Every Mario Game Ranked

Super Mario Odyssey

Mario throws his hat, possesses a T-Rex, and turns New Donk City into a musical number — Odyssey proved 3D platforming still had new tricks in 2017. Its Moon-per-minute pacing and Metro Kingdom's live singalong made it an instant modern classic.

Release Year: 2017Platform: SwitchCritic Score: 9.7/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 8 rankingsSuper Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Galaxy

Gravity itself became a level design tool, and the Wii's motion controls finally felt purposeful instead of gimmicky. The orchestral score and planetoid-hopping wonder made this the game that proved Mario could still reinvent 3D space.

Release Year: 2007Platform: WiiCritic Score: 9.7/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJR

Super Mario 64

The launch title that invented the analog-stick 3D platformer template every game since has copied. Bob-omb Battlefield's open hub was a jaw-dropper in 1996 and remains the genre's Rosetta Stone.

Release Year: 1996Platform: Nintendo 64Critic Score: 9.4/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 10 rankingsSuper Mario 64

Super Mario Bros. 3

The Tanooki Suit, the airships, the overworld map — this NES sequel is the blueprint for every 2D Mario since. It sold over 17 million copies and turned into a movie-theater event via The Wizard.

Release Year: 1988Platform: NESCritic Score: 9/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 6 rankings

Super Mario World

Yoshi's debut, cape feathers, and secret exits that rewarded obsessive exploration made this SNES launch title a masterclass in 2D design. Speedrunners still find new secrets in Dinosaur Land decades later.

Release Year: 1990Platform: SNESCritic Score: 9.6/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 8 rankings

Super Mario Galaxy 2

A sequel so packed with ideas it introduced Yoshi's cloud dashes and a full-on Super Mario 64-style checklist of stars, somehow topping the original's cosmic wonder. Many purists call it the best Mario ever made.

Release Year: 2010Platform: WiiCritic Score: 9.7/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRSuper Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Elephant Mario and singing Piranha Plants signaled Nintendo was done playing it safe with 2D Mario after years of New Super Mario Bros. formula. Wonder Flowers turned every level into a surprise machine.

Release Year: 2023Platform: SwitchCritic Score: 9.2/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRSuper Mario Bros. Wonder

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

The GameCube RPG that perfected Paper Mario's turn-based combat and paper-flip gimmicks, with a supporting cast (hello, Vivian) beloved enough to demand a 2024 remake. Its writing remains the sharpest in the franchise.

Release Year: 2004Platform: GameCubeCritic Score: 8.8/10Genre: RPG

added by IJRPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Super Mario 3D World

Four-player co-op chaos, the Cat Suit, and Bowser's Fury bundled in later made this Wii U underdog a cult favorite that found its real audience on Switch. Its tight, toy-box level design rewards replaying every stage.

Release Year: 2013Platform: Wii UCritic Score: 8.5/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRSuper Mario 3D World

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

The best-selling Mario Kart ever, stacking anti-gravity tracks, battle mode's return, and years of DLC courses into the definitive kart racer. It's the game most non-gamers have actually played.

Release Year: 2017Platform: SwitchCritic Score: 9.2/10Genre: Racing

added by IJRin 7 rankingsMario Kart 8 Deluxe

Super Mario Sunshine

FLUDD, tropical Isle Delfino, and a surprisingly dark plot about Mario framed for graffiti crimes made this the series' weird, divisive black sheep. Its blue-coin platforming demands precision even hardcore fans call brutal.

Release Year: 2002Platform: GameCubeCritic Score: 9.2/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 2 rankingsSuper Mario Sunshine

Super Mario RPG

Square and Nintendo's SNES collaboration introduced timed-hit combat and Geno, laying groundwork for the entire Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi lineage. Its 2023 remake proved the charm hadn't aged a day.

Release Year: 1996Platform: SNESCritic Score: 8.6/10Genre: RPG

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New Super Mario Bros. Wii

The game that brought four-player co-op chaos to 2D Mario and reignited the side-scroller after years of dormancy, becoming one of Wii's best-sellers. Simultaneous multiplayer meant everyone fighting over the same star.

Release Year: 2009Platform: WiiCritic Score: 8.2/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRNew Super Mario Bros. Wii

Super Mario Land

Mario's first handheld outing swapped Bowser for Tatanga and gave us Sarasaland and Princess Daisy, proving the plumber could shrink to Game Boy scale without losing his charm. Its submarine and plane stages were wild swings for 1989.

Release Year: 1989Platform: Game BoyCritic Score: 8/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRSuper Mario Land

Super Mario Bros.

The 1985 pack-in that saved the video game industry after the 1983 crash and taught an entire generation what a video game even was. World 1-1's design is still studied as flawless tutorial-through-play.

Release Year: 1985Platform: NESCritic Score: 8.7/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 5 rankings

Super Mario Bros. 2

Famously a reskinned Doki Doki Panic, this oddball entry gave us Peach, Toad, and Luigi as playable characters plus vegetable-throwing combat years before it was retconned into canon via Wart's dream world. Its weirdness makes it endlessly debated.

Release Year: 1988Platform: NESCritic Score: 8/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRSuper Mario Bros. 2

New Super Mario Bros.

The DS comeback that revived 2D Mario after a 13-year hiatus, reintroducing Mega Mushrooms and shell-surfing to a new generation. It sold over 30 million copies and proved classic Mario still had commercial teeth.

Release Year: 2006Platform: Nintendo DSCritic Score: 8.9/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 2 rankingsNew Super Mario Bros.

Mario Party

The N64 original that turned Mario's world into a friendship-ending board game of minigames and stolen stars, spawning a decades-long spinoff empire. Its analog-stick minigames literally caused blisters, a badge of honor for '90s kids.

Release Year: 1998Platform: Nintendo 64Critic Score: 7.5/10Genre: Party

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Super Mario Maker 2

Nintendo handed players the actual level-design toolkit and the internet responded with everything from impossible kaizo torture stages to perfect recreations of classic worlds. Its story mode and online course-sharing made it a creative platform, not just a game.

Release Year: 2019Platform: SwitchCritic Score: 8.5/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRSuper Mario Maker 2

Super Mario 3D Land

The 3DS launch showcase that fused 2D linearity with 3D depth gimmicks, using the Tanooki tail and stereoscopic 3D to make flagpoles feel genuinely satisfying again. It quietly set the template 3D World would later expand.

Release Year: 2011Platform: Nintendo 3DSCritic Score: 9/10Genre: Platformer

added by IJRin 2 rankingsSuper Mario 3D Land