First, thanks go to Nintendo for whoring Mario out so much that I cant just put "Best Mario Game" in the title... Since getting a DS, Ive recently repurchased all the mario games (sans the original) for the NES and SNES, as well as Mario 64. Played through Sunshine at a friends house not long ago, and replayed Mario 64 on the 64 (to make sure it wasnt the DS version that clouded my fondness). I didnt get to play the Mario Land games, but I played them in my youth, and remember allways being pretty disapointed by them.
First of all, I would like to say, Marios transition to 3d wasnt pretty. At the time, I thought it was the greatest game ever, but in hindsight (and no longer being amazed by moving in 3d) Mario 64 simply put does not hold up well when compared to the 2d classics. The controls arent as tight, the level designs are far too open and the game lacks the "twitch" gameplay that made the originals so great. For fun, I popped in the original Crash for PS1 and despite everyone making fun of it when it came out (for not being 'real' 3d) it holds up as a better platformer than Mario 64. Sunshine, pales in comparison to Mario 64. This isnt to say that these arent good games, but they fall far short of the greatness of the classics (so does Crash, but Crash feels more like a 2d platformer gone 3d).
Also, platformers used to be much longer.. Back in the day, we would have laughed at a meager 15 level game.. nowadays thats a high number.
So my list:
1) Super Mario Brothers 3. When I was little I never actually played all the way through the game, I was far too concerned with grabbing whistles and blazing through the game way too quickly. Now that Ive actually sat down and gone through the entire thing, playing all of the levels, this game is beyond awesome. Great level designs all around, almost every one of them is a classic. Boss Fights are phenomenal. Best set of powerups in Mario games.
2) Yoshi's Island. Biggest departure in the series since Mario 2, but it worked on every single level. The platforming is almost up to par with Mario 3, plus you have the really well done egg shooting bits. Minus points for Baby Mario screaming.. also, the timer makes the game easier than most Marios.. in the past one or two hits would do you in, in this one you had a bit more leeway.. Boss fights are the best the series has ever had. Map screen was also disapointing after the greatness that was SMW.. the lack of powerups was disapointing, and the Little Nemo esque morphing bits were disapointing.
3) Super Mario World - HUGE game. Dont know if it is the biggest Mario game or not, but it sure as hell feels like it. Star Road, all the hidden paths on the overworld.. phenomenal overworld.. the powerups were a bit of a letdown after the great set in SM3, but they were good too.
4) Super Mario Brothers/Lost Levels - again, in my youth I mainly cheated my way through the game quickly.. but I had the chance to sit down with a copy of Super Mario Allstars, and play through both this and the lost levels, and the game holds up pretty well to this day. The early levels in this game are laughably easy compared to what was thrown at us in later Mario games, but by the later levels it really got going. The boss fights werent very good, but the build up to them is really great.. something as stupid as fireballs being spit at you the length of the level adds alot to the experience. Also, classic powerups arent as good as what we got later, but something feels right about them.
5) Super Mario 2. Yeah, wierd game, not really a Mario game.. but it was alot of fun.. little mini boss fights thrown throughout the level, great variety in charachters.. plus those bits where you had to dig through the sand, grab the key and run from those fucking masks is awesome. Have really fond memories of this game as a kid, for whatever reason this is the one that brings back all the nostalgia. I can still remember getting up at the ass crack of dawn on Saturdays and turning the volume really low in the living room in hopes that my parents would sleep in so I could get a little further.
6) Mario 64. Good game, but it doesnt feel like Mario. Great boss battles, great gameplay variety.. way too short, and the only truly great levels were the ones before you fought bowser... they are the ones that feel like mario levels should.. big minus points, because some of the stars are just inane to try and find, and the hints they give you are ass.
7) Mario Sunshine - hmm.. its Mario in 3d again.. and instead of going for the level types I cared for in Mario 64 (the less open levels before you fought bowser) they went with more wide open stuff.. plus a really bad story.. and a water gun whos controls are broken.
8) Yoshi's Story.. maybe its the fact that I beat it in 2 hours in my first playthrough and never died.. but this game had ugly graphics, was boring as hell, and WAAAAY to easy.
Im sure Im forgetting some, but would like to hear your thoughts on the real mario games.. oh, and hears hoping Mario DS lives up to the legacy of the old school Mario games... 2d Platformers > 3d Platformers.
