Why is there so much Mario on Zelda Link's Awakening?

I finally got a chance to get one of the few Zelda games that I hadn't played; I downloaded Link's Awakening on the eShop, and I was very surprised by the amount of Mario cameos (and I have only played the first dungeon).

The Yoshi doll, the Chain-Chomp in town, the Goombas on the dungeon... why did they decide to do this?

Because Mario's awesome... duh.

The game is set outside of Hyrule hence the cameo of some of nintendo's most notable people and creatures

Because they could :P

This is just a guess but is it possible that at that time Zelda had not established itself as the dominant franchise that it is today and so Mario characters were inserted into the game in order to bolster its appeal to a general audience?

Actually, if you're one of the people who likes to over analyze things, the ending will help it make sense.

Maaaaybe when you beat the game it will make some sense? Or at least not seem so out of place :P

-edit-

I was beaten to it :P

Because the same person who made mario made zelda, so we wanted to put that in it. Just like kingdom hearts with final fantasy characters, and with the world ends with you as well.

..............i dunno cuz they could.

Actually, if you're one of the people who likes to over analyze things, the ending will help it make sense.

turtlethetaffer

Company & Creator connection.

This is just a guess but is it possible that at that time Zelda had not established itself as the dominant franchise that it is today and so Mario characters were inserted into the game in order to bolster its appeal to a general audience?

Euaggelistes