Since 2001, Nintendo's relaxing life-sim Animal Crossing has become known for many things. Among pioneering real-time day/night cycles in games, the series has introduced fans to a variety of lovable animal villagers, clothing and style options, and customization galore. Additionally, the series has amassed an incredible collection of different furniture items in the last 20 years, allowing players to buy and sell furniture, amass their own collections, and place items around their homes. Now, Animal Crossing's wide collection of furniture ranges from sets based on real-life Rococo period European art, to sets of furniture based on other Nintendo games like Mario.

With each new Animal Crossing game, many more pieces of furniture are added to the series. However, it goes without saying that some pieces of furniture have been removed in more recent games, particularly in Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch. Fans were disappointed to see a lack of Nintendo and Mario-themed items in the game, especially since Animal Crossing: New Leaf included the widest range of Nintendo furniture since the first entry in the series. That being said, a recently announced update for New Horizons will bring new content based on everyone's favorite plumber, Mario.

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As announced in September's Super Mario 35th Anniversary Direct, Super Mario-themed furniture will be making its way to the game in March. Further, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' most recent update video included a nod to the Mario-themed update, though did not specifying whether it included more than furniture, like clothing items for example. And even though Nintendo hasn't revealed all that will come along with the Mario-themed update, looking at past Animal Crossing games may show fans what they can expect next month.

In the original Animal Crossing game, fans could unlock pieces of furniture from the Mario Theme by telling the notorious Tom Nook certain secret codes that were published in the now-discontinued Nintendo Power magazine. These items included a wallpaper based on the background from the original Super Mario Bros. game, a flooring based on the series' classic Block pattern, as well as other miscellaneous pieces of furniture based on the "?" Block, Koopa Shell, Super Mushroom, and more.

Furniture from the Mario Theme in Animal Crossing: Wild World could be downloaded by players at Nintendo DS Download Stations or via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Wild World took a more 8-bit approach to some of the items; blocky, pixelated versions of Super Mario Bros.' iconic Coin, Fire Flower, and Bullet Bill Cannon, while adding the Fire Bar and 1-Up Mushroom to the collection. Animal Crossing: City Folk was the first game in the series that didn't require players to enter a code or download the items from the Mario Theme, instead allowing players to use their slingshot to pop balloons containing the furniture.

In City Folk, the Super Mario-themed furniture took Wild World's 8-bit approach a step further by making every item in the furniture set 8-bit shaped. However, Animal Crossing: New Leaf's Mario Theme smoothed out the furniture set to make the items appear how they might look in a more current Mario game like Super Mario 3D World. New Leaf also did away with secret codes and downloadable gifts, as players could find furniture from the Mario Theme in the game's Fortune Cookies.

Finally, although Animal Crossing: New Leaf is New Horizons' predecessor, it's worth noting that the Mario Theme also appeared as part of a Super Mario crossover event in the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp mobile game. Items appeared as they did in New Leaf, so some fans argue that Nintendo will simply bring the items as they appeared in Pocket Camp over to New Horizons. However, since the Super Mario event in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is meant to celebrate Mario's 35th anniversary, other fans think that the Mario Theme will appear in a more retro style as it did in Animal Crossing: City Folk.

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Of course, it's likely that Animal Crossing: New Horizons could bring players entirely new Super Mario-themed furniture in order to shake things up. For example, new furniture based on Super Mario Odyssey's Moons, or Super Mario 3D World's Super Bell seem plausible. Fans have also speculated how exactly they'll be able to get furniture from the Mario Theme in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Of course, one of the simplest ways would be to obtain the items by popping balloons in the sky, as many of the game's seasonal items appear as DIY recipes. It's unclear whether the Mario Theme will come as a pre-made furniture set, or in the form of DIY recipes, given New Horizons' huge emphasis on the new mechanic.

Although Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's crafting system functions differently compared to New Horizons, it could serve as a base for how crafting the Mario Theme could work. By using Bells and new Super Mushroom, 1-Up Mushroom, and Mega Mushroom items, Pocket Camp players could craft every item from the Mario Theme, including clothing.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons could adapt this by making the Mario Theme work similarly to Bunny Day items. Fans could obtain DIY recipes for Super Mario-themed furniture items from balloons or talking to villagers, and then find Mushrooms, 1-Up Mushrooms, and Mega Mushrooms scattered all over their island, finally using a combination of the items along with other materials to craft the Mario-themed furniture.

Although the Super Mario 35th Anniversary Direct specifically mentioned that Super Mario-themed furniture would come to New Horizons in March, the most recent nod to the event didn't elaborate on what's coming. While this could mean Nintendo simply doesn't have much to mention to fans, it could also mean that they plan on adding some extra surprises in addition to just Mario-themed furniture. That could mean adding old clothing items like the Mario, Luigi, and Toad Hats, among other surprises. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp also included Mario and Luigi t-shirts, Peach's Crown and Dress, and Wario's Hat and "'Stache."

It's possible that the new Mario items could include items from previous games' Nintendo sets, such as the Banana, Triple Red Shells, and Kart furniture pieces based on the Mario Kart series. And while it may seem like a long shot, there is also the possibility that Animal Crossing: New Horizons could bring back a fully-playable version of the first Super Mario Bros. game on the NES, as it appeared in the original Animal Crossing game. However, for the time being, fans really don't know what exactly to expect from the collaboration event. Regardless, if it lives up to the rest of Mario's 35th anniversary celebrations, the new event is likely to surprise fans come March.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out now for Nintendo Switch.

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