Charles Martinet hangs up his cap and Italian mustache and leaves his place for someone new who will debut in ‘Super Mario Bros Wonder’ and who Nintendo has tried to keep as a secret. Luckily for fans, he has revealed himself on social media.
Something dies in the soul when a friend leaves. In this case, though, it’s a friend we only know through epithets like “Mamma mia!” or “Luigi loses again!” over almost thirty years. Charles Martinet hangs up the Italian cap and mustache, making way for someone new who will debut in ‘Super Mario Bros Wonder,’ a secret Nintendo has tried to keep. Luckily for fans, he has revealed himself on social media.
The chosen one has been Kevin Afghani, a voice actor who stated on Twitter, “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in ‘Super Mario Bros Wonder.’ Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me to the Flower Kingdom!” Like in Martinet’s case, the Japanese company has chosen someone who, for now, is practically unknown, so as not to distract from the game itself.
You might have heard him if you play ‘Genshin Impact‘ because he voices Arnold in English. It’s his most influential role beyond fan projects (‘Dragon Ball R&R,’ ‘Secret History of Cuphead’), and it’s these projects that have embraced the change, for once, with astonishing warmth. So much so that Afghani tweeted yesterday, “I can’t begin to express how incredible all your reactions have been. I would really love to be able to respond to each and every one of you, but I might explode if I tried. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!
For now, Afghani is easing his nerves by playing ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ while fans of the Italian plumber eagerly await a title that promises to be a game-changer in the franchise. And not just because Bowser has discovered the appealing secret of Peach transformed into an elephant, but also because the new powers promise unique modes, Nintendo-style surprises, and a blend of tradition and modernity that the 2D version of the saga has been waiting for. Welcome to the gamer world, Afghani! No one can guarantee that the experience will be a good one.
Well, it was one of the ideas that Shigeru Miyamoto and his team had in the first ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Then, luckily, they changed their minds.
Imagine going to pick up ‘Super Mario Bros Wonder‘ and discovering that the leaked videos so far are false, and it’s actually an FPS in the Mushroom Kingdom where Mario has to reload his AK-47, shoot it at the Goombas, and say phrases like “Swallow lead, mushroom.” Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Well, it was one of the ideas that Shigeru Miyamoto and his team had for the first ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Fortunately, they changed their minds later on.
The initial ideas for video games are not always the best, and the proof of that is what they were trying to make ‘Super Mario Bros‘ be: “For a long time, the controls were A to shoot bullets, B to skate, and up to jump,” Miyamoto commented, making it clear that originally, our portly plumber was a killing machine.
Fortunately, we didn’t end up seeing Koopa Troopas bleeding in a corner because they changed their minds when they realized that this seemed like a children’s game: “The bullets eventually became fireballs. Originally, we thought of having a shoot’em up screen where Mario jumps on a cloud and shoots enemies, but we removed it because we wanted to focus on platforming. The bonus screens that take place in the sky are what remained of that idea.” Thank goodness, Shigeru.
It’s not the only power that Nintendo has denied us over the years (fortunately): ‘Super Mario Bros 3’ originally had the idea of turning Mario into a centaur, but when it came to competing against the raccoon tail, it ended up losing out. At least some sketches were made, so we can see what such a bizarre yet wonderful idea would have looked like.
If he can now become an elephant at will, why not revisit the centaur idea after all? The idea of the gun, frankly, is a much worse one. Don’t be offended, Miyamoto.
‘Mario Kart’ closes its latest great project, ‘Mario Kart Tour’ perhaps opening up to, finally, that ninth part for Switch… or its successor.
There’s a game that has managed to break through the walls of hardcore gaming and become part of popular culture. Phrases like “You get hit by a shell” or “Watch out for the banana” are notably popular on any road trip worth its salt. Now, ‘Mario Kart‘ is concluding its latest major project, ‘Mario Kart Tour,’ perhaps paving the way for that long-awaited ninth installment for the Nintendo Switch… or its successor.
Since ‘Mario Kart Tour’ was launched on September 25, 2019, it has received all sorts of free updates every fifteen days, constantly changing the game to prevent it from becoming stagnant. Among the extra tracks, we’ve had locations like Madrid, Rome, and Athens, among other places we never thought we’d see invaded by Goombas and other Mushroom Kingdom creatures.
