As everyone knows, Mario is Nintendo’s flagship franchise. This was the first game we at OW remember playing, and we were instantly addicted. Thus, for those who love to hate OW you can blame Mario because he is the reason we became the Sega hating, sarcastic, awesome, funny, handsome, great, …. anyway I digress. Though I can go on and on about how awesome this website is, we even made it to number one on this list we wrote about the best nerd websites. We didn’t ask for that recognition but it was welcome none-the-less. Anyway, back to Mario. The Mario Brothers franchise is constantly changing, unlike some franchises, which just have you running around in circles over and over again. I won’t say which game I’m referring to but it involves robots and animals, its basically a copy of Mario and it is very boring, not worth mentioning really. Mario on the other hand came out with something new and different each time, and each the game was a complete hit. I almost cried when I got Super Mario 3 for my birthday, that bright yellow package with Mario flying out of the package in his raccoon suit. Then there was Super Mario World which, at the time was even more awesome than Super Mario 3. This franchise is easily the most recognized face in the video game industry, and here are the top 5 Mario games.
5. Super Mario 2
The amount of unnecessary controversy surrounding Super Mario Brothers 2 is unprecedented. If you hear someone complaining about a Super Mario Brothers game it’s probably Mario 2 because its not like Mario 1 or 3, which are supposed to be the “authentic” Marios. Looking back, and playing through Super Mario All Stars though, Mario 2 comes as a treat, with its completely different game playing style and colourful imagery. You could choose between Mario, Luigi, princess, and Toad, giving you more options than Mario 1 and 3 (although Toad proves to be worthless). Each had their own special abilities. With the Princess, you could float across major parts of levels, which was a fun new addition to the Mario saga. There was also a variety of level-styles which was also welcome, as in some levels you were digging through a pyramid, and others, going into underground labyrinths to find keys to use elsewhere in the level. Some people have a problem that the game is a blatant rip of “Doki Doki Panic” for the Super Famicon (Japanese NES), but this in no way effects the playability and general enjoyment of the game. Gamers always need something to complain about, but for those who don’t care about the rip off and just play the game, they are in for a welcome surprise. The creators of this game had good taste in what to ape.
4. New Super Mario Wii
Super Mario for the Wii is the best Mario game to be released since Super Mario World for the SNES. By going back to 2D, the Mario saga went back to being classic. Not only was it 2D though, it was 2D with a flash. The screen zooms in and out as you traverse the screen with other players following. Get irritated with them enough and you can just thrown them into a pit so you can bring the screen back to a its regular size. The game play is amazing and revolves not just around the completion of the levels but the collection of big Star Coins. What really makes this game as outstanding as it is though is the Co-op mode which would prove to be almost as fun as the Co-op mode of the original Mario Bros arcade game. Players trying to collect coins while being thrown to their doom by other players. This game is just outright fun.
3. Super Mario World
Super Mario World is often over-looked as one of the best Mario games of all time. Usually people will tell you that Super Mario 1 or Super Mario 3 are the best Mario games ever. But go back and put in your “Super Mario All Stars and Super Mario World” cartridge into your SNES and you’ll probably find yourself playing this game more than any other. Why? Because its fun. In comparison to today’s games which focus on better graphics and more gore, this game focused on fun. And in this respect this game succeeded beyond measure. Tell me that you didn’t have fun bouncing around on the dolphins on top of the Vanilla Dome. Or riding around the winged platforms in the Forest of Illusion. Or eating monty moles with Yoshi. No, Super Mario World wasn’t a hard game (with the exception of Tubular in the Special World). But it was definitely a fun game. And in the end that’s really all that matters.
