Previous we discussed fast food (link) and now to celebrate Mario's 35th anniversary let's do the same for all his main-line games. I'm choosing to not include Yoshi's Island as that's really more a Yoshi game than a Mario one, but feel free to include it. Would hate to not be able to use a classic Ness line of "Mario World isn't even the best game with Mario World in the title". So here's my rankings - S = GOAT, A = Great, B = Good, C = Meh, D = Not Good, F = Fuck off ya thong wearing fatty! I've also never played the Galaxy games, which is a big selling point for 3D All-Stars for me.

S

Super Mario Bros. 3: It's part of the holy trinity of GOAT games. It was everywhere. Gave us the first world map, mini-bosses, airships, introduces us to the Koopalings and powerups you can save for later. Boos were born here. Is there a better game? Probably not.

Super Mario World: This is another game that had it all. Overworld, Yoshi, secret levels, that epic way Bowser's final world emerges... and of course midboss named Reznor! And you fight 4 of them at once. Mario World is the 4th game... it makes sense.

Super Mario 64: It is the blueprint for what all 3D Platformers are judged against. Honestly the jump in graphics from the way things looked from Mario World to Mario 64 is a leap we will never again experience in our lives. You can't even really tell the difference between next gen games, but here it's unmistakable. Camera angle is a bitch, but would you rather play Bubsy 3D? Get outta my face before I slap the shit outta you.

A

Super Mario Bros.: One of the greatest games of all time, but I don't think I've ever beaten it. Some of those World 8 levels are a pain. Then again I probably haven't played it in like 20 years, which is why it's not S-tier to me.

Super Mario Land 2: Did what Mario 3 did for Mario Bros., expanded on everything and gave us a memorable "big bad" in Wario. The final castle also gave me a real run for my money as I died a few times in those let's play videos.

Super Mario 3D World: Must have for the Wii U, but of course that barely included anybody. Dunno if it ever got released on the Switch proper, but it seems to be on the horizon along with a Bowser bonus level in the works so it's a must play. I'd put it just a step below the all-time great Mario games. It's an upper midcarder who occasionally gets a world title shot. Don't overlook those Captain Toad levels either.

Super Mario Odyssey: Easily the best game on the Switch. Fuck Breath of the Wild, that's not my Zelda. Some really great things here, Pauline's stupid sexy singing. It had everything you loved about 64 and Galaxy (I assume). I'm not as attached to it as other games in the series so I can't write too much. Plus it's the last game so I'm beat.

B

Super Mario Bros. 2 (Doki Doki Panic Version): This is probably the most underrated of the series. Yes we all know it's not a "real" Mario game, but it's still a great game in it's own right. Introduced us to a ton of mainstay Mario enemies like Birdo, Shy Guys and possibly Bob-Ombs. Plus it's one of those rare Bowser-free zones.

Super Mario Land: Those who have followed my PW career will remember I did some let's plays and this was one of them. Everyone who owned a Gameboy had this game. It was short, different from the norm of Mario and it was good. Just not as good as it could've been. Sometimes this feels like a fan fic of a Mario game.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Of all the games under the NEW umbrella I think the one for the Wii is easily the stand-out. When I played through the others I had no lasting feelings, but it was different here. It's a step below the all-time classics, but still above some of the other games.

Super Mario 3D Land: This is a game almost no one talks about. Was an early 3DS game if I'm not mistaken so maybe it just went under the radar? People adore the sequel so I'm not sure why it's never gotten love. Mixes everything from 2D and 3D into the ultimate package. Love it.

C

Super Mario Sunshine: This one is easily middle of the road. There are parts I like and parts I don't. Bowser Jr. is one of my favorite characters of all-time, so I have a soft spot for him here. It's always been a cliche fan fic dream of mine for the imposter Mario to be Luigi pulling a Raven WHAT ABOUT ME?!? but it is what it is.

