The Super Mario Wiki is an encyclopedia focused on all aspects of theSuper Mario franchise. What distinguishes this wiki from other video game wikis is that we not only cover our primary franchise, but also all other series and games which have emerged as their own distinct franchises. Crossover games, such as theSuper Smash Bros. series, are also covered here, but from the perspective ofSuper Mario and its partner franchises. This guideline is here to help users determine what content is and is not acceptable for inclusion in the Super Mario Wiki.

No canon

Based onMarioWiki:Canonicity, there is no "canon" regarding theSuper Mario franchise. Since there is no canon, we cover any "Mario-related" media product given some sort of official authorization byNintendo at some point in time, be it through theOfficial Nintendo Seal or a contract with another company, etc. All content from such sources is allowed on this wiki, without speculating on what content from what source is "more official" than other content from other sources. As Nintendo has never established an official canon regarding theSuper Mario franchise, we cannot say newer or older Nintendo games, media, content, policies, etc. are more "official" than the others. They are all essentially as "official" as each other.

What the Super Mario Wiki covers

A visual for what we're talking about.

The games and other media products we cover can be divided into four categories:Super Mario and partner franchises, crossovers, guest appearances, and cameos.

Super Mario and partner franchises

As there is no official canon, content from any official source from Nintendo related to Mario and his universe is allowed. As far as the "universe" goes, we cover all franchises, series, games, etc. that have emerged from or spun-off from theoriginalDonkey Kong arcade game, Mario's first appearance in any media. This includes spin-off franchises likeWario andYoshi, theDonkey Kong franchise itself, as well as the coreSuper Mario games and related media and merchandise (which may include games that do not necessarily have "Mario" in their names, such asLuigi's Mansion orWrecking Crew). Everything from these four main franchises are given full coverage, meaning every character, place, item, and everything else found in the releases are given articles. Individual game levels, TV show episodes, and stand-alone comics all get articles as well, as do the games, shows, movies, and publications themselves.

Please note that whileBanjo andConker both debuted inDiddy Kong Racing, their series are not included in the Super Mario Wiki's coverage, as they are not considered spin-offs ofDiddy Kong Racing (and by extension, the originalDonkey Kong), since the characters were designed for their own series and their appearance in the racing game was more of a crossover.

Crossovers

Crossovers are games that extensively feature characters and other elements from one or more series in addition to theSuper Mario franchise. Examples include:

• Super Smash Bros. series
• Mario & Sonic series
• Itadaki Street DS andFortune Street
• Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!
• Game & Watch Gallery series
• Mario Hoops 3-on-3 andMario Sports Mix

In some cases, the games are obviously part of theSuper Mario franchise (i.e.Mario Sports Mix), while others are more evenly split between different franchises (i.e.Mario & Sonic orFortune Street) but should still be counted asSuper Mario games. Even series that can stand alone as their own set of games separate from any of the contributing franchises (i.e.Super Smash Bros.) are considered to be partner series of theSuper Mario games. What content from crossover games warrants a page is decided based on community consensus.

Giving full coverage to crossovers means that the characters and other aspects originating in the other series involved in the crossover are also given articles, however these articles must be limited to the non-Super Mario subject's role in the crossover game itself. For example, our article aboutLink talks about his role in theSuper Smash Bros. games, but does not go on to discuss what happens in any ofThe Legend of Zelda games, although a brief overview about his role in the series is permitted in the article's introduction. Users are also welcomed to create dedicated articles for franchises and series that theSuper Mario franchise has crossed-over with in an officially-licensed capacity, as outlinedhere.

Super Smash Bros. series

TheSuper Smash Bros. series features representative characters, locations, and other elements from numerous Nintendo franchises, and theSuper Mario franchise is notably present. Its games feature enough content from theSuper Mario franchise that calling it a guest appearance is incorrect, but at the same time, it is not so comprehensive that it is a crossover. To avoid any lapses in our coverage, the series is deemed an exception to the standard coverage policy. This means that unlike crossovers, in which every element is given an individual article, and unlike guest appearances, in which only the game itself and uniquelySuper Mario elements get individual articles, pages for the series are decided on a more particular basis.^{[Proposal 1]}

Game & Watch Gallery series

In addition to the Modern,Super Mario-themed versions ofGame & Watch games, theGame & Watch Gallery series features a number of ported Game & Watch games as extra content. Due to these not being directly part of the central crossover nature of the game and having no in-game association with theSuper Mario franchise, those that have not received Modern remakes or are not aSuper Mario-franchise Game & Watch game to begin with (e.g.Mario's Cement Factory) are not covered as separate articles, otherwise the series is given full coverage.

