This is a list of every movie, show, and special every Smash character has appeared in to date. For a detailed list of what isn't counted and why, see here.
* The character in question is not an official character (only being a costume for a character), but is still acknowledged separately due to them being complete remodels and/or the fact that the narrator announces them separately.
Movies
Released
 Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! |
7/20/1986 | Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Piranha Plant | First appearance of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Piranha Plant. |
 Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf |
12/23/1992 | Terry | First appearance of Terry. |
| Super Mario Bros. |
5/28/1993 | Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Yoshi, Daisy, Iggy* | First appearance of Yoshi, Daisy, and Iggy. |
| Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle |
7/31/1993 | Terry | |
| Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture |
7/16/1994 | Terry | |
 Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie |
8/8/1994 | Ryu, Ken | First appearance of Ryu and Ken. |
| Street Fighter |
12/23/1994 | Ryu, Ken | |
 Sonic the Hedgehog |
1/26/1996 | Sonic | First appearance of Sonic. |
 Pokémon: The First Movie |
7/18/1998 | Pikachu, Mewtwo, Charizard, Squirtle | First appearance of Pikachu, Mewtwo, Charizard, and Squirtle. |
| Pokémon the Movie 2000: The Power of One |
7/17/1999 | Pikachu, Charizard, Squirtle, Ivysaur | First appearance of Ivysaur. |
| Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation |
4/26/2000 | Ryu, Ken | |
| Pokémon 3: The Movie - Spell of the Unown: Entei |
7/8/2000 | Pikachu, Charizard | |
| Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns |
12/30/2000 | Pikachu, Mewtwo, Charizard, Squirtle | |
| Pokémon 4Ever - Celebi: Voice of the Forest |
7/7/2001 | Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Pichu | First appearance of Jigglypuff and Pichu. |
| The Legend of Thunder! |
12/30/2001 | Jigglypuff | |
| Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias |
7/13/2002 | Pikachu, Jigglypuff | |
| Pokémon: Jirachi: Wish Maker |
7/19/2003 | Pikachu, Mewtwo | |
 Fright to the Finish |
9/27/2003 | Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight | First appearance of Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight. |
| Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys |
7/17/2004 | Pikachu, Mewtwo, Jigglypuff, Ivysaur, Charizard | |
| Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew |
7/16/2005 | Pikachu, Lucario, Squirtle, Charizard, Pichu | First appearance of Lucario. |
 Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children |
9/14/2005 | Cloud | First appearance of Cloud. |
| Street Fighter Alpha: Generations |
10/25/2005 | Ryu, Ken | |
| The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon |
4/6/2006 | Pikachu, Mewtwo | |
| Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea |
7/15/2006 | Pikachu, Squirtle, Jigglypuff | |
 Doubutsu no Mori |
12/16/2006 | Villager | First appearance for Villager; Two Villagers are featured, a female Villager named Ai and a male Villager named Yu. |
| Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai |
7/14/2007 | Pikachu, Lucario, Mewtwo | |
| Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior |
7/19/2008 | Pikachu, Pichu | |
| Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind |
2/20/2009 | Ryu, Ken | |
| Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete |
4/16/2009 | Cloud | |
| Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life |
7/18/2009 | Pikachu, Spiky-eared Pichu* | First appearance for Spiky-eared Pichu. |
| Pokémon—Zoroark: Master of Illusions |
7/10/2010 | Pikachu | |
| The King of Fighters |
8/31/2010 | Terry | |
| Pokémon the Movie: Black—Victini and Reshiram Pokémon the Movie: White—Victini and Zekrom |
7/16/2011 | Pikachu | |
| Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice |
7/14/2012 | Pikachu, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Pichu, Lucario | |
 Wreck-It Ralph |
10/29/2012 | Pac-Man, Bowser, Sonic, Ryu, Ken | First appearance for Pac-Man. |
| Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened |
7/13/2013 | Pikachu, Mewtwo, Charizard | |
 Bayonetta: Bloody Fate |
11/23/2013 | Bayonetta | First appearance for Bayonetta. |
| Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist |
5/13/2014 | Ryu, Ken | |
| Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction |
7/19/2014 | Pikachu, Greninja, Charizard, Mewtwo | First appearance for Greninja. |
| Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages |
7/18/2015 | Pikachu, Pikachu Libre* | First appearance for Pikachu Libre. |
| Pixels |
7/24/2015 | Mario, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Duck Hunt | First appearance for Duck Hunt. |
| Street Fighter: Resurrection |
3/15/2016 | Ryu, Ken | |
| Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel |
7/16/2016 | Pikachu, Greninja, Lucario, Charizard | |
| Kamen Raida Heisei Jenereshonzu: Dokuta Pakkuman tai Eguzeido ando Gosuto wizu Rejendo Raida |
12/10/2016 | Pac-Man | |
| Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! |
7/15/2017 | Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Jigglypuff, Pichu, Incineroar | First appearance for Incineroar. |
| Ready Player One |
3/29/2018 | Ryu, Sonic | |
| Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us |
7/13/2018 | Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle | |
| Ralph Breaks the Internet |
11/21/2018 | Sonic, Ryu, Ken, Pac-Man | |
| Pokémon: Detective Pikachu |
5/3/2019 | Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Charizard, Greninja | |
| Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution |
7/4/2019 | Pikachu, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Charizard | |
| Sonic the Hedgehog |
2/14/2020 | Sonic |
Announced
| Pokémon the Movie: Coco |
12/25/2020 | Pikachu | |
| The Lego Batman Movie 2 |
2/4/2022 | TBD | |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
4/8/2022 | Sonic | |
| The King of Fighters: Awaken |
2022 | TBD | Remove if Terry doesn't show up. |
| Super Mario Bros. |
2022 | Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser | |
 Metal Gear Solid |
TBD | Snake | First appearance for Snake. |
 Untitled Minecraft movie |
TBD | TBD | Steve, Alex, Zombie, and Enderman are all highly likely to appear, but no official confirmation has been released. |
 Mega Man |
TBD | Mega Man | First appearance for Mega Man. |
| Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 |
TBD | Pikachu | |
| Untitled Funko movie |
TBD | TBD |
Canceled Movies
| Super Mario Bros. 2 |
N/A | Mario, Luigi, Daisy | While not outright confirmed at the time, a sequel was hinted at the end of the first movie, but would've been ultimately dropped due to the critical failure of the first movie. In 2013, a sequel was indeed confirmed planned, surviving through a webcomic written by Steven Applebaum and Ryan Hoss and illustrated by Eryk Donovan, titled "Super Mario Bros. 2". The film's surviving original writer, Parker Bennett, helped outline the webcomic's storyline, making it canonical to the film and finally revealing what could have been a sequel film. |
 The Legend of Zelda |
Canceled by 2007 | Link, Zelda | Would've been the first appearance for Link and Zelda. In 2007, Imagi Animation Studios, who provided the animation for TMNT and Astro Boy, created a pitch reel for a computer-animated Legend of Zelda movie, though Nintendo didn't take the studio up on their offer due to the failure of Super Mario Bros. |
 Metroid |
Canceled by 2007 | Samus, Ridley | Would've been the first appearance for Samus and Ridley. The movie was first agreed upon in 2003 with Nintendo being on board, but was canceled sometime in 2007 due to Nintendo not having a good grasp of Samus' origin at the time, and didn't feel comfortable with the production team being in charge of it due to the commercial flop of Super Mario Bros. |
 Pac-Man |
Canceled by 2008 | Pac-Man | Would've been the first appearance for Pac-Man. In 2008, a film adaptation of Pac-Man was announced to be developed by Crystal Sky. However, nothing has been reported since, and it was likely quietly canceled. |
 Castlevania |
Canceled by 2009 | Simon | Would've been the first appearance for Simon. In 2005, the rights to make a live action adaptation were acquired by Crystal Sky Pictures. However, due to a series of issues surrounding the studio, the film was ultimately canceled. |
Fan films
Fan films are under a different set of rules: They must be well-known enough to be noticed by the original creators. If a fan film does not meet this requirement, it will not be added to this list, strike some exceptions. Additionally, all characters in this category will not follow under the "first appearance" habit, nor will any of them be removed from the "Unannounced" section if they appear here.