Edit: The Wario game for the Virtual Boy deserves a mention in here somewhere, that game was really really good.. out of all the games I bought for the system (I bought them all) it and verticle force were the two worth having.
First of all, I would like to say, Marios transition to 3d wasnt pretty. At the time, I thought it was the greatest game ever, but in hindsight (and no longer being amazed by moving in 3d) Mario 64 simply put does not hold up well when compared to the 2d classics. The controls arent as tight, the level designs are far too open and the game lacks the "twitch" gameplay that made the originals so great. For fun, I popped in the original Crash for PS1 and despite everyone making fun of it when it came out (for not being 'real' 3d) it holds up as a better platformer than Mario 64. Sunshine, pales in comparison to Mario 64. This isnt to say that these arent good games, but they fall far short of the greatness of the classics (so does Crash, but Crash feels more like a 2d platformer gone 3d).
Also, platformers used to be much longer.. Back in the day, we would have laughed at a meager 15 level game.. nowadays thats a high number.
So my list:
1) Super Mario Brothers 3. When I was little I never actually played all the way through the game, I was far too concerned with grabbing whistles and blazing through the game way too quickly. Now that Ive actually sat down and gone through the entire thing, playing all of the levels, this game is beyond awesome. Great level designs all around, almost every one of them is a classic. Boss Fights are phenomenal. Best set of powerups in Mario games.
2) Yoshi's Island. Biggest departure in the series since Mario 2, but it worked on every single level. The platforming is almost up to par with Mario 3, plus you have the really well done egg shooting bits. Minus points for Baby Mario screaming.. also, the timer makes the game easier than most Marios.. in the past one or two hits would do you in, in this one you had a bit more leeway.. Boss fights are the best the series has ever had. Map screen was also disapointing after the greatness that was SMW.. the lack of powerups was disapointing, and the Little Nemo esque morphing bits were disapointing.
3) Super Mario World - HUGE game. Dont know if it is the biggest Mario game or not, but it sure as hell feels like it. Star Road, all the hidden paths on the overworld.. phenomenal overworld.. the powerups were a bit of a letdown after the great set in SM3, but they were good too.
4) Super Mario Brothers/Lost Levels - again, in my youth I mainly cheated my way through the game quickly.. but I had the chance to sit down with a copy of Super Mario Allstars, and play through both this and the lost levels, and the game holds up pretty well to this day. The early levels in this game are laughably easy compared to what was thrown at us in later Mario games, but by the later levels it really got going. The boss fights werent very good, but the build up to them is really great.. something as stupid as fireballs being spit at you the length of the level adds alot to the experience. Also, classic powerups arent as good as what we got later, but something feels right about them.
5) Super Mario 2. Yeah, wierd game, not really a Mario game.. but it was alot of fun.. little mini boss fights thrown throughout the level, great variety in charachters.. plus those bits where you had to dig through the sand, grab the key and run from those fucking masks is awesome. Have really fond memories of this game as a kid, for whatever reason this is the one that brings back all the nostalgia. I can still remember getting up at the ass crack of dawn on Saturdays and turning the volume really low in the living room in hopes that my parents would sleep in so I could get a little further.
6) Mario 64. Good game, but it doesnt feel like Mario. Great boss battles, great gameplay variety.. way too short, and the only truly great levels were the ones before you fought bowser... they are the ones that feel like mario levels should.. big minus points, because some of the stars are just inane to try and find, and the hints they give you are ass.
7) Mario Sunshine - hmm.. its Mario in 3d again.. and instead of going for the level types I cared for in Mario 64 (the less open levels before you fought bowser) they went with more wide open stuff.. plus a really bad story.. and a water gun whos controls are broken.
8) Yoshi's Story.. maybe its the fact that I beat it in 2 hours in my first playthrough and never died.. but this game had ugly graphics, was boring as hell, and WAAAAY to easy.
Im sure Im forgetting some, but would like to hear your thoughts on the real mario games.. oh, and hears hoping Mario DS lives up to the legacy of the old school Mario games... 2d Platformers > 3d Platformers.
Edit: The Wario game for the Virtual Boy deserves a mention in here somewhere, that game was really really good.. out of all the games I bought for the system (I bought them all) it and verticle force were the two worth having.
x)
