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[Various Artists]

Really tough choice.

Mario 3 for inventing a new formula.
Super Mario World for perfecting the formula.
Mario and the 6 Coins on GameBoy for mixing it up a bit and making it work on the go. Helped long trips be bearable.

Other thoughts. 64 holds a place in my heart because between that and Zelda OOT but at this point it is just dated and doesn’t hold up like the classic 2d ones do. Sunshine I remember buying but not even being exciting about it. Played it for a bit was like cool it’s not the same old story. This water jet pack kind of sucks but at least it’s different but hard. Then it was like wait it is the same story and I was nah not for me anymore. Skipped Wii which I know many hold the galaxy games in very high reverence. I just needed a break from Nintendo for a while. Got a WiiU and played and beat NSMBU didn’t enjoy it. Liked the other Mario game a bit more but liked the 3ds one better because it was like holy shit I thought I beat the game! Nope only half way! Cool surprise.

I am disappointed that Mario on Switch’s story looks so predictable and the main enemies made me laugh out loud with how awful they are. The concept that Bowser wants to Marry Peach is fundementally disturbing if you think about it. Nintendo needs to move on from the save the princess trope. It needs to move away from mostly link,Mario,samus, always fighting ganon,Bowser,ripley most of the time. It’s boring and lazy.

 

[Artdayne]

Super Mario World, and it's the last Mario game I've played.

 

[Martinski43]

Who gives a shit about the intracies, story and lore in Mario games?

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Mario 64 is the most mind blowing gaming experience in my life.

 

[Dunkley]

Super Mario Galaxy. Love the graphics, the level design, the music. Camera's a bit wonky here and there but it's by far my favorite Mario game.

Runner up is Super Mario World and how much there was to explore.

 

[lumzi23]

I have never played much of Mario games (except the some of the Kart ones) but based on the one I feel myself wanting to go back and play, Super Mario Bros 3. I think it is inflated in value in my mind seeing as it is one of the Mario games I really wanted to play but never got much of a chance to.

However, in terms of just blowing me away the first time I played/saw it, Super Mario 64.

I also loved Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64.

 

[Gsnap]

Right now, 3D Land.

It's basically perfect.

 

[erlim]

It's not the best, but Super Mario Land 2 is really underrated. It's fun and easy and weird.

 

[GabeTheGrouch76]

Hard toss-up between any of the 3D Mario games I've played. (In other words, 64, Galaxy 1 and 2, and 3D World.)

Ultimately it's an even split against Galaxy 1 and 3D World. Galaxy because that was my first 3D Mario game and it, along with the first NSMB on the DS, being the two games that got me into the series; and it's a phenomenal introduction to the series at that. 3D World because I really enjoy multiple playable characters, and it contains some of my favorite powerups and levels from the series. (3D World also gets a lot of love for me because those elements make it in some ways the 3D Sonic game I've never gotten from the actual series.)

 

[Various Artists]

Who gives a shit about the intracies, story and lore in Mario games?

I do. I am tired of so many of them being Bowser stole Peach! Collect (items) defeat (enemy type) then go defeat Bowser and get a cake or something.

I know many would argue they are there for the game play. That’s completely reasonable for you. I am seeking a little more from my experience that’s all. I am happy that you are completely happy with what you get. You will receive no qualms from me!

 

[Valero]

super mario world or super mario galaxy

 

[Various Artists]

Oh does the original Mario RPG count. I have not played that in a long time, hopefully will when my SNES classic arrives, so I will see if that still holds up. I remember the day that came out I saved up money and gave it to my dad he worked a second shift so he got home at like 11 PM or something so I played for like an hour or so before I went to bed. Woke up with a bad cold of which no symptoms were visible the next day. Strange when that happens, huh?

 

[manzoman96]

Man, the Mario series was key for me. Even though I never grew up with the original hardware, super mario bros deluxe, mario world on gba, and and yes, mario 64 on ds were key games of my childhood. The first game I probably have the most nostalgia for, but I think I'd have to give my favorite to Super Mario 64. That's THE game that always had me in awe when I saw it, and I loved it when I finally played it. I really hope this game is re-released soon, maybe with some touched up graphics.

Edit: Also shout out to my first console game I ever owned, Luigi's Mansion.

 

[Gestault]

I truly love Super Mario Land on Game Boy.

