Since he first appeared in video games in 1981 as a supporting character only, Mario has been featured in countless titles across generations and consoles. With such a long background, the character references many of his games in the animation that just hit theaters. Below we list the main Super Mario games that appear in the new film based on the world’s most famous plumber.
we won’t go into the details of the plot of the film, but some related information below can be considered spoilers by some. If you’d rather not expect surprises, come back here after watching the animation.
Wrecking Crew (NES, 1985)
Months before winning the first title in a series of games to their name, the Mario brothers starred in this game where they are wreckers, not plumbers. It is from this game, not so well remembered today, that one of the characters who appears right at the beginning of the film, the foreman Spike, Mario and Luigi’s former employer, who tries to dissuade the two from the idea of continuing with the own business.
Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)
Naturally, the first Super Mario Bros. would be mentioned in the animation. Several elements from the Mario brothers’ debut game are featured in the film, including the original soundtrack, iconography, characters, landscapes, and strengthening (such as mushrooms and fire flowers). Pixelated 8-bit images also appear at the start of the projection, and there’s even an entire sequence in the Mushroom Kingdom where the action takes place in a 2D perspective, like in the classic games in the series.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988)
In the film, Luigi is kidnapped by a group of Shy Guys and Snifits, villains who appear in Super Mario Bros. 2. However, a parenthesis: these little creatures actually belong in the game Yume Kōjō: Panic Doki Doki (1987), which is unrelated to Mario. However, outside of Japan, Doki Doki Panic had its playable characters replaced by Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad and was released as Super Mario Bros 2.
Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1988)
Game that brought the first major revolution to the series, with bolder, new graphics strengthening and richer worlds, the third Super Mario can be identified in some elements of the film. The ad that Mario and Luigi created to advertise their services, for example, takes up the visual style of the game box illustrations, which ended up establishing the brothers’ definitive design. OR turn on from tanooki, shown in the film, also comes from Mario 3.
Super Mario World (Super NES, 1990)
One of the best and most popular games in the series, Super Mario World also has Easter eggs in the movie. The cloak equipment that allows the pair of plumbers to fly in the Super NES game appears briefly in the film in a commercial that Mario and Luigi release to advertise their services. The dinosaur Yoshi and others of his kind also make a cameo appearance in the film. Another detail for the more observant is a map of one of the game worlds that is shown briefly as Mario arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Super Mario Kart (Super NES, 1992)
Although the karts and tracks that appear in the film visually refer to the more recent games of Mario Kartthe racing franchise started in 1992. By the way, it was also in this first game that Rainbow Road appeared, one of the most famous tracks in Mario Kart, which appears in the animated film.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (Super NES, 1995)
In the film we briefly see flashbacks with the baby versions of Mario and Luigi. Their first appearance took place in this Super Nintendo game, in which we control Yoshi.
Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996)
This is one of the most important games in the entire franchise. After all, it was the title that brought Mario and company into the 3D environment. Hence, it was expected that he would be mentioned in some way in the film. The most easily identifiable reference is the Peach castle present in the animation, made very faithfully to what was seen in the Nintendo 64 game.
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007)
In the film’s trailers, an imprisoned star of sorts stole the show with his fatalistic and humorous comments. The character is one of the Lumas, creatures that debuted in the Super Mario Galaxy games, one of the best titles in the series of all time.
Super Mario 3D World (WiiU, 2013)
One of the funniest power-ups to appear in Super Mario in recent years allows characters to acquire powers (and look) similar to cats. The news came from the Super Mario 3D World, from the WiiU. Another element of this game also seen in animation is the translucent pipes.
Super Mario Odyssey (Switcher, 2017)
Although the New York origin of the Mario brothers was already in the canon of the franchise, the urban environments only appeared in the games in mario odyssey, from Switch. While the city seen in the game is New Donkey City, not the film’s New York, the animation aspect ends up referring to the game. Indeed, the mayor of New Donkey City, Pauline, is the mayor of New York in the film.
Donkey Kong (NES, 1983)
Although Mario is the star of the film, another game series that is heavily featured in the film is donkey kong. Not only because the monkey is one of the most prominent characters in animation, but also because the plumber’s origin is directly related to Nintendo’s gorilla. After all, Mario’s video game debut was the monkey antagonist in the game. donkey kongreleased for arcades in 1981.
The game donkey kong appears in the first few minutes of the film, in an arcade located inside a pizzeria. It is worth noting that one person is playing in the arcade, he is identical to that primordial Mario, who didn’t even have a name yet. An interesting detail is that this vintage Mario has a small speech and the voice of him is Charles Martinet, the voice actor of Mario in video games.
this first donkey kong it is even referenced in the film during a fight between Mario and the gorilla in an arena in the ape kingdom. The suspended platforms where the characters move during the confrontation are very similar to those that appear in the classic game.
More games in the Donkey Kong series
In the same sequence of the confrontation between Donkey Kong and Mario, we also see Diddy and Dixie, the protagonists of Country of Donkey Kong 2. To complete the references at this point, we still have one of the little monkeys playing the bongo, in a probable memory of Donkey Kongaa percussion game released for the GameCube in 2003.
Another point to highlight is that although the karts featured in the film are more directly related to the series itself Mario Kartthe Kong family also had their own racing title, Diddy Kong Racingoriginally released for Nintendo 64, in 1997. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Mario and his companions acquire their cars in the animation storyline in the kingdom of apes.
Other Nintendo games mentioned
Even though the celebration revolves around the Super Mario Bros. franchise, there are a few other Nintendo games that come with it Easter Egg during the projection. In addition to the aforementioned Donkey Kong-related titles, some lesser-known franchises nowadays make their face in the film.
Right at the beginning of the feature film, Mario and Luigi find themselves in a pizzeria called Punch-Out, the same name of a very successful game in the 80s. The Punch-Out!! had a few arcade and console titles, including NES, Super Nintendo and Wii. More recently, series protagonist Little Mac appeared as a playable character in Super Smash Bros.
Another game less remembered by current generations – and also somewhat forgotten by Nintendo itself -, Little boy Icarus, also has its moment in film. In one of the moments, Mario appears playing video games, a Nintendo 8 bit, and the game is the first Little boy Icarussince 1986.
The last game of the same name in the series was released in 2012 for Nintendo 3DS. However, the franchise’s protagonist, the angel Pit, appears as a playable character in some of the series. super smash brothers., including the latest version, released for Switch.
The post Super Mario Bros: What games are in the movie? See references and Easter Eggs that first appeared in Olhar Digital.
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Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
