fictionalcrossover

For the full list of series on this wiki, see: Category:Series

A fictional series (or just "series" for short) is media that collects shared fictional characters, settings, and/or overarching narratives.

What is considered a fictional series?

On this wiki, we try to create a web of connections between fictional series, so only series that are already connected to other series already are featured on the wiki. The starting point of this net has been arbitrarily decided to be the Mario series.

Any and all mediums portraying fictional media are considered with equal importance, including literature, film, television, games, web franchises, etc. Singular pieces of media that never had sequels, adaptations, or successors are still considered series.

Any series is eligible to be considered a series on this wiki despite it's copyright status. For a series with no copyright to be eligible for documentation on this wiki, that series MUST have explicit authorization from both series creator(s) for it's crossover.

Fictional media that falls into public domain are eligible for this wiki, but only links to those series that were formed before the expiration of their copyright are allowed due to their officiality. Sometimes after the copyright for a series expires, new copyrighted works that are based on them are created, due to anyone being able to use these characters and other elements. If those series are eligible for the wiki, they are treated as their own separate series independent of the work they are based on, and are not considered links whatsoever to they're based on due to their unofficial and unlicensed nature.

Fictional media that is based on non-fiction (flight simulation games, sports games, etc.) are still considered fictional series. While they do contain real-life elements, they portray new fictional events. For example, through gameplay; the players' games don't follow real-life events. Any fictional story based on real events with original characters, or a series about real people going through fictional events are valid.

Entirely cancelled projects are eligible to be considered series on this wiki only if they do not resurface in any shape or form. The links to these types of series are identified with a strikethrough. Sometimes, original characters or elements from cancelled projects can resurface through officially released media, so in those cases the character or element should NOT be considered original to a cancelled project and should instead only be associated with their officially released debut.

What is NOT considered a fictional series?

Any media that portrays real-world elements with a significant lack of original narrative elements. This usually includes biographies, broadcasts, documentaries, talk shows, software, reviews, etc. While these aren't considered fictional series, a direct link between two fictional series can still happen in a piece of non-fiction media. These are noted on summary link pages and are classified as "non-series media".

Media that directly uses copyrighted elements unauthorized by their original creators are not eligible for mention on this wiki, including fan-made media like fanfictions and fan-games. They will only be allowed if they are given acknowledgement and approval by it's original creator/copyright holder. Media based on an existing series that instead uses original characters are allowed, but the original elements must be able to be linked to a copyrighted series through type 1 links to be considered notable.

This includes fictional characters and mascots that are based on or around personalities (for example, band members, YouTubers, Twitch streamers, VTubers, idols, brand mascots, etc.). These characters must star in their own fictional media to be included as a series on this wiki. Sometimes, these characters or mascots start out as ineligible to be considered a series, but then evolve and branch out into fictional media. In this case, the links featuring these fictional characters will be added retroactively. Otherwise, if a mascot without a series helps connect two series together, they are given their own mascot page, a type of summary link page.

This includes things such as themes or creators. For example, something that wouldn't be allowed is the "Disney-Pixar" series, the "Quentin Tarantino" series, the "Vampire romance" series, etc. This also includes certain works that have similar elements in their titles. For example, most video games created with author Tom Clancy's contribution have his name in the title, such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, but we don't consider them the "Tom Clancy's" series, since that part of the title simply identifies the author, not the content of the work. Works like the Tony Hawk's series are considered series because they share the same universe, continuity, and general naming scheme.

What media is considered part of a series?

Media produced by the company that owns the series can be considered part of that series, and works created by other companies with an official license. This means that even if a work is created by the original creators of a series, it's not considered official if they don't legally own the series and don't have an official license from the owners.

The media must provide, extend, or depict aspects or chapters of a shared overarching narrative. The full list of media in the same series can usually be found on their individual wikis/wikipedia pages.

Non-fictional media in a fictional series, such as strategy guides, and other general merchandise is usually ignored on series pages.

Types of series

Besides normal series, here are other types of series notable for this wiki:

Main article: Sub-Series

A fictional series that is entirely included in another series is called a sub-series.

Main article: Spin-Off

A spin-off is a series that uses significant elements from one series to make them it's own.

A crossover series is a series of works that are created purposely created to merge elements from two or more series. For example Super Smash Bros. is a crossover series, since it features elements from many different series as the central point of the games.

Series only featuring occasional cameos or crossovers not considered crossover series.

A crossover series that are created specifically to merge elements from series that were, are, or would later be in the public domain are considered public domain crossover series. References to the public domain are ignored on this wiki, however these series usually consist of original elements or an original narrative.

Sometimes, there are pieces of media that are compilations consisting of multiple series. For example, Sega Genesis Collection is a video game consisting of multiple Sega Genesis video games, with no story or narrative linking them together. These are considered their own compilation series. Series included in compilations create a Type 2 link between the included work's series and the compilation's series, since those works are considered fictional within the compilation series, even if it has no universe on its own.

There are also cases of compilation series that have proper fictional universes. For example, it could feature a "host" character, or fictional setting where the included works are shown or any other fictional element existing outside of their universe and in the compilation series universe. For example, Game & Watch Gallery features Mario as a host and some original places such as a museum and a music room outside the included games. These would be considered type 1 links to the compilation series.

