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Video Game
Cameos & References
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Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius (SFC)
The Ghost of Horo Temple from The Legend Of The Mystical Ninja (she's the first boss you fight) shows up as a boss in this! Screenshot - Submitted by Dire 51
Journey to Silius (NES)
This game was originally going to be released in North America as a
"Terminator" game. Somehow or other, it was not, but the final boss is still a
Terminator exoskeleton. Here is a scan from Nintendo Power magazine of the ill-fated Terminator version of this game, sent to me by site reader Monfriez: NP Scan
Kagero: Deception 2 (PSX)
If you get all four endings of the game saved on one file, you get to use
Suezo, the yellow eyeball monster from the Monster Rancher games, as a trap.
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (SNES)
The end credits theme is Joe Satriani's "Speed of Light". - Submitted by Kairobi King
Kickle Cubicle (NES)
There's a code to make Kid Niki: Radical Ninja appear on the title screen.
Kid Dracula (GB)
The first level's music is a really freaky version of "Beginning" (the first level music) of Castlevania 3. - Submitted by Sedgewick
The second level's music is Golliwogg's Cakewalk by Claude Debussy. - Submitted by Sedgewick
The first set of bosses are based on the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future from Charles Dicken's classic novel, "A Christmas Carol". However, in this game, they are the ghosts of Halloween, instead of Christmas. - Submitted by Sedgewick
Kid Icarus (NES)
The Komayto enemies look like Metroids.
Many references to myths abound! The name "Icarus", of course, comes from
the myth about a boy who made wings out of feathers and wax and flew too close
to the sun. "Medusa" was one of the three gorgon sisters whose looks could turn
a man to stone. The boss "Pandora" is named after the woman in "Pandora's Box",
who opened the box and unleashed all the evils upon mankind. The first boss is a
two-headed dog that guards the Underworld Fortress, sort of like the Cerberus
that guarded the entrance to Hades. The Syren is named after the sirens that
would sing and lure sailors to their doom. The Uranos and Pluton enemies are
named after Roman gods, Uranus and Pluto. Finally, Zeus is the main "god" of
Greek myth.
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GameBoy)
The Metroid-like Komaytos are also in this game, but they look different.
Kirby's Dream Land (Gameboy)
Lolo and Lala are the bosses of Level 2.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)
In one level, Samus Aran is waiting at the end. If you find and destroy some
Metroids in the level, she'll remove her helmet and give you the secret star for
that stage.
In one level, you have to assemble the R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy) to
get the secret star.
The final area is called the "Hyper Zone", which is a reference to HAL's
early SNES shooter game, Hyper Zone.
Kirby Super Star (SNES)
During the treasure hunt game, you can find several treasures from different
games, such as Mr. Saturn from Earthbound and the Triforce
from the Zelda series. - Submitted by Bomberguy221
Yashiro Nanakase sent me a complete list of the treasure hunt items:
Falcon Helmet (Captain Falcon's helmet from F-Zero)
Turtle Shell (a Koopa shell)
Kong's Barrel
Screw Ball (The Screw Attack from the Metroid games)
Triforce
Mr. Saturn
Bucket (from the Super Famicom game Mario & Wario)
When fighting King Dedede, there are some Super Mario Bros. characters in
the audience, including Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Birdo.
Kunio Tachi no Banka (SFC)
Kunio Tachi no Banka (for the Super Famicom) has an advertisement for
the Combatribes in the background of one of the stages. - Submitted by Yashiro
Nanakase
Lemmings (Multiple Platforms)
SNES version only: In the two-player level entitled "Graffiti", the names of
several Sunsoft games, including Blaster Master and Super Spy Hunter, are
written all over the level (What?! No Journey to Silius?!) - Submitted by Codie
Martin
Older Computer, SNES, Genesis: Four levels borrow their music and graphics
from earlier Psygnosis games. The levels are "A Beast of a Level" (Shadow of the
Beast), "MENACING!!!" (Menace), "What an AWESOME Level" (Awesome), and "A Beast
II of a Level" (Shadow of the Beast II). These levels, for whatever reason, were
removed from the later versions such as the Game Boy Color and the Lemmings that
comes with Lemmings Paintball. - Submitted by Codie Martin
Lemmings 2: The Tribes (SNES)
In the Classic tribe, the level "Lemtris" is made up of several
Tetris blocks. - Submitted by Codie Martin
The background music to the Circus tribe is a combination of music
you'd hear during circus acts. Their names I don't know. - Submitted by Codie Martin
"Lock Lomond", the Scottish anthem, is the background music to the
Highland tribe. - Submitted by Codie Martin
The background music to the Polar tribe is a combination of "Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" - Submitted by Codie Martin
Little Ninja Brothers (NES)
Rick, from Flying Warriors, is a character in one of the towns.
