Super Mario Strikers datamine reveals unused team of "generic Mario style humans"

eurogamer.net:

A recent dive into the files of the original Super Mario Strikers has revealed a rather unusual set of unused characters, including a team of «generic Mario style humans».

Twitter user Dogon McBanana decided to go rootling about in the files of Nintendo's GameCube title. What they found was a host of unused, slightly unnerving (see the T-posing, scarecrow like horror below), character models.

«It seems like at some point each captain was going to have their own unique team of sidekicks,» wrote McBanana.

Was digging through the game's files on a whim, and evidently the final build of Super Mario Strikers on Gamecube just has an entire team's worth of generic Mario style humans and a whole bunch of other unused stuff that I've never seen anybody talk about?? (thread) pic.twitter.com/Lty9Jp4zDH

«DK has a team of other Kong-like characters, for example. Luigi also has a dupe of himself for his sidekick, likely placeholder. They all have textures, but they're in a weird format.»

It seems like at some point each captain was going to have their own unique team of sidekicks. DK has a team of other Kong-like characters, for example. Luigi also has a dupe of himself for his sidekick, likely placeholder. They all have textures, but they're in a weird format. pic.twitter.com/kaJXoat76o

There were also homages to the Paper Mario series found within Mario Strikers' files. Presenting, Dull Bones the 'medic'.

There's also a Dull Bones from the Paper Mario Series fully realized in 3D, labeled as «Medic». I think some form of these security Pinatas were in the E3 Prototype, but so far as I can tell they go unused in the final game. pic.twitter.com/VTxwjhi4Jb

Finally, a Goomba model was unearthed, and it appears to be wielding a sceptre