| The Legend of Zelda |
4/1/2008 | Link, Zelda, Ganondorf | An elaborate April Fools prank by IGN, they released a trailer for a movie based on the franchise. Due to its high quality and the higher difficulty to validate information at the time, many fans were fooled, believing the movie was real. On April 2nd, they revealed it was a prank, sparking outrage. |
| Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy |
9/27/2009 | Snake | |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Hero of Time |
12/14/2009 | Link, Zelda, Sheik, Ganondorf | Based on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the film takes many deviations to the point where the only things similar are the main characters and story. |
| Pokémon Apokélypse |
9/20/2010 | Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Mewtwo | While not mentioned by Nintendo, the fact that this trailer took the internet by storm and became a popular subject in the Pokémon community for quite a while is enough to warrant a mention of this. |
| Sonic |
1/10/2013 | Sonic | While not mentioned by Sega, this film did notably return the inclusion of Jaleel White as Sonic, reprising the role from the multitude of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons from the 90s. |
| Metroid: The Sky Calls |
11/2/2015 | Samus, Zero Suit Samus | While not mentioned by Nintendo, this was made by the same studio who made the aforementioned IGN Zelda trailer. |
TV Shows/Webseries
Released
| Pac-Man |
9/25/1982-11/5/1983 | Pac-Man | First appearance for Pac-Man. |
| Saturday Supercade |
9/17/1983-8/24/1985 | Mario, Donkey Kong | First appearance for Mario and Donkey Kong. |
| King Koopa's Kool Kartoons |
~1989 | Bowser | Bowser is named Koopa. |
| The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! |
9/4/1989-12/1/1989 | Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Piranha Plant | First appearance for Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and Piranha Plant. Peach and Bowser are named Princess Toadstool and King Koopa. |
| The Legend of Zelda |
9/8/1989-12/1/1989 | Link, Zelda | First appearance for Link and Zelda. |
| Captain N: The Game Master |
9/9/1989-10/26/1991 | Pit, Mega Man, Simon, Ridley, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Link | First appearance for Pit, Simon, Ridley, and Mega Man. Pit is named Kid Icarus. Ridley isn't given a name in the series, but official behind the scenes materials reveal who the character is intended to be. |
| The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 |
9/8/1990-12/1/1990 | Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Piranha Plant, Larry*, Roy*, Wendy*, Iggy*, Morton*, Lemmy*, Ludwig* | First appearance for the Koopalings. Peach and Bowser are named Princess Toadstool and King Koopa; The Koopalings are named Cheatsy (Larry), Bully (Roy), Kootie Pie (Wendy), Hop (Iggy), Big Mouth (Morton), Hip (Lemmy), and Kooky (Ludwig). |
| The Super Mario Challenge |
9/??/1991-12/20/1991 | Mario | |
| Super Mario World |
9/14/1991-7/25/1992 | Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, Piranha Plant, Larry*, Roy*, Wendy*, Iggy*, Morton*, Lemmy*, Ludwig* | First appearance for Yoshi. Peach and Bowser are named Princess Toadstool and King Koopa; The Koopalings are named Cheatsy (Larry), Bully (Roy), Kootie Pie (Wendy), Hop (Iggy), Big Mouth (Morton), Hip (Lemmy), and Kooky (Ludwig). |
| Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog |
9/6/1993-12/4/1993 | Sonic | First appearance for Sonic. |
| Sonic the Hedgehog |
9/18/1993-12/3/1994 | Sonic | |
| Mega Man |
9/11/1994-12/10/1995 | Mega Man | |
| Street Fighter II V |
4/10/1995-11/27/1995 | Ryu, Ken | First appearance for Ryu and Ken. |
| Street Fighter |
10/21/1995-5/14/1997 | Ryu, Ken | |
 Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem |
1/26/1996-4/26/1996 | Marth | First appearance for Marth, mistakenly translated to "Mars" in the English dub. |
 Donkey Kong Country |
9/4/1996-7/7/2000 | Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, King K. Rool | First appearance for Diddy Kong and King K. Rool. |
| Pokémon Pokémon Chronicles |
4/1/1997-Present | Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Pichu, Lucario, Greninja, Incineroar, Pikachu Libre*, Spiky-eared Pichu* | First appearance for all Pokémon fighters. |
| Sonic Underground |
1/6/1999-5/23/1999 | Sonic | |
| Kirby: Right Back at Ya! |
10/6/2001-9/27/2003 | Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight | First appearance for Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight. |
| Sonic X |
4/6/2003-3/28/2004 | Sonic | |
 F-Zero: GP Legend |
10/7/2003-9/28/2004 | Captain Falcon | First appearance for Captain Falcon. |
| The King of Fighters: Another Day |
12/2/2005-3/3/2006 | Terry | First appearance for Terry. |
| Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures |
6/15/2013-5/29/2015 | Pac-Man | |
| Pokémon Origins |
10/2/2013-11/22/2013 | Pokémon Trainer, Charizard, Squirtle, Mewtwo, Pikachu, Ivysaur, Jigglypuff | First appearance for Pokémon Trainer; Named Red in this. |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Misadventures of Link |
11/1/2013-1/6/2014 | Toon Link | First appearance for Toon Link. |
| The Cat Mario Show |
2/26/2014-Present | Mario, Peach | |
| Sonic Boom |
11/8/2014-11/18/2017 | Sonic | |
| OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes |
2/4/2016-9/6/2019 | Sonic | |
| The Play Nintendo Show |
6/30/2016-Present | Piranha Plant | |
| Pokémon Generations |
9/16/2016-12/23/2016 | Pikachu, Pokémon Trainer, Charizard | |
| Digimon Universe: App Monsters |
10/1/2016-9/30/2017 | Marth | As far as research goes this cameo has not been confirmed to be Marth, but his uncanny resemblance especially compared to other video game characters present in the episode he cameos in warrants a mention of this appearance. |
| The King of Fighters: Destiny |
8/3/2017-1/8/2018 | Terry | |
 Splatoon |
8/11/2017 | Inkling | First appearance for Inklings. |
| Sonic Mania Adventures |
3/30/2018-12/20/2018 | Sonic | |
 Persona 5: The Animation |
4/8/2018-9/30/2018 | Joker | First appearance for Joker. |
| Mega Man: Fully Charged |
8/5/2018-5/23/2019 | Mega Man | |
| Team Sonic Racing: Overdrive |
3/16/2019-4/25/2019 | Sonic | |
| Pokémon: Twilight Wings |
1/15/2020-8/6/2020 | Pikachu, Charizard |
Announced
| Untitled Final Fantasy series |
TBD | TBD | |
| Street Fighter: World Warrior |
TBD | Ryu, Ken |
Unaired Episodes
