Easter eggs in video games aren’t a new thing, but it’s rare to spot one decades after the event – but that’s what Twitter user Hitei he’s found in Super Mario 64.
There’s a picture in Peach’s castle which we’ll all have dashed past many, many times over the years, and Hitei thinks this image has been hiding a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Look at the image below and compare the stars at the top to the sequence of button presses needed to play the iconic Song of Storms in Ocarina of Time.
Now, this might seem like a bit of a stretch, especially when you consider that Super Mario 64 was a launch title for the N64 and Zelda didn’t come out until a while later, but we know that both were in development at the same time, as Zelda was shown off (in a rather different form) before the console hit the market.
Therefore, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the designers could have snuck in a reference to the song, as the music element of the game could have been locked down early in production. Alternatively, the reverse could be true, and the pattern for the song could be taken from the painting in Super Mario 64.
Of course, there’s also the chance that it could just be a massive coincidence, especially when you look at the small gap between the two sets of stars and the relatively basic nature of the pattern itself. We’ll let you decide, but if this does turn out to be a direct reference, then it’s surely a case of god-tier Easter egg placement by Nintendo.
Do you think this is a deliberate Easter egg? (735 votes)
- Yes
- No
- Not sure
Please login to vote in this poll.
[source twitter.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 88
Even if it's not a deliberate easter egg, it's at least a pretty cool coincidence. I choose to believe it's deliberate though!
Seems like a coincidence
52% disagree... The people have spoken!
I would absolutely love it if it was a deliberate Easter egg. Nintendo are fantastic at hiding Easter eggs.
I wonder if that picture was indeed a zelda reference that got left unfinished or partly removed, due to the game being released before zelda. It would make more sense that way.
That’s a stretch if I’ve ever seen one. If they were going to do that surely the spacing would at least be consistent and the rest of the picture would have a slight relevance to Zelda or the song in question.
... and if you turn your screen upside down and look very closely you can see Jesus in Mario's cap, too.
"Of course, there’s also the chance that it could just be a massive coincidence"
Yeah, really "massive". It's not even that similar. LOL.
Actually normal human psychology, things look similar so they get referenced as being "the same". They are not, though.
It’s most likely just a coincidence, but it’s a cool one.
I’ll do you one better; The texture of the stairs railing is a reference to Hexic on the Xbox 360.
Very slow news day
@Rodan2000 how so? It is the weekend after all.
Smart idea with the poll, y’all! This is cool if it’s real, and funny if it’s not.
Very, very cool coincidence!
Who would of guessed it would be a slow news day @Rodan2000 @antdickens only 48 hours after E3 ended? What nothing new to announce at the moment, come on game industry!
No, the only reason it's a repeating pattern in the painting is because they needed to do that to get all of their textures to fit in the limited memory.
Hmmm I think it is just a coincidence but it is Nintendo so who knows? They have some of the best Easter Eggs around.
@BacklogBlues I know right?! Not to mention that this article isn’t even tagged as news
That's too much of a stretch. And the stars aren't exactly aligned the same as they are on the musical staff. The bottom two stars should be closer together.
@antdickens c’mon!!! It’s a tenuous link
Doesn't seem that far fetched to me, similar development times and a picture that otherwise serves no purpose, I certainly think it could be a planted connection between the two games
@Morph there’s heaps of pictures hanging up in the game that serve no purpose if you’re looking for something functional from them. More likely than not it’s purpose is to be a decoration and break up a bland wall a bit.
If you put any three dots in a row at random heights, it's going to look like a song from Ocarina of Time.
@Smigit or its a link to Ocarina of Time
Nah! The second star should be closer to the first one. People see what they want to see.
Too different to really be an easter egg in my opinion. It's just a basic pattern in the stars. Nothing to see here.
@Galenmereth what you said.
@Morph Almost certainly not. As before, the stars don't match the pattern properly (both horizontal distances which aren't equal and vertical placements with the second star being low where it should be just below the third) and the clouds, colour and style of the picture have nothing to do with Zelda, including any pre release footage from the game.