After beating the Water Lily Palace, music from Rimsky-Korsakov's
"Scheherazade" plays in the background, which could be seen as a reference to
Culture Brain's other NES RPG, The Magic of Scheherazade.
Musical Cameo: The training music theme is the "Can-Can".
The hamburger shops are called "MacRonald's" - an obvious reference to
McDonald's.
Low G Man (NES)
Low G Man, if you beat this game on the hardest setting (B-levels), you will
see the ending sequence. The ending sequence ends with a sentence
something like this: 'If you want a harder game, try G.I. Joe.' It's not exactly
like this, but comparable. - Submitted by Ruudos
Magi Nation (Gameboy Color)
The place where Tony Jones comes from is called "Tavel Gorge", which is a
reference to Phillip Tavel, one of the people who created Magi Nation.
Tony does a Michael Jackson impression at the party in Cald.
The character Yaki is a reference to
professional wrestler Macho Man Randy Savage because of the way he talks.
(Thanks to Crawl and 1000 and TWEETER911 with help on this one.)
Maniac Mansion (NES/PC)
In the PC version only, there is a poster referencing Zak McKracken, an
earlier PC game also made by Lucasarts.
There is an X-Wing model in Ed's room. - Submitted by Codie Martin
If you use the old radio in the living room, you can hear a small piece of the Indiana Jones theme. This also happens if you have Bernard call the Meteor Police. - Submitted by Codie Martin
Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle (PC)
You can play the original Maniac Mansion game as a hidden bonus. - Submitted by Kairobi King
MDK2 (Multiple Platforms)
The final boss is named Zizzy Baluba which, according to my sources, is a
Pee-Wee's Playhouse reference. (Thanks to Crawl and 1000 and Facilitypro for
this one.)
Mega Man (NES)
The Yashichi is an item that's appeared in many Capcom games, including Gun.Smoke, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Strider 2, and UN Squadron. This has been mentioned by several different site readers including Dire 51, Codie Martin, and Kairobi King.
Mega Man 7 (SNES)
There's a code to change the music of Shade Man's stage to the first level
music of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
Rush will sometimes dig up a Gameboy when you use the "Rush Search".
Mega Man Battle Network (GBA)
In the power plant, one of the defective programs says "All your base are belong to us!!" - Submitted by Codie Martin
Mega Man X (SNES)
You can get Ken and Ryu's "Hadouken" fireball move, from the Street Fighter
games, in the Armored Armadillo stage.
The Sting Chameleon boss is based on the Predator from the Arnold Schwarzenegger film. They both have a cloaking ability that makes them transparent against their surroundings, they both make a "rattling" noise, and they both attack in the jungle.
Mega Man X2 (SNES)
Much like in Mega Man X, Ken's (SF II) flaming Dragon Punch becomes
available to X after gathering the necessary items. - Submitted by Dire 51
Mega Man X4 (PSX)
Chill Penguin from X1 and Blizzard Buffalo from X3 can be seen frozen
in ice in Frost Walrus' stage. - Submitted by Codie Martin
Magma Dragoon has the same techniques as Ryu's fireball, dragon punch, and the uppercut. Their voices also sound similar. - Submitted by Daniel
Mega Man X5 (PSX)
You fight Magma Dragoon from X4 at the end of Training Mode. - Submitted by
Codie Martin
The mavericks were named after members of the band "Guns 'n Roses". -
Submitted by Codie Martin
Mega Man X6 (PSX)
Metal Shark Player, if given the chance, will make old mavericks
appear when you're fighting him. So far, I've seen him make Sting
Chameleon from X1 and Magna Centipede from X2 appear. - Submitted by Codie
Martin
Menacer 6-in-1 (Genesis)
The Sega Genesis Menacer 6-in-1 cart has a game called "Ready, Aim,
Tomatoes!" which stars Toejam & Earl. - Submitted by Yashiro Nanakase
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
You can find cardboard boxes of Zone of the Enders in a couple of rooms in the tanker. There's also a joke that involves a Vulcan Raven action figure early in the mission. - Submitted by Camilo E. Villamizar B.
Metal Slug X (Arcade/PSX)
The main villain of the game is based on Saddam Hussein and the ending is a
spoof of the movie "Independence Day". - Submitted by Crawl and 1000
Metal Storm (NES)
There are R-Type Warships in the background of Stage 6. - Submitted by Crawl
and 1000
Metroid (NES)
Ridley has the elongated head of the Aliens in the Alien movies, and he was
probably named after director Ridley Scott.