So, there are two tours left: the anniversary tour starting on November 20, and the battle tour starting on October 4. After that, they will begin to replay the best tours, starting with a special Halloween tour. Additionally, ‘Mario Kart Tour’ will abandon the gacha game model and sell items in a dedicated in-game store.
Not all of Nintendo’s attempts to conquer the mobile game market have been successful, that’s for sure. Titles like ‘Miitomo,’ ‘Dragalia Lost,’ or ‘Dr. Mario World’ no longer receive updates, and since 2021, Nintendo hasn’t tried its luck with a new mobile game release. During that time, they released ‘Pikmin Bloom,’ a kind of ‘Pokémon Go‘ spinoff based on the popular Nintendo game, but it hasn’t had much impact.
It’s possible that the Japanese company has decided to focus on what truly works for them, console titles, or that they are simply regrouping to come back with a ‘Mario Kart Tour 2’ or a similar application. After all, who can resist the idea of driving a kart with Yoshi through Madrid‘s Plaza Mayor?
It has always been a priority for you to spread joy, and I am sure you will be a great Mario Ambassador
When Mario was born in ‘Donkey Kong’ as a replacement for Popeye, for whom Shigeru Miyamoto couldn’t get the rights, he didn’t expect that 42 years later he would have to define what a “Mario ambassador” is, so that the former dubbing voice of that character knows exactly what he’s going to do from now on. For now, and from what we’ve seen, it’s all about traveling around the world and telling anecdotes. What else is there to do? Ya-hoo!
In a video that Nintendo showed on Twitter, we see Miyamoto and Charles Martinet hand in hand talking about their friendship. For example, we have learned that the dubber called his creator “Papa” with the mythical voice of the Italian plumber and that he once hit his head when entering a restaurant in Kyoto because he was almost two meters tall. If you play basketball, take a good look at the edges of the doors when traveling to Japan.
Now that we all know that another voice will appear in ‘Super Mario Bros Wonder‘ (probably from an impersonator, we are not yet ready to see Mario with a different accent from so many years) Martinet has been repositioned as “Mario’s Ambassador”. And what does that mean? Well, the same as “visibility payment”: something that nobody knows how to define very well, not even Mario’s creator himself.
Here’s a special video message from Shigeru Miyamoto and Charles Martinet regarding the change of Mario’s voice actor, announced on 8/21. pic.twitter.com/4mOpD2Cx3a
“You have traveled all over the world visiting events and doing the voice of Mario for fans, putting smiles on people’s faces. It has always been a priority for you to spread joy, and I am sure you will be a great Mario Ambassador. For all of you watching, you should know that Charles will continue to travel the world and meet fans, do the voices at events, sign autographs and celebrate being with all of you.”
So this new job is basically travel and fun, by the looks of it. Where does one sign up? Although Martinet is 67 years old, we don’t know if that’s the reason why he has stopped playing Mario, or who is going to replace him and how. Pure video game history fading away before our eyes, mamma mia!
He arrived late, when they were picking up, and ended up filling up 25 minutes of tape saying things like “Hi I’m Mario, we’re going to make a pizza, I’m going to chase you with my pizza!”. It was another time, okay?
The world of video games wouldn’t be the same without the “Yahoo!”, “Mamma Mia!”, and various other little cries of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom. Everyone recognizes them, in fact, they could be considered the most famous sounds in pop culture. But not many know that they all come from the mouth (and vocal cords) of Charles Martinet, one of the happiest men in the world who ended up becoming Mario by pure chance. Let’s-a-go!
Contrary to what is commonly believed in Spain, Charles Martinet was not born in Barcelona, but in San Jose, the largest city in Northern California, where he lived until he was 12 years old before moving to the Catalan city. There, he traveled to Bilbao, Santander, Cadiz, and Madrid, and he learned the language quite decently. In fact, he speaks fluent Spanish and French. Quite the talented individual he is.
Martinet had no intention of becoming Mario. In fact, he didn’t even know who Mario was; he had only played games like ‘Pong’ and ‘Pac-Man’. However, one day he was informed about a voice casting for “an Italian plumber.” He arrived late when they were wrapping up, and he ended up filling 25 minutes of tape saying things like, “Hello, I’m Mario, let’s make a pizza, I’m going to chase you with my pizza!” It was a different time, you know?
After the audition, Charles Martinet went back home, convinced that he had performed poorly. However, during that time, the person who conducted the casting called Nintendo: they had found the voice of Mario. The decision to opt for a high-pitched and childlike voice instead of the rough and hoarse one he had originally thought of turned out to be a success. This young man raised in Barcelona made his debut as Mario in the unusual 1992 game, “Mario Pinball.”
