the gigaleaks of nintendo july 24 & 25 2020 L is real 2401


Last week Nintendo experienced its largest data leak to date, and over the weekend people began sharing some of the odd things they found in the hundreds (or probably thousands) of files and folders.


The leak (check it out here) seemed to only contain old information like never-before-seen characters, artwork, levels, and even entire games that Nintendo developers made but either didn't use or release.


Of all the nostalgia-inducing stuff being shared around, these are the 10 weirdest secrets uncovered from Nintendo's past.


Luigi in Super Mario 64


The proof that Luigi was going to be a playable character in Super Mario 64 is the biggest get from this leak.



It also may confirm an old theory that programmers left a clue about Luigi on a statue in the castle that some thinks reads "L is real 24 01."




People even found old files for Luigi's outfit that they then put on Mario to see how he would have looked in the game.



Luigi Flipping the Bird


This one is just funny. It's the kind of prank you really wish had made it into Super Mario World (1990).


luigi flipping the bird middle finger



Long Neck Yoshi


Early designs of Yoshi from Yoshi's Island (1995) show him looking very different from what we know him to be.



He looks pretty messed up like this so thankfully long neck Yoshi was scrapped early on.



Grandpa Yoshi


There were tons of character sprite sheets in the leak, like this one that includes a version of Yoshi with a mustache and cane.



Was this going to be Yoshi's grandpa, or Yoshi putting on a disguise to steal Social Security money? We may never know...


Early 3D Link


Dude had more triangles than a pyramid scheme.



Super Donkey SNES Demo


This demo was found tucked away in the files for Yoshi's Island. The character looks almost like Rayman but there's no actual information about him.



The only hint about this game is its file name: Super Donkey.


Whatever the hell that means.


Employees Arguing about Porn


Internal emails showed the Star Fox developers arguing about looking at porn at work.



You wonder what kind of resolution were they getting on porn back then anyway. Although with the way Japanese porn gets censored today, the 8-bit pixelation was probably as good as it got.


Donkey Kong Prototype


This version of Donkey Kong looks like the manager from my first job.


donkey kong prototype artwork


Unused Super Mario 64 Levels


These levels were probably built just for developers to test game controls.



Seeing them is like looking at someone's ex and feeling confident you at least never looked that bad back in the day.



Uncompressed Star Fox 64 Voices


All these leaks are for the nerds, but this one is truly for the nerdiest nerds.


This 25 minute compilation has every voice over recording used for the Star Fox 64, only they're uncompressed so you get to hear how the voice actors really sounded.



"Do a barrel roll" will never be the same.