List of references in third-party video games (N–Z)

Main article: List of references in third-party video games

The following is a list of references to the Super Mario franchise in video games not made by Nintendo, sorted by title (N–Z). For a list of references to the Super Mario franchise in video games released by Nintendo, see List of references in Nintendo video games.

N (PC) / N+ (XBLA and multiplatform)

A diagram about the Thwump enemy from N and N+.

• 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."

• One level in N++ is called "Bullet William", a reference to Bullet Bills by writing out "Bill" as the name it is short for, "William". The reference is compounded by the level having many missile launchers.

Need For Speed: Most Wanted U (Wii U)

• 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 Super 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.

Nezumiman (PC)

• The battle with Dr. Gyoniku is a direct reference to Dr. Mario, with Dr. Gyoniku standing where Dr. Mario stands and dropping capsules into the battle field, which Nezumi Man must platform across to reach him.
• In the rematch fight with Butter Nezumi, the milk jug is replaced with a Warp Pipe, which has a sunflower raising and lowering from it like a Piranha Plant.

• 

  The Dr. Gyoniku fight.
• 

  The Butter Nezumi re-fight.

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (DS)

Ace's line referencing Donkey Kong.

• 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.

Nukitashi (PC)

The NLNS girls running across the Super Mario Bros.-inspired area.

• In the game's first opening movie, the No Love, No Sex girls run through a setting resembling a Super Mario Bros. level while being chased by Ikuko. Hinami hits a ? Block, causing a chair to emerge from the block, and collects it.

Nuts & Milk (Famicom)

• In the bonus rounds, a Mario Bros.-style fireball moves across the screen as time runs out.
• The common spring object resembles and performs much like the one in Donkey Kong Jr.
• The layout of level 19 is a simplified version of 25 m in Donkey Kong.

One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X (3DS)

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.

Onion Assault (Switch/PC)

• The game draws inspiration from the Super Mario franchise, primarily the ability to pull out onions from the ground and throw them similar to the Vegetables of Super Mario Bros. 2.

Ori and the Blind Forest (multiplatform)

• In one area of the Sunken Glades, a Warp Pipe can be seen hidden in the seagrass.

Overlord II (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

• At one point in the Hunting Grounds, the Yeti will throw barrels at the Overlord from two different boats similar to Donkey Kong.

Overwatch (Windows, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch)

• One of D.Va's pre-match lines to gorilla character Winston is "A giant gorilla! Just like in those old video games!", a reference to Donkey Kong.
• Torbjörn's Dance emote is based on "Do the Mario".
• The “Grand Theft” spray exclusive to Roadhog has him running in an almost identical pose to some of the classic art of Mario. He also holds on to Pachimari in a near identical fashion as a Super Mushroom or a Vegetable.

PAC-MAN series

PAC-MAN WORLD RALLY (GameCube, PS2, PSP, Windows)

• 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.

PAC-MAN WORLD 2 Re-PAC (Multiplatform)

• The newly-introduced Pac-Drone behaves in a similar manner to the Co-Star Luma from Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Party Hard (PC)

• There is a character that emerges from a manhole who looks like Mario himself.

Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors (Sega CD)

• During the 'sucker intro', Teller briefly puts on a red hat and fake mustache as he twists a wrench on a piece of metal pipe, while Penn mentions a 'short immigrant piping engineer with lots of facial hair', referencing Mario and his profession as a plumber.

Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360, Xbox One)

• "Bubbler" is one of the names that can be randomly attributed to bots in offline multiplayer games.

Persona series

Persona 4 (PS2) / Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita and multiplatform)

• 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.

Persona 5 (PS3/PS4) / Persona 5 Royal (PS4 and multiplatform)

• While looking at the instructions on how the Battle Arena in Sae Nijima's Palace is played, Futaba Sakura comments on it by comparing it to the "Challenger Approaching" mechanic from "Super Bash Bros."

Petit Computer (DSiWare)

• If the pre-made games, Dot-Racer or Simple STG are played and lost, a song similar to "Game Over" from Super Mario Bros. plays.

PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator (Android, iOS)

• The CRT TV in PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator contains a screen that is a reference to Super Mario Bros 3 which can be obtained through the Item Shop.

Phantasy Star 0 (DS)

• Two Japan-exclusive bazooka-like weapons are modeled after green and yellow Warp Pipes.

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension (Wii, PS3)

• Some of the weapons can be modified with Sound Chips. One of them plays the fireball sound effect from Super Mario Bros.

Pico Park (multiplatform)

• An enemy that is visually similar to and behaves like a Boo appears in some levels.

Pixel People (iOS)

• The quote for Peter Piper or Mary Piper (Plumber Gene) says: "My princess is on another planet," which is a pun on the Mushroom Retainer's line in Super Mario Bros., "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!".

Pizza Tower (PC/Switch)

A parody of a Mario Bros. look-alike in the title card for Oh Shit!

