T5W#266-Top 5 Classic Super Mario Games

It’s hard to believe Mario is turning 35 this year.  I can remember back to my first encounter with a Nintendo Entertainment System, playing Super Mario Bros for the first time and becoming addicted to gaming.  I think a lot of people can say they’ve had the same experience.  I might not be as up on my Mario knowledge since I didn’t own a lot of Nintendo systems after the Nintendo 64.  Still, this blog has plenty of gaming content to it.  So in honor of the forthcoming Super Mario 3D All Stars, im counting down the Top 5 Classic Super Mario Games.  To qualify, any of these games had to come out on the NES, SNES, N64 or the Game Boy.  Like I said, I haven’t played any of the Wii and beyond Mario games so I cant include what I don’t have experience with.  Anyway, in the immortal words of Mario himself, “Here we goooo!!!”  

#5-Super Mario Land II: Six Golden Coins 

The only thing better than getting to play Mario on a Nintendo was getting to play on the go on a Game Boy.  While on a smaller screen, the Super Mario Land series was just as grand and fun an adventure as any of Mario’s regular screen outtings.  The game even offered some fun variants of its own like the bunny ears that enabled Mario to float in the air.  This is also the first game in the Mario pantheon to introduce Mario’s wicked rival (and kind of doppleganger I guess), Wario, who would take over in the third Mario Land game: Wario Land-Super Mario Land 3.

 

#4-Super Mario Bros 3

With the Super Nintendo on the rise and the Nintendo nearing it’s end as a result, the franchise that launched an entire generation of gaming had to go out on a bit of a high note.  Super Mario Bros 3 didn’t just do that, it soared higher than any Mario game at the time ever could.  From battles across various, distant lands to fending off the defenses of deadly airships, Mario and Luigi’s latest clash with Bowser surpassed any expectations and further cemented Mario as one of gamings greatest legends.  Also, TANUKI SUIT FTW!!! 

 

#3-Mario Kart 64

So, I never owned Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64, that’s on little me for not demanding it.  I DID however have Mario Kart 64 and man did I play the ever living heck out of this game. Better yet, it’s still a solid game to play today.  The graphics are timeless, the roster is small but fun and unique, and the music is one of the best OSTs in gaming history, particularly Star Road and the Staff Credits.  I clocked in so many hours racing as Yoshi (best racer in the game, fight me) across frozen tundras, haunted houses, Yoshi’s stupid confusing island and the endless but endlessly fun Star Road.  It’s still one of the best experiences ive ever had in gaming.

 

#2-Super Mario World

Super Mario Bros 3 closed out the NES library and set high expectations for the successor system, SNES, to follow.  Holy crap, 3 already surpassed expectations but Super Mario World shattered even those standards and reset the bar even higher.  The graphics, music and gameplay all felt like true next level achievement.  The addition of Yoshi the Dinosaur and a feather power up to give you temporary power of flight made Super Mario World the true next evolution of this gaming giant.  There was so much to explore and unlock here, it was one of the first games I was determined to 100% complete on any system.

 

#1-Super Mario Bros

This will always be #1.  No matter what other Mario games I play or how modern they are, THIS is always going to be the best Mario game ever created.  Why?  Because it’s a game that is used to teach game building courses in school.  It’s was one of the first games I ever touched and the same goes for millions of other players too im sure.  It might look basic but its challenging, its unique, its special, it’s a game that’s 35 years old and still incredibly fun to play, even if youre just speed running it.  Super Mario Bros isn’t just legend…it’s history pure and simple and we could all still learn something from it, even today.