Tier List Template

Best Mario Games Tier List

Official CheckpointDB starter template. Category: Franchise. Compare core Mario platformers, spin-offs, and party favorites across fun factor, replay value, and nostalgia. Includes 20 real linked games from CheckpointDB.

20 visible games

S

Super Mario World A 2D platformer and first entry on the SNES in the Super Mario franchise, Super Mario World follows Mario as he attempts to defeat Bowser's underlings and rescue Princess Peach from his clutches. The game features a save system, a less linear world map, an expanded movement arsenal and numerous new items for Mario, alongside new approaches to level design and art direction. Super Mario Galaxy A 3D platformer and first Wii entry in the Super Mario franchise, Super Mario Galaxy sees Mario jump across planets and galaxies with varying items, enemies, geographies and gravity mechanics in order to reach his enemy Bowser, who has attacked the Mushroom Kingdom and hijacked Princess Peach's castle with her inside. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is a platform video game acting as a prequel to 1990's Super Mario World. The game casts players as Yoshi as he escorts Baby Mario through 48 levels in order to reunite him with his brother Luigi, who had been kidnapped by Baby Bowser's minions. As a Super Mario series platformer, Yoshi runs and jumps to reach the end of the level while solving puzzles and collecting items. In a style new to the series, the game has a hand-drawn aesthetic and is the first to have Yoshi as its main character. The game introduces his signature abilities to flutter jump, produce eggs from swallowed enemies, and transform into vehicles. Super Mario Galaxy 2 Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy and the fourth 3D platformer entry in the Mario franchise. The sequel retains many elements from its predecessor, such as the adventure being in outer space, the element of gravity, and recurring objects such as Launch Stars and Sling Stars. Returning items include the Bee Mushroom and the Fire Flower. However, the game introduces new elements as well, such as the utilization of Yoshi, new power-ups like the Cloud Flower, and the use of a guide within the game for beginner players.

A

Super Mario Bros. 3 Super Mario Bros. 3, the third entry in the Super Mario Bros. series and Super Mario franchise, sees Mario or Luigi navigate a nonlinear world map containing platforming levels and optional minigames and challenges. The game features more diverse movement options and new items alongside more complex level designs and boss battles. Super Mario 64 Mario is super in a whole new way! Combining the finest 3-D graphics ever developed for a video game and an explosive soundtrack, Super Mario 64 becomes a new standard for video games. It's packed with bruising battles, daunting obstacle courses, and underwater adventures. Retrieve the Power Stars from their hidden locations and confront your arch-nemesis— Bowser, King of the Koopas! • Run freely in a grassy meadow, tip-toe through a gloomy dungeon, climb to the top of a mountain, or take a swim in the moat! • Leap headfirst into a watery painting and soon you'll be searching for the surface in an underwater realm! • On-the-fly, 3-D rendered gameplay delivers the action of ruthless enemy attacks from every angle! • Find the Caps that give Mario super powers and ponder the mysteries of the pyramid; you can even race Koopas for fabulous prizes! • With the Nintendo 64 Controller and its analog Control Stick, Mario can crawl, kick down obstacles, swim, do reverse flips, and even stick the landing on his backwards somersault! • Saved game information is stored for up to four players in memory. New Super Mario Bros. New Super Mario Bros. is a side-scrolling 2.5D action-adventure platformer game for the Nintendo DS, starring Mario and Luigi. The game features a solo story mode with Mario or Luigi, a two-player wireless game Mario Vs. Luigi, as well as a minigame mode for up to four players. The gameplay of New Super Mario Bros. is very much like that of the classic 2D platformers, mostly Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, and substantially builds upon them to create gameplay both classic and contemporary. As the game is on DS, the touch screen allows players to store an additional power-up and view the distance still to go in a level. Super Mario Kart Super Mario Kart is a racing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the first game of the Mario Kart series, as well as the game that sets precedents to the fictional kart racing genre. Part of this game is heavily based on Super Mario World in terms of graphics and overall theme. Using Mode 7 scaling, the first true kart game on the SNES has you collecting coins to boost your speed while using shells and bananas to stop others on the track.

B

Super Mario Sunshine Super Mario Sunshine is a Mario action-adventure 3D platformer. It follows Super Mario 64, and is the second 3D Mario platformer. Gameplay features a combination of action and puzzle solving, with numerous stages and multiple episodes to each stage, and plenty of hidden secrets and surprises. This game introduced many recurring characters and bosses in the Mario series, including Toadsworth, Bowser Jr., Petey Piranha, Gooper Blooper, Piantas, Nokis, Shadow Mario, and F.L.U.D.D. Super Mario Sunshine pays homage to Mario's Italian heritage and upbringing, with many of the locations in the game having Italian names and sometimes referencing Italian culture. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars A JRPG entry in the Super Mario franchise in which Mario meets many unlikely allies in order to jump and fight his way through the Mushroom Kingdom and collect stars to repair the Star Road, the pathway that grants people's wishes, which was destroyed by Smithy, the otherworldly entity that hijacked Bowser's castle and threw the Kingdom into disarray. Super Mario 3D Land Super Mario 3D Land is the second 3D Super Mario platformer for a handheld device, and the successor to Super Mario Galaxy 2. The game is closely based on side-scrolling Mario games, as it combine elements from both traditional 2D Mario games and modern free-roaming 3D Mario games. It also introduces elements into the series, including power-ups and gameplay mechanics. Super Mario Bros. A side scrolling 2D platformer and first entry in the Super Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. follows Italian plumber Mario as he treks across many levels of platforming challenges featuring hostile enemies to rescue Princess Peach from the evil king Bowser.

