Since the 1980s, Mario has been like a chameleon for Nintendo. His mainline platform games are his bread and butter, but other titles in genres ranging from sports to racing have also been home runs with gamers worldwide.
It may seem impossible, but we’ll rank the 22 best games Mario has ever starred in, regardless of genre.
An open world with relative limits, enough collectibles to play the game for 100 hours, and a sandbox style that honors everything previously in the series make this the best game Mario has ever starred in.
The gameplay and youthful aesthetic of this version of Mario’s world are enough to prove to anyone in the world how special gaming is as an entertainment medium.
More items, the ability to ride on Yoshi, and the bright color palette are as vibrant today as when it came out. Many fans of 2D Mario still have Super Mario World as their favorite title.
It’s hard to balance the importance of a game with the execution of it when ranking stuff like this, but the first Super Mario Bros. remains high on the list because it has aged incredibly well for a nearly 40-year-old game.
One of the more controversial titles in Mario’s library is this GameCube classic. Not everybody enjoyed the mechanics that Nintendo introduced here, such as the F.L.O.O.D. water pack that served as weaponry for our favorite plumber.
Sequels in film often don’t capture the beauty of the first movie. In gaming, especially Nintendo’s world, the sequel is usually much better than the original. This is undoubtedly the case with Super Mario Galaxy 2.