Line #11 WhatCouldHaveBeen/Cuphead


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cuphead_airship.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Cuphead about to fight Jelly the Octopus in the cut Airship level.]]
3	----
4	* When the game was originally announced, it was planned [[BossGame to consist solely of boss battles]]; after its E3 reveal, Studio MDHR opted to expand the gameplay to have regular RunAndGun levels as well.
5	* Captain Brineybeard was originally named Captain Silver in a 2013 trailer.
6	* The E3 trailers in 2015 and 2017 showed that the game originally had black and white cutscenes, reminiscent of silent films, rather than the storybook visuals shown in the final game. They also suggest that Cuphead may have been more of a {{Jerkass}} during development, as in the E3 2015 trailer, Cuphead is shown smugly smiling over the battered body of Werner Werman as he demands his soul contract.
7	* Early previews for the game had different {{Heads Up Display}}s: originally, [[http://cdn3-www.gamerevolution.com/assets/uploads/gallery/cuphead/file_32097_cuphead_001.jpg it]] resembles Videogame/MetalSlug, with a visible boss health counter at the top of the screen. Later previews had the health meters and super meters designed like a face (with hearts being the eyes and nose and the super being the mouth), which would go into a frowny face the more damage you took. Eventually it was settled to use small and simple HUD at the bottom of the screen. These were likely changed (and finalized to the current form) because of the additional hearts you could gain and to free up more space for the visuals.
8	* The 2014 build saw bosses that didn't make it into the main game, including a bat creature (likely an early version of the Devil) and a spider one (later reworked as part of the Moonshine Mob in ''The Delicious Last Course''). Likewise, enemy placement was different for a few of them (Cagney was on the left rather than on the right in the main game).
9	* An entire level, The Airship, was cut out of the game. An early demo of the game featured a jellyfish-like boss with a pink orb on its head, likely to teach the player about parrying. Additionally, [[https://studiomdhr.bandcamp.com/track/the-airship the level's theme]] can be heard on the official soundtrack. A comment by Jake Clark also implies that the level would have featured multiple minibosses (including the aforementioned jellyfish), which is supported by strings of code left in the game that refer to a stork boss, a crab boss, and a clam boss. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer have confirmed that the concept was reworked into The King's Leap for ''The Delicious Last Course''.
10	** A [[https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1531840367 Squad Stream hosted by Rogersbase]] featuring the Moldenhauer brothers elucidates more about The Airship. Rather than one level, it was a series of levels that would pop up throughout the Inkwell Isles, with the brothers citing Cid's airship from the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series as inspiration, and the idea was that the bosses would be small parry challenges that the players would have to complete to earn coins; the first coin collection system made for the game. The concept was ultimately scrapped, with only Jelly and possibly two more bosses designed by Jake Clark having been designed and only Jelly having been animated, simply because having to animate upwards of ''twenty bosses'' just for coin collection seemed unfeasible at the time, and because the developers thought they needed a different gameplay type as a break in-between bosses, thus the idea was split into the Run n' Guns (coin collection) and the Mausoleums (parry challenges). Inkwell Isle Four's smaller scale allowed the team to revisit the idea fully, leading to The King's Leap.
11	* There was also a ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders''-like minigame that was cut from the final game. Its two songs, [[https://studiomdhr.bandcamp.com/track/coin-op-bop Coin-Op Bop]] and [[https://studiomdhr.bandcamp.com/track/high-score High Score]], were also included on the soundtrack.
12	* A debug menu left in the final game reveals [[DummiedOut a lot of unused content]]. For example, there were a few bosses cut from the King's Court: a "card" boss that's a MatchThreeGame, “The Light”, a boss that involves dodging rotating lasers (which was reworked as part of the Moonshine Mob in the Delicious Last Course), and (by far the most complete, as well as farther along than the others) “Pachi-Pachi”, whose battle involves dodging falling pachinko balls and jets of flame.
13	** The Deluxe+ artbook that came with the Superdeluxe First Release physical edition in Japan reveals more details about Pachi-Pachi; firstly, that Pachi-Pachi was gonna be a secret phase to the King Dice fight, only accessible through fighting and defeating all 9 bosses of the King's Court, and that several names were considered for the boss before they ended on Pachi-Pachi: 'Churippu'[[labelnote:]]a direct transliteration of what 'tulip' would be rendered in Katakana, referring to the fact that the boss is a 'tulip catcher'[[/labelnote]], 'Jara-Jara'[[labelnote:]]the onomatopoeia for a pachinko machine[[/labelnote]], and 'Koatari'[[labelnote:*]]literally 'small jackpot', a term for an intermittent period in pachinko games for a minor prize or a boost in probability[[/labelnote]]. Ultimately, the fight was cut because the gameplay flow was deemed too similar to Pirouletta, with the devs ultimately deciding in favor of Pirouletta to keep in the game.
