Mario and Luigi appear on the box, but are not featured in any of the included games.[1]
64 de Hakken! Tamagotchi Minna de Tamagotchi World (N64)[edit]
This game features two unlockable Tamagotchis based on Mario and Wario, named Mariotchi and Waruotokotchi, respectively. The former is obtained by winning a board game while having successfully raised any P1 adult and the latter is obtained similarly, but with any P2 adult.
Harold Jenkins, dressed in an outfit similar to Mario's, in a world inspired by the Mario franchise.
In the trailer for the rerelease of Accounting, there is a joke about them asking Reggie Fils-Aimé to release the game on the Nintendo Switch. During this joke, the character Harold Jenkins is seen wearing a magenta hat with the letter "J" on it, magenta overalls, and a yellow shirt, parodying Mario's outfit. In the trailer, he is seen coming out of a yellow Warp Pipe in a world inspired by levels in the Mario franchise, with many Goomba-looking creatures, Coins with the euro currency symbol (€), Brick Blocks, ? Blocks with the dollar currency symbol ($), and a parody of the Koopa Clown Car. A skull wearing a red cap can also be spotted in the background. The music during this scene of the trailer seems to be inspired by Super Mario 64.
Yuri Cosmos's GYAXA uniform is adorned with star-shaped buttons that look identical to Super Stars. This is more noticeable during his breakdown, where stars - including Super Stars - fly off of his uniform.
Two characters that appear in the fifth case "The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story," called Nash Skulkin and Ringo Skulkin, are brothers, and they are visually similar to Luigi and Mario. Both of them worked on the same occupation, as an "average Joe".
Nash, which is similar to Luigi, is taller, skinner and younger than Ringo, wears a green smoking and flat cap, and has a mustache like him.
Ringo, which is similar to Mario, is smaller, fatter and older than Nash, wears a wine smoking and flat cap, and has a mustache like him.
This rerelease of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy adds custom planes themed after various Nintendo characters. The planes can be unlocked by scanning the relevant amiibo or by finding ? Blocks hidden in the missions. When a ? Block is destroyed, a Power Star emerges from it and the Super Mushroom collection sound plays. The Mario-relevant planes are:
Mario: An F-22 Raptor with averaged-out stats, in a reference to Mario's status as the "balanced" character in most Mario games.
Luigi: An F-35 Lightning II with increased speed but poor mobility, likely in reference to Luigi's inertia-heavy physics in games such as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
Bowser: An A-10A Thunderbolt II with improved armor and attack power.
Donkey Kong: An F/A-18 Hornet with increased mobility and stability but lower speed. Its missiles leave yellow trails.
Princess Peach: A Eurofighter Typhoon with increased speed and mobility but lower defense.
The main protagonist, Willy, at one point plays a "Nintari" game entitled "Monster Squad", appears to be a spoof of Super Mario Bros.. Nintari is also a portmanteau of Nintendo and Atari.
Near the end of the game, when Wilton experiences a flood of flashbacks involving Mr. B and the evil goldfish, one flashback shows the two of them playing what seems to be a Mario-esque platformer, with ? Blocks, coins, and spikes shown.
During development, the first boss of the game was intended to be a character based on Ken-Oh, the first boss of the Shinobi arcade game, named "Mari-Oh", who bore a striking resemblance to Mario (likely to mock Nintendo, as the Alex Kidd games were all made by Sega, Nintendo's business rival at the time)[2] By the final game, however, Mari-Oh was replaced with the unrelated "Kabuto" boss.
Collecting the watering can in the Storage of MIRA HQ generates text that reads "Watering Can Get!". While not a direct reference to the Mario franchise, this is a reference to the widely-mocked "Shine Get!" phrase that appears in the Japanese version of Super Mario Sunshine whenever Mario collects a Shine Sprite.
The codes found in the Ventilation of the Airship (itself a reference to the Toppat Airship from The Henry Stickmin Collection) features an image of a coin as one of the possible digits, along with the Tunisian Diamond, Romanian Ruby, and Norwegian Emerald.
The second Eggsteroid level is a homage to World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros., with rocks in the place of ? Blocks and wood in the place of Brick Blocks. The upper "? Block" contains a Bad Piggy which moves in a similar manner to a Super Mushroom. Unlike in the original game, the ground can be broken and the pig representing the mushroom comes out of the top block instead of the bottom right block.
At various points in the game, the player has to battle a Foreman Pig donning a red cap and a moustache, highly resembling Mario. He also holds a small Warp Pipe covered in colored mushrooms.
The fifteenth level of the Pork Side's "Master Your Destiny" episode references World 1-1, with a collectible coin in place of the actual coin, and a Gungan bird in place of the Super Mushroom.[3][4]
The second level of the 2015 Retro Game tournament referenced Super Mario Bros., featuring boxes that acted like Question Blocks, coins, a flagpole preceded by a block stairway, a fortress, and a double Warp Pipe.[5]
One of the Golden Egg levels in the "Piggywood Studios" episode contains several Warp Pipe-like structures that the birds have to dodge in a Flappy Bird fashion in order to reach and defeat a Bad Piggy.[6][7]
Antonball Classic samples audio from Mario Bros. The 2021 remake, Antonball Deluxe, extends this to feature Wrecking Crew and WarioWare-style instruments and voice imitations, in addition to a general aesthetic incluenced by Wario. Wario is even specifically credited as special thanks in the credits.
Punch Ball Antonball is a spinoff based heavily on Punch Ball Mario Bros., which also received an update as Punchball mode in Antonball Deluxe.
One of the game's achievements/trophies is called "Principessa in Another Castello", referencing the Mushroom Retainers' quote: "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" from Super Mario Bros..
In the mission "Femme Fatale," after Ezio has killed all of the guards and dragged Lucrezia Borgia towards Caterina Sforza's cell, she commented "Rescuing princesses from castles now?"
The achievement "Plumber" shows a picture of a Warp Pipe.
One of the most common enemies is a Roman dressed in a Mario costume called Pablo who uses the F.L.U.D.D. device from Super Mario Sunshine to blast water at Asterix and Obelix. His likeness also appears on the Eiffel Tower decorations and the statues on the side of the Arc de Triomphe. Additionally, Romans that resemble other video game characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man appear.
There is an area accessed through a Warp Pipe in WCW Arena named "Internetus" which is somewhat of a tribute to the Mario games. There are POW Blocks, Thwomps, Mushroom platforms, Piranha Plant designs on the floor, and more. The music also sounds like that of a Mario game.
In the secret entrance to Las Vegum, there is a menhir painted white with green spots, resembling a Yoshi Egg.
The wall behind the Eiffel Tower in Lutetia is designed to look like the background of a Mario level.
Near the boss in WCW Arena, there are wall tiles made to look like blocks from Mario games.
In the night-time area of Venetia, there are giant statues of Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, and a Shine Sprite. Additionally there are two more Shine Sprites in an underground tunnel in the same room.
Some flag decorations in Venetia feature Super Mushrooms and Yoshi Eggs.
Upon entering the Obelisk area of Lutetia, there are barrels rolling down a slope with Donkey Kong's logo on them.
In WCW Arena there is a massive scaffolding which looks and plays just like the first level of Donkey Kong. There is also one on Pirate Island with a giant statue of Donkey Kong on top (the same one seen in Venetia, but wearing an eye patch).
On Pirate Island there are carvings of Donkey Kong's face on the ground at one area.
In Venetia there are fountains featuring Donkey Kong's face, with the water flowing from his mouth.
Beside the merchandise stand on the shores of Pirate Island there is a red towel with a Sidestepper on it and Super Stars on the ground nearby.
During "Episode 1: It's About Time," Marty must make arrangements for Edna to deliver soup (which is actually alcohol) to the Stay Sober Society. At one point, Marty mentions that he's delivered soup to charities before, and Edna asks him which ones they were. Marty responds by telling her "The... um... Mario Brothers...", and Edna goes on to comment that "the Italians do so many good works".
To show the power of the vehicle editor in the game, an 8-bit Mario on wheels is shown in the trailer in Nutty Acres. It then gets destroyed by Banjo and Kazooie. The trailer was later edited to remove the portion when the 8-bit Mario is destroyed. However, the shot of it prior to the destroying remains.[9]
In the opening sequence, when Banjo, Kazooie, and Gruntilda encounter the Lord of Games for the first time, Kazooie at one point remarks that they have been in several games already, and Lord of Games responds by saying that they've been in "nowhere near as many as that Italian gentleman."
In the Jiggoseum level, on a balcony in the south end of the main area is a pile of giant, metallic dice that Kazooie can pick up and move. Hidden behind them is a large, golden cube with a metallic white question mark on the side of it.
In one of the missions for the L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges DLC, Banjo mentions that he once was in a race with "a genie and a giant pig", referring to Diddy Kong Racing.