I know something like the beautiful pastels of Mario 3 or the puzzling vertical auto-scrolling of some Mario World stages are easy to think of, but the understated WEIRD ASS WHAT THE FUCK MOAI RAPANUI BACKGROUND HEAD WHY AM I FIGHTING SPIDERS ON A BOULDER OH GOD I'M IN AN UNDERWATER SPACESHIP SHOOTING SOMETHING of Mario Land really speaks to me on a personal level. Like, I understand it's partly what the game meant to me at that point in my life, but the LAVA-FALLS AND WTF SPACESHIPS WHY TOTEM HEAD WHY is something I like to think is more universal than that.

 

[Nick]

My initial gut reaction is to say Galaxy, but my heart is telling me Super Mario Sunshine. Now before I get the hate-mail, that was the first Mario game I purchased with my own money, and I still think that excellent game gets a bad rap. I love the colorful world, I loved FLUDD... I just loved everything. I want an HD remaster so bad.

 

[Baleoce]

Played it at EGX. Loved it. Can't believe it's out so soon. To answer the OP: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. I can replay that game on a whim. Adore it. Love the bunny hat too.

 

[spad3]

Top tier:
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World
Super Mario 64 DS

My uncle and I played both games all the way through back to back over the course of a weekend. Found all the whistles for level skips in Mario 3 after beating it legitimately, all the secret pathways in World, and both were a blast.

Mario 64 DS was in a whole other league. It was the first 3D Mario game I played (never had an N64, I grew up on a PlayStation) and it allowed you to play as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario, each with their own unique abilities, in a pseudo open-world in the form of Peach's Castle and the various worlds within.

Honorable mention:
Super Mario RPG - Played the crap out of it, loved it. Couldn't get back into it.

Can't wait for Odyssey though. Easily going to be the Game of the Year if not Game of All Time.

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

The first Super Mario Bros. is great, but 2 really elevated the game with its fantastically challenging stages - they really push SMB's engine to its limit, and push the player to become intricately familiar with the game's enemy behaviors and Mario's abilities in ways that SMB1 never quite managed.

All the console 2D Marios after this are still pretty great, but they definitely lack what made Mario 2 special - they're more about overwhelming the player with cool stage gimmicks and neat ideas rather than providing an ultra-focused platforming gauntlet. Which is still pretty appealing, but more of a sidegrade than anything.

 

[daviyoung]

Galaxy
64
Sunshine
Land
World

I hate 2D Marios

 

[njs15]

Mario 64 is my real answer, but Mario Tennis 64 was an amazing game. Lent it to a friend in exchange for WWF No Mercy and never saw it again. Really wish the most recent tennis game wasn't bad

 

[_Malus_]

For me, the best Mario game is easily Super Mario Galaxy 2.

This is mostly because I thought the galaxies were more diverse than in SMG1 (though only by a small margin).
Also, it has Yoshi in it and overall it was more streamlined, due to the missing hub world.

It was pure platforming perfection and no mission ever felt the same to me.
And let's not forget about the superb OST.

I am sooo ready for SMO!

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

Super Mario RPG. First RPG I ever played. When a friend at school told me about its turn-based combat I though it was the dumbest idea I'd ever heard. Little did I know...

 

[Stinkles]

Super Mario World. I loved the mechanics, the aesthetics and the subtle but complete use of every button and tech feature of the SNES. Now if Amazon would kindly update my preorder....

 

[Kaban]

Galaxy 2, always. First one was great, but SMG2 refined the formula, cut the fat, and streamlined it to perfection. There's one particular level where you freeze a large body of water, allowing Mario to ice-skate over it. The music, the atmosphere and the animations of Mario dancing and skating across the lake brought me back to that level over and over again.

SM64 was my first Mario game, so I unfortunately don't have much experience with the NES/SNES titles.

 

[Cloud7]

My favorite is Super Mario World. It's my favorite because it's the most fun in any platformer I've ever had in my entire life. It was an easy game but it was oh, so smooth. The soundtrack, the art design, and the flow is still impeccable. Peak Mario. Peak gaming.

 

[t hicks]

Galaxy 1/2 are probably my all time favorites, just incredible games.
I really love 3D Land too

 

[JaseMath]

Galaxy was incredible—probably my favorite. SM3DW was fantastic as well.

SMO, though...I'm just not feeling anything about it. I can't seem to muster any hype for it at all.

 

[Arc Christelle]

Greatest crime was no DLC.

