Introduction

As I wrote in the previous two articles, the end of school kicked my ass this year. It probably did last year, too. But, this year is fresh in my mind, so the ass kicking feels fresher. That means that any videos related to Mario in May come next month. But, I wanted to keep the page active, I present Mario Top 10: 5 to 1. What’s going to be number one? Actually, you may be surprised by number 3.

Lest you think from my low ranking of SMB2 that I shun them trying new things in the series, I present you with the first game in the top 5. This game took some big swings with what you can do in a 3D game and mostly hit. The main complaint is that the camera issues continue to plague the games, actually made worse by the high flying game play. But the fun of slingshotting Mario all over the galaxy more than makes up for that minor inconvenience.

4 – Super Mario 3 (First Played – SNES)

As we get closer to number one, it becomes more and more difficult to rank these games. I know number one, but the gap between 5 and 4 is greater than that between 4 and 2. Really, any ranking of these games is possible, depending on my mood on that particular day. This game topped my list for a few years until they took the game and improved it in every way. More on that in a bit.

3 – Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube)

I told you that I’d zig when you think I might Zag. Unlike the other games up here, I never considered this one my favorite in the series. But, I like it more than Galaxy. I know that’s not an opinion shared by many. What can I say? I appreciate the wackiness of this game and look forward to a similar game or a return on the virtual console.

2 – Super Mario World (SNES)

This game took everything great about Super Mario Bros 3 and improved upon it. For the longest time, this game topped my list. Even now, I pick it up and play it to relive all of the fun that it brought me as a teenager who bought my first console with my own money. Never underestimate that feeling.

1 – Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)

This game blew me away in a way that no other did before or has since. They took everything great about Mario and moved it into the 3D gaming world seamlessly. Okay, not seamlessly. The camera was janky as hell and I missed Luigi. But, I still had a ridiculous amount of fun with this game and it’s the first one that I pursued a 100% completion.

The Verdict

That’s my Mario Top 10: 5 to 1. What do you think? What did I get wrong? Which games would you include instead? With over 40 years of games to choose from, you can’t go wrong with many of them. How many entertainment franchises can say that?