It is currently Mario‘s time to shine thanks to the debut of the long-awaited Super Mario Bros. Movie from Illumination and Nintendo which is now being shown at cinemas worldwide. Established magazine Esquire has thought it’s the perfect time to rank the all-time best video games starring the iconic Italian plumber. As you would expect the end results are surprising so without further ado, here we go!
Esquire’s 25 favourite Mario games of all-time:
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Super Mario 64
- Super Mario World
- Super Mario Galaxy 2
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Super Smash Bros. Melee
- Mario Kart: Double Dash
- Mario Kart 8
- Mario Party 3
- Super Mario Maker 2
- Super Mario 3D World
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Mario Golf
- Dr. Mario
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Mario Tennis 64
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Super Mario RPG
- Super Mario 3D Land
- Super Mario Strikers
“Many will argue about the greatest all-time Mario game, and sure, it’s tough to judge–but it’s almost impossible to deny that Super Mario Bros. 3 is the most enduring success of the Mario franchise, and perhaps, the greatest video game of all time, too. As Nintendo rose into cultural significance and launched this title, Super Mario became a broader, more intricate, and more complex series, providing players with hours upon hours of adventure, and hopping to new worlds never before captured in the medium. It changed the game. And, the raccoon tail was pretty cool, too.:”
Esquire on their No.1 selection, Super Mario Bros. 3
lol, Smash Bros made the list.
My personal favorite would be Super Mario RPG, im surprised Super Mario RPG is No.23 on the list.
You have to remember this is 2-4 people’s opinions. They probably just put them all into a hat and drawn or just looked at sales numbers and or reviews and made the decision. Mario RPG was not a great seller even though it was an awesome game. People just didn’t buy it back then because they just didn’t think Mario would make an RPG not because it was bad and it released during the consoles last leg days and only like 3 months before the N64 released.
No way in the world that Mario 64 is better then yoshi’s island
Yoshi’s Island is top 10 or 15 at least.
I will not argue Super Mario Bros. 3 as #1. I love that game and still own it with the original box. I would rate Super Mario World higher than Super Mario 64 personally but great list nonetheless.
I mean with this series I honestly think there’s about 10 games that would be completely reasonable picks for the number 1 slot, and yes, Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of them. For me personally speaking, it’s Galaxy 2, but I could see SMB, SMB3, SMW, Yoshi’s Island, 64, Galaxy, Galaxy 2, 3D World, MK8D and Odyssey all as completely plausible selections, and honestly there’s plenty more not too far behind. What a series of games.
If Super Smash Bros. Melee is a Mario game, then Soul Calibur II is a Zelda game. Like, are you serious?
Also, Sunshine is way too high up; there’s no way Galaxy 1 is below it.
And no Paper Mario 64 at all? Really?
Ive never heard of Esquire but their rankings are totally wack. Why would anyone care what they think about Mario anyhow?
SMW at #3? Good. I know opinions are not fact but SMW should always be in the top 5 of best Super Mario games. It’s the pinnacle of 16-bit Mario to me. I love finding all the exits to create new paths in the overworld. Honestly, I’d love it if Ninty would let dev teams make a 16-bit Mario on occasion that use SMW as a base for a new line of 16-bit 2D Mario games. I’d buy every one.