C

Mario Kart 8 Turn your racing experience upside down! Nintendo’s Mario Kart franchise comes to the Wii U console in full HD, introducing new racing circuit designs and anti-gravity karts that will have players driving upside down. And for the first time, all of Bowser’s seven Koopalings are playable characters-- get a taste of being bad on the race track by playing as Iggy, Larry, Lemmy, Ludwig, Morton, Roy and Wendy. Players will also enjoy a variety of series-favorite features, including the return of 12-player online competitive play, hang-gliders, underwater racing and motorbikes. Mario Kart DS Mario Kart DS is the continuation of the long running racing game series that began on the Super Nintendo. It features 16 new tracks as well as 16 tracks from the previous 4 games, with each set split up into the Nitro and Retro Grand Prix respectively. Eight racers are initially available, each with two go-karts to choose from. A number of characters and additional karts are also available to unlock. New items have been added to the arsenal, including a Blooper squid that squirts ink onto the screens of other players and a Bullet Bill power up that transforms the player into a giant, fast-travelling bullet on autopilot. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The Mushroom Kingdom just got a whole lot more hectic as Mario and friends double up for furious kart racing. This time around, each kart holds two racers that can switch places at any time, so choose from a huge cast of favorites and pair them up any way you see fit. The character in front handles the driving duties, while the character in the rear doles out damage with six normal items and eight special items that only specific characters can use. Get ready for some intense multiplayer mayhem with your favorite characters, including Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Bowser, and Koopa. Mario Kart 64 Mario Kart 64 is the second main installment of the Mario Kart series. It is the first game in the series to use three-dimensional graphics, however, the characters and items in this game are still two-dimensional, pre-rendered sprites. The game offers two camera angles and three engine sizes: 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. Each kart has distinctive handling, acceleration and top speed capabilities. Shells that you fire at rival racers, Bananas that make them skid out and Lightning Bolts that make them small and very slow are just a few of the game's unique power-ups.

Not For Me

Mario Kart: Super Circuit Classic Mario Kart action is back once again, this time in a colorful, lightning-fast game that you can take anywhere. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Wario, Yoshi and Bowser are all tearing up the track, tossing Koopa Shells and laying banana peels along the way. Mario Kart Super Circuit puts your driving skills to the test on 40 tracks, each littered with wild weapons and obstacles. Choose to play as any of your favorite characters as you speed around classic and brand-new tracks. If you're feeling combative, try out the creative weaponry (mushrooms, bananas, thunder bolts, and stars) in Battle mode. Feel like making some friends eat your dust? No problem. Four players can compete in Mario Kart Super Circuit using only one Game Pak! If each player has a copy of the game, bonus features and new modes of play become available. Super Mario Odyssey Explore incredible places far from the Mushroom Kingdom as you join Mario and his new ally Cappy on a massive, globe-trotting 3D adventure. Use amazing new abilities, like the power to capture and control objects, animals, and enemies to collect Power Moons so you can power up the Odyssey airship and save Princess Peach from Bowser’s wedding plans! Mario Party 8 Mario Party 8 is the eighth installment of the Mario Party series on a home console and the first Mario Party game for the Wii. Mario Party 8 is notable for its strong use of the Wii Remote and its motion control capabilities in minigames. Players are required to perform various gestures instead of traditional button/joystick controls. Common motions include pointing-and-shooting, shaking, waving, turning, and twisting the Wii Remote. Player-created Miis are featured in this game, wherein they often show up within crowds. Miis can appear in certain minigames and may also serve as the player's character in Extra Mode. By playing regular party games, minigames, and completing the Star Battle Arena mode, players will earn Carnival Cards, which may be spent to unlock figures and game features. Super Mario 3D World Super Mario 3D World is a 3D platformer action game for the Wii U, and a follow-up of the Nintendo 3DS installment Super Mario 3D Land. The game builds upon the previous installment, following a similar 3D level-design convention inspired from the 2D platformer titles where players must navigate through a linear-designed level within a time limit to reach a level's Goal Pole. One key aspect introduced in this title is the simultaneous multiplayer: while not the first game in the series to do so, it is the first 3D title in the Mario series to incorporate up to four players cooperating with each other to reach the goal. Players can select their character from a pool of playable characters prior to starting the game, and each of these characters have their own unique playstyle that gives them advantages and disadvantages over other characters. The game makes use of several Wii U exclusive features, such as tapping blocks with the touch screen on the GamePad and blowing into the mic to reveal hidden items and blow away enemies. Various new power-ups are introduced in this title, with the trademark suit being the Cat power-up, which enables characters to perform a melee attack, climb up walls, and leap while midair, as well as the game generally having a cat-based theme.