Cameos

Throughout the Mario series, many characters from other series made cameos. The large majority of these cameos are from characters developed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo. Some non-Nintendo characters have appeared as well, such as Sonic or Earthworm Jim.

Pikmin
Pikmin are a species of small plant-like creatures that exist in the Pikmin series. They have also appeared in the Marioverse on a number of occasions. Of the Pikmin that have appeared in the Mario series, only three varieties of Pikmin have appeared. Pikmin made their first appearance into the Marioverse during the events of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Pikmin can be collected as a trophy.

Pikmin later made another cameo during the events of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. If certain flower beds were struck by a golf ball, Pikmin would pop out of the flowerbed and attempt to flee. These flower beds can be found in various stages. In WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Pikmin made an appearance in a microgame.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog is a blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speeds. It is heavily implied that he has visited the Mushroom Planet once. This visit was largely uneventful and ended in disappointment for Sonic. In Donkey Kong Country 2, the elderly Cranky Kong held a contest to see who was the greatest video game hero of the current era. Contestants were ranked based on how many hidden DK coins they could discover while progressing through the areas of Crocodile Isle and defeating Kaptain K. Rool and his Kremling Krew. Although a great video game hero, Sonic did not collect many coins. As a result, he did not even place on the top three (Link was #3, Yoshi was #2, and Mario was #1. Eventually Diddy Kong claims first place.). Distraught, Sonic left the Mushroom Planet, leaving behind his trademark shoes. Along with Sonic, Earthworm Jim appeared to have failed as well.

Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim is a mutated humanoid earthworm wielding a red ray-gun. Like Sonic the Hedgehog, it is believed that Earthworm Jim once entered the Marioverse. In Donkey Kong Country 2 Donkey Kong's father, Cranky Kong created a challenge to see who could find the most secret DK coins on Crocodile Isle. Mario came in first, Yoshi came in second and Link came in last (Later on, Diddy Kong would claim the spot as number one). Earthworm Jim seems to have entered this competition as well, but didn't even come in third. This made him leave the island, and set his ray-gun as evidence that he came.