Nintendo recently celebrated its favorite holiday, MAR10 Day – which means there’s no better time to rank the mainline Super Mario titles. For reference, this only includes games that the company considers to be “main series”, which generally includes 2D Mario and 3D Mario, but not Wario Land or Yoshi’s Island (even though the former was called Super Mario Land 3 and the latter Super Mario World 2). It also includes Super Mario Run, for whatever reason, and as you might expect that game is nowhere to be found on our list.
Before you read, keep in mind that this is of course a heavily subjective list, and it’s more to promote all of you ranking your own lists in the comments down below than anything else. Feel free to share your thoughts after you read our top ten!
10. Super Mario 64
Most are probably expecting to see Super Mario 64 higher on our list. As someone who’s played, beaten, and 100 percent completed the game at least three times, it’s very good – for its time. It pioneered the 3D platformer genre, with plenty of content to romp through and memorable levels and characters to boot. That said, many aspects of Super Mario 64 haven’t aged well, and the one that pops up into the conversation most often is the camera.
In early levels, like Bob-omb Battlefield, the camera is little more than a passing afterthought. But during the later stages like Tick-Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride, you are constantly fighting a battle against the game’s stubborn camera. It doesn’t like to rotate around freely, and you often have no choice but to leave it at an odd angle before making a tricky jump.
Speaking of later levels, you can definitely tell the developers either ran out of steam or budget by the time they hit Rainbow Ride – it’s kind of a mess, especially when compared to earlier stages. But it can’t be understated how influential Super Mario 64 was, and one positive aspect of it that flies under the radar is how playable it still is despite being Nintendo’s first 3D platformer. You’d expect such a leap in graphics and technology to have more problems, but it’s still enjoyed by many to this day. 3D Mario games that have come after it have surpassed it, but Super Mario 64 was a legendary title for its time, and its inclusion on our list is well-deserved.
9. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Next up on our list, we’ve got New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which was the first truly co-op 2D Mario game. It also marked the return of the Koopalings, and though it’s a very “baseline” Mario title now, it was an incredibly influential one at that. Everything about New Super Mario Bros. Wii inspired the franchise for years to come – though some would call that a negative, that’s not necessarily the fault of the game. As we’ve come to expect from 2D Mario, the gameplay here is incredibly solid, with tons of levels and some particularly difficult challenges during the postgame. It’s hard to overstate just how important and formative New Super Mario Bros. Wii was, and it’s earned its spot on our list.
8. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
When Super Mario 3D World first released on Wii U in 2013, fans loved it – but at the same time, there was this feeling that the game wasn’t the 3D Mario Nintendo needed back then. They needed a fresh and stunning Mario experience to save their failing console, but instead, what we got was a sequel of sorts to Super Mario 3D Land. Don’t let that fool you into thinking Super Mario 3D World isn’t good, though – it’s absolutely fantastic, and now that we’ve got Super Mario Odyssey, 3D World carves a niche all its own within the 3D Mario space.
It’s more structured like a 2D Mario game, but with 3D gameplay – things are pretty linear, save for some secret exits, and there’s a world map plus plenty of collectibles to find. And with the improvements made to the Nintendo Switch version of the game, this is one of Mario’s best outings yet. Bowser’s Fury, an addition that also comes with the Switch version, is great too – it retains the same movement from Super Mario 3D World but adds that open-world gameplay that Wii U fans were hoping for at the time. Not only is Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury one of the best Mario games, but it’s also one of the best Nintendo Switch games overall.
7. New Super Mario Bros.
At the time of its release, New Super Mario Bros. was the first original 2D platformer Mario had seen in a long time. And it’s also, in my opinion, the best of the New Super Mario Bros. series of games. Compared to future titles in the series, New Super Mario Bros. on DS has a much more unique atmosphere. Its boss battles are actually a very strong point – you’ll fight characters like Petey Piranha, a Mega Goomba, and Lakithunder, whereas all of these fights are replaced with the Koopalings in future games. There are also plenty of unique enemies that are never seen again within the franchise – you have to admit that Squiggler is a selling point. In all seriousness, though, New Super Mario Bros. was a fresh return to form for Mario, and one that holds up incredibly well today.
6. Super Mario Bros. 3
For being as old as it is, Super Mario Bros. 3 has aged well. For many Nintendo fans nowadays, NES games aren’t particularly interesting – Nintendo has released them time and time again, and most of them won’t appeal to your average casual gamer. Super Mario Bros. 3, however, has stood the test of time.
It’s one of those games that feels many years ahead of its time – the movement is smooth and refined, the levels are simple but enjoyable, there’s quite a lot of content for being an NES game, and there are tons of iconic themes, stages, and characters within the game. The visuals and music have certainly aged a bit, but in a charming way – Super Mario Bros. 3 still feels great to play today, even over 35 years later. It shaped the franchise not just for years to come; it laid out the framework for every single 2D Mario game since then.
5. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Though the original New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii were great, the 2D Mario series began to feel stale after New Super Mario Bros. 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U released during the same year. After those two titles launched, the series was dormant for many years until the release of Super Mario Bros. Wonder in 2023. It’s another breath of fresh air for Mario – what immediately catches your eye is its art style, which beautifully renders characters with expressive poses and vibrant animations. The level design is as solid as you’d expect for a 2D Mario game, with Wonder Seeds scattered throughout to add extra twists to stages. The soundtrack is just a little bit weaker than other games in the mainline Mario franchise, but it’s not bad by any means – plus, it’s a little bit lacking in the boss department. Regardless, everything else is wonderful here – the character roster helps make the game feel even more varied. With the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game on the horizon, Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks like it will only get better and better given time.
4. Super Mario Odyssey
Somehow, this still counts as Mario’s latest all-new 3D outing – and it’s one of his best. Super Mario Odyssey isn’t afraid to make things weird. You’ve got giant dinosaurs, huge sprawling cities, overly-realistic dragons, tons of content, excellent music, and some extremely memorable moments like the New Donk City Festival. Not to mention, Odyssey’s movement is one of the best in any 3D platformer – Mario’s moves feel smoother than ever to chain into one after another, making this one of Nintendo’s most satisfying games of all time.
It’s not quite perfect, though – the sheer number of Power Moons and how easy they are to get makes the game’s main loop feel a bit trivial at times, plus the final boss is incredibly underwhelming even by Mario standards. Still, if you can look past those flaws, Super Mario Odyssey remains an excellent 3D platformer that plays better than ever on Nintendo Switch 2.
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mario’s second outer space outing is one of his best. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is an extremely rare case of a direct numbered sequel to a 3D Mario game, and it’s an excellent follow-up in nearly every way. Though it ditches most of the story and atmosphere that made the first game so loved, it’s got better level design from a gameplay perspective. Collecting Power Stars is as addictive as always, and it’s very easy to convince yourself to go for one more Power Star only to wind up playing for an additional two hours. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is home to plenty of memorable stages, including Sky Station Galaxy, Puzzle Plank Galaxy, and Slimy Spring Galaxy. The boss battles are a true highlight here, with plenty of fun ones throughout. This also marks the first appearance of Yoshi in a Super Mario Galaxy game, and he adds lots of variety to stages and is fun to control.
There are a few nitpicks here and there – the Star Ball is awkward to control (though you can argue that’s on purpose), Green Stars feel sort of pointless, and the final boss is extremely easy and somewhat anticlimactic. But the fact remains, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is one of the greatest Mario games of all time.
2. Super Mario World
If I had to guess, I’m probably a fair bit younger than a good chunk of Nintendo editorial writers, and so I didn’t grow up on Super Mario World. I don’t have any particular nostalgia for it, either, so with all that in mind, you might expect that I would leave it off the list. Quite the contrary, as you can see!
Super Mario World is actually one of my favorite Mario games even though I don’t have any kind of rose-tinted glasses for it. It’s the very definition of a 2D Mario game – it feels simple, colorful, and whimsical in a way that no 2D Mario since has been able to fully capture (but Wonder came close). It’s hard to describe, but Super Mario World’s simplicity feels like its biggest strength to me – you can immediately jump in and start playing, and the gameplay is fun enough to last you many hours. Even if you never played this game growing up, booting it up still somehow feels like home. Super Mario World is home to tons of secrets, too, as well as fun power-ups like the Cape Feather. Overall, this is an absolutely essential Mario experience, and the game that’s probably aged the best on this list.
1. Super Mario Galaxy
Coming in at the top spot is Super Mario Galaxy, which is appropriate given how much Nintendo is pushing the game lately. The company recently caught some backlash for releasing it for $40 on Nintendo Switch, but this version of the game is the best one yet with all the little improvements it makes.
Super Mario Galaxy is something truly special, and Nintendo knows it. Its atmosphere and soundtrack are absolutely unmatched not just within the Mario series, but within the greater gaming sphere in general. When I think of Super Mario Galaxy, I think of the music – almost every single track is memorable, and each one is designed to evoke a different feeling. There are big, grand songs like the Gusty Garden Galaxy, which are well-known and arguably overplayed throughout the Mario franchise, but then there are quiet tracks that make you marvel at the beauty of the universe like Space Junk Galaxy. This is about as whimsical and magical as games get, and in my opinion, the only thing holding it back is the controls – but even then, this game was designed around them, and thanks to the recent Nintendo Switch version it’s perfectly playable in handheld mode without the need for a stylus. Super Mario Galaxy also has light story elements with Rosalina’s backstory as well as the fantastic ending, and while these story elements are light in an objective sense, they’re more than any other 3D Mario game has ever had. Fans love when Mario focuses more on story, and Super Mario Galaxy’s critical acclaim speaks to that.
Just about every list is going to have Super Mario Galaxy, 64, or World as the top Super Mario game, so perhaps it’s difficult to surprise anyone there. That said, you’re welcome to share your top 10 in the comments down below. We’d love to see what you think.
If you want to see which games count towards the mainline series as acknowledged by Nintendo, here is a full list before we wrap up: Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker (though ranking a build-your-own-levels game seems a bit odd), Super Mario Run, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Maker 2, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
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