2. Super Mario Brothers 1
Super Mario Brothers 1 was the game that put video games on the map. Granted other video games existed before Super Mario brothers, but none stirred the hearts and control pads of the masses quite like this one. After all, who could resist Mario and Luigi? They were more than just a couple of brothers in the plumbing business, they were bad ass renegades who didn’t think twice about stomping mushroom traitors or kicking turtle soldier shell butt clear across mushroom kingdom if it meant saving Princess Toadstool. Speaking of the princess, she was smokin’ even though they hadn’t pixelated cleavage yet. This is a game that had it all, bizarre villains, midgets, hot princesses, and wanton fireball destruction. All in all, the original Super Mario Brothers was a fun game, but it also taught us some important life lessons: much like you can’t go back on a screen, you can’t go back in life. Once you make a choice you are stuck with it. Eat your vegetables and you’ll grow big and strong, always chase stars, no matter where they lead you, if you eat a flower you just end up spitting fire, and with a little manual labour you’ll find gold coins in the most unlikely places. Yes, this game was a true classic that created a whole generation of super gamers and maybe some renegade plumbers too.
1. Super Mario Brothers 3
Super Mario 3 was the ultimate Mario game. It was the first time you had the freedom to move around a map. You could revisit levels in case you missed a whistle, you could play a level over again just because you liked playing it. The game was full of dynamics. One second you were playing a hilly level, the next you were in fire pits, and then after that you were on top of a floating airship making your way to the boss of a world. For the true Mario fan, whistles wouldn’t do. The true Mario fan had to beat all the levels rather than just skipping by them. No one wants to skip over the great water world or even the difficult Ice World. There were tons of character to these worlds. This is probably the best Mario game of all time. Playing it from level 1 to the end is just gaming at it’s best.
Why do the bottom two Marios look different? Were those Super Nintendo update NES Mario games? They look awesome! Someone please give answers!
“Why do the bottom two Marios look different? Were those Super Nintendo update NES Mario games? They look awesome! Someone please give answers!”
It’s from Super Mario AllStars
“Super Mario All-Stars is an enhanced remake of the first four Mario games: the 1985 NES game Super Mario Bros., its Japanese sequel, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, its American sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3. Released in 1993 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it sports graphic enhancements, glitch fixes, and the ability to save one’s game, allowing the player to restart from a save point instead of from the beginning, should a player lose all of their lives. An alternate version, also containing Super Mario World, was bundled with the Super Nintendo in December 1994″
HOW DID MARIO 64 NOT MAKE THIS LIST!!?? Oh well, its hard, i’ll grant you that. and i do definately agree on the top 3, in that order…BUT! once again, how did mario 64 not make the list? It completely defined 3d platforming! personally, my list would go 5. Super mario Galaxy, then Mario 64, then world, 1, 2. I mean, i loved Galaxy n all, and i did think it was a pretty refreshing change and i did steal my cuz’s wii just 2 play it, but i still believe that mario 64 was more entertaining at the time, and did have more improvisations and a better overall re-shaped mario formula… thats just me though. PS, as an avid PS3 fan, I absolutely cannot leave without disagreeing with your comment on Galaxy being the best new gen game. I found it very fun and new, and loved it, it was probably the most fun i’d had with a game recently in single player, but… Metal Gear Solid 4 takes it. The climax to the Metal Gear saga was without a doubt the greatest experience i have ever had in gaming history… The story, the graphics, the gameplay, the ending… I’ve never before had this feeling of completeness… I knew at that moment, when the (final) end credits finished rolling up my screen, and that last convo ended with the MGS4 logo on the screen, that i could now die happy, with the certainty that my life had had its most fulfilling moment… I guess thats an exaggeration, but it was amazing. Hail Hideo Kojima-san – YOU ARE GOD
I’m the only one who finds Mario 64 to be overrated?
I definitely agree that 64 should be ranked higher than Galaxy. It’s because of the impact it made at the time. SMG is just another great 3D platformer. SM64 changed gaming forever, and when that came out I had never seen anything like it in my life. SM64′s legacy will always be so far beyond Galaxy’s, but SMG is still a great game.
I stopped reading when it said “Toad proves to be worthless” in SMB2. When I first played the game, I was 9, and I beat the game using Toad almost exclusively.
This article proves to be worthless.
Man, this site is a joke. Most game designers forgot how to make ‘fun’ games, huh? I think Nintendo just forgot how to make games now. Where’s Mario 64 also?