| Shaking Island Battle! Dojoach VS Namazun!! |
Was scheduled to air 11/4/2004 | Pikachu | This episode was skipped due to the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake, which occurred a week before the first airing of the prior episode. Likely due to the usage of Earthquake within the episode, it was considered poor taste to air it and moves such as Earthquake, Fissure, and Magnitude have not been used in the anime since. |
| Rocket-dan VS Plasma-dan! (Part 1) |
Was scheduled to air 3/17/2011 | Pikachu | These episodes were indefinitely delayed after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that was subsequently caused by the event. Reports from TV Tokyo stated that they would someday air, but ultimately never did, and they were eventually written out of the anime's continuity. |
| Rocket-dan VS Plasma-dan! (Part 2) |
Was scheduled to air 3/24/2011 | Pikachu |
Specials
Formerly called "movie shorts", specials are in a separate category of their own, as a special could be released in a wide variety of ways in varying lengths, making classifying them as either television or movie incorrect. Specials no longer count for a debut on either side, but will still be listed anyway.
Live Performances
| Mario Ice Capades |
12/7/1989 | Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser | Bowser and Peach are named King Koopa and Princess Toadstool. |
| Pokémon Live! |
11/2/2000-4/7/2002 | Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo | |
| Persona 5 The Stage |
12/13/2019-12/29/2019 | Joker |
Mii costume appearances
As of 9.0.0 in Ultimate, six special Mii costumes are in the game. Unlike other costumes, they are full remodels. Not explicitly characters, but it feels appropriate to give them and their escapades a mention.
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Characters that have yet to appear in movies
Announced
| Metal Gear
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| Mega Man
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Unannounced
| Mario
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| Donkey Kong
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| Zelda
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| Metroid
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 Star Fox
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| Pokémon
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| F-Zero
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 EarthBound/Mother
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 Ice Climber
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| Fire Emblem
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 Game & Watch
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 Kid Icarus
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 Pikmin
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 R.O.B.
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| Animal Crossing
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 Punch-Out!!
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 Wii Fit
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 Xenoblade
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 Super Smash Bros.
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| Splatoon
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| Castlevania
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| Persona
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 Dragon Quest
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 Banjo-Kazooie
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 ARMS
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| Minecraft
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Characters that have yet to appear in TV shows
Unannounced
| Mario
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| Zelda
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| Metroid
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| Star Fox
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| Pokémon
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| EarthBound/Mother
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| Ice Climber
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| Fire Emblem
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| Game & Watch
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| Kid Icarus
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 Wario
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| Pikmin
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| R.O.B.
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| Metal Gear
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| Animal Crossing
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| Punch-Out!!
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| Wii Fit
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| Xenoblade
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 Duck Hunt
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| Final Fantasy
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| Bayonetta
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| Super Smash Bros.
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| Castlevania
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| Dragon Quest
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| Banjo-Kazooie
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| ARMS
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| Minecraft
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Missing/Unsourced information
An easier to read list containing information I know is missing, as well as claims I have yet to find the validity of. If you happen to discover anything, please let me know on this talk page or on Discord.
| Ready Player One | Unsourced claims of the following character cameos: Bayonetta, Cloud, Ganondorf, Link, Zelda, Ike, Marth, Mega Man, and Samus |
| King Koopa's Kool Kartoons | Missing an exact air date from beginning to end |
| The Super Mario Challenge | Exact pilot air date is missing |
| Mega Man: Upon a Star | Exact release dates missing |
| Street Fighter IV: Aftermath | |
| Sonic the Animation | Release date missing |
| Sonic - Super Hedgehog | |
| Street Fighter II RIDE | |
| Street Fighter II: Yomigaeru Fujiwara-kyō | |
| Super Mario no Shobotai | |
| Super Mario no Koutsuu Anzen | |
| Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Boken Land | |
| Mario Kirby Meisaku Video |