It’s rare that you find a Nintendo console launching without the face of its most beloved character popping up to entice you into picking up the newest releases. Mario has even helped Nintendo branch out into mobile gaming. Mario Kart Tour raced into the #1 downloaded mobile game in the world with 10.1 million players across the world, leaving the global phenomenon Pokémon Go, with 6.7 million downloads, in the dust.
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It’s easy to spot Mario cameos in other franchises. The gaming world can feel overwhelming at times, and references to more niche franchises can go over a casual player’s head. So it’s always nice to be able to spot something, or rather, someone, you recognize and feel part of the ‘in-group’. Of course, it’s almost a given that he’ll appear in Luigi’s Mansion or Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. But did you know that you can spot the plucky plumber in these games as well?
10 Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing has many secret Mario cameos that only the most dedicated gamer will find. This may come as a surprise to some. There are very few similarities between the action-packed adventures of Mario and the laid-back style of Animal Crossing, where your only responsibility is to pay off a loan to a much more relaxed Tanooki.
If you enjoy the fashion side of Animal Crossing, you’re in luck. There are four Mario-related shirts players can find: the “big bro’s shirt,” the “lil’ bro’s shirt,” the “turnip shirt,” and the “toad shirt,” which can also be found in Pocket Camp!
If your fashion choices aren’t enough to signal your love for the plumber, you can find another cameo in the Mario and Luigi statues. These rare items can only be found through telling Tom Nook secret Nintendo passwords. If you can find them, they’d look great alongside the Mario Theme furniture set. In Animal Crossing, these 8-bit items could only be obtained through Universal Codes at special Nintendo events.
9 Kirby Super Star
Kirby Super Star was released in Europe on January 23, 1997, and is well-known for having the most references to other Nintendo games in the series. Remember the gold statue of Mario in Animal Crossing? Kirby can transform into the same golden Mario statue using his Stone Ability.
But that’s not it from Mario in Kirby Super Star! If players look closely during the King Dedede boss fight, a variety of Goombas, as well as Mario and Luigi, can be seen in the crowd whilst the two battle it out.
Kirby Super Star is renowned for the number of cameos of other Nintendo characters. But there’s actually a reason why - Anti-Kirby’s were enemies that appeared in the late-game of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. The developers of Kirby Super Star included lots of Nintendo cameos as a way of saying thank you.
8 Link’s Awakening
Kirby isn’t the only Nintendo character who got a cameo in Link’s Awakening. If you’ve ever played Link’s Awakening, the news that there are multiple Mario cameos will come as no surprise. These Mario Easter Eggs usually show up as enemies or characters in the game.
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As soon as you wake up and walk around Mabe Village, players can see a Chain Chomp straining at the leash. Normally, instinct might kick in and players might start looking for a way to defeat this vile creature. But in Link’s Awakening, this is BowWow and he’s a friend. This cute village pet is even necessary to advance in the story, so players can put away their sword, for now. This cute nod to the popular Mario franchise makes this game a classic.
7 SSX On Tour
One of the more surprising Mario cameos can be found in SSX On Tour. This snowboarding title is a tie-in to the popular SSX franchise, which is a niche interest, to say the least. But Nintendo has a power-up of their own: a roster of beloved characters. Gamers might not have ever heard of the SSX franchise before, but when they see Mario and the gang alley-ooping and Mctwist-ing, they might consider buying it.
SSX On Tour sets Mario, Luigi, and Peach lose on the slopes to compete against real-world athletes. Players can even check out the “Nintendo Village” course on the GameCube version, which is a nice touch.
6 Fortune Street
The Itadaki Street series has been a huge success in Japanese audiences since the NES released in 1991. Originally created by Dragon Quest designer Yuji Horii, the series was exclusive to Japan prior to the Wii edition in 2011. It’s a party-style board game series. So you can see why Mario decided to show up.
Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street add Mario characters (alongside characters from Square Enix’s library) into this crazy, stock-trading party game. If you’re a fan of Mario Party, Itadaki Street is a level-up in board game bonanzas.
5 Minecraft: Wii U Edition
Minecraft is a beautiful blend of creativity that allows gamers to create anything their heart desires. The inevitable release for the Wii U brought with it an unexpected crossover. A “Super Mario Mash-Up Pack” would combine the worlds of Minecraft and the Mushroom Kingdom.
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The Mario resource pack includes over 40 different Mario skins, such as Tanooki and Propeller Mario. It also includes the return of other regulars like Peach, Wario, and Luigi, as well as the Koopalings. There’s even a Super Mario World playground included in this pack, which includes the iconic soundtrack of Super Mario 64.
4 Just Dance
Mario has had a varied career so far. One day he’s a plumber, the next day he’s saving princesses from the clutches of evil, and the next he’s curing diseases as a fully qualified Doctor. His next career choice is to become a dancer, apparently.
Just Dance 3, released in 2011, has a track dedicated to Mario called Just Mario in which Mario tears up the dancefloor with a fully choreographed routine. His dancing abilities should come as no surprise to hardcore Mario fans though - not only does the Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom have to be incredibly fit, all the hours of practice spent in Mario Dance Dance Revolution on the GameCube are finally proving themselves to be useful.
3 Hitman (2016)
This is certainly the last game you’d expect the family-friendly Mario to show up in. Fear not, you won’t actually be sent on a mission to take Mario out (even if you might feel like it after facing a Dr. Mario main in Smash). Players might be asked to take down Mario and Luigi “Saltatore” in the Sapienza level of the 2016 reboot. You can find them in the level’s sewers, which just makes sense for a cameo of the two plumber brothers.
2 Punch-Out!!
It didn’t take Nintendo long before Mario started popping up in other franchises. Way back in the days of the NES, Mario was making cameos in other franchises. Fans of the NES classic Punch-Out!! were able to spot Mario acting as Little Mac’s referee as players punched their way to the top of the WVBA.
In Punch-Out!! Mario could be seen counting down to determine Little Mac’s fate. If he reached zero, Little Mac would either progress forward to win the trophy or be knocked out by King Hippo or Great Tiger.
1 Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes
Some gamers might call Super Smash Bros. Brawl, released in 2008, the first encounter between Snake and Mario. But they actually met four years earlier than that in Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes.
Take a look around the lab of Otacon, the genius inventor, and friend of Snake. Eagle-eyed gamers might be able to spot a few references to his nerdy interests. He has a display case with statues of Mario and Yoshi inside. If you’re cold-hearted enough to shoot Yoshi, he’ll cry out in pain. But, if you shoot Mario, you can actually refill a bit of your health, which honestly seems worth it.
NEXT: 10 Mario Facts That Only Superfans Know
