8 Best Mario Games That Lived Up To The Hype, Ranked

13 July 2025

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8-best-mario-games-that-lived-up-to-the-hype,-ranked — 8 Best Mario Games That Lived Up To The Hype, Ranked

Summary

Nintendo has always sought to innovate with the juggernaut Super Mario series, making him one of the most recognizable video game characters.
Super Mario Bros. revolutionized the gaming industry with its simple yet intuitive controls and trend-setting gameplay mechanics.
Super Mario 64 was groundbreaking in transitioning to 3D and continues to inspire developers, solidifying Mario’s enduring popularity.

It has been almost fifty years since the world was introduced to Mario, Nintendo’s most enduring and popular character, who continues to wow audiences as much now as he did in the 1980s. First appearing as the playable character in Donkey Kong in 1981, Mario has gone on to star in countless games and dozens of spin-off series in the decades since.

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The Switch 2 is home to a ton of fun and memorable Mario games, including a few that have received significant upgrades.

Given Nintendo’s constant desire to design innovative games and inspire new players, the majority of Mario title announcements are met with significant enthusiasm from audiences, and they usually deliver on that excitement. Here are some of the best mainline Mario games that lived up to the hype, ranked based on a combination of their overall quality and popularity with fans.

8 Super Mario Bros.

Mario Goes Mainstream

One of the most influential games ever made, Super Mario Bros. is the first dedicated console release of the juggernaut series and is largely responsible for making Mario a household name. Following the success of Mario Bros. in arcades and several Game & Watch titles, the NES and Famicom release of Super Mario Bros. was highly anticipated on both eastern and western shores.

The gameplay mechanics of this game revolutionized the industry, with many characteristics becoming ubiquitous, especially in the platform game genre. Selling tens of millions of copies and constantly being re-released on most Nintendo platforms, players continue to enjoy Super Mario Bros. to this day, with its simple but intuitive controls remaining among the best in all video games.

7 Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Explore The Unpredictable Flower Kingdom

The ambitious goal of reinventing 2D games in the series with Super Mario Bros. Wonder certainly put some pressure on the development team to deliver, and they succeeded with one of the best games of 2023. Taking place in the newly crafted Flower Kingdom, players should expect the unexpected, as Wonder Flowers can cause all kinds of peculiar and unpredictable occurrences.

One aspect that was highly anticipated after the initial reveal trailer was the Elephant Form that characters take when Mario collects Elephant Fruit. Other bold new ideas include the Bubble Flower and Drill Mushroom, which add to the overall creative, surprising, and satisfying experience that left players saying “Wowie zowie!”

6 Super Mario Sunshine

Clean Up Isle Delfino & Save The Day

ESRB: E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Platform(s): GameCube

Underwater levels in games are generally disliked by many gamers, yet Super Mario Sunshine manages to make them compelling, largely thanks to the F.L.U.D.D. allowing Mario to use water for various purposes. Framed for vandalism by the creepy Shadow Mario, the real mustachioed plumber must clean up the tropical island and rescue Princess Peach once again.

Madness returns, The Sirena Expedition and Lara Croft: Underworld

Water levels are an often-dreaded aspect of platform games, but these titles do them right.

This game marks many firsts, from the debut of Bowser Jr. and the introduction of the iconic Isle Delfino to the first fully voiced cutscenes in the series. Following Super Mario 64 was always going to be tough, but Sunshine managed to outsell popular games like Halo and GTA 3. Such was the popularity of Super Mario Sunshine that it actively boosted sales of the GameCube console.

5 Super Mario Bros. 3

Mario’s Best NES Outing

Pushing the NES to its absolute limits, Super Mario Bros. 3 is often cited as one of the best sequels ever made and arguably the best game on the NES. Many new mechanics, power-ups, and other innovations that have since become series stalwarts were all introduced in this entry, such as the Koopalings, Tanooki Mario, and a world map allowing for non-linear gameplay.

While prior games used every mechanic in all possible ways, SMB3 made it so that each run on a level could be very different, maximizing replayability. Retaining the Frog Suit or Hammer Suit across levels could give players access to new locations, or they could choose to skip some areas entirely and find a shorter route to the final level.

4 Super Mario Galaxy

Mario In Space

Super Mario Galaxy

Systems

Released: November 1, 2007
ESRB: E For Everyone due to Mild Cartoon Violence

The winner of multiple game of the year awards, Super Mario Galaxy is regarded by many as the best Nintendo Wii game. Making use of ingenious gravity mechanics, Mario must circumnavigate various planetary structures in space in order to collect Power Stars by doing various activities like exploring, solving puzzles, and battling bosses.

In a series that is always trying to invent new gameplay mechanics and influence the platform genre going forward, Galaxy somehow stands out. Mario’s foray into interstellar travel was a resounding success and remains enjoyable two decades later, plus it’s one of the few 3D Mario games to receive a direct sequel, which enjoyed similar levels of acclaim and admiration.

3 Super Mario World

Timeless Graphics & Yoshi’s Debut

Introducing the world to Yoshi as Mario’s rideable sidekick, Super Mario World was the first game in the series to be released on the SNES and remains a timeless classic. Being the plumber’s debut on the new console, fans were eager to see how gameplay was improved and weren’t disappointed when Mario and Luigi had new abilities to go with their previous actions.

SNES Games That Have Aged The Best, Ranked

These SNES games are just as fun to play today as they were when they released.

Across the game’s 96 levels, the brothers can fly, float, and spin jump through levels, eliminating any enemies encountered along the way. Yoshi already has many different abilities depending on the items he consumes, including hostiles. At the end of each of the seven worlds, players encounter the returning Koopalings, before an ultimate showdown with Bowser.

2 Super Mario Odyssey

Explore Kingdoms & Take Control Of Various Creatures

Super Mario Odyssey

10/10

Released: October 27, 2017

ESRB: E10+ for Everyone 10+: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief
Developer(s): Nintendo
Platform(s): Switch
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty

Anticipation for the upcoming Nintendo Switch was already palpable, so teasing the sandbox-style Super Mario Odyssey during the announcement only boosted fan hype. Becoming one of the hybrid console’s most influential games, Odyssey takes Mario to fourteen unique and open-ended worlds to collect the Power Moons that fuel the eponymous Odyssey, his mode of transportation.

Assisted by the now iconic Cappy, Mario’s sentient hat, players are able to take control of certain creatures and objects to use their abilities and reach new areas, such as a T. rex or a Bullet Bill. Winning countless awards and selling millions of copies, Odyssey is still regarded as one of the best games ever made almost a decade since its initial release.

1 Super Mario 64

The Exciting First 3D Mario Game

Super Mario 64

Released: September 26, 1996

ESRB: E for Everyone
Developer(s): Nintendo
Platform(s): N64

One of the games that made the Nintendo 64 a legendary console, Super Mario 64, marked the first time that players ever saw the Italian plumber in three dimensions. Transitioning to 3D was a major advancement for many long-running series, one which was mind-blowing for contemporary players, and Mario’s enduring popularity owes a lot to this stellar entry in the franchise.

Countless advertising campaigns showed off the ambition of this game, only adding to the excitement levels of reviewers and audiences. The result is one of the greatest and most influential games ever made, which continues to inspire developers to this day, especially in regard to platform games and even open-world games, thanks to the secrets found around Peach’s Castle and the diverse game worlds.