Kirby's Block Ball

Kirby's Block Ball
Developers: HAL Laboratory, TOSE Publisher: Nintendo Platforms: Game Boy, Super Game Boy Released in JP: December 14, 1995 Released in US: May 1996 Released in EU: August 29, 1996 This game has unused areas. This game has unused enemies. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused music. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences.

Kirby + Breakout = Kirby's Block Ball

Debug Menu

GameShark code 010B53C1 or Game Genie code 0B1-E7F-D52 will enable a debug menu. After enabling the code, you need to reset the game, then disable the code. Alternatively, use the Game Genie code 0B1-E7F-D52 to start in the debug menu.

• BOSS is a boss "viewer". It will show the boss appearance demo, but you can't actually fight him. The value is selectable from 01-12, but selecting 12 will crash the game.
• DANCE is a stage-completed demo viewer. Your score is always set to 0. The value is selectable from 01-12, but selecting 12 will freeze the game.
• DEMO is a pre-stage demo viewer, and can be used as a stage selector too. But unfortunately, you can't select an individual level. The value is selectable from 01-12. 12 is the "Border line cleared" screen.
• The lives icon will modify your amount of lives. Pressing the A button on this option will start the boss viewer.
• The star icon will modify your amount of stars. Pressing the A button on this option will start the boss viewer.
• BONUS is a bonus game selector. 01 is air hockey game, 02 is cloud game, 03 is Up Down game, and 04 is star catcher game. For some reason, only air hockey and star catcher games are playable; all other games will stop working when Kirby lands on a paddle.
• LEVEL is bonus game difficulty. The value is selectable from 00-04. 00 is easiest, 04 is hardest. Pressing the A button on this option will start the currently selected bonus game.
• ENDING is an ending viewer. 00 is Good Ending, 01 is Bad Ending, 02 is Hi-Score Present/Award.
• TITLE freezes the game.

(Source: Someone at http://www.kodewerx.org/ (I can't remember anymore...))

Unused Areas

Stages

0x11D15	0x11E69	0x11FBD	0x12111
0x12265	0x123B9	0x1250D

A few early maps are still in the ROM, stored before the rest of the stages used in the game. They're not designed for any particular tileset; The Stage 1 tileset has been used for illustrative purposes.

Boss Arenas

0x25E8A + 0x25FF2	0x262C2	0x2642A

Four (technically five) early boss areas are in the game as well, well before the final boss areas. They're pretty spartan and don't actually support any tileset in the game -- A modified Stage 4 tileset has been used to demonstrate how they would have looked.

The early boss areas are actually 8 pixels taller than they should be, leaving no room for the HUD at the top of the screen.

Unused (0x2615A)	Final (0x6F9C5)

One of the five boss rooms is almost identical to the final Whispy Woods arena. Again, the placement of certain tiles in the tileset no longer match up properly, so a modified Whispy Woods tileset has been used here.

In addition to the taller arena, the blocks in the corners of the screen appear to extend past the "camera" in the early layout. Strangely, Whispy Woods' familiar white spots aren't part of the final layout!

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Enemies

Two enemies with artwork in the instruction booklet are unused in the game, but are fully coded.

To do: Detail how to get them into the game.

Pengy

Everyone's favorite Kirby related penguin appears in the ROM, but is never used. Its graphics are loaded in Stage 7-2, so that's probably where it was supposed to be used.

Waddle Doo

Waddle Doo is never loaded in any level, but maybe that's for the best, given the death animation. Yikes.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Enemy Animations

Several enemies have unused animations indicative of different movement patterns.

Brobo

Unused animations: Moving left to right.
Actual movement in-game: Up and down.

Kaboola

Unused animations: Moving up and down.
Actual movement in-game: Left to right.

Kracko Jr.

Unused animations: Moving left to right.
Actual movement in-game: Up and down.

Poppy Bros. Jr.

Unused animations: Moving left to right.
Actual movement in-game: Up and down.

Slippy

Unused animations: Stationary.
Actual movement in-game: Left to right.

