MarioWiki:Generic subjects

While the Super Mario franchise features many fictional subjects, it also features many subjects which parallel the real world. The Super Mario Wiki discourages articles on generic subjects which appear in media because of the potential of near infinite coverage.

Generic subjects vs. real world subjects

The term "generic subject" refers to subjects within media that are or almost identical to their real world counterparts. "Real world subjects" refer to subjects in the real world which don't necessarily appear within media. While generic subjects which appear in media are not allowed, articles on real world subjects are allowed as long as they are notable and relevant to the Super Mario franchise. Examples of real world subject articles that are allowed include:

• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Wii
• Luigi's Mansion

Recurring generic subjects

This guideline has been determined by a proposal, which passed on May 4, 2025.

A Penguin, the recurring character design from Super Mario 64

A generic penguin from Mario is Missing! CD-ROM Deluxe

Occasionally, a generic subject within the Super Mario franchise can have a consistent design and other characteristics applied to only a subset of its appearances. If such subset can be clearly identifying as a recurring subject in the franchise, it should receive its own article, bearing the name of the generic subject without identifiers. The remaining occurrences of this generic subject (that do not have a consistent design) must then receive their own article under the same name, alongside the "generic" identifier.

Examples of generic subjects that have been split include:

• Penguin and Penguin (generic)
• Snowman and Snowman (generic)

In cases where design differences are potentially related to an established instance of a generic subject, users may discuss and reach consensus on whether the variants should be covered on the main article or grouped with unrelated occurrences of the subject.

Exceptions

Generic subjects are worthy of their own article if they meet any of the following criteria:

• The subject must have a function which is different from the real world counterpart. If the differences are extremely minor, the subject may not meet this requirement.
• The player can consume or collect the subject for use. This does not apply to sports games.
• The subject is significant to the media's storyline.
• The subject is significant to the gameplay. This does not apply to sports games.
• The subject is determined by the users to be notable.