LMFAO:
“All in all, the original Super Mario Brothers was a fun game, but it also taught us some important life lessons: much like you can’t go back on a screen, you can’t go back in life. Once you make a choice you are stuck with it. Eat your vegetables and you’ll grow big and strong, always chase stars, no matter where they lead you, if you eat a flower you just end up spitting fire, and with a little manual labour you’ll find gold coins in the most unlikely places.”
This was a great article guys! Would have liked to see Mario 64 on the list, but still good nonetheless.
Mine:
5. Mario64
4. Mario DS
3. SMB1
2. SM World
1. SMB3
THANK YOU SO MUCH for getting back to talking about retro-gaming. Great article! (PLEASE Stay away from Music and new games)
this website sucks complete ass till the sh* cums out!
It’s just a fanboy article over and over, when you are ready to grow up, you come up with stuff other than Nintendo or fanboy stuff:/
But I do agree though, Mario Brothers 3 is a great game.
I would have put SM: World in the top… and i would have excluded SM 2 from the list. And i totally agree with that Toad is useless! I played it the other day on my psp (emulator ftw) and i died on a boss and i decided to try with another character so i chose Toad and what happens? He cant actually jump up the first platform. and i couldnt go back… I was stuck! I had to restart the game and start at the beginning of the world! Thats another sucky thing about 2. When you get gameover you start at the beginning of the world and not the level…wierd.
Their are many schools of thought on Mario 64. Some see it as one of the 10 best games ever, some see it as good but overrated, and others think it is mediocrity on silicon. I personally love the game, and have played it countless times, but now I’m beginning to see why some have gripes. No Luigi, it’s not in 2D, and it’s not as hard as the other games.
It’s very different, but it still did something few did. It took a 2D character, and made his first 3D game great. Something many have failed miserably at. (I’m looking at you Sonic.) And for that reason, I love Mario 64, just as I love Nintendo’s 3D transition.
“from the almost useless frog suit”
Are you kidding me? You could clear a tough level by using the frog suit’s increased jumping ability!
Where is Super Mario 64? Let’s be honest, the 1st game is an important part of the industry (and history for that matter) but with a game like Super Mario 64, SMB1 shouldn’t make this list.
Mario 64 and Yoshi’s Island, both are far much better that supermario bros USA (doki doki panic), well keep going Old Wizard.
I also believe that Mario 64 has to be in any list of Mario’s games. It is the most influential together with the first one.
My list would be.
5 Super Mario Galaxy
4 Super Mario Bros. 3
3 Super Mario Bros.
2 Super Mario World
1 Super Mario 64
Meh, I would take Super Mario RPG over mario 2
5. Super Mario Galaxy
4. Super Mario 64
3. Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
1. Super Mario World
This is a very, very excellent list. as a Mario fan myself, I love just about every game on here! but if I were to choose a top 5, well, it would be like suicide to me.
well this is my top 5:
5.Super Mario bros. 3
4.Mario 64
3.Super Mario RPG
2.Super Mario World
1.Super Mario Galaxy
however, I think every single person who posted comments on here would feel much better if old wizard made a TOP 10 MARIO GAMES LIST instead, so these are my other favorites:
10.New Super Mario Bros
9.Super Paper Mario
8.Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
7.Mario Kart Wii
6.Super Mario Bros
I know i’m unusual, making Galaxy my #1 Mario game, or possibly my favorite game ever, but i cant help it. It’s just too plain excellent. The graphics are some of the best coming from Nintendo, and the beautiful and epic lush of orchestral music is a first in a mario game. at times before the game, others like Mario World got me caught in Nintendo’s traps, making me feel amazed inside. but at the point after Mario 64 and before Galaxy, i wasnt trusting Nintendo anymore. But i fell in love again, and even more than before, with videogames when i played Galaxy.The lists on OW were bad when i first found this site, but theyre getting better all the time ^_^
As much as I hate it…I’m gonna be that guy…
Doki Doki Panic was a game created for the Japanese equivalent of the NES, the Famicom (notice the M at the end, and the absence of the word “super”)
Wedge:
You’ll notice that that was mentioned in the article.