New Super Mario Bros.: I have no real memories of this. I rented it and beat it quickly. I really should revisit it as I recall nothing. Most of the NEW games all feel the same to me though.

New Super Mario Bros. 2: By this point the NEW series just felt like a parody of itself. Interchangeable. They added a coin gimmick, but nobody cares. It was fine for one playthrough, but that's about it.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Same deal as the previous one. Not a bad game and if you owned a Wii U (both of us?) you needed this, well until they released a proper Mario game a little later.

D

Super Mario Bros. 2 (Lost Levels Version): Much like the original game I never beat this one. Yes it's harder, but it also doesn't feel like a sequel... just an expansion pack to the original game. Uh oh they introduced poison mushroom. Get the fuck outta here with that. It's not that Americans suck, it's that it's not a good game! Least played of all the games on the original All-Stars for me. Might be more on the boring side than not good.

F

Don't think any mainline Mario game is terrible. You gotta ask Sonic about that shit.

I haven't played every Mario game there is but for the ones I've played....

S TIER
Super Mario Bros 2 (Doki Doki Panic version) - much like videogamedunkey, it's game of the year, every year.

Super Mario Bros 3 - probably my favourite Mario game to replay. You can't go wrong.

Super Mario 64 - it's rare that a franchise changes video games forever twice, but this game did it.

Super Mario Odyssey - basically an open world Mario game that is an incredible improvement on Mario 64.

A TIER
Super Mario World - I made my parents get me an SNES for two games: Super Mario Kart and this.

New Super Mario Bros (Wii) - one of my roommates had a Wii back in the day and when he bought this game we didn't do anything else for like a month.

B TIER
Super Mario Bros. - the originator, but not the best. Only played this through a few times, and once newer Mario games came out I never really gave it another thought.


C TIER
Super Mario Land - I don't think I ever finished this game, but I did mostly enjoy it from what I remember. One of thew few Game Boy games I had.

Super Mario Sunshine - I need to replay this game but I remember it having some problems. I'm looking forward to when All Stars gets released on the Switch so I can finally give it another go. This could jump up my list.

Super Mario Galaxy - This game wasn't too bad but I got shoe-horned into playing 2 player with my kids most of the time and I was always the stupid star thing. I got bored of this game pretty fast.

D TIER
None

F TIER
Super Mario Maker 2 - never played the first but I don't care. I didn't like the 2nd. Levels are too short and everything on the top charts is just speed run nonsense or impossibly hard levels for people with too much time on their hands. And the creation mode is annoying. I've never bothered to create a level. My kids have, and my son seems to like the game well enough, but what does he know? He's five.

Mario will win this whole tournament.

@ness did Let's Plays?

When?

Where?

How do I watch them?

I think you guys should post about Super Mario Bros. 3 in this thread if you think it innovated as much as it did.

Sept 15, 2020 12:24:43 GMT Emperor said:

@ness did Let's Plays?

When?

Where?

How do I watch them?

I think you guys should post about Super Mario Bros. 3 in this thread if you think it innovated as much as it did.

The videos are gone but I did both Mario Lands and the first DKC. Been mulling over doing them again.

I played all of Ness S tier, one A tier, and a B tier. Guess I didn't miss anything pass 64.

We may have found our new trend on VG&T.

S-Tier

Super Mario Bros. 3 - The true successor of the original Super Mario Bros, SMB3 remains the best 2D platformer of the series. It took the original design and expanded upon it exponentially to create the most vivid worlds of the series as well as incorporating a ridiculous amount of power-ups to play around with. A few entries came close to achieving the same magic as SMB3, but nothing has yet to surpass it.

Super Mario 64 - I remember the first time I played Super Mario 64 and just being spell-bound by Mario's face. I was so glad Nintendo gave me the ability to pinch it because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Super Mario 64 felt less of a game and more like a virtual playground where you could perform so many amazing feats. That combined with the ingenius level design makes it a timeless game and I can't wait until a new generation gets to experience it in the coming days.

