FOUND! Mario Kart XXL - The Unreleased Demo!

[@Keanine]

I think the grey on Mario's hat is supposed to be an attempt at specular highlighting, from certain angles you can see it on the kart too. You can also notice that it's always grey even when the ground is a different colour

[@GiveBackWhatIO]

Yep. A sheen attempt.

[@lra1095]

Yeah it looks more like pallet limitations on the sprite making the shines grey.

[@Oretal]

Yeah I just assumed it was a gray highlight.

[@Liam3072]

@@lra1095 Yep, even Mario's face is grey. I'm willing to bet they initially modeled it with way more colors, and didn't pay enough attention when converting it to the limited palette they had.

[@arachnidplays6162]

@@lra1095 that's a 3D model, not sprite

[@plazmasyt]

I think the biggest reason as to why this demo never went anywhere was simply because of Mario Kart DS. It had been shown off at E3 that year iirc, not sure if it would have been before or after the showcase, but regardless I think Nintendo figured MKDS would *completely* overshadow MKXXL

[@alext3811]

Why does Star Fox 2 come to mind? Is it me or does Nintendo have a habit of doing this with outgoing consoles?

[@zachatck64]

@@alext3811 EarthBound Beginnings Star Fox 2 etc

[@alext3811]

@@zachatck64 Heh, forgot about EarthBound zero/beginnings.

[@emmettturner9452]

@@alext3811 What are you talking about? Nintendo has nothing to do with this.

[@KiraSlith]

To be fair, in this case it absolutely would, especially given that the NDS was backwards compatible with the GBA further incentivizing people to switch over quickly.

[@Imgema]

The "missing pixels" on the hat is probably just a glow effect.

[@helloitismetomato]

3:19 I like that the "splash" looks to be a repurposed fireworks asset rather than an actual water splash.

[@MDHCleon1927]

X2

[@RebelliousTreecko]

Epic. Don't think the GBA needed another Mario Kart after Super Circuit, but I'm *very* curious as to what they could have done with that lower "layer" to give a bigger 3D effect...

[@TFSned]

I think the F-ZERO games on the GBA used two layers, so this effect wasn't unique to this developer. What would be impressive would be a way of getting actual 3D tracks without sacrificing 60fps. There were some polygonal racing games and the voxel-based prototype of Banjo Pilot, but none of them were that smooth.

[@gjfkhvjzjsxbq]

They could have made it 2.5d like classic doom that way it would play like mk64

[@babbygremlin]

Awww yeah! I always love seeing gba tech demos. They always have really weirdly neat visuals especially for a handheld.

[@Larry]

Manfred Trenz is interesting, the guy who made Turrican! Also could the R2D demo have been a pitch for a GBA Micro Machines game?

[@MegaManNeo]

Manfred Trenz has quite the history with Nintendo, let it be for The Great Giana Sisters alone. Love seeing this tech demo being picked up and archived albeit I still hope to see the E3 demo of Mario Kart Advance being recovered which had a character select screen and graphics more in line with Mario Kart 64.

[@repeekyraidcero]

I only care for him to inspire Winterworks to make Hurricane and.. most importantly TAKATIS. I love these. Shame they won't be taken to the eShop... I love em. sm.

[@AngusBeer]

It's a shame that the Crazy Frog game was the end result, sometimes that's how business goes. I can tell they had to cut the ground layers and camera angles in order to have all the characters on screen.

[@kevboard]

how to pronounce Moorhuhn: Moor is pronounced almost identically to the English "more" said in an English accent (soft R) Huhn is pronounced like Hoon in Hoonigan (that drift/racing organization) More-Hoon it translates to swamp chicken

[@Imgema]

Manfred Trenz of the Turrican fame? Of course he would be able to do something like this.

[@ThePageofCups]

Manfred Trenz is a savant of making hardware do what it really shouldn't do.