The achievement unlocked for opening the Terrarium of Terror, an outer-space forest-themed world, is called "Super Banjo Universe," a parody of Super Mario Galaxy.
One of the questions given by Lord of Games in the quiz at the end of the game is "Which game featured a Banjo appearance but wasn't a Banjo title?" The correct choice is Diddy Kong Racing.
To celebrate the game's arrival on the Nintendo 3DS, a new Cat was released for all versions alongside "The Battle Cats POP!" event, named Cat Kart R. The Cat's name is a reference to the Mario Kart series, with the "R" referring to the red color of the cat's cap. This cap is also a reference to the Mario Cap, only with an "N" instead of an "M". It rides around in a kart and throws Cat Food (the game's in-game currency) at enemies, which is again a reference to Mario Kart and the ability to throw various items. Its description includes, "Other hobbies: Parties, Tennis, Medicine," which is a nod to the Mario series Mario Party, Mario Tennis, and Dr. Mario. Cat Kart R can be upgraded to become Cat Kart G, with the "G" referring again to the green color of the Cat's cap. The Cat's new description includes the phrase, "Has a complex thanks to his popular brother." Both the cap and the description are a reference to Luigi and his behavior with Mario.
The upgraded form of the Vengeful Cat, Groucho Cat, rides around in a cloud while holding a fishing rod, which is a reference to the Fishin' Lakitu/Fishing Boo enemy. However, the fishing rod is attached to a pair of Groucho glasses, referencing Groucho Marx.
The upgraded form of the Meowla Meowla, Catorpedo, is in the shape of a Bullet Bill, with a bullet-esque shape and two white arms whose hands are curled into fists. Its description also includes, "Hates being stepped all over. Stop it!!!" which refers to Bullet Bills being defeated when jumped on.
The true form of the Jurassic Cat, Catasaurus, features a Cat riding a dinosaur that bears a close resemblance to Yoshi. It attacks by jumping in the air and fluttering while moving his feet, and it sticks out its tongue when knocked back, which are both abilities of Yoshi. Its description also reads, "Discovered a cute dinosaur in a magical land of fungi. Features extra seating for the kids!" The first phrase is a reference to the Mushroom Kingdom, which the second phrase is a reference to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, where Baby Mario rides on Yoshi's back.
The Wii U and Nintendo Switch versions of the game features costumes for Bayonetta inspired by various Nintendo characters, including ones based upon Princess Peach and Princess Daisy called "Mushroom Kingdom Princess" and "Sarasaland Princess" respectively.[10] The costumes feature ribbons on the arms that have various Mario power-ups on them, and on her waist is a Mario trinket for the Peach costume, and a Luigi one for the Daisy costume. While the costumes are equipped, the Halos enemies drop are replaced with coins, which when collected make the sound effect heard in Super Mario World.[11] Also, instead of summoning demons, Bayonetta summons Bowser's foot or fist. When doing so, Bowser's voice (provided by Kenny James) can be heard.[12]
A Chain Chomp appears as an equippable weapon. It can be obtained by collecting the Angelic Hymns Gold LP "Super Mario 64"[13] During the cutscene of Rodin going to Inferno to make the weapon, a piano rendition of Bob-omb Battlefield's theme plays.
The Umbran Elegance for the Chain Chomp gives Bayonetta Mario's hat (with a "B" instead of an "M") and mustache. She also gains a unique taunt in which she takes the hat off (a la one of Mario's taunts in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) while saying "Mamma Mia!". If Jeanne equips the Umbran Elegance, she will gain Luigi's hat and mustache instead.
The Nintendo costumes that appear in the port of the original game also appear in this game, including the Peach and Daisy costumes. In the Nintendo Switch version, these costumes can be unlocked instantly by scanning their respective amiibo.
In the seventh game in the series, Ben enters a person's house by disguising himself as a plumber. He does this by putting on a colorful shirt and pair of overalls making him look like one of the Mario Bros. Additionally, when using the call box outside the house in question, Ben can impersonate the Pope by saying "It's-a me, the Pope!" in a manner reminiscent of Mario's "It's-a me, Mario!".
The Magic Mushroom, 1up!, Mini Mush and Bobby-Bomb items.
The Mega Mush item.
Isaac's "Fun Guy" transformation.
The Magic Mushroom, 1up!, Mini Mush, and Mega Mush items resemble several mushroom power-ups from the Mario games, and have similar effects to their inspired powerups;
Magic Mushroom increases Isaac's size and damage, and gives him additional health.
1up! gives Isaac an extra life.
Mini Mush decreases Isaac's size and increases his speed.
Mega Mush turns Isaac into a giant version of himself when activated, making him invincible and massively increasing his damage for a short time.
The item "Bobby-Bomb" greatly resembles a Bob-omb, and gives Isaac's bombs windup keys and the ability to move towards enemies, just like Bob-ombs.
The item "Gnawed Leaf" strongly resembles a Super Leaf, and its effect is similar, granting Isaac invulnerability when standing still. It also gives Isaac a Tanooki tail.
One of the fortune teller's messages is: "Your Princess is in another Castle", referencing the Mushroom Retainer's line in Super Mario Bros..
The appearance of the item "How To Jump", which allows Isaac to jump across obstacles and pits, is a boxart very similar to the boxart of Super Mario Bros.
After picking up three mushroom-type items, Isaac gains a transformation known as "Fun Guy", which grants him a heart container and changes his appearance to vaguely resemble a Toad.
The skeletal enemy "Clickety Clack" is seemingly inspired by Dry Bones, chasing after Isaac and collapsing into a pile of bones when defeated. As long as any other active Clickety Clacks are present in the room, it will regenerate and continue pursuing Isaac after a short time.
Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Bowser, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, a Goomba, a Chain Chomp, the Fire Flower, Tanooki Suit, Hammer Suit, and Frog Suit appear as playable normal babies in the game's Co-op mode.
One of the email bonuses received in the game is from The Princess, which reads "I'm in another castle, enjoying this bonus." This is a reference to the Mushroom Retainer's line from Super Mario Bros.
One of the unlockable room items is a Goal Pole from Super Mario Bros. It can be unlocked by reinvesting.
Email referencing the line of the Mushroom Retainer from Super Mario Bros.
The Goal Pole is an unlockable room item via reinvesting in this game.
A race of enemies called "Bullymongs" are four-armed ape-like creatures; there is a rare subspecies called "Donkey Mongs" which wear red ties and throw barrels, a reference to Donkey Kong, if the player successfully defeats a Donkey Mong, they are awarded with an achievement entitled "Definitely An Italian Plumber", a reference to Mario.
The fourth world the penguin character can bounce through is themed after the Mushroom Kingdom, with background hills resembling that of the ones found in the Mario series, and Mushrooms the penguin can bounce off.
There's a character in the game who resembles Mario and attacks with shells.
Braid (Xbox Live Arcade/PSN/Steam/Mac App Store)[edit]
One of the game's levels is named "Jumpman" (referencing Mario's original name), which resembles 25m from the original Donkey Kong arcade game. In Indie Game: The Movie, it is shown that the gorilla in said level was originally a sprite of Donkey Kong from the arcade game in the prototype.
At the end of most worlds, a ragdoll-like dinosaur character appears and says,"I'm sorry, but the Princess is in another castle."
There are plant enemies which come out of pipes very similar to Piranha Plants.
The solution to the thirteenth level involves dragging a mushroom onto a cat to make him grow bigger and thus clear a jump across a pit. The ending flavor text subsequently reads "Super Tom!".
The in-game description of the item Enopu Mushroom alludes to Mario's plumbing career, along with saving the princesses and preference of mushrooms. This item's name is an anagram of the "One-Up" portion of the 1-Up Mushroom. Its effect is similar in that it grants the target the auto-revive effect. Item description: "Eisenberg legends tell of an affable plumber with a love for mushrooms. This particular one was his favorite, and its power brought him back from the brink of death-by-overwork on many an occasion. While he performed no acts of derring-do such as the saving of princesses, he did nearly single-handedly construct Eisenberg's impressive sewage system."
A part of the game has the player searching for a prince named Erik in a castle. If the player speaks to a certain guard, he states "Perhaps the Prince is in another castle.".
The game is heavily inspired by Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, both visually and gameplay-wise. The max level is capped at 27 like in the original game. Additionally, there is an item called Mistake that can be created from a wrong recipe.
In multiplayer in both games, reaching a 10-kill killstreak with no killstreak rewards equipped nets the player a callsign emblem of Price patterned after the Super Mario Bros. small Mario sprite.
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a video game console called a "Gamestation" can be found in a house. One of the video games lying around it is named "Italian Plumber Princess Rescue".