A-Tier

Super Mario Bros - The game is just so well laid out I find it just as enjoyable to play in 2020 as I did in the early 90s. What it lacks in variety, it makes up for in craft. Something as simple as destroying blocks still feels so satisfying.

Super Mario World - I couldn't blame anyone for including both it and SMB3 in the same tier, but if you held a gun to my head and made me choose, I'd have to go with SMB3. SMW is an amazing game in it's own right, but the bland setting and odd aesthetic choices makes me lean towards SMB3. However, it's these design choices that allow it to be an A-tier game. There are some excellent ideas here, the Boo Houses, the plethora of alternative exits, Star Road and even the odd autumn theme when you complete star road just gives the game it's own identity. I still go back to it all the time, in fact I beat it again not that long ago.

B-Tier

Super Mario Bros 2 - Did you know? The game was originally released in Japan as Doki Doki Panic? Hehe and it's a very good game in it's own right with a lot of zany choices. I especially liked how it allowed you to weaponise enemies and throw them at other enemies. Definitely above average, but not quite as polished as other efforts in the series.

Super Mario Galaxy - This was a very ambitious step for the series and the soundtrack really emphasised that this was the grandest voyage of Mario's career. However I wasn't found of the segmented obstacle course design of a lot of stages and it just doesn't resonate with me as highly as other games.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - I've yet to actually beat this, but it seemed like they cut a lot of the unnecessary elements of Galaxy and instead tightened the gameplay to the point where it's arguably the best in the series.

Super Mario 3D World - The game just has so much imagination through out and feels like the perfect celebration of the series with so many returning characters and nods to past games and spin-offs. The Wii U is largely considered a failure, but as somebody who owned one this game alone made it all worthwhile. This was originally in A-tier, but I just haven't gone back to it like I have with the original SMB and SMW.

Super Mario Odyssey - I beat the entire game in one sitting. I've never gone back to it, the whole experience was a blur but I really enjoyed it. I remember it as a return to the open-world design of 64, but with a streamlined main quest just to give gamers that straight forward experience. Cappy was a great gimmick and a nice twist on power-ups with Mario able to inhabit so many different forms. It's the one game I'd love to return to.

C-Tier

Super Mario Land - I never owned this, but played it a few times. Felt like the GB's answer to the original with enough original ideas for it to stand out on it's own. I need to revisit it, but just felt a little beneath other titles.

Super Mario Land 2 - Same deal. Between it and the original Land, I preferred 2 if only because of the world design. It felt like a more ambitious game, albeit a touch easy?

Super Mario Sunshine - Had the near impossible task of succeeding Mario 64 and while it didn't quite live up to the task, it's still one of the better 3D platformers of it's generation. Like World, I appreciate that it wasn't just Super Mario 64 2 with another enchanted castle. The island setting was a nice escape in retrospect and allows the game to stick out 18 years later. I haven't played it in 15 odd years, so I'm looking forward to revisiting it soon.

New Super Mario Bros - After waiting for over 10 years for a 2D release, it was nice to see Nintendo return to the series roots for the DS. It felt more like a throwback with a couple of new tricks as opposed to a completely new take on the series. It was enjoyable enough for a revisit, but I didn't see enough content for a full blown stay. Little did I know...

Super Mario 3D Land - It blurs in with 3D World for me. I played this after World as well, so I wasn't as enamoured with it. However, I remember being impressed that a lot of ideas from 3D World originated here and for a 3DS game, it was a technical marvel.

New Super Mario Bros Wii U - Definitely lacked the ambition of classic Mario, but the actual core gameplay is as strong as ever and it has some fantastic levels to play through. Playing through it about 4 years ago was such a conflicting experience because I could see a new generation appreciating it a lot more as opposed to somebody who grew up playing SMW and All-Stars and was kind of bored by the 2D entries.