 

[ZedLeppelin006]

Mario 3 and Mario 64.

While I didn't finish Mario 3 until I was in high school via emulator, it was probably my most played game on my NES that I first got on my fifth or sixth birthday. The cool worlds, music and enemy variety made me love it sooo much. My favorite level was probably the tanks level in world 8.

As for Mario 64 which would be in the shortlist of my all time favorite games, it was my first 3d game and absolutely floored me when I first played it in '97. Being able to explore the princess's castle, the bowser levels and the amazing soundtrack completely drew me in. I still get chills whenever I hear the Dire Dire Docks theme.

Honorable mentions to Super Mario World & Mario Galaxy 1/2.

 

[Giga Man]

Super Mario Sunshine.
I've never felt so much freedom in a Mario game before. Exploring Delfino Plaza and finding hidden shines and unlocking new worlds was endlessly fun. Controlling Mario was a DREAM! Sunshine Mario still has the best moveset in the franchise. Triple jumps, sidestep jumps, THE SPIN JUMP! Oooh, GOD, the spin jump. So beautiful. And spin squirting on the ground just for kicks is a hoot. I love making my own water slides with Fludd and sliding around the Plaza. The missions themselves, while not that well-designed (not at all for some, and the watermelon one can go fuck itself), the way Mario feels more than makes up for it. ... Until you're forced to swim, but that's a curse in all 3D Mario games.

I loved Sunshine so much that after looking up all the enemies in my Prima strategy guide, I wanted toys of every single one of them to play with. Being a massive fan of Sunshine, as well as 64 and the original Galaxy, Odyssey is everything I've wanted in a new 3D Mario game from what I've seen. I've been on media blackout since E3 2017 because I want to be as pleasantly surprised as possible. I have very high expectations for this game.

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (GB)
introduced Wario, cool and imaginative levels (micro, moon, inside of a whale) and portability.
Also it introduced Wario, which paved the way for waluigi, the best character in the series.

Minus the Waluigi nonsense, Super Mario Land 2 is definitely my favorite 2D Mario. It was my childhood Mario game that I'd always pick up and play in the car or on trips when I had nothing else to play. I can't remember how many times I played that game over and over again. As in, how many times I played it and didn't beat Wario. Lol, that castle was so damn tough that I think I only beat the game twice.

Also, you gotta dig that soundtrack, bro. Mario Zone is the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipIljPcEsV4

 

[BlackDoomShadow]

I need to replay both Galaxy games. I loved them both, but they sort of blur together in my memory and I can't remember distinctive features of either game.

 

[unknownstranger]

SMW followed closely by Super Mario Galaxy 2. Both are in my top 5 favorite games of all time. SMB3 is actually pretty low on my list.

 

[N.Grim]

Fuck I have just one month to finish Champion's Road...

 

[fluffydelusions]

Funny cause I just saw this reddit thread
https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSw...how_were_all_feeling/?st=J83N30WE&sh=b57821c1

 

[rhino4evr]

Galaxy 1 overall, but when super Mario bros 3 came out when I was a kid it pretty much blew my mind, and everyone else's

So based on nostalgia i go with SMB3.

I prefer Galaxy 1 a little more due to how well it fine tuned 3D Mario. While Galaxy 2 had some smarter and more complex gameplay, some of the wow factor was already gone.

After that Mario 64 comes close.

SMW1 & 2 were also amazing.

Can't wait for Odyessy!!

 

[The Hermit]

Super Mario Galaxy was a revelation.

The first Mario game for the riskiest Nintendo console, with motion control, amazing graphics and, for the very first time, orchestrated music.

Soundtrack was always a Zelda thing more than Mario. It had its classics tunes and some amazing ones, especially in Mario 64, but it still wasn't exactly epic.

SMG changed that and it showed us how grand Mario could really be.

Odyssey is somehow giving that vibe, but I will be really surprised if it reaches and sustain the level of awe I've felt during the whole playthrough of Galaxy.

 

[Toxi]

Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door.

There are other games I would rather replay like the Galaxy games, but The Thousand Year Door holds a sentimental value for me since I experienced it with a good friend growing up. We got all the way through the game, and finished right before I had to move away. We still keep in touch.

