Our long Mario Party drought is over! The last game in Nintendo’sMario Party series, Mario Party 8, was released in 2007. And the latest entry, Mario Party 9was revealed today at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles.

The Wii game currently doesn’t have a release date, and it’s unclear whether Nintendo’s Nd Cube, which developed Wii Party, will be crafting the game or not.

(Source: Kotaku)

During a developer roundtable at E3 2011, Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of such classic Nintendo franchises as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda), showed off a few stages of Super Mario 3DS that were not available to demo on the show floor. In the middle of the demonstration, we were all a little puzzled when he began to talk about Zelda’s 25th anniversary. But soon it became very clear as to the cause of this sudden shift in subject. 

In honor of this Zelda milestone, it was revealed to us that a special level dedicated to the franchise has been included in Mario 3DS. Naturally, this level is from a top-down perspective, and features a floor pattern straight out of A Link to the Past. You’ll also see a few other throwbacks a well, such as moving spikes and torches that Mario must light using a fire flower power-up. When the torches are lit, the classic puzzle-solving music plays as your way forward is unlocked. 

The top-down perspective also allows for some cool moments using the Nintendo portable’s 3D effect. Down pound a music note box and Mario will be propelled forward, straight toward the player’s face. There are also pillars of flame that come towards the player and should look amazing as they pop out of the screen in 3D. 

Of course, this isn’t the first time Mario Easter eggs have found their way into a Zelda game. The most notable occurrence is in Link’s Awakening (which is now available for purchase on the 3DS via the Nintendo e-shop), which features goombas and koopas in a handful of side-scrolling areas included in the game. There is also a chain chomp that Link befriends and uses to gobble up enemies. And, of course, there are the Mario character portraits that can be seen through the windows in the castle courtyard in the original Ocarina of Time. 

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Zelda fan, and I can assure you that this Mario 3DS level is a fitting homage to Miyamoto-san’s other love child. It seamlessly blends the two worlds together. What’s exciting is that there’s even more to this level than was shown. There was a certain area that was purposefully avoided because Miyamoto-san declared that, “What’s in there… is a secret.” I can only assume a Zelda-themed mini-boss or some other surprise throwback lies beyond that door, but I guess we’ll all just have to wait until Super Mario 3DS releases later this year.