Top 10 Mario Games

Everybody loves top 10 lists right? Here I am going to pick my 10 favorite Mario games, including spin-offs so not just the main series. I am only picking games solely in the Mario franchise though so not including crossovers like Smash or cameo appearances like Punch-Out. These are my biased favorites, I am not picking them on how they changed the industry or anything like that. So, lets begin:





I've had a lot of fun with the Mario Party series and knew one of them would this list and decided on the second game in the series. It improved on the pacing of the first Mario Party and had all new mini games, boards, and mechanics. It also got rid of the joystick-destroying rotating games that burned many palms like the tug o' war mini game and the most unfair of the 3 vs. 1 games like Bash n' Cash. I almost picked Mario Party 3 because of the items and new characters as well as the duel mode but went with Mario Party 2 because of the fun-themed boards that range from a haunted cemetery and western town with the characters in appropriate costumes.





This is probably the Mario game that I've spent most time on as I grew up with my younger brother and always had friends coming over to play with and the multiplayer is a lot of fun. If I was a loner or only child I wouldn't have the fond memories of it that I do because it doesn't offer much of a single player experience. I'm not able to get together with people as much as I used to so since the games can run an hour or more it doesn't hold as much value for me in this day so that is why it's only #10.





The New Super Mario Bros. games might be getting a little tired out now with them coming out at a regular pace without adding much but I was love with this game when it came out. It doesn't quite hold up to the classic Mario games for me but New Super Mario Bros. Wii did bring four-player simultaneous multiplayer. I believe New Super Mario Bros. for the DS had the same for 2-players but I haven't many chances to play multiplayer together with handhelds since the GBA so I don't really remember. That was still a fun game though.




New Super Mario Bros. Wii for me was the first 2D Mario I really got into in a long time because while I did like the start of the series, I do prefer playing my platformers on the big screen. And this one brought fun and varied levels, with a decent range of power-ups, levels with Yoshi, and of course the fun 4-player action that I already mentioned. Having two of the characters be Toads felt kind of lazy on the developer's part but it wasn't much of an issue.

8. Super Mario Sunshine 

Back when the Nintendo Gamecube launched my only disappointment with it was that for the first time in my life, Nintendo hardware launched with a main game in the Mario series. Sure it had Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros. Melee shortly after but I had to wait until summer for the next 3D Mario game. Super Mario Sunshine was well worth the wait for me though. Some people didn't like the addition of F.L.U.D.D. but I found the water mechanics in this game to be a lot of fun and would still like to see a sequel or spiritual successor to this game on day.





I really liked the tropical-themed world and really thought that levels like the amusement park and the haunted hotel added enough variety so that they wouldn't get stale. One of the things I loved also was that Yoshi was brought into the game after he was such a tease in Super Mario 64. The camera got in the way sometimes while playing but I didn't find it to be too much of an issue as I was having too much fun with the solid platforming and found that Sunshine has some of my favorite boss battles for a Mario game.





I loved Mario's first foray into the RPG genre so I was hyped over Paper Mario. I was initially disappointed that it wasn't a Super Mario RPG sequel and the early rough screenshots didn't do much for me. But when I saw the game in action with it being advertised on TV I suddenly lost all doubt I had and needed it day one. It's unique paper aesthetic visuals still look great to me this day when I go back to it and play it every now and then. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to put this or Thousand Year-Door here but the original has more charm for me.





Paper Mario is still one of my favorite RPGs due to it's humor, great writing, and solid gameplay. It introduces a lot of variety to the JRPG as well with it's mix of timing turn-based battles, platforming, and puzzle solving. It also has a nice level up and badge system which brings some variety of customization without getting overly complicated. As does the one-partner system as Mario's allies bring their own abilities to battle and exploration. Lots of variety in the areas to explore as well from the Desert Pyramid, Toy Town, Flower Fields, and more.

6. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 

I will round out this part of the list with another role-playing pick and one of my most nostalgic. Back when this game was coming out this commercial here was all the info I had about it.




I had never played an RPG before and didn't really question it either, I just thought the game looked cool. My family was pretty broke at the time so we ended up renting it from Blockbuster instead of buying it. I was extremely confused on how to play because I started off on someone else's save file and had no idea how to play. Even before I figured out how to start a new game the game was still intriguing to me.




When I did start up my own save file I got everything figured out pretty quickly as Toad gives a handy tutorial not long into the game and I was introduced to what got me into the RPG genre. The timing based battles, no random encounters, and forgiving difficulty made for a great introduction and soon after I was wanting to try games like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger. Squaresoft brought their own charm to this one with cool characters like Geno, Mallow, and Booster that we have yet to see again unfortunately. Now when I go back to this game it's almost too easy but the nostalgia gets me into having a lot of fun again.




I am a big fan of the Mario Kart series so a number of them could have fit this spot but I decided to go with the SNES original, Super Mario Kart. It might be nostalgia talking as I've seen a lot of people, even legit Nintendo/MK fans that can't get into this for it being aged but I still find the game to be a lot of fun. I spent so many hours on the battle mode in this one up until Mario Kart 64 came out and didn't go back to it for a few years but it's always fun when I come back even with it being limited to 2 players.




