Background characters

Background characters are, as the name implies, characters that appear in the background of some stages, they will appear in a stage that correspond to their home universe (i.e Shy Guys appear in Yoshi's Island). Note that background characters shouldn't be confused with stage hazards.

Dream Land

 * King Dedede appears floating in the background.

Saffron City

 * A Pidgey appears flying in the background.

Yoshi's Island

 * Shy Guys appears in the background.
 * A Goonie, in it's Yoshi's Story design, occasionally flies in the background.

Congo Jungle

 * Necky appears flying in the background.

Brinstar

 * A statue of the chozo appear in the background.

Brinstar Depths

 * Kraid appears in the background of the stage.

Fourside

 * A U.F.O appears in the background and can be boarded.

Yoshi's Story

 * Again Shy Guys appear in the background, this time holding Food.

Jungle Japes

 * Cranky Kong is seen walking back and forth in his cottage and rocking in his chair at various times.

New Pork City

 * A statue of Pokey Minch from Earthbound appears in the right side of the stage.

Lylat Cruise

 * Multiple ships appear battling in the background.

Smashville

 * Villagers from Animal Crossing appear in the background.

Yoshi's Island

 * For a third time, Shy Guys appear in the background.

Frigate Orpheon

 * The Parasite Queen, Metroid Prime's first boss, appears in the background in Frigate Orpheon.