Mario and Link are adorning some eShop prepaid cards in Japan.

With the worldwide launch of the 3DS eShop finally taking place next week prepaid cards have begun to make their way to retail outlets. While plain cards will be sold in retail outlets, one of which was found in America last month, limited edition Zelda and Mario cards have been found in Japan.

Twitter user UKey566 spotted some decorative prepaid cards and has uploaded them for the whole world to see. The 1000 and 2000 yen cards feature two of Nintendo's most iconic characters and are bound to become collectibles.

There is no word yet as to whether these cards will be released in Europe but we'll keep you updated if we hear anything.