The terrible state of the pipes down here would peturb even my brother Mario. Some parts have rusted terribly, While others are covered with fungus due to the high humidity. Not all the Mushrooms look good to eat either, Who knows what might happen if I eat one?
A White Block from Super Mario Bros. 3 can be found in a hidden alcove in Chapter 4: Golden Ridge, which allows Madeline to climb the background tiles. It disappears when the "Eye of the storm" heart is collected in said alcove.
The level design in each room leading to the B-Side Tape and in the final room of each B-Side include platforms that act like Beep Blocks. The color of blocks are blue and pink, the colors that Beep Blocks had in Super Mario 3D World.
One of the collectible party members is a plumber. When the Vice President first meets him, he says that he looks like a plumber, to which the Plumber asks him if he was expecting "a raccoon or a man in a cape". The VP replies that he was simply commenting on the Plumber's plunger, though he also says that the plumbers that he is familiar with use "shells and fireballs to solve their problems". The Plumber worriedly says that those kinds of plumbers should not be fixing someone's pipes, and offers to print his phone number for the VP. The VP then jokes that he had his phone number but that he lost track of it, meaning that his "print's in another castle". Beyond wearing a stereotypical set of overalls, the Plumber's appearance and abilities do not otherwise reference the franchise.
Crash being able to ride Baby T, a baby dinosaur, is most likely inspired by Mario being able to ride Yoshi in several Mario games. Baby T is even found from breaking his egg and runs away when it touches an enemy, just like Yoshi (except the player cannot chase down Baby T after he is hit and must find another egg).
The FMV cutscene after defeating the brainwashed Crunch Bandicoot is named "Crunch Get!" in the cutscene viewer, likely after the phrase "Shine Get!" in the Japanese version of Super Mario Sunshine.
The game was originally pitched to Nintendo as Yoshi Racing, a 3D platformer starring Yoshi, before being retooled into an original IP after Nintendo rejected the offer.
An advertisement poster of this game depicted Croc after apparently eating three video game characters: Mario, Crash Bandicoot, and Lara Croft. Their accessories can be seen: Mario's cap, Crash's sneakers, and Lara's gun.
In the "Funfair Fever" level, there is a ringmaster enemy that attacks similarly to Magikoopas, as the ringmaster shoots out rings of shapes, just like the aforementioned enemies.
Also in the "Funfair Fever" level, the Hot Dog miniboss shoots out condiments as the player gets closer, similar to how Bowser breathes fire as the player approaches him in the final stage of Super Mario Bros.
The platforms in the "Floral Fury" fight resemble Piranha Plants.
The bee missiles that Rumor Honeybottoms spits out in the "Honeycomb Herald" boss fight resemble Bullet Bills.
An officially created Toy Box titled "Super Sidescroller" was based on World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., and was made available to download beginning the day after the game launched.
After completing the first act of Doki Doki Literature Club, the game's opening text, "This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.", will randomly change to something else. One of the alternate opening lines, "I have granted kids to hell", is a reference to a controversy involving misheard lyrics of Ashley's Theme using the Turntable souvenir in WarioWare: Touched!. Prior to Version 1.1.1, if a corrupt word is chosen during the second act's second poem minigame, there is also a 1/11 chance of hearing a vocal "bah" sound, which was sampled from creator Dan Salvato's Isolated Vocals edit of Ashley's Theme.[17]
Sapphire's Combo attack, "Captured Princess", is a reference to the fights against Bowser in the original Super Mario Bros.: Sapphire is kidnapped by the targeted enemy and caged next to an axe, while Almaz confronts the kidnapper by jumping on its head.
An obtainable dragon in the game known as the Jumping Dragon is based on Yoshi.
The description mentions a Super Plumber Dragon, as well as Yoshi's ability to walk on spiked obstacles.
An obtainable dragon in the game known as the Useful Dragon looks similar to Mario, but without a mustache. It also wears a white hat, blue shirt, and white overalls, making it more closely resemble Stanley's sprite from the NES version of Donkey Kong 3.
Its ability to throw fireballs is based on Fire Mario.
Prior to the boss fight on the Moon stage, when the rat eats the green cheese that makes him grow, Scrooge remarks, "Great Scott! I thought that stuff was supposed to be an anti-aging culture, not an instant growth fungus!", referencing the Super Mushroom.
The ninth level in the "Tribute Set" expansion pack for this game was apparently styled to resemble a classic Starman sprite, consisting of yellow bricks (which is indestructible) in the outer structure with explosive tiles covering the entire inner part. The player is required to hit one explosive tile at the top left to remove the outer bricks and complete the level in a few more hits.
The game features an easter egg in a form of a secret corridor which resembles a 3D recreation of World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros., playable from a first-person view. The secret room features Goomba-like enemies, explosive zombies, large green pipes, brown and yellow blocks, and large flag pole at the end. The main platform is only one block wide, and floats parallel to the corridor on a vast pool of blood. The corridor's blue walls are decorated with the extruded decals of pixel-like mountains and clouds. The secret corridor is accessible by squatting on a building's chimney that has a green pipe lodged inside it. The player will be instantly warped to the secret corridor, and exit using another pipe at the end of the main platform.[18]
The enhanced Sega CD version of this game includes several secret masks for the character, including one of Donkey Kong with an arrow through his head. This is supposedly to spite Nintendo as the release of Donkey Kong Country around the same time prevented Earthworm Jim from making more of an impact.[citation needed]
An achievement for the Steam version of this game is titled "The Princess Is In Another Castle", which is unlocked when the player reaches the normal ending without collecting all 240 gems. This is a reference to the line that the Mushroom Retainers say when Mario saves them in Super Mario Bros.
Some flowers in some flower pots are Pakkun or Piranha Plants.
Creatures resembling Thwomps known as Crushers appear.
After Reno introduces himself as the team's worst nightmare, Fina says her worst nightmare is waking up in a pink dress surrounded by mushrooms who think she is their princess.
Phase 1 of the fight with the Big Vicious Troll is reminiscent of Donkey Kong.
One of the selectable names in the Colosseum is "Super Morio".
The coins in the 3D portion of the game strongly resemble Star Coins.
During the Novice Test, one of the choices is a 1-Up Mushroom.
In the PC version of the game, several video game heroes can be seen in Sylph Forest, Mario being among them. Both Mario and Link were removed in the Switch version.
The back of the boxes' screenshot of the Punch-O-Matic minigame has the players listed as Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and Wario with the images being a pair of lips, a raptor, and a skull and crossbones. (Mario's image isn't shown.)
One of the families played against in the game's 1P mode includes two brothers named Marco and Luis who are plumbers. They are references to Mario and Luigi. Marco's wife is named Patricia, she may be a reference to Princess Peach. Patricia has a nephew named Ted, a reference to Toad. Ted's afro is likely a reference to Toad's cap. These characters somewhat look like their Mario counterparts and do similar poses.
One of the categories a player can choose is "Mario and Luigi", which gives the clue, "The New York Times was forced to issue a correction after they incorrectly identified the Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi as _______ instead of plumbers." The correct answer is "janitors".
In update version 2.0, one of the backgrounds closely resembles the hills found in Super Mario Bros. 3. Similarly, the checkered floor ground also resembles the floor of the kings' chambers in the game.
One of the sections in the level Press Start involves entering a Warp Pipe that leads the player into two mini-levels. The level numbering also references Super Mario Bros.
In the level Fine Tooning, one of the random quotes Gex can say is, "I guess Bowser's on vacation?" This quote is not found in the N64 version of the game.
In the "Marsupial Madness" Secret Level, the sections of the level that lead to higher points have creatures throwing coconuts at Gex and the kangaroo he's riding in a manner similar to Donkey Kong.
The first level of The Great Giana Sisters is nearly identical in layout to the first stage found in Super Mario Bros., and the game plays almost identically. The immediate similarity to Super Mario Bros. ensured that The Great Giana Sisters was quickly noticed by both the public and the video game industry itself. Nintendo pressured the makers of The Great Giana Sisters with warning of legal action should they not take appropriate action, and the game was voluntarily withdrawn from sale.[20] The difficulty in obtaining copies of the game has led to them being sought out as collector's items.
An unofficial sequel called Giana Sisters II was released on the Commodore 64 in 1993, originally with commercial purpose plans though later released for free on the Internet. In 2008, another unofficial sequel was released, entitled Giana's Return.
In Goat Simulator, one of the Mutators is called "Italian Dinosaur Goat". With this mutator, the goat can swallow physics objects and turn them into eggs, which can be thrown. This is a reference to Yoshi's ability to swallow enemies and turn them into eggs.
In the Android/iOS version, there is a Warp Pipe in Goatville. If players grab a black oval with the tongue and carry it to the pipe, players can enter it. Doing so brings players to a pipeline area.
The icon in the Android/iOS version used to activate your Goat's attack looks like a Red POW Block.