[@RabbitEarsCh]

Manfred Trenz is a legend, and this is just another show of it. This is a really complex thing running on the GBA with absolute smoothness. Fantastic work yet again.

[@the1ucidone]

It's so impressive that it's pretty close to an early Playstation One game graphically, at least for the character model. What an awesome treasure!

[@emmettturner9452]

The character model is a 2D sprite animated from a crude 3D render. Think Donkey Kong Country, not PlayStation.

[@DaveDoc1984]

@@emmettturner9452 Agreed its Mode 7 FX mixed with that. Nothing like PS1.

[@playtime_is_over]

@@DaveDoc1984 To be fair the PS1 had some 2.5D kind of racing stuff like Street Racer. However that GBA tech demo of the Metal Gear Solid level is comparable to 3D PS1 graphics.

[@MariokidYT]

Dawg what did Manfred do to my boi Mario that is not him💀😭

[@RetroPlus]

That is nuts, they were really working on some impressive stuff for the GBA

[@PhirePhlame]

I love the fact that the R3D demo uses the song from Panic, by demoscene legends Future Crew

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

I think the engine capabilities would fit nice with a micro machines game.

[@Lumzilla]

R3D Demo uses Second Reality as it's music, amazing

[@khoroshen]

Came here to see if somebody else noticed!

[@SuperTrainStationH]

This game needed to come out by 2003 at the latest and it would have been impressive for the GBA. January 04 saw the announcement of DS, and when the first DS game they showed at E3 that May was a new Mario Kart game with 3D graphics more ambitious than Mario Kart 64, it was clear that XXL had no possible future.

[@TutorialNerdzzz]

The menu music was also from Moorhuhn kart XXL I instantly recognized it

[@faceheadman]

really dig the multiple layers in this version

[@novelezra]

We miss you Manfred Trenz. Please come back.

[@SpinThwomp]

Wow! I never thought this would ever see the light of day online! i must say this is a very technically impressive demo, thanks for sharing!

[@Mikau888]

the crazy frog-mario connection is real. this is an important frontier we have reached

[@nullbyt]

8:15 "contract with the crazy frog people.."

[@ReynLynxPSI]

i never doubted it

[@alextirrellRI]

The tilt of the camera is driving me nuts. Did they think you wouldn't want to see what's ahead of you?

[@VSDeluxe]

Fun fact: In the early 2000s Moorhuhn was installed on more PCs than Windows here in Germany.

[@Journey_to_who_knows]

Man looks so dead inside lol “I’ve been driving around in laps for 20 years”

[@TheHandheldGamer]

Pretty cool demo find! Impressive! interesting video, excellent job as always.

[@damian9303]

Crazy Frog made a sort of remix of Axel F and it was super popular throughout the 2000s

[@eukara]

6:39 right there is Apoptygma Berzerk - Starsign for anyone wondering.

[@BlueMSX.]

I think it would have been very interesting to see what this company could have pulled off with the proper amount of time, budget, and grace from Nintendo to make a Mario Kart game. Looking at the demo graphics wise, there's no denying what they achieved on a technical level with that kind of scaling and rotation. Would have been neat to see.

[@Night-Jester]

The only thing I remember about crazy frog was commercials if you texted the number then they sent you annoying ring tones way back in the day. Straight to your cellular device!

[@smb99thx]

Whoa! Someone from Forest of Illusion just recovered this ROM after MANY years.

[@teh_supar_hackr]

Been waiting for this demo's release for like 8 years

[@typical4219]

Same, hope the same happens with Panel de Pon 64

[@RetraCarteR]

I'm surprised that nobody's pointed out that Crazy Frog Racer still uses the same font for the numbers in its timer as Mario Kart XXL, which itself reused the font from Super Circuit. Let that sink in: an art asset created by Nintendo (or Intelligent Systems, whatever) for an official Mario Kart game was essentially stolen for use in a tech demo for a possible sequel... and in the process of transforming that tech demo into an actual retail game for someone else, NO ONE thought to change it, and the game released that way. And Nintendo didn't even notice.

