List of references in third-party video games

Crash Bandicoot series

Crash Bandicoot (PS1/PS4)

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File:DonkeyKongReferenceInToxicWaste.png

The Donkey Kong-like enemy from Toxic Waste.

In early levels there are enemies resembling Piranha Plants and wandering turtles who retract into their shell once jumped on, a parody of Koopa Troopas. These enemies reappear in later installments in the series.
In the Toxic Waste level, there are some bear-like enemies that throw nuclear canisters similar to Donkey Kong.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS1/PS4)

A gorilla that throws barrels like Donkey Kong.

In some ruin levels, there is a log-throwing gorilla enemy which is a parody of Donkey Kong.
There are Lab Assistants in the beehive levels who are dressed in Mario outfits and wield hammers, a reference to Mario's role in Donkey Kong.

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1/PS4)

Crash being able to ride Baby T, a baby dinosaur, is most likely inspired by Mario being able to ride Yoshi in several Mario games. Baby T is even found from breaking his egg and runs away when it touches an enemy, just like Yoshi (except the player cannot chase down Baby T after he is hit and must find another egg).

Crash: Mind Over Mutant (Multiplatform)

The FMV cutscene after defeating the brainwashed Crunch Bandicoot is named "Crunch Get!" in the cutscene viewer, likely after the phrase "Shine Get!" in the Japanese version of Super Mario Sunshine.

Crash of the Titans (Multiplatform)

The Ratnicians can be heard sometimes saying "You thought he was an Italian plumber or something?" when they notice Crash.

Crash Twinsanity (Multiplatform)

A Donkey Kong-like enemy from Crash Twinsanity.

The DK-esque rhino enemy.

In the level "High Seas Hi-Jinks", a large rhinoceros throws barrels at the player, just like Donkey Kong.

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (Multiplatform)

In the level "Crash and Burn", there is an area that resembles 25m from the original Donkey Kong arcade game.

Banjo-Kazooie series

Banjo-Kazooie (N64/Xbox Live Arcade/Xbox One)

In the level Click Clock Wood, there is a large beaver named Gnawty who needs Banjo and Kazooie to destroy the rock blocking the entrance to his home. While resembling the Gnawties of the Donkey Kong Country series, he mostly resembles Very Gnawty in size and color.
In the voice questions at Grunty's Furnace Fun, Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong's names are seen as answers.
- In another question, Grunty questions what Conga throws. One of the answers are barrels, a reference to Donkey Kong.
Conga uses Donkey Kong's sound effects from Mario Kart 64.

Banjo-Tooie (Nintendo 64/Xbox Live Arcade/Xbox One)

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The dialogue referring to Mario directly.

In Grunty Industries, Banjo and Kazooie find Loggo, a toilet character from the previous game, who says that he needs unblocking. Kazooie suggests calling a plumber, and says that she thinks Mario's free at the moment. Loggo says he doesn't think Mario does that kind of work anymore. In the Xbox 360 version of the game, the dialogue is altered slightly to say "Italian plumber" instead.
Bottles's daughter, Goggles, can be seen playing with a Donkey Kong doll.
During the final battle with Hag 1, Gruntilda asks the question "Who appears on the cover art?", and one of the answers is "Banjo, Kazooie, and Donkey Kong".
In the Inferno section in the Haunted Zone in Witchyworld, there is a face at the top of the large slide which many believe resembles Bowser's face.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)

The 8-bit Mario.

To show the power of the vehicle editor in the game, an 8-bit Mario on wheels is shown in the trailer in Nutty Acres. It then gets destroyed by Banjo and Kazooie. The trailer was later edited to remove the portion when the 8-bit Mario is destroyed. However, the shot of it prior to the destroying remains.^[1]
In the opening sequence, when Banjo, Kazooie, and Gruntilda encounter the Lord of Games for the first time, Kazooie at one point remarks that they have been in several games already, and Lord of Games responds by saying that they've been in "nowhere near as many as that Italian gentleman."
In the Jiggoseum level, on a balcony in the south end of the main area is a pile of giant, metallic dice that Kazooie can pick up and move. Hidden behind them is a large, golden cube with a metallic white question mark on the side of it.
In one of the missions for the L.O.G.'s Lost Challenges DLC, Banjo mentions that he once was in a race with "a genie and a giant pig", referring to Diddy Kong Racing.
The achievement unlocked for opening the Terrarium of Terror, an outer-space forest themed world, is called "Super Banjo Universe," a parody of Super Mario Galaxy.
One of the questions given by Lord of Games in the quiz at the end of the game is "Which game featured a Banjo appearance but wasn't a Banjo title?" The correct choice is Diddy Kong Racing.

Metal Gear series

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN)

Mario and Yoshi dolls can be found in Otacon's Lab. Shooting the Mario statue plays the 1-up jingle and awards Snake with a small health boost, and shooting the Yoshi doll simply makes it say "Yoshi!". Additionally, there is also a Nintendo GameCube that can be found in the same place.
Psycho Mantis may mention Super Mario Sunshine ("You've been playing Super Mario Sunshine, haven't you?") and Super Smash Bros. Melee ("Oh, so you've played Super Smash Bros. Melee before.") if the player has save data for those games on their memory card.

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (3DS)

Yoshi dolls appear as collectible items, replacing the Kerotan dolls found in the original PlayStation 2 game. Their presence in the game is explained by Para-Medic as being due to Yoshi's popularity in the Soviet Union increasing.^[2] The game takes place in the 1960s ― before the Mario franchise, Nintendo as a game/toy manufacturer, or video games in general even existed.