What really holds up to me though is the racing, I can always go back to the GP mode at any given time and have a blast. Super Mario Kart has a number of my favorite tracks that I love going back to and also enjoy when I see them re-imagined in the newer Mario Kart titles. I especially have fond memories of the Ghost House, Bower's Castle, Koopa Beach, and Rainbow Road. I could see though why people who never played it before and are used to the new Mario Kart games may not like the handling.





Super Mario 64 blew my mind when I first played it. If there was any game I could play again for the first time this would be the one. It was my first experience out of the 8/16-bit area and how big this game was at the time was unreal to me. Now I can never have that feeling again, but Super Mario 64 is still a fun game to go back to and play. And for this entry I definitely mean the N64 original, while Super Mario 64 DS is nice I could get over the controls in that one. Also, Mario is my preferred character to play as so being forced to play as the other characters a lot in that didn't do much for me.





This is another game that I see a lot of people say has aged. I could see why they could say that but I do not feel the same way. To me Super Mario 64 has a nice variety of well-designed courses and controls very well other than maybe the camera being a little bit of a pain now and then when in tight corners. The visuals are a bit rough and but everything is bright and colorful and to me still looks nice. The one are where I do feel it's lacking is that the Bowser fights could have been better but that is a small issue when the game is so fun. Even on the 32-bit console known for 3D platformers the launch of Super Mario 64 is still one of the best, for me only beaten by Banjo Kazooie. Yes, getting all 120 stars and not being able to ride Yoshi felt like a kick in the teeth but the journey there was still awesome.





While I do love Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2 this is the only of the original trilogy to make it in my top 10 list. I might be a bit biased to have a certain game above it that you'll find out soon(probably an easy guess) but I did not play this game until Super Mario All-Stars came out for the SNES. That is not to say that I don't love it obviously as it's still #3 and this is probably the Mario game I own the most versions of. I have it on NES, Wii VC, SNES, Wii(All-Stars), GBA, and Wii U VC(I was so delighted when that was released with the e-reader levels included since I never had an e-reader). So yeah, I've played it a lot.





What's not to love about this game? Great level design and varied worlds to play in, fun to use power-ups, and a nice challenge but not too over-the-top as many NES games can be. And when it comes to the All-Stars version it also has my favorite rendition of Mario Bros. the arcade game. I go back to that almost as much as I do the main game itself, it's a fun competitive 2-player game. If there was any complaint I had about the game all I can think of is that the original game was a bit too big to not include a saver battery or password system when it comes to the original. Of course now that isn't a problem with the many versions since.





I can't talk about this game without mentioning baby Mario crying, well it has never bothered me. Now I've gotten used to it but I was once surprised at just how many people were haunted by it. I took it as incentive to not get hit so much and let him float away. Off of that subject now, Yoshi's Island to me is still one of if not best looking game to me of all time, artistically. It's something that while the DS/3DS sequels came close, they couldn't quite get that awesome pastel painting look down.





That isn't the only thing going for the game of course. It always some of the best level design to me for a 2D platformer and with a lot of replay value. I would play levels over and over again to get those perfect scores and unlock each world's bonus game and extra levels. I loved the boss fights in this game, it was really the first Mario game to have variety of boss fights that didn't feel mostly similar and is still one of the best in that regard. It's really more of a spin-off series now as Yoshi has starred in quite a few platformers since but to me it's still a sequel to what is one of my favorite games of all time.



So with that can you guess what #1 is? I'm sure it will be a big surprise. First I'll name of some honorable mentions.





This was the game that started it all for me so I do have a lot of nostalgia for it. It both got me into the Mario series and video gaming itself. I hear people complain about the lack of power-ups in this after Super Mario Bros. 3 but Yoshi was such a big addition with his own unique abilities depending on what colored shells he eats to me make it a non-issue. Of course there are also the different colored Yoshis later in the game that have their specific power no matter what shell they have in their mouth. I think there is no debate by anyone who cares about Mario that Super Mario World is a great game so I'll mainly talk about why I like it a bit better than Super Mario Bros. 3.





For one is the added exploration, Super Mario Bros. 3 had a few secrets but I loved finding the exits to levels and unlocking all the different pathways on the world map. Here is one that many find to be a detractor but I love the cape power. Yes, you can break the game at times with it if you so choose and fly through whole levels but I find it lot of fun to use. I actually like it better than leaf and tanooki suit myself but I know I'm in the minority. And well, Yoshi is awesome. Plus there is also nostalgia involved I'm sure, but I already stated these are my biased picks. Now this has me wanting to play the game again and I might just do that, it's been a while since I played through special world and even longer since going for 100%.



And that is it for my favorite Mario games. Discus if you would like and let me what your favorites are. Are there any that you really feel I missed? I don't have Super Mario Maker listed or as an honorable mention because I have not played it, I will get on it eventually since I have it.







Here's a little bonus, because I completely forgot about it! Super Mario Land was a decent launch title for the original Game Boy and while it's fun to me it feels like a poor man's Super Mario Bros. The sequel now on the other hand to me is better in every way. Fun levels, a cool bunny ears power up, nice detailed sprites for a Game Boy game, and the first appearance of Wario. It also has a lot of unique enemies and mechanics that you don't see in other Mario titles but they are fitting for the series. There's a good chance this may have been on my list instead of New Super Mario Bros. Wii or Mario Party 2 but like a silly goose it slipped my mind.