There are two mushrooms in the front yard of Franklin's first house: a tall green one and a short red one (referencing Luigi, who is tall and wears green, and Mario, who is short and wears red). This pair of mushrooms is also present in front of Maude's house.
A poster in the game says "Tag Team #1 Los Super Hermanos". They have mustaches and their masks are red and green. One of them has an L on their mask and the other has an M.
At the beginning of Desierto Caliente, there is a large obstruction resembling barrels with Donkey Kongs on top.
At the end of the Temple of Rain, Juan must run from the Alebrije that is chasing him. At the end of the area is a bridge over lava with a gold axe on the other side; collecting it causes the bridge to collapse under the Alebrije as it falls into lava. Afterward, Juan is greeted by X'Tabay, who says, "Sorry Luchador, but your princess is in another castle."
On a wall in Santa Luchita, the outline of Mario's sprite from the original Super Mario Bros. can be seen.
On map "d3_c17_08" of Chapter 10: Anticitizen One, the player must go through a small narrow corridor which contains three sealed metal pipes and a Headcrab. The pipes are meant to represent Warp Pipes. The lone Headcrab is uniquely able to be killed by merely touching it, though its placement most commonly results in the player stepping on it, referencing the Stomp ability.[21]
Originally meant to be a sequel to the famous Super Mario Bros. clone The Great Giana Sisters, this game was originally known as Giana 2: Arthur and Martha. This changed due to a lawsuit, as Nintendo threatened to take legal action due to the game's deliberate similarity to their flagship franchise. Just like the The Great Giana Sisters, Hard'n Heavy features two heroes (Heavy and Metal) who make their way through a Mario-styled, vertically-scrolling futuristic world.
The backer-exclusive hat is called the Time Sisters hat, which resembles the Mario Cap. A promotional artwork of the game shows Hat Kid wearing said hat, with the name "Time Bros" written underneath, but with "Bros" crossed out and replaced with "Sisters".[22]
Two unlockable dye options, called Cute 'n Dangerous and The Big Appetite, make Hat Kid resemble Princess Peach and Wario respectively. One of the unlockable Brewing Hats also resembles Vivian's hat from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
The Time Rift levels are secret platforming segments, in the style of the secret courses from Super Mario Sunshine. A few of those Time Rifts also include a rotating block platform very similar to the long rotating platforms from The Secret of Ricco Tower".
Act 6 of Mafia Town, "Heating up Mafia Town", where most of the level is covered in lava, is directly inspired by the mission "The Goopy Inferno" from Super Mario Sunshine.
Act 2 of Battle of the Birds, called "Murder on the Owl Express", is directly inspired by Chapter 6 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; both settings take place on a moving train, and involve various detective mysteries that the hero must solve.
One NPC in "Murder on the Owl Express" is a penguin who lost his contact lens, and instructs Hat Kid not to move so as to not step on it by accident; a reference to Zess T. who had a similar predicament.
In Death Wish Mode, it is possible for The Snatcher to say, "Did you know you can unlock a 'Luigi' by completing every Death Wish on the first try? I don't even know what that is, but that has to be genuine. I read it online!" This is a reference to the playable Luigi rumor in Super Mario 64.
After collecting the lost souls in the observatory, the player can interact with the ghost of a drunken king who says the line "The princess is in another castle" while attempting to recite a fairy tale.
In episode two, Sapienza, a red plumber and a green plumber can be found working in the sewers; they are referred to as Mario Saltatore and Luigi Saltatore respectively.
When the player clears the 1740th level, they get to unlock a scene where Austin and Robbie play "Super Rosario Cousins" on a Gametendo console, which are spoofs of Super Mario Bros. and the SNES, respectively. In the next scene, when Austin and Robbie attempt to explain their grogginess to Austin's girlfriend Katherine, a thought bubble appears to liken Austin and Robbie to Mario and Luigi, respectively.
A scout named "Maryo" appears as a man with a moustache, gloves, and a purple cap. The scout is unlocked in the nation Lowee, which is named after the Wii. Also in Lowee is a dungeon named "Maryo Land", a possible reference to the Super Mario Land series.
Another scout named "Toady" appears. Her hair resembles Toad's cap.
The game's hunt quest "Mush Ado About Nothing" requires the player to defeat a Dogoo resembling Toad named "Daot". The enemy is located within a pipe in an underground area, resembling the underground levels of Super Mario Bros.. The area also features brown Dogoo enemies with fangs resembling Goombas.
During the story, antagonist Filyn turns several characters into blocks resembling ? Blocks. Before battling the heroes, in reference to one such block, she wonders if a Star will appear from it if struck.
The 71st question asks readers which country produces the finest plumbers in the world, with the choices being "Russia", "Italy", "Poland" and "Ethiopia". The correct answer is Italy, as it references Mario and Luigi, and they are Italian.
The 77th question has readers search for an "evil" object. Among the objects they may find are Mario/Luigi's head and a Super Mushroom.
In the "Easy" contraption lineup, there is a puzzle named "Super Mel Brothers". In said contraption, Mel has a younger brother named Angus, referencing how Luigi is Mario's younger brother. The contraption is also composed mostly of bricks, referencing the Brick Blocks found throughout the Mario franchise.
A "News Bulletin" announces Mario, at age 72, is giving up superhero status because of Jill's "incredible" popularity. "We are not cool enough. We just did not stand a chance." states the newsflash. It also says that he will return to his old job, cleaning gorilla cages at the local zoo.
A turret based boss fight in a swamp features combat against two Tyrannosaurus Rexes, one a lime green and the other a pinkish color. The palette choices were based on the Nintendo characters Yoshi and Birdo, who are often paired up by fans as a couple to match other characters in the Mario franchise.
In Just Dance Wii, the debut title of the Japanese edition sub-series, Mario appears on a track called "Just Mario" with the artist credited as "Ubisoft meets Nintendo" and is unlocked by playing all the other songs on the game first. In Just Dance 3 for the Wii in North America and Europe, it returned as downloadable content exclusive to the Wii version and was released in December 2011 for 250 Wii Points. The track is no longer obtainable in Just Dance 3 due to the closure of the Wii Shop Channel in 2019. It later returned in Just Dance 2018 as an exclusive track for the Nintendo Switch version of the game and is now remade to represent more modern games in the series such as New Super Mario Bros. U. However, an Internet connection is required to play the track, which is similar to the previous Nintendo Switch-exclusive track, "How Deep Is Your Love" by Calvin Harris and Disciples.
Exclusive to "Just Dance Unlimited" for Just Dance 2018 on the Nintendo Switch, an alternate version of the song "Naughty Girl" by Beyoncé features Rabbid Peach as the dancer.[25]
One of the early stages is set to "New Game" by electronic music artist Nitro Fun, which incorporates samples of the Warp Pipe sound effect from Super Mario Bros.. During both instances of the sample, the boss the player is fighting enters and exits a Warp Pipe, creating a shockwave. Afterwards, the boss "powers up" by eating a triangle, accompanied by the "power up" sound effect from Super Mario Bros..
Four of the T1 karts highly resemble some karts from the Mario Kart franchise. There are 7 T1 karts, the 4th resembling the Sprinter from Mario Kart Wii, the 5th resembling the Standard Kart from Mario Kart Wii, the 6th resembling the Standard Kart from Mario Kart 7 with Standard tires and the 7th resembling the Cloud 9 with Sponge tires, also from Mario Kart 7. The Cloud 9 is called "Cloud" in this game.
Chase remarking about a giant ape in the "Miner Altercation" level in LEGO City Undercover.
Due to this Lego game being co-published by Nintendo, the Wii U and Switch versions of the game have many Mario references.
Chase McCain, the game's protagonist, can build a Warp Pipe out of Lego bricks and enter it just like Mario, complete with the Super Mario Bros. sound effect. In the remaster, this was replaced with a Teleport Pad.
Five ? Blocks appear. The player can jump up and hit them, producing the same sound effect as if a Coin had been collected (though nothing comes out of them aside from several Lego studs after they've been hit three times). In the remaster, the boxes were replaced by Rex Graffiti Skullptures.
There is a parade with floats of stars, and one of them looks like a Super Star. In the remaster, the star remains but with the eyes removed.
Five Super Stars can be also built around the city, and when all five are built, the Pop Star character token is unlocked. In the remaster, these stars were replaced by police badges.
To unlock the fisherman, the player must fish at the Wharf, catching a Lego Cheep Cheep. In the remaster, the Cheep Cheep was replaced by a normal fish.
Under one of the tunnels is an aquarium where another Cheep Cheep can be seen. A shark will eventually come to eat the Cheep Cheep, but will instead be eaten by a larger Cheep Cheep. In the remaster, the Cheep Cheeps were replaced by normal fish and a shark does not appear.
