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 Samus.

Donkey Konga
In Donkey Konga the main theme of The Legend of Zelda series is playable.

Donkey Konga 2
In Donkey Konga 2 Toon Link's face appears on a badge and more music from The Legend of Zelda'' series is playable.

Donkey Kong Country
In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country Saberwulf is stuffed and mounted in Cranky's hut, yet it is still alive as it occasionally blinks.

Donkey Kong Country 2
In Donkey Kong Country 2, Cranky Kong, created a challenge to see who could find the most secret DK coins on Crocodile Isle. As Cranky Kong announces the results, players can see both and Sonic's shoes Earthworm Jim's ray-gun next to a garbage can labeled, "No hopers."

Chief Thunder, a character from the fighting game Killer Instinct, makes his cameo on a poster in Cranky's Cabin.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Both Kirby and Stafy appear on posters for movies. Kirby's poster reads "Kirby's Story", while Stafy's poster shows "Legend of Stafy".

Mario Golf (Gameboy Color)
In Mario Golf for the Gamboy Advance, the last club is called "Link's Club" and uses the Triforce as its logo.

Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)
In Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64, the names of various Zelda and Star Fox characters appear on the score board.

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
Pikmin made a 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 Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, the Coin Attack mode can spawn coins in the shape of the.

Super Mario Bros 3.
In Super Mario Bros. 3, the tune the warp whistle plays is also found in The Legend of Zelda. The whirlwind is from the same game. The tune is later found in The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap although a bird sweeps you away, not a whirlwind.

''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
In the Mario Zone of Super Mario Land 2 features LEGO-like surfaces. They are not LEGOs, but N&B Blocks, a toy manufactured by Nintendo in the 60s.

''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, if the player looks at Booster's doll, the player can spot a Samus doll.

Link also appears sleeping at the Rose Town Inn every time Mario sleeps there. If Mario tries to talk to him, the Zelda discovery tune plays.

Also, Mario can talk to Samus in the game. When Mario first reaches Land's End, go back to the Mushroom Kingdom' castle. In the Guest Room he'll see Samus sleeping, resting for her battle against Mother Brain.

When Mario visited Hinopio's Inn, he saw a model of an Arwing from the Star Fox series Captain Falcon's Blue Falcon and Samurai Goroh's Fire Stingray from the F-Zero series.

Yoshi's Story
In Stages 2-3 and 2-4 of Yoshi's Story, the name "Zelda" appears in the newspaper in the background.

Wario Land II
In Wario Land II, a Crystal Metroid appears as one of the treasures Wario collects.

The Ocarina of Time from  is also one of the treasures Wario collects.