[@AGwolf2097]

5:20 ayyyy what is the replacement music? I'm digging it

[@melley420]

Wow i never heard of this, it looks so unique,

[@cabbusses]

Is there a way to hack the Mario model and course into the CrazyFrog racer to give a sort of idea of what the "complete" Mario XXL might have looked like?

[@napkin8920]

mario's model looks like something straight out of supra mayro kart...

[@goodkid457]

holy shit the r3d-demo uses demoscene music, i cant remember from which demo but it DOES and its so cool to hear that out in the wild

[@T3KNUG3T5]

Panic - Purple Motion Second Reality - Purple Motion

[@naphta2630]

Fun fact: at 7:08, the music composer Xavier Dang is now a famous french streamer: MisterMV

[@MMWProductions1]

I love how one of the music tracks in the R3D-Demo V1 is from Second Reality, by Future Crew. lol

[@johanneshaukanes4531]

Dude, at 1:10 I was low key expecting this to be a horror ARG game.

[@marktubes3419]

I like how in they ripped the uniracers menu arrow in that mario cart demo.

[@sameerswagin2953]

It's finally here!!!! After so many years

[@kip258]

There aren't pixels missing in mario's hat, it's just a lighting detail that is either paletted wrong or the palette is glitched.

[@MrMegaManFan]

No quest-ion. I nevah doubted eet.

[@ABlueyFan]

It’s crazy how the SpongeBob got milk and XXL were found very close to each other

[@cameolynn32]

i wish there was an archive of ALL your dumps.

[@tidepoolclipper8657]

I'm reminded of GP Legend and Climax when looking at the camera perspective and graphical tricks of the race track. Honestly, though, I doubt the camera would have been THAT adjustable had this gone beyond tech demo. Likely is only this way in the tech demo to show that the game wouldn't start chugging no matter what distance the camera was.

[@karinadelma]

I noticed the music of mario kart xxl was actual taken from Moorhuhn Kart XXL from 2002. I would love to see a Moorhuhn Kart on GBA but ended replaced with mario. Kinda like the moorhuhn kart game.

[@AmyraCarter]

Well, this is neat. Shame it never got more than a bare bones tech demo. This had potential...

[@elmuchos3309]

almost right, you have to make a little pause even if its one word, moor-huhn, great video btw

[@LandonEmma]

FINALY!

[@Caolan114]

Actually this Is really impressive when you remember this was on the GBA

[@SONGOKU02]

Yes and no. On gta we had driv3r in glorias 3d and also the need for speed games. Those where grafically much more advanced. I am still surprised, what they have done with that. This feels like, the snes could have done it in a way, atleast with the fx chip.

[@jeltemreal]

HOORAY! I can't wait to play this game!

[@theincrediblegeneral5135]

Finally! It's public now!

[@mink03]

R3D demo would have been perfect for a micro machines game

[@lakojake4215]

0:39 That arrow is from Uniracers.

[@KuWota2k]

vinesauce mayro kratt but real

[@Renardeau]

the only thing i can say about crazy frog racer is that one of the most famous french streamer did the music in that game

[@mcasias33]

This got me through my first serious job aka (not retail/fastfood) right out of highschool.

[@hard4games]

Oh? Details?

[@clementpruvost8670]

Congratulations!

[@AgsmaJustAgsma]

6:16 I can recognize the music from Second Reality, here.

[@Gluurak]

i dont think this is transparancy on the head. More a reflection of the light or a simulated shiny effect :)

[@RaposaCadela]

Omg all this work and all the work they got was Crazy Frog Racer

[@MrBlitzardo21]

I just realised that the arrow on the menu is the same arrow from uniracers

[@imselfaware419]

YES, I KNEW I WASN'T GOING INSANE WENT I NOTICED THAT.