There is a Lego Wiggler wandering back and forth over an ivy-covered tunnel entrance. In the remaster, there is nothing above the tunnel entrance.
A buildable Bob-omb is used to break the cage containing the Chan Chuang token. In the remaster, the player has to use Rex Fury instead of having to build something.
In an area of downtown, there are cannons that fire Lego Bullet Bills, which act like they did in Super Mario Galaxy. In the remaster, there are no cannons that fire in that area.
A Large Lego version of Dry Bones can be built in the museum once Rex Fury has been unlocked. This was removed entirely in the remaster; instead, a character token is obtained.
A Fire Piranha Plant can be built behind the dojo in Bluebell National Park once the farmer costume is unlocked. It is hostile and will spit fireballs. In the remaster, the Fire Piranha Plant was replaced by a normal plant but it is not hostile and will not shoot fireballs.
A Goal Pole can be interacted with at the top of the castle in Fort Meadows. It does the exact same thing it does in New Super Mario Bros., complete with fireworks and the original sound effect. In the remaster, the Mario victory pose and fireworks remain, but the Goal Pole was replaced by a regular flag, and the "Course Clear" theme from Super Mario Bros. does not play.
One Red Brick enables Chase to wear Mario's hat. This was the only red brick not to make it into the remaster, including the Switch version.
In the "Miner Altercation" level, the player comes across an area with multiple ladders and boulders falling down ramps, referencing 25m from Donkey Kong. As the player traverses the area, Chase remarks, "I hope there isn't a giant ape at the top of this thing!" This is another reference to Donkey Kong.
In order to defeat the game's final boss Rex Fury, in the first phase, Chase has to grab and spin Rex's T-Rex Bot around by the body and the tail and fling it into one of the energy containers. This parodies how Mario defeats Bowser in Super Mario 64.
In the multi-platform remaster of the game, all the explicit references were replaced with non-Nintendo references due to copyright, but in an update for the Nintendo Switch version, a majority of these references were brought back.
Right before the level Bifrosty Reception, the Human Torch makes a reference to the Mario Kart series by saying, "Something about that big rainbow road... Looking at it, I just feel like... I wanna RACE!"
In Area Two, a man dancing has a man dressed in red resembling Mario on his left with a man dressed in green resembling Luigi to his right. The man in green will talk about how much he hates his life, a possible reference to how Luigi is constantly picked on by other characters. The man in red, however, will talk about how he used to chase after females, a reference to how Mario is constantly rescuing Princess Peach.
Sackboy is able to do a Flutter Jump. He can also roll short distances in the same vein as Donkey Kong's Roll Attack, complete with the roll gaining unlimited momentum by having Sackgirl run on top of him, akin to the Kong Roll.
The first princess saved in the game, Princess Apricot Fizz, is a reference to Princess Peach.
A crate with a ? marked on it can be found in the Skull Plains, just north of the entrance to the Worrying Labyrinth. It resembles a ? Block. The box houses either either a Mush Bro, a Moonflower or a Cockadoodledo, likely referencing the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Cape Feather power-ups.
The end of the jingle whenever Spoils are traded in for Bol resembles the first six notes of the Super Mario Bros.Ground Theme. This section of the jingle was removed in the non-canon reimagining New Little King's Story for the PlayStation Vita.
Mario appears as a patient in the hospital of Chapter 2, Round 3.
At Chapter 2, Special Round, Mario and Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appears in a level. In the level, the three are in a bridge with lava underneath it. A mushroom is found in the bridge, and a Fortress and a Toad are seen in the level. If McPixel picks the mushroom and gives it to Raphael, he will spit a fireball which will hit Mario, causing him to get smaller.
An unlockable playable character called "Super Redford" is the game's protagonist Redford but sporting a mustache and cap similar to those of Mario. This character was only available for a limited time during November 2011 to support Movember. Super Redford's name come from Mario's neutral form, Super Mario.
Mario and Yoshi dolls can be found in Otacon's Lab. Shooting the Mario statue plays the 1-up jingle and awards Snake with a small health boost, and shooting the Yoshi doll simply makes it say "Yoshi!".
Psycho Mantis may mention Super Mario Sunshine ("You've been playing Super Mario Sunshine, haven't you?") and Super Smash Bros. Melee ("Oh, so you've played Super Smash Bros. Melee before.") if the player has save data for those games on their Memory Card.
Yoshi dolls appear as collectible items, replacing the Kerotan dolls found in the original PlayStation 2 game. Their presence in the game is explained by Para-Medic as being due to Yoshi's popularity in the Soviet Union increasing.[26] This is anachronistic, as the game takes place in the 1960s ― before the Mario franchise, or video games in general even existed.
One of the 4x3 paintings that the player may get is 100m from the Donkey Kong arcade game. The picture the painting is based off is "Kong" by Kristoffer Zetterstrand.[27]
An item called Elytra (used for gliding) that was added in the 1.9 update has very similar mechanics to the Wing Cap from Super Mario 64. Shortly before the feature was revealed, one of the developers even stated "it's like Mario 64".[28]
A free content pack based on the Super Mario series, called the Super Mario Mash-up was released as part of a game update for Minecraft: Wii U Edition as part of a collaboration between Nintendo and Mojang Studios, and was later released physically as well. The Mash-up was later included in the Nintendo Switch and New Nintendo 3DS editions as well as the bedrock version on the Nintendo Switch).
When an achievement is earned, "Achievement Get!" and the name of the achievement is broadcast in chat to any players in the world. "Achievement Get!" is a reference to early screenshots of the Japanese version of Super Mario Sunshine, which featured Mario grabbing a Shine Sprite with the prominent text "Shine Get!"
Geno is referenced in Moon: Remix RPG Adventure with the character "Noge", which is an anagram of "Geno". Geno's and Noge's Japanese names are also anagrams of each other (ジーノ Jīno and ノージ Nōji). Both games share the same character designer, Kazuyuki Kurashima.[29]
The area where the player rescues Kabal from a cage is a homage to the Donkey Kong arcade game. Nameless Shokan soldiers throw boulders at Liu Kang and Kung Lao and they must climb up several cliffs while avoiding them until they reach Kabal and free him from the cage.
In N+, two of the selectable player skins strongly resemble Mario and Luigi, named "Player 1" and "Player 2" respectively.
A Thwump, a reference to Thwomps, is introduced in both games. The official description for this enemy is as follows:
"According to legend, in pre-robotic times there existed a race of large, spiky stone dolts whose complete invulnerability and hereditary hatred of heroic Italian plumbers led to their persecution, and eventually to extinction. Thankfully they've been recreated, in robot form, and 3 of their 4 sides have been rendered harmless."
In the Wii U version of the game, there are three green pipe structures scattered throughout the map resembling Warp Pipes. Positioning the player's car on top of one of these pipes correctly causes the car to be lowered inside Mario-style, and the player is taken to one of three secret rooms. Within all three rooms is stylized text on the wall reading either "Level 1-1," "Level 2-1," or "Level 3-1"; green pipes scattered throughout the room, yellow Warp Pipe structures marking the exits; and construction beams painted on the walls positioned in a similar manner as Donkey Kong.
Within the "Level 1-1" room is an 8-bit stylized "?" on the wall above an Ariel Atom 500 V8 in red with blue trim, the colors of Mario.
The "Level 2-1" room features an 8-bit crown above a Caterham Superlight R500 colored pink with white stripes, referencing Princess Peach.
The "Level 3-1" room contains an 8-bit egg on the wall above a BAC Mono painted light green, Yoshi's colors.
Revealing each of the rooms unlocks three special license plates: one with the red Ariel Atom with "Plumber" inscribed upon it, one with the pink Caterham on it with "Princess" inscribed on it, and one with the green BAC Mono with the word "Dinosaur" on it.[31]
While a group of characters (Junpei, Ace, and Santa) are exploring the ship's engine room, they come across a group of barrels stacked underneath a set of stairs. Santa jokes that they should get Seven (a large, heavyset character) to throw the barrels down the stairs, "like that old game." Ace reinforces the reference by describing the "gorilla who threw barrels" and how one needed to avoid the barrels as they made their way to the top.
In the bonus rounds, a Mario Bros.-style fireball moves across the screen as time runs out. Additionally, the common springboard object resembles and performs much like the one in Donkey Kong Jr.
The game is compatible with certain amiibo. If the player scans a compatible amiibo, they unlock a costume of that character for one of the Straw Hat Pirates. The compatible Mario-related amiibo are Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong and Yoshi, which unlock their costumes for Luffy, Franky, and Usopp respectively.
The Pac-Bomb items are based off of the various shells in the Mario Kart series, with the green ones going straight and bouncing off walls similar to the Green Shell, the red ones chasing other racers similar to the Red Shell, and the blue ones going after the leader similar to the Spiny Shell. The green and red ones can also come in groups of three, similar to their respective shells.