Series title

The title of a series is important, making it possible to identify a series as a whole. A series title is allowed to change if newer releases cause it to be updated.

If a series has an official title, this will always be the title of the series. This especially applies to literature, since most times novels in the same series don't share the title, and the series is identified by an official name chosen by the author.

For example, after the release of The Legend of Zelda, they released a sequel titled Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and then multiple games afterwards contained the title The Legend of Zelda. The shared most common title in this franchise is The Legend of Zelda, so that is the name of the series that contains all of these games.

Another example is the Mario series. The first few releases were called Mario Bros. (Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, etc.), then starting with Super Mario Land some games were released excluding "Bros." in their title since they didn't star Mario's brother Luigi, so the series name was changed to "Mario".

Sometimes, some works are intended to be a part of the same series, but don't feature shared titles, for whatever reason. In those cases the series is named after a shared, important linking element of the series itself. This can often be the protagonist of the series. For example, games created by the company Ultimate Play the Game star the character "Sabreman", and all feature different titles (Sabre Wulf, Underwurlde, Knight Lore and Pentagram). Since they all tell a single and undoubtedly continuous story, they are identified as a single series named after their protagonist, Sabreman.

In the case of a series consisting of one singular release, the series title is title of the release itself. If that singular release features a subtitle, the title of the series is only considered the main title, unless the title shares the exact same name as another series, then the subtitle will be used.

In the case of a series known by different names in different countries, usually the American English title is used. However, sometimes the original name is the most popular one used around the world, so that one will be used for the wiki. In the case of all regions using different titles, we use the original one. The most notable cases will be noted it's page, and it should be written why a certain title was chosen out of the possible ones.

In case of series sharing names, identification will be added in parenthesis after the series name. For example, the series of games by Rare titled "Killer Instinct" shares the name with a TV series by Fox, so on this wiki they are titled Killer Instinct (Rare) and Killer Instinct (Fox). This also applies to series that share names not yet on the wiki, like ones with simple words, since these series may have other series that include those words in their title. For example, the series of Nintendo games titled "Golf" is identified as Golf (Nintendo).

The identification words should feature the company that holds the copyright, the publisher, the developer, or the original creator. While some websites such as Wikipedia usually use the medium (the examples for the above series would be "Killer Instinct (video game series)", "Killer Instinct (TV series)" and "Golf (video game series)"), it is more accurate for this wiki to use the owner of the series, since most series that could share the same name could also share the same medium, or have the potential to do so later on.

In appropriate cases, the series name itself could be expanded using the creators' name without parenthesis. For example, the copyrighted series of works by Disney about the public domain character Peter Pan, is called Disney's Peter Pan to distinguish it from other works about the same character.

Series page formatting

The main priority of a series page is to show the interactions between other universes, and not talking about any specific series too in-depth.

The series logo will always appear at the top of the series page. There is no specific rule about the logo other than having to visually represent the series, and should include the series name when possible, as opposed to simply being its symbol. For example, the Mortal Kombat series logo is the dragon symbol with the writing "Mortal Kombat", rather than just being the dragon symbol without the text. The ideal logo should be the most up to date version of the logo, without any title number or subtitle. It also contain a transparent background. Additionally, if possible, a character from the series should be chosen to best represent it. The image will appear on the right side of the page. If it's a series without any original characters, then it can be left blank.

The first thing written on the page should be a brief summary of the series, the owner/creator, and a link to it's wiki. If that doesn't exist, use it's Wikipedia article. Otherwise, find another page on a separate wiki, and if no wiki pages exist for it at all, leave it blank.

Each series page should have a precise and complete list of all releases in the series itself. (See: What media is considered part of a series?) The media list should always try to reach the same level of accuracy if not attempt to surpass existing databases. On this wiki, we want to tell what fictional works are tied together and are therefore part of the same "expanded multiverse", so specifying all releases in a series is still information we want to note.

Each release should include the title, release date, and the medium it was released for, if applicable. Other languages can be specified as well if needed, writing "also known as" or "known in other countries as". The date always corresponds to the original release. Subsequent re-releases of the same work are specified in the same entry in the list. It might be arguable what works are different releases and what are re-releases, so arguable cases should always be specified in the list. No other specific information about any work in the list must be given, such as plot or setting. These pieces of media are sorted by medium (TV, Video Games, Manga, etc.)

The page then should have a sub-series section if it needs one, in case the series has any notable sub-series.

Underneath that, the most important section on the page is the Links to Other Series table, listing all series that can be linked to it. (See: Links in the series page to view how this table is formatted.)

Underneath this table should be the Links to Non-Series Media table if applicable, which details all of the crossovers a series has with links that are not series, including mascot links and other summary links.

For categories that should be on a series page, each one should always be classified in the series category, a category corresponding to the series copyright holder(s), and in a media category. The media category should be the series original media, and possibly the one or ones it's most known for. This means that if a series was adapted to different media than its original one it shouldn't get that media's category unless its popularity becomes especially notable. In cases where there are more than one holder, each one of them should be included as a separate category. If applicable, each page should also be classified in a category based on what kind of series it is (See: Types of series.)