The 10 best Super Mario games of all time
A mustachioed Italian plumber with a penchant for jumping on the heads of his enemies is, unbelievably, one of the most popular video game characters in the world. Hell, he's one of the most popular characters in the world period.
Of course I'm talking about your friend and mine: Super Mario!
It's been over 35 years since Mario first appeared in 1981 arcade classic "Donkey Kong," and, since then, he's been in a lot of games (the Mario Wiki estimates somewhere in the neighborhood of 170). These range from classics like "Super Mario World" on the Super Nintendo, to more esoteric fare like "Hotel Mario" and "Mario's Time Machine."
Perhaps you have kids at home who fell in love with Mario games through "Super Mario Odyssey," the latest in the franchise? Or maybe you did?
Good news: That's a ton of history to dig through!
That's where this list comes in: We put together the 10 best Mario games ever made and where to find them (excluding spin-offs like the "Mario Tennis" franchise, "Mario Kart," "Mario Party" and "Paper Mario"). Let's begin! Wario Toys
5. "Super Mario 64"
"Super Mario 64" is, at this point, hard to speak about in the same way we speak about other games. It's a sacred cow of the video game oeuvre, and deservedly so. "Super Mario 64" set standard after standard in the mid-'90s, and it endeared an entire generation to "Super Mario."
It was beautiful, it was fun, it was like nothing my 11-year-old eyes had seen before. It is, unbelievably, nearly 20 years later, still all of those things. It trained an entire generation how to use the analog stick on a gamepad. It literally taught an entry-level standard in game vernacular: how to use an analog stick to control a 3D character. That's HUGE! Cannot be overstated-kind-of-huge! Wario Action Figure For Sale
4. "Super Mario Odyssey"
"Super Mario Odyssey" is a glorious combination of homage and evolution, nodding heartily at Nintendo's long history of excellent Super Mario games while looking forward in scope and gameplay.
In "Odyssey," which is the newest entry on this list, Mario uses his hat to take over various objects and enemies. In practice, this means playing as a few dozen different things — from a smiling fireball with Mario's signature mustache and wide eyes to a massive T-rex. More than anything else, it's the massive scope of "Odyssey" that sets it apart from the rest of this list. It's a massive, joyous game that provides reason enough to buy Nintendo's latest game console, the Switch. Wario Action Figure
3. "Super Mario Bros. 3"
When "Super Mario Bros. 3" arrived in 1990, it defied near-universal expectations about what was possible on the original Nintendo. It had a large, gorgeous map that was in perpetual movement. The levels were full of gorgeous contrasting colors which seemingly popped off the screen. It's important to note that this was in an era where arcades were still a relatively normal thing, and where most games had three or four colors at most.
"Super Mario Bros. 3" set the precedent for how the entire series has been handled since. It took the previous games and added carefully while walking back some previous additions. Gone was the character selection, the bizarre themes of "Super Mario Bros. 2." Instead, there were multiple worlds to explore with vastly different themes, new power-ups to collect with crazy effects (like a raccoon tail, to take flight), and a magical flute that could skip around this massive new world.
2. "Super Mario Bros."
None of the standards that were set by the dozens of "Super Mario" games thereafter could've been set without the original "Super Mario Bros." — perhaps the best game of all time.
It's been explained many times over by creator Shigeru Miyamoto: The game's design is brilliantly centered on teaching the most basic skills, like taking running leaps, and then building on those skills with ever-increasing challenges.
It's this design philosophy that's inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of games over the years, created by people all over the world.
Which is to say nothing of the game of course, which is excellent. It offers a feeling of precision that was unheard of at the time. If you missed a jump with little Mario, it was on you — a major change from the challenge offered by many arcade games at the time.
Since arcade games wanted you to keep feeding in quarters when you lost, the odds were often unfairly (or outright impossibly) weighted against players. But "Super Mario Bros." instead offered a real challenge, overcome through your own ability rather than dozens of quarters.
"Super Mario Bros." set a new paradigm in terms of challenge, intent, design philosophy, and player expectation. It's a game that birthed several of the world's most recognizable characters, that inspired generations of game developers, that helped re-start an ailing industry.
1. "Super Mario World"
You knew this would be number one, right? "Super Mario World" is still, to this day, the very best "Super Mario" game ever made.
That statement includes all the 3D games, the spin-off series, and whatever other game you want to dig up with the famous mustachioed plumber. "Super Mario World" is the series' first open-world game (of sorts), and it is absolutely gigantic. Never before was the scale of a "Super Mario" game quite so expansive, full of secrets and off-path ghost houses and top secret levels full of bonus power-ups.
"Super Mario World" is the quintessential "Super Mario" game, perfecting the character's movement and defining many new standards in the series (from the addition of Yoshi to the concept of a Ghost House, and its many exits). It showcased the power of the Super Nintendo, a game console still steeped in deep reverie by millions, and was the first truly epic-feeling adventure for Mario. Wario Action Figure
Of course I'm talking about your friend and mine: Super Mario!