The whole idea of Metroid seems inspired by "Alien", from the female hero to
the parasitic alien life form that wiped out an entire planet's civilization.
Metroid 2: Return of Samus (Gameboy)
Just like Metroid 1, much of the idea seems inspired by Alien. Especially
how Samus Aran is returning to the Metroid's homeworld in this sequel, much like how Ripley returned to the planet where the Alien was first discovered in
"Aliens". Also, Samus fights the Queen Metroid in the end, reminiscent of how
Ripley fought the Alien Queen in the end of "Aliens".
Mortal Kombat 2 (Multiplatform)
Pong is hidden in the game. 250 matches must be played by 2 players to access Pong. - Submitted by Black Jack (Mike Waters)
Noob Saibot is a reference to the game's programmers, Ed Boon and John Tobias. His name is their last names spelled backwards. MK2 is the first game he appeared in as a hidden character. Thanks to Crawl and 1000 for help with this one.
Mortal Kombat 3 (Multiplatform)
In Mortal Kombat 3, Nightwolf has a friendship where he transforms into Raiden, the thunder god from the series. Why is this a cameo? In the first 2 editions of MK3, Raiden was not playable - only in MK Trilogy did he finally become a playable character again. Also, what is the meaning behind Raiden saying, "I have never seen a Kano transformation" when Nightwolf performs that friendship? Well, in the bookkeeping of the arcade game of MK2, there is a line that says Kano Transformation. What does this mean? The world may never know (all right, enough with the Tootsie Pop jokes, people). - Submitted by Black Jack (Mike Waters)
Also note Shang Tsung's friendship in Mortal Kombat 3: he turns into a Joust character! Wicked cool! - Submitted by Black Jack (Mike Waters)
Mortal Kombat 3 has a Galaxian clone hidden in it. Thanks to Crawl and 1000 for help with this one.
NBA Jam (Multiple Platforms)
There's a code to play as President Bill Clinton.
NBA Jam, in addition to Bill Clinton, contains Raiden and Scorpion from
Mortal Kombat, and TONS of rap/funk stars such as George Clinton, the
Beastie Boys, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, etc. - Submitted by Yashiro
Nanakase
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (N64)
Some of the randomly-generated character names are references to characters in other games published by Atlus. One is "Lacryma" from Kartia, and another is "Crowdia" from Rhapsody.
I've also seen the names "Mario" and "Kong" appear, which might be
references to the Nintendo characters.
Omikron: The Nomad Soul (Dreamcast)
Although David Bowie stars as two main characters in this game (the lead
singer of the Dreamers and Boz), his wife, Iman, makes a cameo as a playable
character.
Operation Wolf (Multiple Platforms)
Like Bad Dudes, Operation Wolf has a President in the end sequence. He looks kind of vaguely like Ronald Reagan...maybe...Okay well, it's a longshot.
Outrun (Multiplatform)
Billboard mania, part 3! Sega jumped on the billboard bandwagon by placing billboards promoting their other arcade games throughout the game (ex: Hang On). - Submitted by Dire 51
Pac-Man (Arcade & Various Consoles)
The bonus item that is often referred to by gamers as a "key" is actually a Galaxian.
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures (SNES)
You can play the arcade versions of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man in this
game. - Submitted by Ruudos
Pac-Man World (PSX)
The Galaxian bonus item is also included in this game, and so is the "Pooka" character from Dig Dug.
Paper Mario (N64)
The "Big Cookie" that can be made
by Tayce T. has a picture of two cookies from the
puzzle game Yoshi's Cookie. - Submitted by Bomberguy221
Parasite Eve (PSX)
From the helicopter viewpoint when selecting what area to go to, there
is a banner of a Chocobo bird (also named) hanging over the museum's
front door. Oddly enough, when you go to the close up screen to enter the
building, that gigantic banner is nowhere to be seen. - Submitted by Jup
Perfect Dark (N64)
The Carrington Institute has a display case with weapons from Goldeneye 007
in it.
DK Mode makes an appearance,
causing you and your enemies to have enlarged heads
and arms. - Submitted by Bomberguy221
Phantasy Star 4 (Genesis)
The main theme music from Fantasy Zone plays in one of the towns (and is
called Pao-Pao in the sound test, which is just a rearranged spelling of
Opa-Opa, Fantasy Zone's hero). - Submitted by Dire 51
There are books on the bookshelf in Saya's house that reference Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, and Golden Axe (there are three other books, although I don't know what they reference if anything). - Submitted by Codie Martin
Pilotwings 64 (N64)
You can hit one of the faces on Mt. Rushmore to change it into a Mario head.
