10 Super Mario Facts You Probably Never Knew

3. Nintendo Loves To Add In Bonus Shaped Islands Within Mario Games

super mario water land

If there€™s one thing Nintendo loves doing, it€™s referencing their games, products, or even themselves within Super Mario titles. It€™s often become a hidden treasure to spot over the years, and many dedicated fans have done so. There are three cases we currently know about, but there are possibly many more yet to discover. In Super Mario Bros. 3, there is a world €“ known as Water Land €“ shaped like the gaming company€™s country of origin. Given the limitations of technology back in 1988, Water Land didn€™t quite have those lumps and bumps you€™d expect to see on a map, but was built from square tiles instead. And since Nintendo is super subtle, they decided to place the castle exactly where their headquarters are in Kyoto. In Super Mario Sunshine, there€™s a particularly beautiful beach where the four-star Hotel Delfino can be found. But if you look closely at Sirena Beach, you€™ll find that it is in the shape of a Nintendo GameCube controller, with water fountains, water pools, huts and chairs representing the buttons. Similarly, in Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii there€™s a galaxy in the shape of a giant Pokéball. Is Nintendo hinting you should try and find them all?
Contributor
Contributor

With a love for postmodern literature and black and white movies, Colette is a stickler for those artistic films with a weird and wonderful vibe. But she also loves her mainstream cinema and will devour any superhero movie like a comic-book nerd. She currently works as a news editor for a gaming website, specialising in all things Mario, and a film aficionado for What Culture.