Before that, he had only taken on minor roles in TV series like ‘Matlock’ and movies like ‘Nine Months.’ In fact, in many of them, he was trying out an artistic name, Charles Martínez, which was quickly discarded once the fame of ‘Super Mario 64’ arrived. Over a hundred video games later, Charles Martinet made it into the Guinness World Records, voicing dozens of characters… and he couldn’t be happier.
At 67 years old, some rumors suggest that Nintendo is already planning to replace him with an impersonator, and they have reportedly started doing so in “Super Mario Wonder.” However, Charles Martinet insists that he will continue voicing Mario until his last breath. Will he have treated Miyamoto to a delicious “pa amb tomàquet”? One can only hope so.
Nintendo has given the exact date of his birth, and it is best not to think about it too much because he was four years away from being born in the first NES game. That’s right: we were sending lava to a baby project. oops.
Surely you’ve wanted to know how old Bowser, the main villain of the ‘Super Mario Bros’ series, is in order to send him a little birthday gift: a Peach kidnapping here, a Super Mushroom there, a record deal to replicate the success of ‘Peaches’… Well, don’t worry, because Nintendo has revealed the exact date of his birth, and it’s best not to dwell on it too much because he was still four years away from being born in the first NES game. That’s right: we were throwing a baby-in-progress into the lava. Oops.
A new Nintendo video showing how to create an account on Nintendo Switch briefly revealed the villain’s date of birth: Do you think he’s a thousand-year-old monster who keeps coming back to life? Well, you might be surprised, because he was born on February 5, 1989. So, he’s 34 years old, and when he appeared in the first ‘Super Mario Bros’ game for NES in 1985, he wasn’t even an idea in his parents’ minds yet. Someone should let Marty McFly know, there’s a temporal mess.
As for Bowser Jr, he was born on March 3, 2010, 13 years ago… even though his first appearance in ‘Super Mario Sunshine’ was in 2002. Eight years before coming into the world, he was already causing trouble on Isle Delfino. Talk about precocious children. Of course, fans are already speculating and trying to understand how this paradox is possible, and they’ve deduced that ‘Super Mario Sunshine’ takes place in 2020, and ‘Super Mario World’ in 2013. Yes, surely Nintendo is very concerned about this and it wasn’t just a coincidence.
And considering that Bowser could already talk and move when Mario was born, we can deduce that our mustached hero was born in the ’90s and is reaching his thirties now (even though there are games that indicate they have been fighting for over thirty years). It’s not set in stone, of course: Homer Simpson has been stuck at 35 since 1987, and nobody has found it strange. It’s probably best not to dwell on it before going to sleep tonight: nobody likes to dream about temporal paradoxes involving giant lizards, after all.
Although ‘Wario Ware’ keeps going from time to time to the comfort of all of us who enjoy two-second minigames, there is another one that was lost in the limbo of the sagas: What happened to ‘Wario Land’
Neither Franklin from ‘GTA V’, nor Kid Icarus, nor Bayonetta, nor anything like that: the most unlikely hero in video games eats garlic for breakfast, farts, is overweight and likes money more than a politician. Wario is the second most important antagonist in the ‘Super Mario Bros’ saga and the only one to have had not one, but two sagas of his own. And although ‘Wario Ware’ continues every so often to the delight of all of us who enjoy two-second mini-games, there is another one that got lost in the limbo of the sagas: What became of ‘Wario Land’?
The first appearance of Wario, with a physical appearance that some say comes from Spike, the character from ‘Wrecking Crew’ who in Japan was known as Blackie (not anymore, whatever), was as the final bad guy of the wonderful ‘Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins’, one of the best games in the history of Game Boy 30 years ago. But the funny thing is that first came the name (a joke between Mario’s own name and the Japanese word “warui”, that is, “bad”) and then everything else. First came the puns, as it should be.
The funny thing is that in the guide of that cartridge his relationship with the hero of the red cap even had an inside story: Mario and Wario were childhood friends who parted ways. It’s also true that it was indicated that his favorite food was pancakes instead of garlic, so it may not have been too well thought out. The third part of ‘Mario Land’ wanted to break away from everything and, to do so, completely forgot about the plumber to focus on the novel powers of this character who wanted to get rich at all costs.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3′ is possibly the most fun of this strange trilogy for Game Boy: where Mario jumped and ran, Wario used powers and investigated every place in search of a secret location, giving a new layer to the screens. A myth had been born… That was on the verge of dying the following year. And it was the biggest failure in the history of the Big N: does the Virtual Boy ring any bells?