 

[Xalechim01]

Super Mario 64. I was almost 4 years old and we went to Circuit City where there was a demo of it. I had only played Kirby’s Dreamland and Paperboy on my Grandma’s Gameboy at this point in my life. Seeing Mario in 3D and in a 3D environmen blew me and my mom away. She demanded my Dad get it for her as a Christmas gift. Christmas of ‘96 was one of the best days of my life. We got the N64 and Mario 64. I loved watching my mom play and eventually I was allowed to play too. I was too young to understand video games but everything that happened in the game made a mark on my young self. I can listen to any SM64 track and remember a time, place, and memory from that song. The following months were unreal as my mom continued to try to get the 70 stars needed to beat Bowser and I would just spend my time roaming the environments expecting different things to happen because I didn’t understand that video games were coded to behave in specific ways.

I remember waking up really early one morning and watching her beat “Rainbow Bowser” for the first time. I am taken back to that mom ny every time I hear the Staff Credit Rill or beat Bowser myself. From there the journey continues to 120 stars and the magical moment we finally saw Yoshi! My first encounter with him. Soon after I started my own file and began playing. Now every Christmas Eve I speedrun Mario 64 to remember the joy of Christmas ‘96.

To this day I leave my old file at 119 stars as a sign of respect to my mom for taking me on her 120 Star journey.

 

[pretty done]

Mario 64 for the experience it was back then. And the focus on platforming via Mario's moves and not silly gimmick powerups like in Galaxy and 3DW/L.

Playing now is weird cuz the camera sucks. Need a remake.

 

[eighty(one)]

This game is my favorite. It captures the essence of my then-childhood favorite (I remember getting the game for my 9th Birthday in '90) Super Mario 3 and perfects it, with the feel of Mario 64. Its like a cross breed of these two. The levels, the gameplay and the 3D effect make it sublime.

Comparatively, Mario 3D World was such a let down.

 

[SpacLock]

Super Mario 64

Perfection.

 

[ScientificPizza]

I love the first Galaxy. I know people prefer 2 (I’ve still never played it smh) but the first is perfect. It feels incredible to play, the worlds are varied and vibrant and fun to explore

It’s the only 3D Mario where I got every star because the game is so, so good

The only thing stopping me from playing Galaxy 2 right now is that I don’t own a wiimote haha

 

[squid]

Probably Mario 64, the castle hub world, the level design and themes, the controls, the music. Just an incredible introduction to 3D.

Galaxy comes very close though, just such a creative, polished game with an awesome theme and fantastic sound and visuals, even now. Those 2 games are both 10/10.

Spoiler

But I like Paper Mario better than both of them

 

[Shanaynay]

Super Mario World, it's the first game i ever played. Frankly, i can easily go back to it whenever and it's always fun.

 

[daTRUballin]

I know very little about Super Mario Odyssey since I've been on media blackout for the game since January, though some drips and drabs have popped up in my field of vision here and there. But, what I do know is that it is the first 3D Mario in nearly four years, and the first mainline Mario series title (2D or 3D) in just as long), which per Wikipedia is just about the longest we've gone without a mainline Mario title since...just about ever!

Well, there was a 5 year difference between Sunshine and Galaxy, and a 6 year difference between SM64 and Sunshine. Unless you're counting handheld games, I guess. But I'm not as knowledgeable about Mario's handheld games.

 

[Gamecocks625]

Super Mario World. The nostalgia I get from that game cannot is like non other.

Same. Only SMB3 gets close.

 

[iavi]

MARIO 64

The game has not aged. It’s 3D platforming perfection and if you don’t believe me watch a speed run

Even crazier that it was Nintendo’s first 3D foray out the gate

 

[Alter_Fridge]

Somewhere between SMW and Mario 64

If I had to pick one to replay it would be SMW, 64 had some annoying stages I don't wish to revisit

 

[You Pay This Much]

Let me just start off by saying that Galaxy one is absolutely my least favorite. I would have to say Super Mario 64 has to be my favorite. I would say World probably has to be a close second, and just for bonus points I have to toss in that Super Mario Sunshine ranks pretty high up there too!

Spoiler

Galaxy 2 is better and not 2nd to last to me

 

[mokeyjoe]

Super Mario Land.

First game I completed. No I don't think it's the best, but it's my favourite.

And SMW I guess, it's just so well refined,although I played it about 7 years after launch, and after 64. Took me a while to warm to Mario 64, never really liked the level design, not enough platforming.

Galaxy 2 is my favourite 3d Mario.