It's been over 35 years since Mario first appeared in 1981 arcade classic "Donkey Kong," and, since then, he's been in a lot of games (the Mario Wiki estimates somewhere in the neighborhood of 170). These range from classics like "Super Mario World" on the Super Nintendo, to more esoteric fare like "Hotel Mario" and "Mario's Time Machine."
Perhaps you have kids at home who fell in love with Mario games through "Super Mario Odyssey," the latest in the franchise? Or maybe you did?
Good news: That's a ton of history to dig through!
That's where this list comes in: We put together the 10 best Mario games ever made and where to find them (excluding spin-offs like the "Mario Tennis" franchise, "Mario Kart," "Mario Party" and "Paper Mario"). Let's begin! Wario Toys
5. "Super Mario 64"
"Super Mario 64" is, at this point, hard to speak about in the same way we speak about other games. It's a sacred cow of the video game oeuvre, and deservedly so. "Super Mario 64" set standard after standard in the mid-'90s, and it endeared an entire generation to "Super Mario."
It was beautiful, it was fun, it was like nothing my 11-year-old eyes had seen before. It is, unbelievably, nearly 20 years later, still all of those things. It trained an entire generation how to use the analog stick on a gamepad. It literally taught an entry-level standard in game vernacular: how to use an analog stick to control a 3D character. That's HUGE! Cannot be overstated-kind-of-huge! Wario Action Figure For Sale
4. "Super Mario Odyssey"
"Super Mario Odyssey" is a glorious combination of homage and evolution, nodding heartily at Nintendo's long history of excellent Super Mario games while looking forward in scope and gameplay.
In "Odyssey," which is the newest entry on this list, Mario uses his hat to take over various objects and enemies. In practice, this means playing as a few dozen different things — from a smiling fireball with Mario's signature mustache and wide eyes to a massive T-rex. More than anything else, it's the massive scope of "Odyssey" that sets it apart from the rest of this list. It's a massive, joyous game that provides reason enough to buy Nintendo's latest game console, the Switch. Wario Action Figure
3. "Super Mario Bros. 3"
When "Super Mario Bros. 3" arrived in 1990, it defied near-universal expectations about what was possible on the original Nintendo. It had a large, gorgeous map that was in perpetual movement. The levels were full of gorgeous contrasting colors which seemingly popped off the screen. It's important to note that this was in an era where arcades were still a relatively normal thing, and where most games had three or four colors at most.
"Super Mario Bros. 3" set the precedent for how the entire series has been handled since. It took the previous games and added carefully while walking back some previous additions. Gone was the character selection, the bizarre themes of "Super Mario Bros. 2." Instead, there were multiple worlds to explore with vastly different themes, new power-ups to collect with crazy effects (like a raccoon tail, to take flight), and a magical flute that could skip around this massive new world.
2. "Super Mario Bros."
None of the standards that were set by the dozens of "Super Mario" games thereafter could've been set without the original "Super Mario Bros." — perhaps the best game of all time.
It's been explained many times over by creator Shigeru Miyamoto: The game's design is brilliantly centered on teaching the most basic skills, like taking running leaps, and then building on those skills with ever-increasing challenges.
It's this design philosophy that's inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of games over the years, created by people all over the world.
Which is to say nothing of the game of course, which is excellent. It offers a feeling of precision that was unheard of at the time. If you missed a jump with little Mario, it was on you — a major change from the challenge offered by many arcade games at the time.
Since arcade games wanted you to keep feeding in quarters when you lost, the odds were often unfairly (or outright impossibly) weighted against players. But "Super Mario Bros." instead offered a real challenge, overcome through your own ability rather than dozens of quarters.
"Super Mario Bros." set a new paradigm in terms of challenge, intent, design philosophy, and player expectation. It's a game that birthed several of the world's most recognizable characters, that inspired generations of game developers, that helped re-start an ailing industry.
1. "Super Mario World"
You knew this would be number one, right? "Super Mario World" is still, to this day, the very best "Super Mario" game ever made.
That statement includes all the 3D games, the spin-off series, and whatever other game you want to dig up with the famous mustachioed plumber. "Super Mario World" is the series' first open-world game (of sorts), and it is absolutely gigantic. Never before was the scale of a "Super Mario" game quite so expansive, full of secrets and off-path ghost houses and top secret levels full of bonus power-ups.
"Super Mario World" is the quintessential "Super Mario" game, perfecting the character's movement and defining many new standards in the series (from the addition of Yoshi to the concept of a Ghost House, and its many exits). It showcased the power of the Super Nintendo, a game console still steeped in deep reverie by millions, and was the first truly epic-feeling adventure for Mario. Wario Action Figure
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