All there is is three dots that only really link to the Zelda's three dots in that each successive one is higher than the other, but even that pattern has big differences. Nothing else in the image is relevant unless one stretches even further and wants to use the fact Zelda games have clouds in them is some sort of link also. Thematically the picture has more in common with a 2D Mario game or perhaps one of the pastel like Yoshi titles.
The “song of storms” also has no relevance to the painting or it’s placement.
So...
@antdickens I don't understand why people say slow news day for a article that is quite clearly a bit of fun. Thanks for the post
the awkward moment when mario jumps into that portrait and ends up jumping out of his own portrait that in hyrule castle
I'm going with coincidence, but that's still an interesting find.
If the "A" stars were different, I'd be more inclined to think it was an easter egg, but since all three stars are the same, I don't think so. Interesting coincidence though. I was always annoyed that painting didn't do anything.
@Smigit perhaps they don't align perfectly, it doesn't mean it isn't a nod to it though, for a game that was still in development at the time who knows what ideas make it into games that never get discovered or get discovered a long time after
Both sides of the "painting" are the same b/c the 64 has skin limitations. Coincidence. Cool Coincidence, though.
don't care much about this stuff. voted no of course
Let me put on my tin foil hat here... HMM NOPE I SEE NO EASTER EGG HERE
I'm skeptical. As others have said, the pattern repeats in the middle so the original texture is just three stars that happen to have an escalating pattern to them. The note placement is different than the song's, with the second star much higher than it should be. The first star should also be blue to match the A button. And lastly, the picture has nothing to do visually with Zelda or the Song of Storms. I really think this is just a coincidence.
The note placement looks more like the Song of Soaring (which also works better thematically since it's in the sky)! Cue next Easter Egg theory in 3...2...
http://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations
Lest we forget the "L is real" text on the star statue in the courtyard is the exact same text used in Dodongo's Cavern.
Just sayin'
Okay, first: so what if it's a repeating texture? It's a repeating melody!
And second: what do you mean, the picture has no connection? Song of storms? Clouds? Ladies and gentlemen, exhibit A.
This warrants further research. Extensive research.
Possible but I don't think so.
For me, it kind of felt like that image was an obscure reference to Yoshi's story, or at least some early development phase.
Looks like it's the same pattern just placed beside each other, but still cool
I get you, man. Weekends are usually slow for news.
100% coincidence.
Obviously just coincidence, back then references weren't anywhere near that subtle, such as Mario's picture in A Link to the Past. With no internet to share pictures and ideas what would have been the point?
Damn what a sourpusses. I really like things like this!
@garfreek I'm surprised how many nay sayers there are. How could people say no? This is a definite maybe.
@Smigit @Morph This should be under the maybe category since the third floor features the same picture for the background once you climb the stairs and enter the door. Not only that but there is an easter egg appearing in front of Mario when he walks in.
@carlos82 Adventure (on the 2600).
@Ichiyama exactly my point, if it was a reference they would have made it more obvious like that guy putting his name in the game
It was changed in the DS remake, making this seem even more unlikely. C'mon, guys.
Streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch
Of course it's real. Search "Hyrule castle Mario pictures ocarina " .
There are pictures of Mario, Luigi and Bowser in a window in ocarina. Can't believe it took this long to find it. Love it
@Anri02 look up Mario Luigi hidden pictures in ocarina.
@carlos82 for players with brains to notice. People did fairly well before this dang internet.
@boneyard look up "hidden Mario picture ocarina of Time"
@Wanjia definite Easter egg. There are hidden Luigi ,mario and Bowser pictures in ocarina Hyrule castle. They were in development at the same time, both supervised and produced by Miyamoto. And both are his IP babies
Not deliberate, I don't think. Interesting idea and not out of the question, however.
@Wanjia looks pretty blatant to me. On YouTube search "hidden Hyrule paintings".
