4. Falco in Star Fox Adventures
This one should be a given. In the second and final Star Fox game by Rare, the band was missing one key component: Falco. He was absent in Star Fox Adventures right up until the final boss battle with Andross. Sporting a bad boy look, the blue bird arrived just in time to help Fox defeat Andross and send the Star Fox team home happy by providing bombs and chatter.
This late appearance really made the game feel like something out of a film or TV series where a core character from the past makes a last minute return. Andross’ unexpected reveal was also a surprise but it was nowhere near as stylish as Falco’s. His return to the Great Fox is met with a hint of anger by Fox, but after Slippy chimes in all is well and the band is back together.
Star Fox … I miss you … you were so cool … Retro, please tell me that’s what you have been working on with such fervor….
Maybe not quite a cameo, but I loved seeing E Gadd’s inventions play a role in Super Mario Sunshine. At one point, Bowser Junior refers to him as “the strange old man with the white coat”. Plus, FLUDD kinda sounds like the ole professor.