14	* An early draft for Djimmi the Great suggest that the character was [[https://twitter.com/JakeClarkDude/status/973312777526812672?s=20 originally a female genie]], most likely based on the titular character from ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'', with him doing a similar dance in the final version.
15	* ConceptArt for Cala Maria shows she went through a number of alternate designs (including versions of her with hair, fin-like ears and/or a crown, and with a BreastPlate made from a clam shell rather than a SeashellBra) and alternate attacks (including having her wield a cutlass or an anchor). An early trailer had her start her boss battle by making a MightyRoar (the animation of which is used for the final version when she spits the ghost sailors), but was changed to making a flirting pose in the final version of the game.
16	* Baroness Von Bon Bon had very different designs in early concept art. This included being made out of candy, being much fatter and buxon in the chest, and a few drawings in a style resembling a Disney princess.
17	* [[http://www.vgmonline.net/kristofer-maddigan-interview/ According to the game's composer, Kris Maddigan,]] there was originally going to be a water-themed world. Going off of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', he created a waltz tune for its music, but the world was cut, so its music became the Elder Kettle's theme. This would also explain why Inkwell Isle Three has two more bosses than the preceding worlds; the water-themed bosses, Captain Brineybeard and Cala Maria, were likely moved here after their world was cut. The song in question was also far enough in development that it received an alternate piano version, much like those of the other overworld songs, and it's fully functional even if the player is very unlikely to return to Elder Kettle's house to encounter it in-game.
18	* Another cut world was a graveyard-themed world. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UWM-xb2Paw Its theme]] is included on the Japanese official soundtrack under the name "Tombstone Tango".
19	* Kris Maddigan wanted [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y1WNV1yrs8 a ragtime piano version]] of "Clip Joint Calamity" to play on the world map as you approached the stage, which would transition into the proper song. This didn't end up happening, but the piano recording is also included on the Japanese soundtrack.
20	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCZDpt7hsG4 A somber remix of "Admission to Perdition",]] titled "The Bitter End", was considered for the bad ending but ultimately unused. The unused song is, again, included on the Japanese soundtrack.
21	* A cut boss concept that didn't make it into the game at all was a piano roll boss, where you had to dodge the sheet music in order to win. The actual music would match up to the sheet music that was playing. It was cut due to being too complicated and inflexible to implement: there'd have to be a different track for each difficulty level, and once the music was locked in, it'd be difficult to change its patterns (''Cuphead'' uses streamed music rather than MIDI).
22	* Unused sprites suggest a vast multitude of ideas:
23	** [[https://imgur.com/a/Llkkn 1.]] More items would be parryable (Wally's feathers and Werner's cherry bombs), Sally's husband would be fought alongside her in her third phase (as of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch update he will appear if you crush him during the first round), there would be a radish mook (supposedly in Botanic Panic, and he shows up there in the update), and Ribby and Croaks' final phase would have had a fourth attack. ([[https://imgur.com/a/5YHJo More sprites of Sally's husband here.]])
24	** [[https://imgur.com/a/gLNRa 2.]] Sally would be able to levitate using her umbrella, the giant in Rugged Ridge would be able to throw boulders at you from the background, Cala Maria would have a third, blue held fish, Djimmi's final-phase rings would be parryable and his puppet would have a golden "invulnerable" form, Rumor Honeybottoms would have had a third magic projectile (in the form of a cube), an unused phase for The Devil that would be fought atop his hands (which was eventually re-purposed for [[spoiler:the Nightmare fight]] in ''The Delicious Last Course''), Cagney would have a blue alternate to his orange floating flower, and Wally would have had another, more colorful type of bullet.
25	** [[https://imgur.com/a/BZdBu 3.]] A concept for a fourth "beet" boss of the Root Pack, Beatrice Lutz, and an alternate introductory animation for Ollie Bulb (where he is noticeably happier). (As a bonus, the radish's three animations are all assembled here.) As of the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch update, the alternate animation for Ollie is used; if you [[SheatheYourSword refrain from attacking]], he'll exit the scene with the happy animation, and the aforementioned radish mook pops out during Chauncey Chantenay's phase.
26	* Early builds reveal that a lot more Run 'n' Gun stages were planned for each world (at least four each). The final release reduces the number to two; however, unlike the early betas, each one has a unique theme[[note]]the four in the betas all resemble Forest Follies[[/note]].
27	* The original title screen theme is [[https://youtu.be/Lh9OxCd5bfg much different from the one heard in the release.]] It implies a slightly different plot, and doesn't reference Mugman at all. However, the ending "Cupheaaaaad!" is used when you successfully complete a level for the first time.