If the player returns to the Void Quest dungeon after unlocking the Heaven dungeon, Yosuke will say, "Our princess is in another castle, dude," referencing the mushroom retainers' quote from Super Mario Bros.
The quote for Peter Piper or Mary Piper (Plumber Gene) says: "My princess is on another planet," which is a pun on Toad's line in Super Mario Bros., "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!".
In the Chinese version, the Coconut Cannon when it is costumed and used Plant Food on it, it shoots a bullet that looks very similar to the Banzai Bill.
The Melon-pult has a costume that resembles the Mario Cap albeit without the 'M' emblem, it was used in the Chinese version, but it was found in the files of the international version albeit without the Plant Food upgrade.
A pair of red overalls that resembles Mario's appears at the end of level 5, "Rickety Bridge", as the end goal flag. Plok says "Hey! I recognize those!" upon encountering them.
Tycho remarks that he enjoys playing Tetris Attack and asks the Heavy if he has played it. He also tries to get the Heavy interested by making it seem more dangerous than it really is.[33]
Tycho also references the phrase "on like Donkey Kong" and the fact that it has been copyrighted by Nintendo.
One of the playable songs is a Super Mario Bros. medley. The song is not included in the PS2 home port because Nintendo's policies do not allow content from its franchises to appear on competing companies' systems.
In the quest that comes with the Conker's Big Reunion DLC pack, while running through the Tediz brewery, Conker must take a series of slopes with giant barrels rolling down to reach the second floor. The similarity to the Donkey Kong setting is commented on by Conker: "What's going on? [The barrels] never stop coming. Is there some big ape throwing all these barrels down or what?" He will later chime in, "Can someone call a plumber?", in reference to Mario.
The character Xiaomu makes multiple references to the Mario universe, and sometimes Mario himself.
After Sheath is revealed to have survived Nine Nine's destruction, Xiaomu compares it to Mario ditching Yoshi, saying "You have as much moral integrity as an Italian plumber!"
During her post-battle dialogue with Aty, Xiaomu mentions a Poison Mushroom.
During the Goblin chase sequence, when capturing the first one, it will say "Sorry, but our prin-I mean, your key is with another goblin!" referencing Toad's line in the original Super Mario Bros.
During the Plumber's sole appearance in Clank's subconscious, he is seen searching through a Warp Pipe, which he later drops Clank into to awaken him from his mind trip; he refuses to go in because, in his words, "plumbers don't go diving down strange pipes all willy nilly. That'd be ridiculous!" (While not completely related to Mario, also noteworthy is that Charles Martinet has a major voice role as Orvus, Clank's father.)
A secret area in the Mystical Pique level Golly G. Golem resembles 25m from Donkey Kong. It involves a stone man throwing lava rocks at multiple angled platforms, similarly to how Donkey Kong throws barrels.
In the original Wii U version, Rayman can wear a Mario costume and Globox can wear a Luigi costume.[34] The Mario costume is called "Ray Plumber" and the Luigi costume is called "Glob Plumber". When Rayman glides with the costume, wings appear, making him look like Wing Mario. The costumes return in the Nintendo Switch expansion, Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition.[35]
In a Nintendo Power preview of this game, there is art of a Rabbid decked out in Mario's clothes holding a Nintendo Power that has had its name changed to "Nintendo Plunger". This costume does not appear in the final game, however.
In the DS version, the player has to avoid Warp Pipes in the mini-game Lunch Time.
After falling down the sewers near the beginning of the game, The Flock will come out of a pipe in the A&R Auto Shop Basement. The sewer pipes have a striking resemblance to a Warp Pipe, and if lingered on the screen, The Flock will say, "I've always wanted to do that!"
In Uptown's Cart Mart, one of the edible video games is a title called "Plumberinos". While the cover artwork is of an anthropomorphic orange cat and blue rabbit, they wear matching overalls and caps in reversed color schemes, referencing Mario Bros.
In the background of the mart, there are several cover arts of a variety of games, one of which features a character who resembles Mario.
Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version, two of the Nintendo-themed battle-cars are designed after Mario and Luigi, named "Mario NSR" and Luigi NSR" respectively.[36]
During Episode 5, Reality 2.0, Sam & Max need to collect 5 gold coins (which greatly resemble the coins from the Mario series) in order to buy a Wooden Sword from Bosco's. Three of them require the world's gravity to be altered in order to be acquired. After this is done, clicking on the coins will trigger a cutscene in which Sam says "Look, Max! It'sa me, Sam!" and jumps up to grab the coins, taking a pose similar to Mario's jumping sprite.
In Episode 4, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Sam snarkily refers to General Skun-ka'pe as "Donkey Wong" while trying to get him to stop blocking the freezer in Stinky's diner.
After completing Day 9: Breaking Bad in "SandMix Vol.2", the completion message warns the player that if he crawls into a pipe, he could "end up in the lair of a big green turtle", which refers to Bowser.
At the end of level 8, Forest Dub, there are four mushrooms. Each one enlarges the player for a period of time in a similar manner to the Super Mushroom and Mega Mushroom.
The "Subspace Highway" bonus areas are a reference to Rainbow Road, and the blocks in the areas are based on the Mario blocks.[38]
When Stephen Stills finishes a level, he jumps into a Warp Pipe. Multiple Warp Pipes also appear on the overworld map.
If the player fails to destroy the car towards the end of the second level, the game will spawn multiple explosives, one of which looking similar to a Bob-omb.
The Angry Sun appears above a can of Red Moose in the Mini-Marts shop found in the first level.
Graffiti of what appears to be a Toad head can be found at the entrance of the tunnel in the first level.
A Spiny Shell, minus the spikes, appears on a crate in Wallace's Secret Shop.
Starting at the Tengu Garden section of the fourth level, Turnips can be plucked from the ground and used as weapons.
At the Techno Shack shop in the seventh level, players can purchase a Food Pill, which looks reminiscent of a Megavitamin.
If the player typed "Weegee", a plumber will appear. This is not a direct mention to Luigi; it comes from the internet meme, which was spawned from the missaying of Luigi's name in the PC version of Mario is Missing!.
The Wii U version of this game has Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi (in several colors), Toad, Bowser, Tanooki Suit (called Tanuki Suit), Frog Suit, Goombas, Koopa Troopas (in red and green), Bob-ombs, Boos, Shy Guys, Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Coins, and Stars spawnable. The characters can interact with these items, as most characters will become invincible when they touch a Star, coins can be collected (but for no real reward), Peach runs away from Bowser, Goombas can be stomped, Mario fights with Bowser and his minions, Toad attacks Shy Guys, Bob-ombs explode, Boos near the player when they look away from them, Mario and friends ride Yoshis and Karts,etc.
The Exclamation Point stage's Starite mission has hikers trying to reach the peak of a mountain. This maintain has its paths slanted and short vertical paths that function identical to ladders in the game, much like 25m from Donkey Kong. Additionally, there is a yeti on the peak of the mountain throwing barrels stopping anyone from continuing, identical to what Donkey Kong does in the aforementioned game. Maxwell must find a way to calm the yeti down without killing it.
In Alex Kidd's sad story about his career, Alex mentions both "Nintendo" and "Mario", with one syllable in each word censored (任天〇 (Ninten**), マ〇オ (Ma**o)) to avoid copyright issues.
One of the residents of Scuttle Town says "When I moved to this town, I owned a monkey, but a couple weeks after arriving, he was gone. I wonder what ever happened to little Chewbonky Kong?"
The map style in the campaigns Shovel of Hope, Plague of Shadows, and King of Cards is based on that of Super Mario Bros. 3, where the main character (either Shovel Knight, Plague Knight, or King Knight) moves across the grid of map lines.
Additionally, the moving gems on a map parallel the Treasure Ships, and the map boss ambushes are similar to how the Hammer Brother map icons work.
Simple DS Series Vol. 44: The Gal Mahjong (DS)[edit]
Mario can be seen working in the video game factory (although, with a few changes to avoid copyright issues).
One of the lines in the video game factory is "Did you ever meet Bowser? Terrible guy."
Players can use Warp Pipes to travel around, complete with a similar sounding sound. When characters exit Warp Pipes, they adopt the pose that Mario does in various logos for the series.
An ape uses barrels to attack, similar to Donkey Kong.
A cut-scene shows Professor Frink marrying a female Koopa Troopa.
Before the last part of the thirteenth level (Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game), Homer and Lisa can be seen running towards a flying boat, which loosely resembles the flying ship from Super Mario 64. Additionally, if the player opens the to-do list, it will say the flying boat is an airship.
In the cutscene before Episode 16, as the video game world collapses, Mario, alongside other video game characters flee to the Simpson's house. In the house, Homer asks what's for dinner, and the Mario-like character says "I hope it's-a spaghetti! Here we go!" In the next cutscene, Mario is one of the characters seen running to Heaven.