Whispy Shrub

Unused animations: Moving up and down.
Actual movement in-game: None. It's a tree.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Music

One track is unused; a short but sinister piece with an unknown purpose.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Tiles

All of the level tilesets follow a template: Stage borders, thin horizontal and vertical borders, slopes, and a 2x2 block. Each tile is present, even if it isn't used in the level, which leads to a lot of unused tiles.

General

This question block is found with the standard breakable block graphics. This question block is used to generate Chuckies in Kirby's Dream Land. Its purpose here on the other hand is unknown.

Stage 1

Thin horizontal and vertical borders, slopes, and a 2x2 block.

Stage 2

Hey, it's the same as Stage 1! The stage designs haven't become complicated yet.

Stage 3

The thin vertical borders get used here, everything else is still unused.

Stage 3 Boss

A few of the boss tilesets follow the standard template, but most don't. This one does. Thin horizontal borders are used, but only in 2x1 segments.

Stage 4

Stage designs finally get complicated. Long thin horizontal and vertical borders aren't used, neither is the 2x2 block.

Stage 5

Bottom slopes aren't used, nor are long thin vertical borders.

Notice a pattern yet? Yeah, those 2x2 blocks are never going to get used in a level.

Stage 6

Ceiling slopes? Nope. 2x2 block? Still nope.

Stage 6 Boss

There's nothing interesting to say about this.

Stage 7

Ceiling slopes, long horizontal borders, and that darn 2x2 block.

Stage 8

Thin vertical borders and long thin horizontal borders. And that 2x2 block again.

Stage 9

Oh come on! It's not like there weren't any opportunities to use the 2x2 block graphics. Why?

Stage 9 Boss

Really now.

Stage 10

Vertical borders are unused, along with that other thing.

Stage 10 Boss

In a shocking display, the designers decided to actually include the 2x2 blocks the artists have been drawing for the past 10 levels! This time the normal stage borders are unused.

Stage 11

Then they forgot about it again. Oh well.

Stage 12?

This tileset is completely unused. Unfortunately half of it is missing, having been overwritten by the Stage 1 Boss tileset.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Miscellaneous Unused Graphics

Other unused graphics unrelated to the above categories.

Early Hi-Score Graphics

A tilemap for an early Hi-Score header is still in the game ROM at 0x51DDB. There's no room for a stage number here, which is probably why it was changed.

At 0x520A1 is a tilemap for a third version of the Hi-Score message (See the Regional Differences for the other two). The bottom half of the text has been deleted.

This probably would have been used to give the player their Hi-Score position or some kind of custom rank. There's no tilemap for this left in the game.

Flag

This flag is found with the rest of the Up Down bonus game graphics.

Scratch Area

There's an area in the ROM used as a scratch pad by the artists. This is found in the middle of the enemy graphic blocks.

This scratch area also has an alternate version of the Power Block's reflection.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences

More graphical alterations and text touch-ups.

Title Screen

Japan	International

The game intro and title screen were completely redone. In the Japanese version, Kirby comes in from the background and bounces onto the game title. Once he lands, he starts spinning around and showing various facial expressions, while shooting stars fall from top-right.

In the international release, Kirby floats in on a cloud, then jumps down onto the title (and gets angry, of course). The title is surrounded by five revolving and spinning stars.

In addition to the more obvious graphical changes, the copyright text was also updated. It's also worth noting that the Japanese game does not have any gameplay demos; as such, the background music comes to a stop in the international version right before it would loop in the Japanese game.

Air Hockey

Japan
International

"Game Set" changed to "Game Score". The point total was pluralized, and the exclamation point removed.

Stage Intros

Japan
International

Text from the stage intros were rewritten to sound less like Engrish. "Burning" was changed to "Flame", contradicting the earlier localization of "Fireball" from Kirby's Adventure.

Hi Score Table

Japan	International

Another instance of text polishing. There's no space between the stage text and stage number in the Japanese version, and there's some additional Engrish in there as well.

Hi Score Bonus

Japan	International

One version's present is another version's award.

SGB Border

Japan	International

In the Japanese version, the game's title appears at the bottom of the Super Game Boy border. The title was removed completely in the international version.

(Rabidabid: Original TCRF research)