How do you celebrate Mario Day?
March 10 -- Mar10, get it? -- has been dedicated to the plumber-turned-hero-turned-doctor-turned-lots-of-other-odd-things, and it's a fitting time to look back on everything Mario's been a part of in the past few decades and maybe dust off some old favorites.
While reflecting on those classics and the latest Mario releases, we decided to mess everything up by asking people for their opinions.
ESPN put together a panel of "experts" (a loose term, considering one of you voted Mario Tennis at No. 2) to rank the Mario games, from the ones that feature him to series that bear his name. Here's our definitive, not-at-all-arguable list of the 20 best Mario titles ever.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3
Described by one of our staffers as "electric," Super Mario Bros. gave the platforming genre a jolt and brought Mario into the limelight. While its predecessors laid the groundwork, Super Mario Bros. took the series to the stars, and it's been remade, remastered, emulated and ported near-countless times as a result.
2. Mario Party
As someone who ran a few Mario Party esports tournaments in Los Angeles, I can definitively say that Mario Party is both the best and worst video game of all time. I once saw a man not move a single space during a game of Super Mario Party on the Switch and still get a star. Mario Party is both incredible and terrible, and anyone who tells you they're good at it is lying, unless that person is me.
3. Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 is a classic. Timeless. Amazing. It's also a reminder that it's OK to cheat sometimes, because by no means was I getting all 120 stars as a kid without Nintendo Power holding my hand every step of the way.
4. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Like Super Mario Bros., but not as super. This is the game that laid the groundwork for everything from Mario 2 and 3 on the NES to Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch. And before you start saying anything about Jumpman, that was Mario's father (yes, really) and therefore doesn't count.
5. Mario Kart
Ruining friendships since 1992. You're a real one if you made it through Toad's Turnpike in reverse on the N64 or remember the Rainbow Road track skip. Kids these days have it too easy.
6. Super Mario World
Like Super Mario Bros., but with more than brothers. This is the game that introduces Yoshi, a fact that depending on your opinion of the dinosaur either makes it an all-time great or means every copy should be put on a spaceship and sent to the sun.
7. Paper Mario
I've had a strict no-preorder policy ever since Fallout 76 literally ruined my appetite for games for about a month. I would 100% reverse course on that and spend hundreds of dollars if Nintendo promised me that, today, they could deliver me a Paper Mario on the Switch.
8. Mario Tennis
I have never seen anyone enjoy playing a Mario Tennis game. That said, one person who voted called it "intense." Another said, "TENNIS IS GOOD." Those are direct quotes via our team's Slack channel. Moving on.
9. Super Mario Maker
The thing I like most about the Super Mario Maker series is watching streamers fail at Super Mario Maker levels designed to inflict pain on others.
10. Mario Golf
Few things were as stressful as a child as trying to make a putt while your friends mashed buttons to make Donkey Kong and Bowser yell what I can only assume are obscenities at you.
11. Super Mario Galaxy
One of the highlights of the Wii years, which isn't saying much, but it's saying something. The gravity system in Galaxy was novel, as was the use of the motion controls. Much like every other game in existence, I'd love to see what a Switch port of Galaxy looks like.
12. Dr. Mario
Puzzle games hold a special place in the hearts of any '80s or '90s kid, from Tetris to Bubble Bobble and, of course, this Mario-centric take on the genre. That said, Dr. Mario never sat well with me, perhaps because I was a child who hated doctors and was forced to see my hero become the very thing I despised. Lots to unpack there. Let's move on.
13. Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine walked so Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Odyssey could run (and Sunshine was better conceptually, if we're being honest).
14. Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars
The first step toward Paper Mario and more open-world adventures later on, Seven Stars was one of the first big risks Nintendo took with the Mario brand. It paid off and gave the company a formula to build off of for future role-playing takes on the plumber's wacky world.
15. Super Mario Odyssey
Breath of the Wild remains the marquee Switch game, but Odyssey is definitely in the top five on the platform right now. It also confirms my theory that Bowser's been the good guy all along. This dude willingly throws around a hat that possesses people. Don't tell me he's the hero.
16. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
This series was what finally convinced me the name "Mario" can sell just about anything.
17. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
I'm not sure if most of our panel don't own a Switch or just leaned into nostalgia wholeheartedly, but the new games in the Mario series received no love. The game has more than 160 courses and a wide cast of characters to play with, but sometimes a fresh coat of paint doesn't beat the old, rustic feel of 16-bit side-scrolling.
18. Mario Baseball
You'd think the success of Mario Golf and Mario Tennis would make Mario Baseball a surefire hit. Wrong. For some reason, this series struck out, and Mario's adventures to the ballpark ended after just the second installment, Mario Super Sluggers (what a name) in 2008.
19. Mario Pinball Land
I put this on the list purely so I can express how much I hate pinball games. Then, a bunch of people didn't put it in last place and instead besmirched one of the great games of the last couple years. I am, of course, talking about:
20. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
This game being dead last on the list is a travesty, but the rest of the group overruled me. That said, this one's kind of obscure and definitely not for everyone.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is one of those games I expected to be disappointed by and instead fell in love with. It's the best strategy game on the Switch not named Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I will die on this hill along with all the other Mario + Rabbids fans. There are dozens of us. DOZENS.
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