The Sims series

MySims Agents (Wii)

When investigating the sewers in the Industrial District, if the player examines a pipe, he will hope that nothing will come out of it and that no turtles live in it.

SimCity (SNES)

If the player's city has a population of 500,000 residents, the player will earn a Mario statue.
The bonus scenario Freeland has its trees shaped like Mario's head.
Bowser can appear and destroy the player's city by selecting him on the disasters menu. The Tokyo scenario has Bowser walking through the city, in a similar approach to Godzilla.

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Artwork from manual

SimCity DS (DS)

Bowser's Castle makes a cameo as a unlockable landmark for the player's city.^[3]

Bowser's Castle as seen in SimCity DS.

The Tower DS Classic (Nintendo DS)

There is a building called Mario Tower (マリオタワー), which the player can enter a minigame to gain more money when they are short of funds. The tower is a statue of Mario posing. The minigame also features music taken from Super Mario Bros.

Skylanders series

Skylanders: Giants (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS)

One of the Cutthroats in Cutthroat Carnival is named "Bowsers", a reference to Bowser.

Skylanders: SuperChargers (Wii U, Nintendo 3DS)

Main article: Skylanders: SuperChargers

Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures can be used in the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of the game. They drive Barrel Blaster and Clown Cruiser vehicles, respectively. Donkey Kong drives the Barrel Blaster with Diddy Kong, while Bowser's Clown Cruiser resembles the Hurricane from Mario Kart DS. This is a result of a collaboration between Activision and Nintendo.

Donkey Kong, as seen in the game.
Bowser and several Koopas, as seen in the game.
Artwork of Donkey Kong.
Artwork of Donkey Kong, alongside Diddy Kong, in his vehicle.
Artwork of Bowser.

Skylanders: Imaginators (Wii U)

Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures are compatible in the Wii U version of the game, which makes them playable. Their moves and abilities remain the same as its predecessor.

Angry Birds series

Eggsteroid 1 imitating World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros.

The stage referencing 1-1

Angry Birds Space (iOS/Android/PC/Mac)

The second Eggsteroid is an homage to World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros., with rocks in the place of ? Blocks and wood in the place of Brick Blocks. The upper "? Block" contains a Bad Piggy which moves in a similar manner to the Super Mushrooms. Unlike in the original game, the ground can be broken and the pig representing the mushroom comes out of the top block, which in Super Mario Bros contained a coin.

Angry Birds Epic (iOS/Android)

Some battles have Foreman Pig as an enemy, referred to as "Foreman" in the game. He sports a red cap, which highly resembles Mario's Cap and holds a pipe which strongly resembles a Warp Pipe, which also has a 1-Up Mushroom, a Mini Mushroom, and a Super Mushroom growing on it. Foreman Pig's mustache also helps him to further resemble Mario.
Chef Pig's role in this game is named "WizPig". His name is also similar to the villain of the same name in Diddy Kong Racing.

Angry Birds Friends (Web/iOS/Android)

The level from Angry Birds Friends.

The 2015 Retro Game tournament of Angry Birds Friends featured six levels, each designed after a vintage video game. In this respect, the second level of the tournament borrowed elements from levels World 1-1 and World 1-2 of the classic Super Mario Bros., such as boxes that acted exactly like Question Blocks, coins, a flagpole preceded by a block stairway, a fortress, and last - but not least - a double Warp Pipe.^[4]

LEGO series

LEGO City: Undercover (Wii U, Switch)

Due to this Lego game being published by Nintendo on the Wii U, the game has many Mario references.

Chase McCain, the game's protagonist, can build a Warp Pipe out of Lego bricks and enter it just like Mario, complete with the Super Mario Bros. sound effect. In the remaster, this was replaced with a Space Launcher.
Five ? Blocks appear. The player can jump up and hit them, producing the same sound effect as if a Coin had been collected (though nothing comes out of them aside from several Lego studs after they've been hit three times). In the remaster, the boxes were edited with a Rex Fury theme.
There is a parade with floats of stars, and one of them looks like a Super Star. In the remaster, the star remains but with the eyes removed.
Super Stars can be also built around the city, and when all five are built, the Pop Star character token is unlocked.
To unlock the fisherman, the player must fish at the Wharf, catching a Lego Cheep-Cheep.
Under one of the tunnels is an aquarium where another Cheep-Cheep can be seen. A shark will eventually come to eat the Cheep-Cheep, but will instead be eaten by a larger Cheep-Cheep.
There is a Lego Wiggler wandering back and forth over an ivy-covered tunnel entrance.
A buildable Bob-omb is used to break the cage containing the Chan Chuang token.
In an area of downtown, there are cannons that fire Lego Bullet Bills, which act like they did in Super Mario Galaxy.
A Large Lego version of Dry Bones can be built in the museum once Rex Fury has been unlocked. This was removed entirely in the remaster.
A Venus Fire Trap can be built behind the dojo in Bluebell National Park once the farmer costume is unlocked. It is hostile and will spit fireballs.
A Flagpole can be interacted with at the top of the castle in Fort Meadows. It does the exact same thing it does in New Super Mario Bros., complete with fireworks and the original sound effect.
One Red Brick enables Chase to wear Mario's hat. This was the only red brick not to make it into the remaster, including the Switch version.
In the "Miner Altercation" level, the player comes across an area with multiple ladders and boulders falling down ramps. As the player traverses the area, Chase remarks, "I hope there isn't a giant ape at the top of this thing!" This is a reference to Donkey Kong in his debut game.

In the multi-platform remaster of the game, all these references were replaced with non-Nintendo references due to copyright, but in an update for the Nintendo Switch version, these references were brought back.