Virtual boy
The story is well known: with PlayStation and Sega Saturn about to come out, Nintendo couldn’t afford to get stuck with the SNES. It needed something more, and the Nintendo 64 wasn’t ready yet. Unfortunately (seen in perspective), Gunpei Yokoi had a little toy called Virtual Boy that, who knows, could be a hit: it allowed you to play in three dimensions… in exchange for wearing strange glasses that were impossible to hold and being willing to see only in red.
As you can imagine, it was no match for Sony and Sega: although Nintendo spent 25 million on promoting it, it only sold 770,000 units and by the end of its life it had released 22 games (8 exclusive to Japan and 3 to the United States). And among the list of ignonimia was, exactly: ‘Virtual Boy Wario Land’, which in spite of everything was considered the best title of the console. The shock was not big enough for the Game Boy Color in 1998 not to celebrate the first real sequel of the saga: ‘Wario Land II’, which had the novelty of not being able to die… because what matters is to keep going at all costs.
Wario must rescue his treasure in a long, fun and unique game, one of the pillars of the Japanese company’s invention to not yet retire its portable. In 2000, ‘Wario Land 3’ laid the foundations of the franchise and ‘Wario Land 4’ brought them to Game Boy Advance, with the novelty that now the character could “die” (or faint, at least). Surprisingly, its visual style is overwhelming and, undoubtedly, the best of the portable saga. From here, the turbulence begins.
Minigames and platforms
Wario became Nintendo’s default rogue character. If they needed someone to star in stupid mini-games, he was there with the fabulous ‘Wario Ware’ franchise. He raced go-karts, played golf and tennis, rolled dice on a giant board, beat everyone up in ‘Super Smash Bros Melee’. And, although we don’t like to admit it, it lost some of its identity along the way.
The next platformer tried to pick up where ‘Super Mario Land’ (for handheld) and ‘Super Mario World’ (for home console) left off: ‘Wario World’ was released for GameCube in 2003 and sold only about 390,000 units worldwide. By comparison, ‘Super Mario Sunshine’ snuck in 6.28 million and ‘Luigi’s mansion’ about 3.33. Sadly, it was no longer innovative nor did they know what to do with the character in three dimensions, resembling more of a beat-em-up than a platformer. Nintendo put the saga aside to let it breathe for four years.
In 2007 and 2008, Wario gave it all again with a last desperate attempt: on Nintendo DS, with the somewhat discouraged ‘Wario: Master of disguise’, which didn’t work at any level with a very strange story, and on Nintendo Wii with the incredible ‘Wario Land: Shake It! which had a beautiful hand-drawn art style, as if it were a cartoon: more than 2000 frames formed the actions of the character, whose plot was again focused on earning a lot of money, a return to what always worked of the same that came too late. If you can, try it! It’s hilarious despite making the entire gameplay system rely on moving the Wii Remote. That’s what it was fifteen years ago.
‘Shake It!’ sold a million or so copies worldwide, but it wasn’t enough to bring the platforming saga back to the forefront, thus condemning Wario to being locked away in ‘Wario Ware’ and being a deluxe sidekick in any Mario sports game. It looks like we won’t be seeing him jumping and getting powers again for a good period of time, though with Nintendo you never know: what if it gave him another chance on the Switch? Hey, he can’t complain either: he’s more than Waluigi ever had.
Now, with the film about to be released in theaters in Japan, there is a character who has changed his name… Luckily
He may not be the most beloved character in the entire ‘Super Mario Bros‘ saga, but he was there from the beginning. Literally. Foreman Spike, Mario’s enemy in ‘Wrecking Crew‘ (which came out a few months before the first of the platformers) has only appeared in three games before making the jump to the Mario brothers’ movie. But now, with the film about to be released in theaters in Japan, the character has changed his name… Luckily.
Spike’s gaming life consists only of ‘Wrecking crew’, ‘Wrecking crew 98’, a sequel for SNES that never left Japan, and ‘Mobile Golf’, a game of the sport in question for Game Boy Advance starring Mario in which he was an unlockable character and that, indeed, did not leave Japan either. Perhaps that’s why, after not appearing in 21 years, his supporting role in‘Super Mario Bros: The Movie‘ has given a lot to talk about.
