MarioWiki:Coverage

The Super Mario Wiki is a database focused on all aspects of the Mario series, including spin-off series and crossover series. What distinguishes this wiki from other video game wikis is that we not only cover our primary series, but also all other sub-series and games which have emerged as their own distinct franchises in the greater Mario series. Crossover games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, are also covered here, but from the perspective of the Mario series. This guideline is here to help users determine what content is and is not acceptable for inclusion in the Super Mario Wiki.

No canon
Based on Canonicity, there is no "canon" regarding the Mario franchise. Since there is no canon, we cover any "Mario related" media product given some sort of official authorization by Nintendo at some point in time, be it through the Official Nintendo Seal or a contract with another company, etc. All content from such sources is allowed on this wiki, without speculating on what content from what source is "more official" than other content from other sources. As Nintendo has never established an official canon regarding the Mario series, we cannot say newer or older Nintendo games, media, content, policies, etc. are more "official" than the others. They are all essentially as "official" as each other.

What the Super Mario Wiki covers
The games and other media products we cover can be divided into four categories: the Mario series itself, crossovers, guest appearances and cameos.

Mario series
As there is no official canon, content from any official source from Nintendo related to Mario and his universe is allowed. As far as the "universe" goes, we cover all franchises, series, games, etc. that have emerged from or spun-off from the original Donkey Kong arcade game, Mario's first appearance in any media. Collectively known as the Mario series, this includes spin-off partner series like Wario, Yoshi, and the Donkey Kong series itself, as well as the core Mario games and related media and merchandise (which may include games that do not necessarily have "Mario" in their names, such as Luigi's Mansion or Wrecking Crew). Everything in this overall Mario series is given full coverage, meaning every character, place, item and everything else found in the releases are given articles. Individual game levels, TV show episodes and stand-alone comics all get articles as well, as do the games, shows, movies, and publications themselves.

Please note that while Banjo and Conker both debuted in Diddy Kong Racing, their series are not included in the Super Mario Wiki's coverage, as they are not considered spin-offs of Diddy Kong Racing (and by extension, the original Donkey Kong), since the characters were designed for their own series and their appearance in the racing game was more of a crossover.

Crossovers
Crossovers are games that extensively feature characters and other elements from one or more series in addition to the Mario series. Examples include:


 * Super Smash Bros. series
 * Mario & Sonic series
 * Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street
 * Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!
 * Game & Watch Gallery series
 * Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix

In some cases, the games are obviously part of the Mario series (i.e. Mario Sports Mix or Wario Blast), while others are more evenly split between the franchises (i.e. Mario & Sonic or Fortune Street) but should still be counted as Mario games. Even series that can stand alone as their own set of games separate from any of the contributing franchises (i.e. SSB) are considered to be partner series of the Mario games. In all cases, these crossovers are given full coverage: everything appearing in the games gets articles. (Please note that puzzle games like Tetris DS and PiCTOBiTS have very little content, and so, are limited in scope to game pages only.)

Giving full coverage to crossovers means that the characters and other aspects originating in the other series involved in the crossover are also given articles, however these articles must be limited to the non-Mario subject's role in the crossover game itself. For example, our article about Link talks about his role in the SSB games, but does not go on to discuss what happens in any of The Legend of Zelda games, although a brief overview about his role in the series is permitted in the article's introduction.

Guest appearances
When a Mario character appears in another franchise (including stand-alone releases), it is either a guest appearance or a cameo. The difference is how much impact the Mario character has on the game: if they have a role in the plot or are featured as a playable character, it is a guest appearance, whereas if they can be erased without any ill effects on the game, it is a cameo. The difference between guest appearances and crossovers is that in a guest appearance, the amount of Mario content relative to the other series is very small, whereas in crossovers there is an extensive amount of Mario content, ranging from mostly Mario like in the Game & Watch Gallery games to a 50:50 split like Mario & Sonic, to simply being one of many franchises represented in a crossover like SSB.

Games that Mario content makes a guest appearance in includes NBA Street V3, SSX on Tour, Captain Rainbow and Densetsu no Stafy 3. These guest appearances are given partial coverage, meaning only the games themselves get articles, with all information pertaining to their content being confined to those games. The Mario content that is making the guest appearance can also be given a section in its History for the guest appearance, detailing its role in the non-Mario game.

Please note that a Proposal should be made before a game is classified as a "guest appearance", as this is a somewhat tricky distinction and there could easily be disagreement in the community about the extent to which coverage should be granted to any given non-Mario game.

Cameos
As mentioned before, if a Mario character or some other aspect of the Mario series makes a minor appearance in a non-Mario game, this is called a cameo. Cameos have no effect on the overall games they occur in, unlike guest appearances, and are merely included by the developers and writers for fun. All cameo appearances are limited to the Reference pages, although the cameoing Mario content's article may also mention the cameo (but this is not always necessary). The non-Mario game, show, movie or publication in which the Mario content is cameoing should not get an article.

For example, the Thwomp article has a section about the Thwomps' appearances in The Legend of Zelda series, but the material included in this section only pertains to Thwomps and does not talk about unrelated Zelda material, and the Zelda games that Thwomps appear in are not given articles.

Package deals
In some instances, an installment of the Mario franchise may be released or legally tied with another, otherwise unrelated work without any crossover happening. The Super Mario Wiki staff does not deem pertinent to fully cover these unrelated works, although information about the "bundle" should be present on the relevant page

Examples of this situation include:


 * Super Mario Bros was rereleased with Duck Hunt bundled on the same cartridge, with a later release adding World Class Track Meet to the mix. As the added games are otherwise unrelated, they are not given full coverage
 * The Legend of Zelda animated series was part of the same syndication package as the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and is occasionally promoted by Mario and Luigi in-universe. The series warrants a short page due to "existing" in-universe, but its characters and episodes are not fully covered.
 * Similarly, the third season of Captain N and the Super Mario World animated series are legally two halves of one show. As the Captain N episodes are otherwise unrelated to the Super Mario World segments, they are not covered.
 * Nintendo Land features several minigames themed around the Mario series, along with several other based on other Nintendo properties. As the fictional elements do not actually interact, Nintendo Land is not a crossover and the non-Mario games do not warrant full articles, although they are briefly described on the main Nintendo Land page.