MarioWiki:Coverage
The Super Mario Wiki is a database focused on all aspects of the Mario series, including spin-off series and crossover series. What distinguishes this wiki from other video game wikis is that we not only cover our primary series, but also all other sub-series and games which have emerged as their own distinct franchises in the greater Mario series. Crossover games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series, are also covered here, but from the perspective of the Mario series. 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 on MarioWiki:Canonicity, there is no "canon" regarding the Mario franchise. Since there is no canon, we cover any "Mario related" media product given some sort of official authorization by Nintendo at some point in time, be it through the Official 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 the Mario series, 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
The games and other media products we cover can be divided into four categories: the Mario series itself, crossovers, guest appearances and cameos.
Mario series
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 the original Donkey Kong arcade game, Mario's first appearance in any media. Collectively known as the Mario series, this includes spin-off partner series like Wario, Yoshi, and the Donkey Kong series itself, as well as the core Mario games and related media and merchandise (which may include games that do not necessarily have "Mario" in their names, such as Luigi's Mansion or Wrecking Crew). Everything in this overall Mario series is 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 while Banjo and Conker both debuted in Diddy Kong Racing, their series are not included in the Super Mario Wiki's coverage, as they are not considered spin-offs of Diddy Kong Racing (and by extension, the original Donkey 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 the Mario series. Examples include:
- Super Smash Bros. series
- Mario & Sonic series
- Itadaki Street DS and Fortune Street
- Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman!
- Game & Watch Gallery series
- Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix
In some cases, the games are obviously part of the Mario series (i.e. Mario Sports Mix), while others are more evenly split between the franchises (i.e. Mario & Sonic or Fortune Street) but should still be counted as 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 the 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-Mario subject's role in the crossover game itself. For example, our article about Link talks about his role in the Super Smash Bros. games, but does not go on to discuss what happens in any of The Legend of Zelda games, although a brief overview about his role in the series is permitted in the article's introduction.
Super Smash Bros. series
The Super Smash Bros. series features representative characters, locations, and other elements from numerous Nintendo franchises, and the Mario franchise is notably present. Its games feature enough content from the 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 uniquely Mario elements get individual articles, pages for the series are decided on a more particular basis.
Game & Watch Gallery series
In addition to the Modern, Mario-themed versions of Game & Watch games, the Game & 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 the Mario franchise, those that have not received Modern remakes or are not a Mario-series 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 a 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 the 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 of Mario content relative to the other series is very small, whereas in crossovers there is an extensive amount of Mario content, ranging from mostly Mario like in the Game & Watch Gallery games to a 50:50 split like Mario & Sonic, to simply being one of many franchises represented in a crossover like Super Smash Bros.
Games that Mario content makes a guest appearance in include Tetris for the Game 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, the NES Remix series, Nintendo Badge Arcade, Rhythm Heaven Megamix, Skylanders: SuperChargers and Minecraft. Non-game guest appearances include Captain N: The Game Master, Pixels, The Wizard, and Wario 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 the Mario franchise, they can receive individual articles. For example, certain minigames from Nintendo Land, which includes Donkey Kong's Crash Course, Luigi's Ghost Mansion, Mario Chase, and Yoshi's Fruit Cart, prominently feature Mario images and icons, and therefore have articles. Other minigames, such as The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest or Pikmin Adventure, do not have articles on the wiki.
Please note that a proposal 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-Mario game.
Cameos
As mentioned before, if a Mario character or some other aspect of the Mario series makes a minor appearance in a non-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 the Reference pages, although the cameoing Mario content's article may also mention the cameo (but this is not always necessary). The non-Mario game, show, movie or publication in which the Mario content is cameoing should not get an article.
For example, the Thwomp article has a section about the Thwomps' appearances in The Legend of Zelda series, but the material included in this section only pertains to Thwomps and does not talk about unrelated Zelda material, and the Zelda games that Thwomps appear in are not given articles.
Historically significant
On rare occasions, there are games that have had a notable impact on the Mario franchise despite not being a part of the franchise in any way. Current examples include Greenhouse, which does not have any Mario branding but is the first appearance of Stanley, and Yume 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 the Mario games), it was later repurposed to become Super Mario Bros. 2 with only a handful of changes. As a result, many elements that were introduced to the franchise in Super Mario Bros. 2, including Birdo, Shy Guys, Bob-ombs, and Pokeys, actually first appeared in Yume 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.
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 as Panel de Pon: though it was changed into Tetris Attack (starring Yoshi and other characters from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island), Panel de Pon and Tetris Attack have no points in common beyond the basic gameplay, and as a result, it is only covered in part on the article for Tetris Attack.
What the Super Mario Wiki doesn't cover
Package deals
In some instances, an installment of the 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 with Duck Hunt bundled on the same cartridge, with a later release adding World 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 Legend of Zelda animated series was part of the same syndication package as the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and is occasionally promoted by Mario and Luigi in-universe. The series warrants a short page due to existing in-universe, but its characters and episodes are not fully covered.
- Similarly, the third season of Captain N and the Super Mario World animated series are legally two halves of one show. As the Captain N episodes are otherwise unrelated to the Super Mario World segments, they are not covered.
- Nintendo Land features several minigames themed around the Mario series, 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-Mario games do not warrant full articles, although they are briefly described on the main Nintendo Land page.
- The western release of Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition is bundled with Puzzle & Dragons Z. As Puzzle & Dragons Z was a stand-alone release in Japan and is otherwise unrelated to the Mario half of the package, it is not covered.
- All of the Saturday Supercade segments are legally the same show. While the Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. segments receive full coverage, the other segments that aired as part of the show (Frogger, Q*bert, Pitfall!, Space Ace, and Kangaroo) are otherwise unrelated to the Mario franchise and therefore are not given any coverage.
Fan work by creators officially involved with the brand
In a few instances, creators of official Mario works have created or been involved in unofficial productions featuring content from the 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 the 1993 live-action film, was contacted by fans writing a sequel webcomic and agreed to outline the plot for a tentative Super Mario Bros. 2. Due to having one of the writer's involvement, the Super 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's Super Mario manga started publishing a series of doujin books starring the manga's mascot character Kinoppe. The series warrant a mention on the relevant pages, but due to its self-published nature, it is not considered official Mario material.
An exception to this is when an artist involved with the Mario brand has published artwork outside of the context of their official employment with Nintendo, as is the case with artists like Steve Mayles and Masanori Sato. While not official, the wiki deems the artwork relevant in the purpose of illustrating the artist's work.