• The game takes inspiration from, and pays tribute to, the Wario Land series.
  • One example is that when Peppino runs at high speeds, it resembles Wario's dash attack from Wario Land 4 and when he launches from a Max Fastosity Dasherator in Wario Land: Shake It!
• The character Gustavo is a tribute to Mario, and as such heavily resembles him. Many of his animations are also homages to Mario.
  • The rat that Gustavo rides, named Brick, acts as a parallel to Mario riding Yoshi.
• Some of the game's instruments are taken from Super Mario 64 DS and WarioWare: D.I.Y. This includes the a capella instruments used for the Trampoline Time minigame, which in turn is based on the a capella vocals used in "Secret Course", as well as various vocal synths from WarioWare: D.I.Y. (most notably the Do-Re-Mi Voice) being used in secret areas and the theme of the fourth boss.
• The Swedish Monkey's defeat sprite closely resembles Donkey Kong's in Donkey Kong Country.
• The title card for the level Oh Shit! depicts a parody of Mario Bros. and features Peppino and Gustavo as plumbers dressed in clothes similar to those of Mario and Luigi, albeit with different colors.
  • Another parody of Mario Bros. called Pizza Bros. appears on a poster in the background of the level Don't Make A Sound.
• The Noise, a character who has become playable since version 1.1.0, has a ghost transformation that heavily resembles a Boo.
• Swap Mode, also added in version 1.1.0, features various similarities to the "tag-team" system from the Donkey Kong Country series.
  • Whenever the player(s) swap characters, the screen darkens and time freezes before the characters swap positions.
  • Whenever a character gets hurt, they temporarily flee before reappearing.

Pizza Vs. Skeletons (iOS)

Some of the secret ingredients in the game are pixelated versions of the pizza, toppings, eyes, mouth, and hat. The hat resembles Mario's Hat and the eyes resemble Mario's eyes from Super Mario World.

Plants vs. Zombies series

Plants vs. Zombies (PC and multiplatform)

A Chomper.

• The Chomper appears to be based off Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, the Venus flytrap, or the Piranha Plant.
• The Sun-shroom's initial design appears to be based on that of a Super Mushroom or Toad from the Super Mario franchise.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 (iOS/Android)

• 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 Bomber 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.

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (multiplatform)

• The fire variant of the Chomper, Fire Chomper, is a possible reference to the Fire Piranha Plant.
• The fire variant of the Sunflower is called the Fire Flower, which may be referencing the power-up of the same name.

Platform Panic (Browser/iOS/Android)

• ! Blocks, neon-models of Super Stars, and in-background panels featuring hills with eyes can be seen in most backgrounds.
• Warp Pipes, under the name "Pipes", appear as gimmicks in the game, as of Update 2. They can be entered instantly, however giant spiked balls can also go through them.
  • In the same update, the new level layouts added also feature Piranha Plants in a new jungle-themed background.
• An unlockable character, Plumber, is based on Mario. His special ability is being able to jump on enemies to defeat them, further strengthening the reference. His description mentions that he is "more likely to go down a pipe than clean it".
• There are jumping Panic Bots that make a sound similar to the one used when Mario is kicking a shell.
• Collecting a Coin makes a sound similar to the one heard in Super Mario Bros., but higher in pitch.

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (PS3/PS Vita)

• One of Fat Princess' alternate costumes resembles Daisy's color scheme.

Plok! (SNES)

• 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.

Pocket Card Jockey (3DS)

• One of the horses' names is "One-up Mush", a reference to the 1-Up Mushroom.

Pocket Planes (iOS/Android)

• Being a NimbleBit game, the Plumber A (Mario) and Plumber B (Luigi) costumes from Tiny Tower reappear in this game.

Pocket Trains (iOS/Android)

• The Pipes cargo strongly resembles green Warp Pipes.
• While costumes from previous NimbleBit games don't appear in this game, passengers wearing the Plumber A and B costumes can be seen.

Poker Night at the Inventory (PC)

• 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.
• Tycho also references the phrase "on like Donkey Kong" and the fact that it has been copyrighted by Nintendo.

Pole's Big Adventure (WiiWare)

• This game borrows elements from Super Mario Bros., such as ? Blocks that come in three different colors, blue Super Mushrooms, and even the end-of-level Castles.

Pop'n Music 14 FEVER (Arcade)

• 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.

Poptropica series

Poptropica (Windows/Mac/Browser)

• On Game Show Island, "Bowser" is the correct answer to a question in the Braniacs! trivia game. The question is under the "Bad Guys" category, reading: "When he's not busy capturing Princess Peach, this spikey-shelled villain finds time to race go-karts against Mario and his friends." Incorrect answers include "Donkey Kong", "Luigi", and "Toad".
• Mocktropica Island, which contains many references to video games, has a part where the player's character enters a fake loading screen. They must equip a helmet and break the letters on the screen by hitting them from below, causing them to shatter like Brick Blocks, and obtaining an achievement called "Classic!"
• A sequence in Episode 2: Lair of Thieves of Arabian Nights Island involves the player making their way up slopes akin to the girders in 25m while avoiding barrels.

Poptropica Worlds (Windows/Mac/Browser)

Zeus tossing a barrel-like ball of lightning

• The final boss fight of Greek Sea Odyssey is based on 25m. The player must make their way up sloped rock formations to reach the top of Mount Olympus, where Zeus (taking the place of Donkey Kong) holds a petrified Hera (taking the place of Pauline) captive. Zeus tosses down barrel-like balls of lightning that the player must jump over.

Postal 4 (PC)

• Inside one of the houses is a game similar to Super Mario Bros. playing on the living room's TV screen featuring a character named "Gimpio", a pink Goomba, ? Blocks that are white and have red Xs on them, and gray Warp Pipes with spiky rims.