Among other things, because it disproves a common theory, which is that he simply became Waluigi. It is a theory that makes sense: the mustache and the nose are practically the same. This role posed another problem more important than fan theories for Nintendo: the character, who has been called Blackie in Japan since 1985, will now be renamed Spike, according to a tweet posted by Nintendo, very concise but leaving no room for doubt.
“The name in ‘Super Mario Bros: The Movie,’ which will be released on April 28, 2023, will also be ‘Spike.'” Nintendo has not provided any explanation on the matter but it doesn’t take a sharp eye to figure out that ‘Blackie’ may have racist overtones. Rather than a move to equalize marketing across countries, it seems like an attempt to watch their backs. It is no less true that the character remained forgotten in the collective memory, so it does not seem that it will cause more than a few complaints.
Of course, we will have to see what happens with the enemies that are already called Spike, born in ‘Super Mario Bros 3’ and that have already lasted until today. At the same time, the ‘Super Mario Bros’ movie has already grossed almost 900 million worldwide and does not seem to be willing to slow down the accelerator. Come on, whatever name it has, we have Nintendo for a while. Ya-hoo!
We have decided to make the definitive list of the games in the main Super Mario saga to decide, once and for all, which is the true king of the console.
We can play hundreds, thousands of video games. Live stellar adventures, walk Silent Hill, fight Nemesis or shoot in the Vietnam War. But absolutely no game can compare to the purity of the first time we ran through the Mushroom Kingdom, jumped on top of a goomba and discovered that inside the boxes there were coins and secrets. Super Mario Bros’ is the video game with a capital ‘B’.
But not all Mario games are the same… Or equally good: some are able to summarize all the good things about a video game screen after screen while others find the name a little too big. That’s why we’ve decided, on the eve of Illumination’s movie, to make the definitive list of the games in the main Super Mario saga (leaving aside karts, sports, RPGs and spin-offs) to decide, once and for all, which is the true king of the console. Let’s-a-go!
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic’ was not a great game, and its conversion outside Japan to ‘Super Mario Bros 2’ is unfair to the series. Yes, it had a huge influence on the rest of the games (Luigi jumps higher, Peach can float), but neither Bowser is present, nor the gameplay system matches the rest of the series. It has its fans, especially since it was discovered in ‘Super Mario All-Stars’, but the truth is that playing it now is only slightly more fun than doing homework. Next.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
18) Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
It was absolutely awesome that the Game Boy could have Mario on its launch, and ‘Super Mario Land’ is a technical prodigy for the time. Plus, the soundtrack is an absolute hilarious rave. The problem is that the gameplay isn’t up to par and Sarasaland isn’t as fun a place as the Mushroom Kingdom. In this version, Mario saved Daisy instead of Peach and it’s a good summary of what the game is: not bad, but not what we came looking for.
17) New Super Mario Bros 2 (Nintendo 3DS)
The ‘New Super Mario Bros’ saga revived the interest in 2D in a franchise that seemed doomed to the great adventures that had forced to leave aside the more classic screens. But in this case everything felt too derivative: neither the new powers (Gold Mario, the golden block, the white raccoon) were sufficiently novel, nor the new screens were little more than mimics of the previous ones. Entertaining, yes, but without surprises and smelling of DLC.
16) Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
It’s about time to admit that ‘Super Mario Sunshine’ wanted to innovate, and that’s commendable, but… it wasn’t a great game. It had some ideas and some amazing screens, but after ‘Super Mario 64’ we expected more than spending half of the game cleaning up tar with a portable hose. Mind you, Delfino Island is a new place full of possibilities and, after a few hours, once you get past the constant cleaning, it becomes even lighter.
15) Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (NES)
The lost levels’ has, more or less, the same problem as ‘New Super Mario Bros 2’: it’s more of the same in a series that stands out for never settling for that. But the Japanese ‘Super Mario Bros 2’ has something that makes it unique: it is, by far, the most difficult game of the whole series. While the rest of this list can always be played with a smile, this is Mario’s ‘Dark Souls’, which also rewarded with an unpublished world to all those who passed it without taking shortcuts. If you manage to finish it, you may love ‘Doki Doki Panic’ a lot more (and a little less to life).
