Jay Pavlina recently released a sensation of a video game, a remix called Super Mario Bros. Crossover that allows gamers to play Super Mario Bros. as the heroes of Mega Man, Metroid and Castlevania. Other legends almost made it in.
From a GameXplain interview with Pavlina about the making of the game
GameXplain: Mario, Mega Man, Simon, Samus, Bill, and Link—that's a fantastic selection of characters, but were there any others you were considering adding? Were any cut for time or developmental reasons?
Pavlina: Yes, originally there were nine characters, and I'd really like to get these characters in at some point if possible. The other three characters were going to be Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden, Luigi, and the SOPHIA battle tank from Blaster Master. I also considered the guy from Bionic Commando. Most of the characters got cut due to time, but Luigi got cut due to a different decision. Originally, the game was going to have a story where Mario got captured, so Luigi recruited his friends from other videogame worlds to help get Mario back. But I decided not to worry about the story and just focus on making the gameplay awesome.
Play the game as is, at Newgrounds. Dream of what it could have been.
Super Mario Bros. Crossover Xplained: An Interview with the Creator [GameXplain]