That is... a stretch. I doubt they had even finalized the ocarina-playing mechanics at the time of Mario's release, or that this tune had been written. It does make me wonder about cut Mario 64 levels, though. I think I remember hearing somewhere that they had planned for several more stages. Please release an HD remake with new content, Nintendo... I would buy it in .001 ms as that is my favorite game of all time.
@Mikemario Ocarina of Time having a not-at-all subtle nod to Mario is in no way proof that this extremely subtle link that has a pattern that only vaguely resembles the Zelda one is an Easter egg for the Zelda release.
No ones disputing the Zelda reference to Mario. That doesn’t make the reverse true. If anything it works against this belief given how blatant the Reference in Zelda is compared to the Mario one. For two games sharing development they havent been consistent in this regard as one might reasonably expect.
@Mikemario yes we did perfectly fine before the internet and I think people are misinterpreting me, my point is any Easter eggs were far more obvious and usually full on pictures of the characters, not some vague representation of a button combination that the game has to teach you before you can use it anyway
@carlos82 it's fairly specific. They are not random . They are even in the time signature to some degree
@Smigit I feel like it is a totally reasonable assumption and a cute little Easter egg.
@Wanjia it's subtlety is it's strength I feel. 🖼️
easter egg I am sure
@Mikemario Ok, l did. Has nothing to do with this picture in Mario 64, so I don’t know why you had me do that.
another slow day at Nintendo Life...
I think if it were deliberate it would be both more accurate with the notes and be a stormy sky.
@Mikemario Yes. And?
I agree with Yosher. I choose to believe it's deliberate.
Confirmed with Nintendo...?
@Anri02 too hard to see a link there ? 😉
@Mikemario Yes, it is hard to see a link between a picture of Mario in Zelda, and a picture of a stars, that looks as though half the picture is repeating itself, and very vaguely looks like the button combination for song of storms. And I mean vaguely
@Anri02 ok, I disagree. I feel it is a strong connection. It would be infinitely improbable to be a random coincidence. Especially considering the relevant stars are yellow compared to the other white ones.
@PoorGeno astronomically improbable coincidence*
@Tyranexx what are the chances of this being a co-incidence really? One in million. ? Billion? Seriously you think it's more likely to be a random coincidence then a subtle painting Easter egg. Of which these development teams loved deploying. Ie Hyrule castle Mario pictures
@Mikemario While I would like to believe that it's deliberate, the release date of Super Mario 64 vs. that of OoT kind of works against it in my eyes. Plus, the spacing of the notes seems incorrect.
Most of the Easter Eggs that I know of occur after the game that they relate to. The only one off the top of my head that I can think of is the Strange Souvenir item in Pokemon X/Y. However, Game Freak was already well into the development of Pokemon Sun/Moon at that point, and the NPC who gives it to the player implies that it's for an unrevealed region.
I know what your saying about release dates. But there aren't really any rules just a designer or two thinking it would be fun. Also they were in co-development for at least 2 years before 64 was released. Ocarina was finalised within 8 months of m64 being released. You could also say that this release date disparity is a strong argument for the subtlety of the egg.
Not even a coincidence because it's not the same pattern.
As cool as it would be, I highly doubt this is true. It is neat to learn about more crazy theories though.
Stop trying too hard to see connections where there aren't any, just to justify publishing another clickbait-y article.
@Maxz That link you posted is absolutely brilliant and hilarious.
Thanks for the laughs. Two thumbs up.
Too many people drinking the Zelda Cool Aid here. There is no similarity, and it's pure coincidence. If you approach this with logic instead of with wishful thinking, then there's just too many things that don't add up.
Probably coincidence, but a very cool coincidence.
I'm not sure about this one. It could go either way. In all liklihood, the answer is no, its just coincidence given the timing of the games, though, at the time, Miyamoto was still running the show simultaneously on both games, Aonuma didn't have full control of the team yet and was still new, so certainly he could have been thinking of this. It would be a very Nintendo thing to do, but not a very Miyamoto thing to do. It's possible, but probably just a side effect of texture wrapping.
Enjoyed the article and the comments. Someone call Mulder and Scully to investigate this phenomenon!
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