14) New Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii)
Being a game of the ‘New Super Mario Bros’ saga you know what’s what, but in the case of Wii there was a surprising novelty: the possibility of playing cooperatively and competitively with up to four people. Playing alone made it just another game on this list, but the madness of getting four friends together and trying to pass the screens without killing each other is an experience only comparable in fun to a good ‘Mario Kart’. And that’s not saying little.
13) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
Letting Nintendo developers let their hair down gives rise to one of the most imaginative (and unfairly underrated) Game Boy games: in ‘Super Mario Land 2’ Mario fought for the first time against Wario, his evil counterpart, and to do so he went through all sorts of wacky worlds, from the one that reflected his miniature body to the moon itself. A real classic to carry around in your pocket. Easy? Yes. Fun and full of secrets? Absolutely.
12) New Super Mario Bros U (Wii U)
Maybe only a few of us remember the Wii U fondly, but the truth is that, although it is now gathering dust in a closet, Nintendo went all out with the few games it released. Proof of this is this ‘New Super Mario Bros U’ that, without changing the rules of the game franchise, managed to give a new tone to the ‘Super Mario World’ in which, in addition, could play up to 5 people at once. Just to have the opportunity to fight against all the koopalings and to be able to become a flying squirrel was worth discovering.
11) Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo 3DS)
Maybe not everyone liked it, but the use of 3D in the game gave it an atmosphere that makes it impossible to play on any other system, or without taking away, at least, much of the fun. The mix between 2D and 3D, creating a hybrid game, made this, once again, the proof that the saga could always surprise. A lot of new power-ups and durability made this a favorite of the last portable (real, at least) of the house.
10) Yoshi’s Island (SNES)
Or, literally, ‘Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island’. Should it be part of the saga? Is it a spin-off like the rest of the games starring Yoshi? Here we count it as part of the same. And how not to do it: it has one of the most careful finishes of a Super Nintendo game, with those graphics like drawn on wax and that unique gameplay controlling Yoshi and throwing eggs. It’s true that some ideas and Baby Mario’s cries don’t quite work, but rarely has a saga been reinvented so well.
9) New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo DS)
We finish with the ‘New’ saga talking about the game that started it all. Nintendo DS, one of the best consoles in history, included powers like the super mushroom, with which we could destroy everything in our path, or the playful blue shell. It is true that this is a game that you can pass in a walk, but, at the same time, it is a joy to return to it again and again. In addition, it started a new saga that revived the game in a period of emptiness… In a more or less original way.
8) Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
Mario and company can become crawlies. I don’t know what else a game needs to please absolutely everyone. Eight worlds, four extras, increasing difficulty, a heart-stopping final screen. Its only problem? That there are seven other undeniable titles in front of it. From here the mark is made between “the Mario games” and “THE Mario GAMES”. Attention.
7) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Yes, yes, it’s amazing. Fabulous. A masterpiece. But, at the same time, it repeated some concepts from the original game and you can tell it was originally being prepared as an improved version. But don’t let the trees keep you from seeing the forest: its creativity and ability to surprise are the order of the day and make it one of the best games, not just on Nintendo Wii, but in history. 242 stars to achieve: what a blessed madness.
6) Super Mario Bros (NES)
The game that started it all, the one whose 1-1 screen should be studied by all marketing, development and UX teams, which in just three minutes explains everything you need to know without the need for absurd tutorials. But beyond that, the world they managed to create in 1985 is still able to amaze today. A flower that throws fire, a mushroom that makes you big, secrets scattered here and there, perfect platforming: if you don’t like ‘Super Mario Bros’, it’s not for you.
5) Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
The first 3D Mario game had to be something special after so many games on the NES and SNES. The new controls had to be understood immediately. And boy, did they get it: the first walk through the outskirts of the palace and the first time we got into a painting already sold you the gameplay, but the best thing is that we still had a lot to go. A word of advice: the Nintendo DS version, even if the purists don’t want to accept it, is even better.
4) Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
The logical evolution of ‘Super Mario Galaxy’, with a tinge of ‘Super Mario Land 2’: crazy screens, each with its own rules, taking things from the open world and letting the charisma of Mario do the rest. Impossible not to enjoy it from start to finish on Switch: a waste of imagination, ideas, puzzles and secrets for completists that make it a walkthrough the first time we play… And a real challenge from there.
3) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
After ‘Super Mario Sunshine’ failed to win over fans of the plumber, Nintendo had a tough mission ahead of them: to make a new ‘Super Mario 64’ that, at the same time, didn’t look like anything anyone had ever played before. And boy, did they succeed. Estela was a new character that immediately became a new piece of the family and the tone of the game, which could have been an absolute mistake, made it feel like part of the franchise from minute one. If you had a Wii and didn’t play ‘Super Mario Galaxy’, did you really have a Wii?
2) Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)
After ‘Super Mario Bros’, the saga needed a renewal in order not to be more of the same in its third part, the last one on NES. And they did it. More enemies, more differentiated areas, more powers (including Mario Tanuki’s) and a way of playing that polishes to perfection what we already saw in the first two games of the saga but without increasing the difficulty. An absolute revolutionary, influential and fabulous masterpiece.
1) Super Mario World (SNES)
What can we say about ‘Super Mario World’. Mario’s entry to the 16 bits introduced Yoshi, the flying cape, hidden routes, hidden keys… And best of all: 32 years later, the game is still as good as ever. From the first minute to the last, it’s the perfect Mario game: pretty to look at, easy to play, fun, and complicated when it comes to the end. Once we get there, there’s no movie that can take us. yahoo! mamma mia!
Which one of Mario’s countless adventures was his best?
Mario is the king of video games. He is to video games what Mickey Mouse is to kids’ cartoons, or what Batman is to comics. He has set the standard for what video games should strive to accomplish, and every time he graces our consoles, he sets that bar higher and higher.
We decided to pay homage to our favorite mustached plumber by counting down our five Mario favorite games.
Look, Mario has been in a stupid amount of video games. Also, he has been in an even stupider amount of side games. For this list, we are sticking with main series Mario games. We will not be considering any of his sports games, the Mario Kart games, or the Mario Party games.
Top 5 best Mario games
Super Mario Galaxy
The Nintendo Wii was both famous and infamous for its motion controls. You probably remember playing Wii Sports with the entire family and having a blast. However, you probably also playing games like Red Steel with broken motion controls that made you want to chuck the Wii Remote through the wall.
When we found out we were getting a main series Mario game for the Wii, we were both excited and worried. Sure, Mario rarely disappointed us, but we were worried that developers were going to force the shoddy controllers in the game. Fortunately, Mario soared through his time on the Wii with an incredible game. Mario Galaxy was a lot of fun with all of the things we love about the franchise. It also introduced us to Roselina, who has become a beloved character in the series.
It’s not the best Mario game by a longshot, but we are always willing to dust off our old Wii to play this sucker time and time again.
Super Mario Bros. 3 took all of the things from the NES Mario games and added about 1,000 other things that made this game legendary. Mario has a bunch of new power-ups that fans love. From the Frog Suit, to the Hammer Bros. Suit, to the Tanooki Suit, everyone has a favorite.
This was the first time that a Mario game really got a fully fleshed-out story. You don’t have to read the back of the box to get an idea of what the story entails, you can find out simply by playing through the game. It’s a simple story, but it’s one we will gladly play through over and over again.
Watch: Fastest Super Mario Bros. speedrun in history
In a way, Super Mario Odyssey feels more like another sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. However, the new controls and mechanics in the game make this such an unforgettable experience. There is never a point in the game where you don’t feel like you’re in control. If you can imagine Mario doing something, there’s probably a way to make him do it.
We have to talk about the hat-throwing mechanics. The mechanics allow the player to not only control enemies while taking their abilities, but it also adds another way to navigate through each level. The worlds in Super Mario Odyssey are basically like jungle gyms for Mario, and his hat can make him leap and bound through these jungle gyms like a pro!
The game is a celebration of every Mario game that has come before it. It is uplifting, and will even make the more nostalgic gamer a bit misty-eyed from time to time.
There really isn’t another game where you can choose your own path as flawlessly as you can in Super Mario World. Sure, if you want, you can play through each normal level until you face Bowser in the finale. Or, you can find one of the million warp zones hidden throughout the world so you can skip huge chunks of the game.
If you want, you can beat this game in just a few hours. However, if you want to play everything the game has to offer, it’s going to take you a few days to finish this beast off.
Super Mario 64 is the mac-daddy of 3D platformers. Players have taken this game and have stretched the possibilities to their fullest extent. Don’t believe us? There’s a guy who collected all 120 Stars in the game in less than two hours.
Your average gamer would probably need a few weeks to accomplish that feat, but that’s just how crazy this game has made some of us. We want to see how far we can push it. We want to see if there’s anything else left to be found. We want to see just how much we can challenge Mario. Why? Because time and time again we have seen that the game still has more to offer.
