Beetle Mania

Beetle Mania is a secret minigame found in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Its name is a reference to Beatlemania, a pop culture phenomenon connected to influential English rock band The Beatles.

The game can be purchased at the Mushroom Kingdom Inn for a total of five hundred coins from the Beetle Mania Toad. When Mario returns to Mushroom Kingdom after his turmoils in Marrymore, he will have the opportunity to buy the game from the Toad. After speaking to the Beetle Mania Toad enough times, Mario will be asked if he wants to buy the game. Saying "yes" will add "game" to the 'X' menu. The gameplay is simple: by pressing the buttons, or , a Beetle shoots stars at red Koopa shells that fall over the insect. Hitting one will cause red stars to pop out. These can both hurt the beetle or activate other shells. The first time Mario plays the game, Toad will run onto the screen asking the player not to use a Turbo Controller to play the game. Players are awarded points for each shell hit, and more points for combos from the stars. After about 10,000 points, a flashing heart will fall from the top of the screen which recovers some of the Beetle's stamina.

The background of the game changes depending on which character is in the middle slot of Mario's Party. The level design is based on Yoshi's Island 2 while the backgrounds are based off the same game that the level design is from, Super Mario World.

A fan really loved this mini game from Super Mario RPG and made a fan version of the minigame for iOS (iPhones and iPads). The fan version is called Beetle Blitz.