Which Mario Games is the Greatest of All Time?

Mario is perhaps the most famous game series in the world and is one of just a handful of franchises that have enjoyed almost universal appeal over several generations. In the four decades that Nintendo has been making Mario games, the Italian plumber has appeared in more than 200 different titles, though not all of them have been as successful as others. 

In fact, Nintendo hasn’t always been as protective of their most valuable IP as they are today. Several Mario games were planned for release on the failed Philips CD-i games console, including Super Mario’s Wacky Worlds, Mario Takes America, and Hotel Mario, though only the latter was released. A string of Mario educational games were released in the 1990s too, none of which met the same quality standards of titles developed in house. 

Even if you ignore these odd footnotes in Mario history, there are still plenty of great titles to keep you entertained for a very long time. If you’ve only played some of the more recent releases, you may be wondering about which retro Mario games are worth picking up. Here are some of the greatest Mario games of all time. 

Mario Bros. 

Released in 1983, Mario Bros. was the first arcade game to be headlined by the moustachioed plumber. However, this wasn’t his first appearance in a video game. That was in 1981, when Mario (who was known as Jump Man at the time) appeared in the first Donkey Kong title. Donkey Kong was so successful that it is widely regarded as one of the best games from the 1980s, but it would later stand in the shadows created by Mario. 

Like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros. was a 2D platformer game, though it looks different to many of the more polished games in the Super Mario Bros. series. Rather than Mario moving along the 2D map, he remained within a small area, with turtles appearing out of sewer pipes and dropping onto lower levels. 

Despite it being a bit more primitive compared to newer releases, it’s a fun piece of Mario history that’s worth a play. 

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

The original Super Mario Land for Game Boy was a technical marvel. It showed how a side-scroller game could be just as fun on a tiny monochrome dot-matrix display. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins took this to a whole new level though. 

Rather than just progressing through a handful of linear levels, Mario was dropped onto an island with several themed zones. The player can choose what order to play these in, though they must complete them all to get all 6 golden coins to reach the final boss level. 

Despite the limitations of the Game Boy, Super Mario Land 2 manages to create a game that’s varied and fun to play over and over again. 

Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 is the first time we got to enjoy a Mario platformer in 3D. Released in 1996 for the Nintendo 64, the game took advantage of the console’s more powerful hardware to create an entirely new experience that required players to develop new strategies for completing each level and collecting the stars. 

It’s widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, so it’s certainly one of the best Mario games ever made. It was re-released for the Nintendo DS and again for the Switch, though stocks of it are running low in most retailers and won’t be replenished by Nintendo. 

Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart is an arcade-style racing game packed with characters from the Mario universe. There have been 14 separate releases in this series alone, though it makes the most sense to buy the latest release. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe contains all the improvements in graphics, features, and track design that were added to previous versions. 

It doesn’t have the realism that other racing games have, but it doesn’t need them. The power-up system, wacky racecourses, and fun characters make it a pleasure to play whether you’re a talented gamer or not.