The Mario quote makes me think of John Carter of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series. Each time he has fought his way through pure Hell to reach the beautiful Dejah Thoris, he discovers that the bad guys have whisked her away to somewhere else.

I think its because It was the first game I truly got to play as a kid, but “Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle!” just brings the nostalgia pouring back in.