Super Mario RPG might be best remembered for bringing together Square Enix and the Mushroom Kingdom, but those aren’t the only games you’ll find. Plenty more Nintendo characters and cameos can be found throughout this Legend of the Seven Stars, along with other callbacks and nods to both of its creators’ legacies.
Warning: So long as you don’t mind these spoilers, read on so you don’t miss out on any of these easter eggs as you adventure with Mario and the rest of the party!
Link
The Hero of Hyrule circa The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past can be found sleeping at the Rose Town Inn. This quaint village is where you’ll meet Geno and leads right into the Forest Maze. Once you’ve beaten the area’s boss, Bowser, Link will appear in one of the Inn’s beds.
Image source: Game Informer
Samus
Get some rest!
Premier galactic bounty hunter Samus Aran can also be spotted snoozing in this version of the Mushroom Kingdom. She’ll be found making use of a bed in Peach’s Castle, though you’ll have to beat Yaridovich and claim the game’s fifth Star Piece first.
Booster’s Toybox (Peach, Samus, Diskun, and Stunt Race FX Car)
Booster’s Tower is one of the most notable locations throughout all of SMRPG. Not only does it have sweet music and a memorable villain, it’s also home to more Nintendo call backs than any other location in the game!
Image source: Nintendo Life
Most of these will be found in Booster’s Toybox. Figures of Peach and Samus are recognizable to most, but thanks to the updated graphics we can now see Booster’s got a thing for obscure collectibles too. Both the Famicom Disk System mascot Diskun (maybe you recognize him from a Super Smash Bros. Trophy?) and a car from Stunt Race FX are visible as well.
8-Bit Mario Sprite
One of the coolest throwbacks in the whole game is also found in Booster’s Tower. As you make your way through the area you’ll eventually come across a pair of curtains that might evoke the idea of a changing room. By having Mario walk behind a curtain on one side and exit from the other, he’ll revert to his 8-bit self from the original Super Mario Bros. game!
Enjoy the change in music and jumping around as this NES icon. Once you exit the area you’ll revert to his SMRPG appearance, leaving that sweet nostalgia behind.
F-Zero and Star Fox Machines
When you’re traversing up the Barrel Volcano on your way to the Axem Rangers, you’ll eventually find a shop run by a fiery Toad named Hinopio. In the back of his Hino Mart there’ll be a shelf where models of a pair of F-Zero machines (Captain Falcon’s Blue Falcon and Samurai Goroh’s Fire Stingray) and Star Fox’s Arwing can be seen.
Donkey Kong
Super Mario RPG is full of eye-catching enemies. Among them are some apes that look an awful lot like the first member of the DK Crew, Donkey Kong himself! One’s even called a Chained Kong, but it’s the nearly identical Guerrilla that’s surprisingly the more direct nod.
Image source: @chiro_uxie on Twitter
Towards the end of the game you’ll return to Bowser’s Keep, now overtaken by Smithy. As you make your way through the Trial Course you’ll eventually reach an area modeled after the Donkey Kong arcade game’s first level. A Guerrilla will stand in for DK, tossing barrels that Mario will have to jump over like it’s 1981.
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Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