Guest appearances

When aSuper Mario character appears in another franchise (including stand-alone releases), it is either a guest appearance or a cameo. The difference is how much impact theSuper Mario character has on the game: if they have a role in the plot or are featured as a playable character, it is a guest appearance, whereas if they can be erased without any ill effects on the game, it is a cameo. The difference between guest appearances and crossovers is that in a guest appearance, the amount ofSuper Mario content relative to the other series is very small, whereas in crossovers there is an extensive amount ofSuper Mario content, ranging from mostlySuper Mario like in theGame & Watch Gallery games to a 50:50 split likeMario & Sonic, to simply being one of many franchises represented in a crossover likeSuper Smash Bros.

Games thatSuper Mario content makes a guest appearance in includeTetris for theGame Boy,The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening,Densetsu no Starfy 3,NBA Street V3,SSX on Tour,Tetris DS,Captain Rainbow,Art Style: PiCTOBiTS,Punch-Out!!,AR Games,StreetPass Mii Plaza,Nintendo Land, theNES Remix series,Nintendo Badge Arcade,Rhythm Heaven Megamix,Skylanders: SuperChargers,Minecraft, andNintendo World Championships: NES Edition. Non-game guest appearances includeCaptain N: The Game Master,Pixels,The Wizard, andWario to Saikyō Tag da Fii!. These guest appearances are given partial coverage, meaning only the media itself get articles, such as the game or television show, with all information pertaining to their content being confined to those pages.However, if a subject is unique to the game while also being clearly derived from theSuper Mario franchise, they can receive individual articles.^{[Proposal 2]} Elements from guest appearance titles should be given their own article in the following cases:^{[Proposal 3]}

1. The subject is clearly derived from or based on theSuper Mario franchise, as confirmed by Nintendo. (Nintendo Land minigames, Thwomp types exclusive toThe Legend of Zelda, etc.)
2. The subject is distinct enough to justify its own article. (Cannot be merged with an existing page. BowWows or Cheep-Sheeps don't get individual articles because they're not distinct enough from theirSuper Mario counterparts)
3. Subjects exclusive toSuper Mario-themed stages or minigames (Chili plate,Blue check mark, etc. Monita still doesn't get her own page, despite her role in theLuigi's Ghost Mansion minigame)
4. If the subject derived from theSuper Mario franchise appears in a Nintendo-published or endorsed media that isn't considered guest appearance, a proposal is required before creating a page. (If Nintendo ever releases a game with a uniqueSuper Mario subject that can't otherwise be considered a guest appearance title, wiki editors have an option to consider if it's worth covering anyway)

For example, certain minigames fromNintendo Land, which includesDonkey Kong's Crash Course,Luigi's Ghost Mansion,Mario Chase, andYoshi's Fruit Cart, prominently featureSuper Mario images and icons, and therefore have articles. Other minigames, such asThe Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest orPikmin Adventure, do not have articles on the wiki. Please note that aproposal should be made before a game is classified as a "guest appearance", as this is a somewhat tricky distinction and there could easily be disagreement in the community about the extent to which coverage should be granted to any given non-Super Mario game.

Cameos

As mentioned before, if aSuper Mario character or some other aspect of theSuper Mario franchise makes a minor appearance in a non-Super Mario game, this is called a cameo. Cameos have no effect on the overall games they occur in, unlike guest appearances, and are merely included by the developers and writers for fun. All cameo appearances are limited to thereference pages, although the cameoingSuper Mario content's article may also mention the cameo (but this is not always necessary). The non-Super Mario game, show, movie or publication in which theSuper Mario content is cameoing shouldnot get an article.

For example, theThwomp article has a section about theThwomps' appearances inThe Legend of Zelda series, but the material included in this section only pertains to Thwomps and does not talk about unrelatedZelda material, and theZelda games that Thwomps appear in are not given articles.

