Mario Games Ranked (including spinoffs)
Ranking all the Mario games I played for a significant amount of time based on my personal enjoyment of each. It counts if you can at least play as Mario.
62 Games
My most nostalgic Mario game and my favorite level design in any 3D platformer. Music and theming is just magical to me.
1
Like Galaxy 2 but with much heavier atmosphere and a beautiful sense of sadness and mystique that the second game didn't fully capture.
2
Amazing characters, story and battle system. Just a really great RPG with plenty of memorable moments and very few dips in quality(minus the obligatory General White mission).
3
Amazingly fun movement with excellent kingdom design and loads of freedom. Probably my favorite Mario game to just pick up and just run around in.
4
Loaded on tutorials but the combat gets insanely fun once you get past those and I love the music as well. Probably has my favorite bosses in the franchise, especially when looking at the late-game bosses.
5
3D World but it plays faster and has a cool new mode.
6
Peak Mario storytelling with an actually decent twist to the Paper Mario formula.
7
Excellent linear design with fun gimmicks that never feel padded out.
8
Most condensed and to-the-point Mario and Luigi game with clever gimmicks and a memorable story.
9
A bit basic but with enough strange twists that make it feel both familiar yet new and exciting all the same.
10
Probably the weirdest Mario game ever but has its own charm.
11
Great 2D Mario level design with the most interconnected world map to date.
12
A strange sequel that manages to be completely different yet works in its own way. The egg throwing mechanics and collectathon aspects make this game a joy to replay.
13
Mario Party with a healthy dose of nostalgia + portability + fun boards + good story mode = banger
14
Mario Party but with day and night cycles and really good board design.
15
So much dumb bullshit levels but I love its FLUDD mechanics so much I can't knock it too much.
16
Mario Kart 8 but with even more content and a proper battle mode.
17
Somewhat annoying item balancing but excellent track design and fun, chaotic racing mechanics.
18
Mario Maker but with slopes and also more shit.
19
Basic compared to later Mario and Luigi games but introduced a new unique battle system that's worked wonders for this series ever sense. It's also just fucking weird.
20
Has worse controls than the original to an extent but makes up for it with its extra content.
21
Aged in some respects and has some weaker level design but I can't deny the amount of freedom to be found here and I love the early 3D charm that comes with its own uncanniness and mystique.
22
Solid new additions to the Mario formula with many secrets in its levels. Most levels are pretty good though I didn't find all of them to be super memorable individually.
23
Good boards but very hit or miss minigames. Motion controls made some of the minigames gimmicky and downright bad.
24
Best tracks in the series and carries over the great customization from MK7. Battle mode is shit.
25
Decent track roster and mission mode. Also you could create emblems with should totally come back please.
26
Most unique Mario Kart to date featuring two characters in one kart and special items for different characters.
27
Just a solid 3D Mario platformer but a bit generic all the same.
28
God tier character roster and a pretty fun story mode.
29
Short but extremely memorable and creative with every level. Truly unlike anything else in the series.
30
Make it yourself if you're so goddamn smart.
31
Great minigames and solid boards. Just a decent Mario Party game.
32
Unoriginal but I'm glad they brought back the connected world map style in Super Mario World.
33
Nostalgic game but some of the levels are eh until later in the game.
34
Levels are kind of hit or miss for me overall but there are some true bangers that eclipse every other New Super Mario Bros game and I enjoyed the power-ups more this time around.
35
I never liked controlling the babies and I found it cumbersome constantly jumping between different buttons for basic actions but solid gameplay aside from the annoyances.
36
Swapping babies could be annoying but overall gameplay was fun like the original Yoshi's Island. Sometimes levels dragged a bit.
37
At least it's fun.
38
Most generic GameCube Mario Party but decent otherwise.
39
Who gives a shit about the characters but the tracks are fun at least.
40
Solid tactical Mario X-Com game that works better than you'd expect. Balance of the extra content feels a bit whack though.
41
Hockey + Dodge Ball were king shit. The other two sports didn't matter.
42
Everyone is edgy in this one.
43
The Mario tennis game with content.
44
The classic. The original. Stuff like levels and bosses have been done miles better later in the series, but this is an enjoyable start to the series.
45
better than the last two Paper Mario games at least
46
Fun puzzle game that I could never 100% because I'm bad.
47
Why tf didn't this get jack shit after launch(barebones online does not count).
48
Funny glitches and interesting history though I'm not a fan of playing it myself.
49
This is the ultimate fast food Mario game. It's so bland and lacks any substance but it's kind if fun sometimes.
50
Fun battle system that feels a bit different with an extra character but all the missed potential from a crossover like this will never not sour this game for me.
51
Like four cool tracks but nothing else matters.
52
Very primitive and limited gameplay but it works.
53
Fun writing and world design but good god never again this battle system sucks.
54
At least they tried something with the car gimmick and the content was more meaty than later Mario Parties but not all that fun to come back to.
55
Dated and kinda irrelevant with later Mario Kart games bringing back every track in this game.
56
Hard but so bullshit it's not even fun or interesting aside from that fact that its existence is a marvel.
57
I can't stand the controls.
58
They literally did not care.
59
They literally cared even less.
60
I mean, I would probably like it better if it was free as the multiple playable characters are a cool touch and I think a Mario runner could have potential for as generic as the concept is but this just feels like a cheap cash-in and I can't be bothered to pay for a half assed game when so much free stuff exists on the app store with way more content.
61
Generic, gimmicky, unoriginal. Basically my most common criticisms of modern Mario games all rolled into one package. Battle system tried something different but just didn't work at all and I can't be bothered to play this again.
62