Photo of the tower being entered in Flying Fortress.
Flying Fortress is much like Whomp's Fortress in aesthetics and design but is noticeably different in objectives and quality. It also contains several placeholder strings and other unused dialogue. This leads to the belief that this course is an older version of Whomp's Fortress that was left in earlier releases of Super Mario 64.
Analysis[]
Photo of Flying Fortress' alcove area.
There are numerous differences compared to Whomp's Fortress in this video. Many of the staple locations from Whomp's Fortress are altered, such as the slope below the rotating bridge platform intersecting with the new alcove area. There is also a new slide segment on the side of the map. A new tower sub-area is present, where you have to fight the Whomp King. There are several other minor changes to the maps layout, such as the pushing blocks in the wall being absent, as well as Thwomps and Whomps. The player doesn't experience any crashes during gameplay and the level is relatively stable with collision for an early version. The Whomp King's dialogue is different as well, with a more remorseful tone.
MISSIONS:
- TO THE TIPPY TOP
- SUBTLE SLIDE DOWN
- BOX NEAR THE ALCOVE
- SECRETS IN THE GARDENS
- RISKY HUNT FOR 8 RED COINS
- CLIMBING FORTRESS TOWER
On July 4th, 2020, dumping of the recorder's copy began and a texture was found during this process. It's believed to be a mini-map texture, akin to the ones seen in beta footage.
An upscaled remake has been created as well, with almost 1:1 accuracy.
On July 21st, 2020, a video named "Deep Deep Slumber" was uploaded, which contained a full view screenshot and some more regular in-game screenshots of a more complete iteration of Flying Fortress.