Historically significant

On rare occasions, there are games that have had a notable impact on theSuper Mario franchise despite not being a part of the franchise in any way. Current examples includeGreenhouse, which does not have any Mario branding but is the first appearance ofStanley, andYume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic: while the game itself has no relation to the franchise (barring how it started off as a tech demo in the vein of theSuper Mario games), it was later repurposed to becomeSuper Mario Bros. 2 with only a handful of changes. As a result, many elements that were introduced to the franchise inSuper Mario Bros. 2, includingBirdo,Shy Guys,Bob-ombs, andPokeys, actually first appeared inYume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. Due to the game's importance in creating aspects that are now common to the franchise, it is covered on this wiki. However, since it is not properly a part of the franchise, only the game itself is given an article, while elements unique to it (such as its main characters) are covered within said article.^{[Proposal 4]}

Note that this does not apply to similar games who were also used as bases for other games, but otherwise have no points in common with its successor, such asPanel de Pon: though it was changed intoTetris Attack (starringYoshi and other characters fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island),Panel de Pon andTetris Attack have no points in common beyond the basic gameplay, and as a result, it is only covered in part on the article forTetris Attack.

What the Super Mario Wiki doesn't cover

Package deals

In some instances, an installment of theSuper Mario franchise may be released or legally tied with another, otherwise unrelated work without any crossover happening. The Super Mario Wiki staff does not deem pertinent to fully cover these unrelated works, although information about the "bundle" should be present on the relevant page.

Examples of this situation include:

• Super Mario Bros. was rereleased withDuck Hunt bundled on the same cartridge, with a later release addingWorld Class Track Meet to the mix. As the added games are otherwise unrelated, they and other similar cartridge bundles are not given full coverage.
• The third season ofCaptain N: The Game Master and theSuper Mario World animated series are legally two halves of one show. As theCaptain N episodes are otherwise unrelated to theSuper Mario World segments, they are not covered.
• All of theSaturday Supercade segments are legally the same show. While theDonkey Kong andDonkey Kong Jr. segments receive full coverage, the other segments that aired as part of the show (Frogger,Q*bert,Pitfall!,Space Ace, andKangaroo) are otherwise unrelated to theSuper Mario franchise and therefore are not given any coverage.
• Nintendo Land features severalminigames themed around theSuper Mario franchise, along with several other based on other Nintendo properties. As the fictional elements do not actually interact,Nintendo Land is not a crossover and the non-Super Mario games do not warrant full articles, although they are briefly described on the mainNintendo Land page.
• The Western release ofPuzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is bundled withPuzzle & Dragons Z. AsPuzzle & Dragons Z was a stand-alone release in Japan and is otherwise unrelated to theSuper Mario half of the package, it is not covered.

Fan work by creators officially involved with the brand

In a few instances, creators of officialSuper Mario works have created or been involved in unofficial productions featuring content from theSuper Mario franchise. These works might merit a mention on the relevant subject's page but are not to be given full coverage as they are not endorsed by Nintendo.

Examples of this situation include:

• Parker Bennett, one of the writers credited on the final script of the1993 live-action film, was contacted by fans writing a sequel webcomic and agreed to outline the plot for a tentativeSuper Mario Bros. 2. Due to having one of the writer's involvement, theSuper Mario Bros. 2 webcomic warrants a section on the movie's page but it does not have its own page and is not to be mentioned on pages for the movie's characters and concepts due to its unofficial nature.
• In 2019, the author of Comic BonBon'sSuper Mario manga started publishing a series ofdoujin books starring the manga's mascot characterKinoppe. The series warrant a mention on the relevant pages, but due to its self-published nature, it is not considered officialSuper Mario material.

Exceptions

Exceptions to this guideline cover when an artist involved with theSuper Mario brand has published content outside of the context of their official employment with Nintendo. While not official, the wiki deems the work relevant to the purpose of illustrating the artist's work.^{[Proposal 5][Proposal 6]}

Examples include:

• Artwork published by illustrators (e.g.Steve Mayles andMasanori Sato) which depict at least one recognizableSuper Mario element, even if modified or parodied.

• 

  Artwork ofDixie Kong by Steve Mayles

• 

  Artwork of aLakitu-like character by Masanori Sato

• Quotes recorded by voice actors (e.g.Charles Martinet andBen Campbell) when they are directly portraying a character, rather than simply doing the character's voice.
  • Mario: (looks at the suspended cyclist) "Mamma mia! Now that's not a swing you see every day."
    Luigi: "No, that's not a swing you see every day."
    —Charles Martinet voicingMario andLuigi in hisInstagram profile
  • "Klump, my dearly, dauntless Klump. Remind me if I ever were to kill myself, I could scale to the heights of your blind devotion and leap down towards your IQ!"
    —Ben Campbell voicingKing K. Rool in the fan-made short filmDKC: Return to Krocodile Isle

Relevant discussions

• Policies