No Super Mario 64?
My first N64 Game and i still play it now.
Yes SMG is a lot better(but easier) than Sm 64 but without SM64 we´d never had Banjo Kazooie,Banjo Tooie and Mario Sunshine/Galaxy..
But Mario DS is a remake of Sm 64 and a bad one at that…
Maggie:
Couldn’t agree more about OW. I hated this site at first, but lately the lists have been getting better and better. This one was exceptional. Nice work OW!
Excellent list. This is why I love oldwizard.
JM:
Mario DS is a remake of Mario 64? Explain this.
Mario 2 sucks.
No Mario64 = Fail.
IMO sm64 is way too overrated, I hate that, even smb2 was more fun to play
“I stopped reading when it said “Toad proves to be worthless” in SMB2. When I first played the game, I was 9, and I beat the game using Toad almost exclusively.
This article proves to be worthless.
”
I agree
my list:
6. Super mario 2
5. Super mario Sunshine
4. Super mario Galaxy
3. Super mario 1
2. Super mario 3
1. Super mario world
EPIC FAIL.
What a crappy list.
“I’m the only one who finds Mario 64 to be overrated?”
No. http://old-wizard.com/?p=1085&page=2
But anyway, here’s mine:
New Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario World
SUper Mario Bros. 3
Gary- Anything else substantive to say?
The fact that Super Mario 64 is not here makes this whole list irrelevant. That game not only changed the entire industry, but made pretty much every action/platformer you’ve heard of have a reason to exist. And considering SMB2 isn’t even technically an actual Mario game, i’d say this is a fail list all around.
Fail fail fail fail….fail fail fail fail! You fail! You fail! You fail!!!
i <3 Mario & Yoshi!
i agree w/big a2 100 percent
i agree w/big a2 1000 percent!
can i down load any super mario game to the Wii
and how? Or is there somewhere i can take my Wii to have them download????
heres mine 5.mario land 2 4.mario galaxy 3.mario world 2.mario rpg 1.mario 1.
The Mountain, i completely agree. I think a lot of N64 games are a bit overrated like mario 64 and Ocarina of Time. Don’t get me wrong though, they were good games, problem is that they aren’t great games like the predecessors.
That Mario 2 cannot be on this list because it’s not a Mario game. When you say “blatant rip of” Doki Doki Panic, you don’t understand that it is the same exact game as Doki Doki Panic. The only differences are player pixels and some other pixels here and there.
However I would put the real Mario 2 (the lost levels) for the Famicom on this list, because it’s the only hard Mario game.
Eh I would have replaced 2 with 64, but other than that I agree. And you kinda answered your own comment on people saying it’s “Not a Mario Game” because it’s Doki Doki but with Mario characters.
it’s not called “Super Mario Bros 1″, it’s called “Super Mario Bros” you dumbasses. All of your lists do this and it makes you look like idiots. You don’t need to add a 1 to the end of a title to denote it’s the first in the series. If there is no 1 in the title, why would you add it? It’s like you don’t even know what the game title is. Jackasses.
The guy who posted above me is a moron. Super Mario 1 is my favorite Mario game. Haha. Did I just make you mad, faggot? I love numbering games that have no numbers to piss people off who care about shit like that. My advice, get a girlfriend, and maybe you won’t care about people calling it Mario 1 anymore.
Super Mario World kicked ass. Loved that game. It had some really tough levels (like the Star Road) that were extremely fulfilling to finally beat..
I’d have to add Mario 64 and Super Mario Land for Gameboy to this (the old non-color one)
@ George, I thought certain levels on Mario 64 were MUCH tougher than Super Mario Bros. Especially the final battle with Koopa.
why the heck no mario 64
Super Mario 64 sucks. Admit it. Bad graphics, horrid controls (What is this, Sonic and the Secret Rings?), lame bosses (Fight Bowser 3 times!), and boring level designs. Hopping on rectangles. Wee.