Weirdest Mario Easter Eggs

Nintendo's Super Mario has over the years grown into a large and popular gaming franchise, with a lore all of its own. Most of the titles have been very successful with both players and critics, which has helped Mario remain a household name for over 35 years.

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Naturally then, in such a vast franchise there are bound to be some hidden goodies and references for the most keen players. Both throughout the games, and even in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (not to be confused with the 1993 film), many Easter Eggs are scattered throughout. Some of these are definitely weird, due to the seeming randomness of their placement, or how they don't really fit with the rest of the game.

10 Mario's Wardrobe

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is an incredible entry in the series and introduces some amazing new concepts to the games. With an adventure spanning wonderful, varied worlds, Mario now has new abilities. Thanks to Cappy, he can 'become' an iconic enemy, from a Goomba to a Bullet Bill. Mario can even dress in various outfits!

Some players may have seen a few of Mario’s outfits before playing the game. This is because certain clothing didn't debut in Odyssey, but beforehand in an obscure way. Mario, wearing his Japanese Noble, Samurai, and Swim Wear outfits, was originally seen in a 2016 Club Nintendo reward: a desk calendar depicting various characters in different outfits.

9 Sirena Beach

Super Mario Sunshine

Super Mario Sunshine was the second 3D platformer in the series, released for the GameCube in 2002. It sees Mario on a mission to collect the Shine Sprites to restore Isle Delfino. The fifth unlockable location is Sirena Beach, a quiet secluded bay home to the Hotel Delfino.

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By  Nadia Grace Mullings

Interestingly, the resort seen from the correct angle looks exactly like a GameCube controller. This is reflected in the placement of the pools and the huts, which also are in the same shape as various controller buttons. The hotel itself bears a resemblance to the distinct cubic shape of the console, with the path leading from it almost like the controller’s cable. Also, Hotel Delfino is a four-star hotel, just like the GameCube has four controller ports.

8 Mario Movie Map

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

This animated title was a commercial success and, as expected, is packed full of Easter eggs. Some are more hidden than others, and some segments have so many hidden references it’s hard to keep up with them all. One such scene is the Mario Bros. Plumbing advert: The map shows many streets with weird names.

There’s "Link St." Which seems to reference the iconic Zelda protagonist. Also seen briefly is “Hanafuda Avenue”, which directly references the history of Nintendo. The company originally manufactured playing cards. Hanafuda was Nintendo’s very first product when the company was founded in 1889. And that’s another reference, hidden in “1889th Street” seen on the map.

7 Names Of The Koopalings

First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. 3

This group of mischievous young Koopas first appeared on the NES console. Since then they’ve appeared often, as antagonists in the New Super Mario Bros series, and even playable in certain Mario Kart titles to name a few. In a unique move, these characters were nearly all named after famous musicians. The job of naming them fell to Nintendo employee, Dayvv Brooks.

Brooks was tasked with localizing Super Mario Bros 3 for the American audience. He was a huge music fan and gave most Koopalings the names of iconic musicians:

• Lemmy Koopa - Lemmy Kilmister (Frontman of Motorhead)
• Morton Koopa Jr. - Morton Downey, Jr. (American tabloid talk show presenter)
• Larry Koopa - Larry Mullen Jr. (Drummer of U2)
• Wendy O. Koopa - Wendy O. Williams (American singer and frontwoman of The Plasmatics)
• Iggy Koopa - Iggy Pop (American rock musician and frontman of The Stooges)
• Ludwing von Koopa - Ludwig van Beethoven (German Classical and Romantic composer)
• Roy Koopa - Roy Orbison (American rock singer)

6 Map of Japan

Super Mario Bros 3

In this NES game, Mario and Luigi must stop the Koopalings from wreaking havoc upon the kingdoms of the Mushroom World. They traverse colorful and varied locations, from Grass Land to Ice Land, and Giant Land to Water Land.

Upon closer observation of the map of Water Land, there’s a group of islands that look like the shape of Japan. The castle is situated at the bottom of the biggest island. Interestingly, on a map of Japan, the city of Kyoto would roughly be where the castle of Water Land is. Nintendo’s headquarters have always been in Kyoto.

5 News Bulletins

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

The movie contains no shortage of references to other Nintendo franchises. The "Punch-out Pizzeria" (which just happens to be another Easter egg, referencing Punch-Out!!, one of the hardest NES games of all time.) Has some hidden references. One example is the bulletin on the television behind Mario and Luigi. It reads: “Stolen Vegetables Recovered By Ice Climbers,” referring to the plot of the NES title Ice Climber.

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Another notable bulletin can be glimpsed in Mario’s room. This mentions the “Star System FS-176”, a direct Metroid reference. Do these news items mean that the Metroid cast and the Ice Climbers share the same universe as the beloved plumbers?

4 Melons Replace Coconuts

Super Mario Galaxy

The two titles in this series are some of Wii platforming's greatest entries. Central to these games is the need to collect the colorful Star Bits. Getting enough of them yields an all-important 1-UP. They're also needed to feed hungry Lumas who, when full, will transform into other galaxies. This opens up the opportunity to collect more Power Stars.

If players are able to reach 9,999 Star Bits something rather random occurs. The green coconuts seen in galaxies like Deep Dark, Shiverburn, and Good Egg Galaxy, all turn into watermelons. What’s more, this is a permanent feature; even dropping back below 9,999 won’t revert them back to coconuts. It seems anything is possible in Mario's vast and varied universe.

3 The N&B Block

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

The second in the Super Mario Land series for the Game Boy was released in 1992. This is a notable title for being the last of Mario's 2D side-scrolling games until New Super Mario Bros. In 2006, as well as marking Wario’s first-ever appearance. Wario has taken over Mario’s castle, thus this game sees Mario having to collect the 6 Golden Coins which are the keys to it.

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A unique Easter egg here, is the appearance of “N&B” written onto a brick in Mario Zone’s final stage, the ‘Block Course’. This references a series of Nintendo’s own toys, which were created to rival the LEGO franchise. The whole stage is made up of these blocks, though the N&B blocks were a short-lived Nintendo brand.

2 MIPS

Super Mario 64

In the original game, held as one of the best 3D platformers on the Nintendo 64, Princess Peach has a pet rabbit, MIPS. The bunny can be found in the Castle’s basement, after obtaining 15 Power Stars. He can later be found in the basement again after 50 Stars have been collected. Catching the rabbit rewards the player with a Power Star on both occasions.

‘MIPS’ might sound like a cute name for a bunny, but he’s actually named after the Nintendo 64’s microprocessor. In full, the microprocessor is called “Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages”. Like another Easter Egg, much of MIPS’ dialogue is akin to the White Rabbit’s from Alice in Wonderland.

1 Shiverburn Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy 2

This unique galaxy is home to one of the strangest and weirdest Easter eggs in the series. Located in World 5, this galaxy utilizes a really ‘cool’ concept: fire and ice co-existing. Some tasks even require Mario to use ice to cross lava. This bizarre idea executed brilliantly makes Shiverburn Galaxy one of the best locations in this game.

As for the weird Easter Egg, it can be seen using the zoom feature. It seems there are three humanoid beings staring down at Mario. It seems really random as to why they’re there, but interestingly, they share a similar appearance to a creature in Japanese mythology, the “Kodama”. In folklore, it’s said they reside in trees. Japan has large areas of forested land, which covers approximately 68% of the country’s land area.

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