[@nickiebanchou]

this engine would have been neat for F-Zero

[@tulpenbambus]

2:02 it's pronounced like "more-hoon"

[@Xeraser2]

Manfred? The Turrican Manfred? Holy sh*t.

[@MarichiChip]

I used to love Moorhuhn Kart as a kid, it's interesting to see the people who helped make it pitched a Mario Kart game to Nintendo

[@pacomatic9833]

Seems like you're German!

[@MrBrax]

Great dos tracker music for that demo

[@Redhotsmasher]

6:11 So did Second Reality cause a copyright issue somehow or is that also replacement music?

[@user-zo9dc1lu3q]

My EZ-Flash IV Omega is ready !! Great video ! 😄👍

[@toadette2097]

what is the song at 5:20 called?

[@DryPaperHammerBro]

3:49 I've put the rom on my ez flash omega and the grey pixels are there on real hardware

[@enderjed2523]

Huh, the music at 6:06 sounds like a simplified version of Second Reality by Future Crew (Demoscene)

[@NytroDesigns]

First thing I notice 40 seconds in. That arrow? That's from Uniracers. It's a ripped sprite, lmao

[@TeamMicrohard]

The soundtrack is from moorhuhn kart xxl /extra

[@onvy___]

Mario kart XXL can be a stage of mario kart ds as it was made in the year of dsvrelease so Mario kart D's was going to be on gameboy

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Impressive - most impressive.

[@MysticSun777]

Dude this game looks insane

[@SONGOKU02]

It's not really a game. More a proof of concept. XD

[@Oretal]

Crazy frog is one hell of a meme on the internet.

[@industriastroll3177]

Second Reality by Future Crew. Talk about placeholder music.

[@PieceofCraft]

this is really impressive

[@gabrielwoj]

Never thought I would see this to see the light of day. Absolute legendary.

[@mrjab6313]

How great if this came out to the public there is still faith that the unreleased Katakis 3d for gbc will also do it really thank you guys for taking the hard task of looking for this type of material and making it available to the public you are true heroes. Pd sorry if my english is not good

[@Vamptonius]

As a native speaker, your English is very good.

[@AMDRADEONRUBY]

Nice a Mario kart related Video just in time for making my day better

[@emarleau]

Anyone noticed the blue arrow in the title screen is the same as the one on Uniracers on Super Nintendo?

[@nonzz3ro]

This has strong early era PC port vibes

[@JetWolfEX]

So... I have no idea how I immediately noticed this, Several of the textures from the R3D demo are taken directly from a snes game Ranger R2 directed by the the same Manfred Trenz mentioned here. Just as an example those metal track features at 6:47 are from the 2nd level of that game, this floating metal link thing? at 6:35 also shows up as a background layer in the 4th stage, there's several more examples I could find for reused textures here but you get the idea.

[@siarhian10]

Tried it on original hardware w/ a flashcart and it does still do it. I think it's intentional

[@ariel78_]

This feels like a dream

[@zilchfox]

Interesting that the main menu cursor is ripped from the SNES game Uniracers.

[@mathew3267]

They should have done Mario Kart XXX, I'm sure Nintendo would have liked that.

[@emmettturner9452]

There’s that Uniracers arrow animation right on the title screen. :)

[@vennril]

I KNEW I've seen that before somewhere, just couldn't put my finger on it. Thanks!

[@emmettturner9452]

@@vennril Well, I’ve also been seeing it as an animated GIF online since before SNES emulation was a thing so I’ve always wondered if the game was really the original. I don’t see why the devs would need to use a 3D animation from something else when they were obviously rendering their own for the rest of the game so I still assume they were the original.

[@IkesDaddelbox]

Also, Asterix and Obelix XXL is a full 3D game on the GBA. I just find that funny. Moorhuhn (which basically means swamp chicken) is pronounced "more hoon" by the way.

[@RicardoRamosRetrocomputacao]

I was in doubt if this were several well programmed sprites, or voxel. Anyway, it was a great job.