai_dochuki
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Yokai Dochuki}}''. Possibly evidence that the music track "''{{SSB4MusicLink|Namco|Yokai Dochuki Retro Medley}}''" was considered at some point.
|-
|ui_gametitle_dig_dug
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Dig Dug}}''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_x_series
|''{{iw|wikipedia|X|1992 video game}}'' series.
|-
|ui_gametitle_tomodachi_life
|''{{iw|miiwiki|Tomodachi Collection}}'', the Japan-exclusive first installment in the {{uv|Tomodachi}} series.
|-
|ui_gametitle_tomodachi_life2
|''{{iw|miiwiki|Tomodachi Life}}'', the second installment in the ''Tomodachi'' series, hence the 2 in the title. While ''Tomodachi Life'' is used in-game, it instead uses the title '''ui_gametitle_tomodachi_life2_life'''.
|-
|ui_gametitle_snipperclips_series
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Snipperclips}}'' series.
|-
|ui_gametitle_real_bout
|''{{iw|wikipedia|Real Bout Fatal Fury}}''.
|}

==See also==
*[[Unused content]]
*[[Unused content (SSB)]]
*[[Unused content (SSBM)]]
*[[Unused content (SSBB)]]
*[[Unused content (SSB4)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Hacking]]
[[Category:Beta elements]]
[[es:Lista de elementos beta de Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]
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