D-Tier

Super Mario Lost Levels - Yep, just a low-effort rom-hack of the original with a lot of cryptic design elements just to test hardcore players of the original. It's a chore to play and just feels like a pre-cursor to Kaizo Mario.

DNP

New Super Mario Bros Wii

New Super Mario Bros 2 - Maybe one day, but I was so turned off by the publicity I've just never felt the need to go out and buy either.

Should point out I'm grading this on a curve. If we're going in general, you could bump all these games up a grade and that would be a fair reflection.

Wait, what about the paper version of Mario!?

Also, I hate that there are some Mario games I haven't played... But Sunshine burned me so bad, I've been gunshy ever since.

Sept 15, 2020 17:55:42 GMT 🤯 said:

Wait, what about the paper version of Mario!?

Can't believe no one has clued you in. The paper version of Mario only exists in a Baker notebook.

I'm disappointed at the lack of Insurance Broker Mario.

So there's a Paper Mario...

And Mario 64 included a terrifying Metal Mario (material scissors are made of)...

Has there ever been a Rock Mario? 🤨

Actually... Fuck Rock, Paper, Scissors. The mention of metal and rock makes me feel like their was a huge missed opportunity with not having the Mario-verse cast in some Rock Band-like game.

Mate there's been an Easter Island Statue Mario.

I want whatever drugs the Mario creators have taken over the past 35 years or whatever. The shit they come up with!

Sept 15, 2020 18:15:04 GMT @ness said:

Sept 15, 2020 17:55:42 GMT 🤯 said:

Can't believe no one has clued you in. The paper version of Mario only exists in a Baker notebook.

Nope. I know nothing of this Paper Mario but am hoping it's a Mario version of the NES cult classic Paperboy.

What's the deal with S tier? I've seen this nonsense before. Where did it originate? What does the S mean? I refuse to recognize it. A-B-C-D-E/F is the only grading system for me.

A Tier: Super Mario Brothers 2 & 3
B Tier: Super Mario Brothers

Sept 17, 2020 0:17:56 GMT Baker said:

Sept 15, 2020 18:15:04 GMT @ness said:

Can't believe no one has clued you in. The paper version of Mario only exists in a Baker notebook.

Nope. I know nothing of this Paper Mario but am hoping it's a Mario version of the NES cult classic Paperboy.

What's the deal with S tier? I've seen this nonsense before. Where did it originate? What does the S mean? I refuse to recognize it. A-B-C-D-E/F is the only grading system for me.

A Tier: Super Mario Brothers 2 & 3
B Tier: Super Mario Brothers

System explained it in the other tier thread I made (fast food places) and it's basically a video game thing. Just gonna assume it means SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPER because Super Mario!

S Tier
Super Mario World - Not only is it the greatest Mario game of all-time, it's the greatest game period.
Super Mario Bros. 3 - A fantastic game, honestly just a smidge beneath Super Mario World, as far as 2D Mario goes.
Super Mario Odyssey - Easily the best game of 2017 (and a top three Switch game), 3D Mario at it's abolute best.

A Tier
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy 2 - disappointed it wasn't on 3D All-Stars. That said, I love both Galaxy games.
Super Mario 3D World - Super excited to play this again, next year on the Nintendo Switch.

B Tier

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super Mario World 2 -
New Super Mario Bros. U - Played the Switch version, I enjoyed the game.

C Tier

Super Mario Bros. - Seems like a low ranking for one of the most important games in video game history, but there are better Mario games so eh.
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3D Land
Super Mario Sunshine - Who knows, maybe this will rank higher, following a replay on the 3D All-Stars collection.

OK, maybe I haven't played as much mainline Mario games, as I probably should have, especially a lot of the "New" Mario games. Also, playing Super Mario 64 on 3D All-Stars for the first time, no where near far enough to properly rank it at the moment.

Edit: I forgot the Mario Maker games, meh fuck it.