28	-->Cuphead, who gambled away his last dime,
29	-->Entered a tournament to buy him time.
30	-->If he can't win his head will be shorn,
31	-->And this was how the adventure was born!
32	* The same user who uploaded the unused sprites above, Nervatel, has also re-implemented and recorded [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsE8sATaQXywLlPDXnj-shrEAvysUp2a4 several unused boss behaviors]].
33	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIyi9L1vqRU The animation reels]] posted by the animators show several potential unused concepts:
34	** Grim Matchstick's hydra form has separate death animations for each of the three heads, implying that you might've needed to take them down separately.
35	** Sally Stageplay's somersault seems to have been animated as a double jump; in the final game, she uses it to send out projectiles while she's jumping.
36	** The Devil's aforementioned unused phase is more clearly visible; it was intended to take place between the first two phases in the final version.
37	* The 1.3.2 update reveals that a planned mode that was supposed to come out alongside the DLC was the "Tower of Power", a randomized boss rush mode that would pit the player against 5-8 randomly selected bosses with a randomly selected loadout, with a roulette partway into the gauntlet to award you with a boon. The devs state that this was scrapped simply because of a lack of time, and also that it didn't meaningfully add enough to be worth the trouble.
38	* In the DLC's coding for Esther Winchester, there's an unused phase labelled as "[=Tbone=]", and her third phase is referred to as "meatball"; the fourth phase is the one named "sausage". This implies that Esther was going to have more phases involving her transforming into various beef products other than sausages.
39	** Esther's second phase was also gonna have parryable objects being sucked up as debris; the final version instead has the parryable items in that phase be released from the falling safes. Interestingly, the build of the game used in the Game Awards trailer still has pink debris visible, meaning this change may have occurred during the last six months of development.
40	* The DLC's code refers to Glumstone's final phase as "Gnomeleader", seemingly indicating that the original idea for the final phase was that you would fight the leader of the gnome colony that resides in/on Glumstone. A scrapped mechanic for said phase was a 'parry thermometer', which may have been replaced with the dinner bell prompt by the skulls.
41	* The [[https://www.ign.com/videos/the-incredible-story-behind-cupheads-fantastical-stop-motion-castle IGN behind-the-scenes feature on the King's Leap]] reveals certain unused concepts for both the base game and the DLC:
42	** One idea for the Pawns fight involved the pawns being on stilts, and the fight overlooking a massive pit that the players would have to parry pawn heads to cross and stay above it.
43	** An idea for the base game was a 'Grim Reaper' that would appear in any boss fight [[StalkedByTheBell if you take too long to beat the boss]], resulting in a new secret fight. The developers would repurpose the intended pattern for this secret boss hazard for the Bishop fight.
44	** The developers tossed around the idea of putting in some way of giving Elder Kettle a secret boss fight back when developing the main game, such as some kind of cursed artifact, but ultimately scrapped the idea as they could not find a way to satisfactorily tie it in thematically to the game's plot. The King of Games' boss fight (which was partially coded in) was scrapped for a similar reason.
45	* To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the DLC, the devs released early designs for some of the bosses, which can be seen [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Cuphead/comments/14nbdaq/studio_mdhr_showed_off_some_concept_art_for_some/ here]].
46	** Mortimer Freeze's snowman phase would have included a pair of moose antlers.
47	** Originally, instead of the Devil and King Dice puppets Glumstone uses during the second phase of his boss fight, the puppets would have depicted Cuphead and Mugman instead!
48	** The Howling Aces leader went through quite a design change, going from a bulldog design matching that of the other dogs to a more saluki-esque design seen in the final product.
49	** Sheriff Winchester takes on a more rubberhose design.
50	** Chef Saltbaker looks '''very''' different compared to his final design, essentially looking like a chef Humpty-Dumpty.
51	** The Anteater has a more 'squished' appearance, reminiscent of 1930 elephant designs.
52	* More unused Chef Saltbaker designs from the artbook can be found [[https://starleska.tumblr.com/post/690139574919413760 here]]. Aside from the previously mentioned egg character, these designs include:
53	** An extremely fat and round human chef who looks a bit like [[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} the Coachman]].
54	** A chef with a mushroom for a head.
55	** An anthropomorphic elephant chef whose face looks a bit like WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}.
56	** A chef with a cheese wedge for a head.
57	** A chef with a toaster for a head.
58	** A rather stereotypical, mustachioed chef who looks a bit like [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]].
59	** A chef whose head is an egg with a cheese wedge around it.
60	** A fuzzy, Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog-like creature in a suit of armor that resembles a cauldron, holding a giant fork.

Context WhatCouldHaveBeen / Cuphead