The quest for building Luigi's is called "It's A-Me, Luigi!", a reference to Luigi's catchphrase. Luigi Risotto says the phrase himself after the quest is completed.
During the Halloween 2013 update, Homer has a new option, "Deal with Ghosts". Homer will eat a Donut, Grow, and eat the ghost. He will then run around with his arms back like Mario and Luigi, eating donuts that are appearing like the way Mario and Luigi collect coins.
During the Tap Ball 2015 event update, at the Alternate Joke side questline, the dialogue has an evil doppelganger of Luigi Risotto who has the name Waluigi as well. Homer and Professor Frink even acknowledge it as a reference to a video game.
The startup screen for the arcade-themed update features a parody of Donkey Kong titled Monkey Kong.
When investigating the sewers in the Industrial District, if the player examines a pipe, he will hope that nothing will come out of it and that no turtles live in it.
If a Sim wins at a game of Genie's Curse, they get a +2 Energized buff with the following message: "(Sim Name) has dispelled the Genie's curse, but the princess is in another video game."
The City Living expansion pack contains a Build/Buy object called "Pipe Brothers" with the following description: "Fill your room with pipes, but don't forget to call a plumber. Maybe an Italian one, I hear they are the best."
The Dream Home Decorator game pack comes with an unlockable overalls outfit with Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi's colors as available swatches.
There is a building called Mario Tower (マリオタワー), which the player can enter a minigame to gain more money when they are short of funds. The tower is a statue of Mario posing. The minigame also features music taken from Super Mario Bros.
In the third galaxy "Altair" and on the second level "Another Way to Travel", there is a hologram of the beginning part of World 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. This is a reference due to it being the level that introduce pipes, which allows the character to travel from one end of the pipe to the other end. In addition, trees that are shaped as mushrooms are seen, which references the red Mushroom from the Mario series.
The character Peacock features multiple references to other forms of media, especially old cartoons, but among the references are an attack involving the Goomba's Shoe, and another attack involving a sword with a similar design to a Banzai Bill. Additionally, a voice pack for Peacock gives her a quote for the former move, in which she exclaims "Kuribo!".
Nintendo Switch version players can visit the Nintendo Area where objects with the motif of pipes and blocks in the Super Mario world are placed on the stage like a 2D platform. The area also uses sounds inspired by Super Mario. To enter the Nintendo Area, you must purchase a starter pack and wear a limited cape (blue or red), or non-purchasing player with another player wearing it, go to the Golden Wasteland Social Space and go through the pipe in the far left of the Closet shrines.
Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures can be used in the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of the game. They drive Barrel Blaster and Clown Cruiser vehicles, respectively. Donkey Kong drives the Barrel Blaster with Diddy Kong, while Bowser's Clown Cruiser resembles the Hurricane from Mario Kart DS. This is a result of a collaboration between Activision and Nintendo.
Donkey Kong, as seen in the game.
Bowser and several Koopas, as seen in the game.
Artwork of Donkey Kong.
Artwork of Donkey Kong, alongside Diddy Kong, in his vehicle.
Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures are compatible in the Wii U and Nintendo Switch versions of the game, which makes them playable. Their moves and abilities remain the same as its predecessor.
Yoshi's Island Zone is a DLC level which features Sonic in a Yoshi's Story-themed level. This DLC level was part of Sonic Lost World because of Sega's collaboration with Nintendo.
South Park: Chef's Luv Shack (Multiplatform)[edit]
The Bad Kitty minigame is structured after 25m from Donkey Kong, with Cartman's pet cat replacing Mario and Eric Cartman throwing dodgeballs similar to how the title character from the arcade game throws barrels.
During one of the side missions involving collecting Memberberries, one of the Memberberries asks the player "Member collecting all 120 stars in Super Mario 64?"
One part of the "From Dusk till Casa Bonita" DLC has the New Kid go through the "Water Level", which strongly resembles the water-themed levels of Super Mario Bros. Additionally, a screen shows the New Kid's lives and level name right before the level, which resembles the screen showing Mario's lives and the level location in Super Mario Bros. as well.
One of the items is a yellow cape resembling the Cape power-up from Super Mario World. It allows Spelunkers to descend slowly, similar to the power-up. Additionally, one random name a Shopkeeper can have is "Yoshi".
In the Creature Creator chapter of the Prima Games guide, one of the creatures is called "Sloshi", a reference to Yoshi. Its description also references Mario (as Miguel, a Spanish carpenter), Princess Peach (as Princess Apple), and Bowser (as Growser, a terrapin). The Mushroom Kingdom is also spoofed as the "Ivy Kingdom". Finally, the Koopa Troop is also spoofed via a reference to Growser's "tortoise minions".
In the Space Stage, creatures from other empires or the player's empire can offer a mission to destroy one colony of an opponent empire. If the player accepts the request, the creature says, "Ho, yeah, buddy! It's on! It's on like Tronkey-Kong!"
One of the levels, named "Monkey Business", is modeled after Donkey Kong, specifically the 25m stage. A gorilla-like model grabs barrels that are dropped down above it and rolls them down the platforms. While the player can't use them, there are also ladders lined along the platforms. Some blocks are also scattered along the bottom of the stage.
One of the hats in the game is a Red Cap, which resembles the Mario Cap with a letter "L" instead of the letter "M". The description reads, "When hanging out with mushrooms and reptiles, you oughta show who's king of the piping. A real go for the big bro."
At the end of the Trial of Flight, the player runs down a corridor towards approaching fireballs cast by a robot, who is defeated by pulling a lever on the other side of him, collapsing the bridge and causing him to drop into the lava below, similar to the end of the castle stages in Super Mario Bros.
In Stick it to The Man!, there is a section where Ray is confronted by two mobsters. Before Ray saves the guy locked away in a trunk, the player can read the minds of the mobsters' victims already "sleeping with the fishes". One comments how selling online tickets to Mario and Luigi with a convenience fee got them where they ended up.
In Episode 5, the real world is merged with the video game world, and many of the people of Free Country, USA think that they are video game characters. Marzipan, who was previously helping Bubs fix his Concession Stand, thinks she is "Lady Crate Ape". She kidnaps Bubs and goes to the top of the stand. She then jumps and causes the scaffolding around the stand to collapse and begins throwing crates around. This is a spoof of Donkey Kong. The box art for Lady Crate Ape also appears in the game, depicting a female ape that bears a strong resemblance to Donkey Kong.
One of the levels is based on the Mario franchise, which features a cross between ? and ! Blocks, Poison Mushrooms that make the blocks big and heavy, a few Warp Pipes, and several pipes with dead Piranha Plants.
There is an achievement called Plumber[42], and unlocking it requires smashing something by your head. This is a reference to the Brick Block, as many people mistake Mario breaking them with his fist when jumping as breaking them with his head (though he technically can break them with his head in Super Mario Bros. if he jumps while crouching).
In the BoneHell level, there are objects that look like a faster version of a Fire Bar. In addition, the common "PLONK" sound resembles the sound effect of kicking a shell from many Mario games.
The main developer of the game has used the current engine from both games to recreate Super Mario Bros.' famous World 1-1 as seen in a video. The thumbnail also features Alex (in his SCT2 app icon pose) wearing Mario's hat and mustache. Note that this level is nowhere to be seen in both games, given its nature of being used as a showcase.
Super Cat Tales/Super Cat Bros. (iOS/Android)[edit]
The game is titled "Super Cat Bros." in the Android version.
The world map music uses the same soundfont as the one used in Super Mario World.
The Butterfly Jar acts similarly to the Red Rings, with the butterflies acting as a stand-in for the Red Coins.
Some enemies share the same behaviors (and in some cases, similar appearances) with some Mario enemies, such as the beetles paralleling their behavior with the Spike Tops, and the black slime enemy acting almost similarly to the Stretch enemy from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Olli is similar to Cape Mario in the sense that he uses a similarly-colored yellow cape to glide.
Since this game is a sequel and reuses the main engine, a lot of the references that were previously seen in the first Super Cat Tales are carried over into this game.
Olli's ability to glide has been relegated to an item with a similar function - Olli's Cloak. It retains its yellow coloration when equipped (with the exception of Olli which is orange on him), making it slightly analogous to the Cape Feather.
At one point, Daryl fights a boss named Gorilla Jim, a parody of Donkey Kong. The boss fight also features girder platforms and barrels designed after those of the original Donkey Kong arcade game.
Warp Zones, secret portals to an 8-bit world, appear four times in every world: Two of them in the Light World and two of them in the Dark World.
When entering a Warp Zone or a Glitch World level, the screen is a parody of when entering in a level in Super Mario Bros.
The names of the Glitch Worlds are references to the Minus World glitch in Super Mario Bros.