Lark is said to actually be Nester from the Nintendo Power comics of old.
As some may know, the female instructor with the large boobs was named Hooter in the Japanese version, but when the game was released in the US, her name was changed to Robin. What was the inspiration for that name? Simple - a Nintendo game play counselor named Robin Krause was the inspiration for the name change. Her pic is shown in a magazine where that fact is revealed. - Submitted by Black Jack (Mike Waters)
Pinball (NES)
In the Bonus Stage, you play a strange Arkanoid-type game in which a
Mario-type character supports the paddle. - Submitted by Yoichi
This was the first "cameo" I ever saw on a video game, about 8 or 9 years
ago. It's already been submitted that everyone's favorite plumber Mario makes an
apparence in NES Pinball mini-game, but a bit more obscure than that, in it the
girl he must save happens to be Olive, the not so famous fiance of the not so
famous Popeye. She changed her dress but can't fool me. I made a tiny montage to
show you I'm not bluffing. - Submitted by James Format
FO's Note: To me the girl looks like Pauline from the original arcade
Donkey Kong, but considering that Nintendo made both the arcade Donkey Kong and
the arcade Popeye, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a little inspiration
there. The character sprites do look similar, but I'll let you be the judge. Oh,
and I'm not sure how "famous" the Popeye arcade game is, but the actual cartoon
and characters are pretty well-known.
Olive/Pauline Pic
Pitfall! (Atari 2600)
Pitfall Harry's "yell" is based on Tarzan. - Submitted by Kairobi King
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Multiplatform)
The white scorpions from the original Pitfall are in this game and they look _exactly_ like the Atari 2600 graphic. Additionally, the entire original Pitfall game is hidden in this game, too. - Submitted by Kairobi King
**MAJOR SPOILER** When you beat the game and rescue Pitfall Harry, he looks exactly like his Atari 2600 sprite!
Pocket Fighter (PSX)
Felicia has a move that gives her armor just like Mega Man's and she fires
an arm cannon.
Many other characters from the various Street Fighter games can be seen in
the backgrounds of the stages.
Point Blank 3 (Arcade)
Several famous Namco characters make cameos in PB3; among them Rick from Splatterhouse, Mappy from (what else?) Mappy, and Kagekiyo from The Genji And The Heike Clans. Screenshot - Submitted by Dire 51
Pokemon (Gameboy)
Ash has a Super NES in his bedroom. - Submitted by Crawl and 1000
Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were named after Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
The first Mr. Mime that you get is named "Marcel", which is a reference to
the famous mime, Marcel Marso. - Submitted by Crawl and 1000
Pole Position (Arcade)
Billboard mania, part 1! Namco scattered billboards promoting several of their arcade games throughout the game (ex: Dig Dug). - Submitted by Dire 51
Pole Position 2 (Arcade)
Billboard mania, part 2! Namco again scattered billboards promoting several of their arcade games throughout the game (ex: The Tower Of Druaga). - Submitted by Dire 51
Populous (SNES)
The Bit Plains is a world that has computers instead of houses, and some of
the "computers" include GameBoys, Famicoms, NES's, Super Famicom's, and Super
NES's.
Punch-Out!! (NES/Arcade)
In the NES version, Mario is the referee.
In the arcade version, Donkey Kong is in the audience.
Puss n Boots (NES)
You may not be aware of this, but the Puss N Boots game is based on a Japanese anime produced by Toei Animation sometime in the 70s, and it in turn is based loosely on the book "Around The World In 80 Days". The US game's plot is changed, however - in the US game, Pero once worked in Count Gruemont's castle. However, one day Count Gruemont found a mouse in his castle, and being the mouse hater he is, he sent Pero to kill it. Pero let the mouse go outside the castle, and Gruemont got so angry he sent Pero back in time, so he is trying to reach Gruemont's time ship at the Statue of Liberty. - Submitted by Black Jack (Mike Waters)
FO's Note: Yeah, I was aware of this. I even have an Oddities page on this site that explains all of this. There was also an episode of Captain N: The Game Master based on Puss n Boots, which I have reviewed in the Cartoons section. Also, the American subtitle of the game is "Pero's Great Adventure", but in the Japanese version, it was "Around the World in 80 Days". Finally, Pero's name in the Japanese version is "Perrault". He was named after Charles Perrault, the author of "Around the World in 80 Days".
Qix (GameBoy)
Get a high score, and Mario will appear in a desert scene, wearing a
sombrero and playing a guitar.
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