The character selection screen is very similar to the Super Mario Bros. 2 character selection screen.
When Meat Boy finishes a Warp Zone or a Glitch World, a character says "Sorry Meat Boy, but Bandage Girl is in another Warp Zone," a reference to the Mushroom Retainer's line from Super Mario Bros. Similarly, the endings of the Game Boy-like Warp Zones are a reference to the fake Daisy from Super Mario Land.
After defeating a boss, a flag and fireworks appear, which are a reference to clearing a stage Super Mario Bros.
The way Dr. Fetus is defeated is a reference to how Mario defeats Bowser in Super Mario Bros.
The Glitch World of The End is a reference to the Airship levels in Mario games.
One of the Game Boy-themed Warp Zones is titled Sky Pup, a possible reference to the Sky Pop from Super Mario Land.
In Cotton Alley there's a level called "Bullet Bob". This is probably a reference to Bullet Bill, because this level is focused on bullets.
In this game there's an enemy called Oob, which name is reversed Boo and they act similarly to them.
In the level "Supermarket Seduction", dating guru Richard LaRuina picks up a girl named Emma in a supermarket and offers to cook tacos with her. At one point while cooking, Emma notices that Richard has a PlayStation 5 and a Nintendo Switch and asks him what games he likes. One of the games Richard says he likes is Super Mario Odyssey, to which Emma replies that she is a fan of Mario games as well.
In the level "Gym: Fitness Flirtation", while Richard and Maria hang out in the juice bar at their local gym, Maria asks Richard what he does for work. If the player chooses "Video games", Richard replies by saying that he creates the Super Seducer series and Maria says she has heard of those games but has only played The Sims. In response, Richard asks Maria if she has ever played Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog.
There are four hats titled Red Plumber, Green Plumber, Red Mushroom and Green Mushroom that greatly resembles Mario Bros. (lacking the M and L letters) and the Toad species. Red Plumber and Green Plumber also appear as golfer outfits, which captioned as a reference to the two famous quotes "It's-a me, Mario!" and "Lets-a go!"
There is an achievement called It's a me, Mario![43] It is a call back to Super Mario 64 where the game boots up with its logo and Mario says that line.
While this game is in the style of Super Mario Bros., the twenty-first level of the main story (the fifth level of the cave) - which is entitled "Miyamoto Monument", referencing Shigeru Miyamoto - begins with a layout similar to that of World 1-2 of Super Mario Bros.
Super Lucky's Tale (Xbox One / Windows) / New Super Lucky's Tale (Nintendo Switch)[edit]
In the level "Secure the Talent", there is a section that features a yeti throwing spiked barrels down a path that Lucky must climb up in a similar manner to Donkey Kong.
When Mieu finds a mushroom in the Mushroom Road (Malkuth Empire's north, near of Grand Chokmah), he asks Luke if eating it would make him bigger, referencing Mario's ability to power-up upon eating a Super Mushroom.
T-Blocks Puzzle New Generation Jigsaw Puzzle (iOS)[edit]
A picture of Princess Peach was one of the levels. A broken-up picture of Princess Peach was the app's icon.
Among the several Nintendo-related elements, characters in battle can collect Super Mushrooms and Mega Mushrooms to grow bigger, Poison Mushrooms to shrink, and Super Stars. The power up/down sound effects from Super Mario Bros. can also be heard. Characters can also wear Mario, Luigi and Bowser costumes.[47] Later on, additions of Toad and Peach costumes were also revealed for the characters.
A weapon known as a "Flower of Fire" appears in the game, which is a reference to the Fire Flower. Similarly, there is also a weapon known as a "Flower of Frost", which is most likely a reference to the Ice Flower.
An outift based off of Mario appears in Terraria, known as the Plumber's Clothes. Exclusively to the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, the Plumber's Clothes use a reversed color scheme that is based off of Mario's own color scheme in games prior to Super Mario Bros. 2 and, by extension, the DIC EntertainmentMario cartoons.
When the player jumps a total of 2,400 times in the game, an achievement called "Mario" is unlocked, most likely referencing Mario since he is often associated with jumping.
Two of the unlockable costumes Bitizens can wear are the Plumber A and Plumber B costumes, which are based on Mario and Luigi, respectively.
In the plumber commercial floor in the original Tiny Tower, a seemingly wilted Piranha Plant in a Warp Pipe and a Mario Cap and overalls hung on a coat hanger stand can be seen in the background.
The costume shop commercial floor in the original Tiny Tower has a Luigi Cap as the symbol for the custom hat item. Also, the cap as well as his overalls can be seen in the shop's background.
One of the many Bitizens' quests involves tapping loose Warp Pipes to collect them.
A series of connected Warp Pipes can be seen below the tower itself.
Touhou 2: Story of Eastern Wonderland (PC-98)[edit]
The Bakebake enemies bear a striking resemblance to the Boo enemies. Surprisingly, the Duplighost's Japanese name shares the same name as the enemy from the same game.
Touhou 3: Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream (PC-98)[edit]
Two of the in-game objects the player can shoot resemble objects from the Mario series; Hoshikazos are stars and the Crescent enemies are 3-Up Moons.
The Myouren Temple is likely based on the Treasure Ship from Super Mario Bros. 3. However, the ship's "treasure" only goes as far as a mention in the game's dialogue.
After Futo defeats Mamizou, she says "Tanuki are most contemporary of late. To imagine that they wouldst don westerly attire and soareth through the skies!", referencing the Tanooki Suit.
If the player holds down the X button, Joe will throw up a bomb, juggle it on his knee, and whistle the first 6 notes of the Super Mario Bros. theme. If player does it in mid-air, he'll whistle another part. If the player does it in Slow Motion, he'll whistle another part. This has been removed from the later PS2 release.
The Lost Levels (a collection of event-based levels from the free version of the game including previous Levels of the Week) references the title Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
Upon encountering the gum enemies in the first level, the narrator says "You can jump on these to kill 'em? What? Like mushrooms!" This line is referencing the enemy Goomba.
Mario and Luigi appear and both carry giant hammers, however they have the names Larion and Muigin, if the "n" is removed from the end and swap round the L and M it will say Mario and Luigi.
An item known as "red white-spotted mushroom" can be obtained, which is a reference and resembles a mushroom. It bears resemblance to the mushrooms that appear in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
In the Spanish language version of the game, the achievement for completing every cup and rival race in the Dragon Kart minigame is named "It's-a Me, Ichiban", a reference to Mario's catchphrase.
In the tutorial level, Capital B exclaims (with platform-specific buttons omitted), "Bah... Even a stubborn ape could roll-attack and then jump in mid-air!" This is a reference to the mid-air roll-jump that Donkey Kong can perform in the Donkey Kong Country series.
Humish's description references Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, saying "Humish the luckiest guard, gets lucky wins all the time on Swarmio Kart 8 Beeluxe."
The description for the H2GO Tonic references Enguarde the Swordfish, saying "Yooka swims faster, thanks to lessons from a friendly swordfish."
In the level Boom-Bloom Blast - Breakthrough, there is a section resembling Bramble Blast.
The secret area has a challenge area with a similar layout to 25m.
Lep's World is a typical app retool of classic Mario platformers, maintaining the same basic gameplay, but with new graphics and a different backstory.
Box Maker is a PC app spoof of Super Mario Maker available on the Steam Store, featuring new characters and graphics as well as interfaces identical to that of the original game.
Numerous unauthorized apps based on the Mario franchise have appeared; many are subsequently removed because of copyright issues, although others have retooled the basic Super Mario platformer premise (i.e. new graphics, power-ups and backstories, etc.) enough to remain active. These sorts of games include:
Box Maker, a PC level editor being a spoof of Super Mario Maker and its 3DS port, using a rabbit wearing Mario's signature clothes as the main character, new graphics, enemies, and music, as well as copying several designs, animations, and interfaces from the original game. The game is available on Steam Store, and hasn't been acknowledged by Nintendo yet.
The Android game Era's Adventure used a Yoshi as the titular character, causing controversy among many Mario fans and Nintendo contacting the developer, causing him to change the character model to resemble a Yoshi less. The developer did not actually intend to copy Yoshi, for he was not familiar with the Mario series and just got the model off a stock site.
As well as platformer games, other types of apps also arise, such as Mokus Line up, a match-3 game using Mario series Mushrooms as the icons. Another example is iRwego, which used the iPhone's accelerometer to detect a person's movements and play the appropriate Mario sound effect, such as the Mario jump sound for jumping, the Warp Pipe sound for crouching, as well as hitting brick blocks, and stomping Goombas, among other noises, tunes and a few choice Mario catchphrases (such as "Here we go!", which is the inspiration behind the app's title). However, due to iRwego's unexpected popularity, its creator decided to remove the app to avoid any copyright conflicts with Nintendo[48].
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