If there’s one thing you can count on Mario and Luigi for, it’s fantastic platforming. Every time a new installment starring the Plumber Brothers releases, it typically delivers nothing but excellence. You can't beat the charm of a Mario game.
From humble console beginnings in 1985 all the way to the 'New' branded games of the 2000s (a moniker which had steadily lost its lustre by the fourth or fifth 'New' title), they all boast expert stage design and trademark whimsy. Easy to understand, hard to master, but always a metric tonne of fun, here's our definitive ranking of every 2D Mario title.
Updated on November 13, 2023, by Bobby Mills: With the release of Super Mario Wonder on the Switch, we've seen the first fully-fledged addition to the official 2D Mario pantheon in over a decade. Its sublime level design, charming aesthetic, and multiple playable characters undoubtedly earn it a spot on our list; so what better time than now to slot it in near the top, where it belongs? Let's-a go!
12 Super Mario Land
It's Mario On The Go, But The Fun's Smaller Too
The Game Boy’s inaugural handheld effort, Super Mario Land, is certainly not a bad adventure by any stretch. It is, however, a product of its time. It’s the shortest game in the series, and graphics-wise, Mario is rocking exactly 12 pixels. Don't be so stingy, Mazza: those have to cover your overalls, hat, and rounded frame!
At the time, the novelty of having Mario on the go was innovative enough, provided you could afford the batteries. Nowadays, Mario Land doesn’t bring anything especially new to the table.
11 Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins
Wario, Ware? Here!
However, that didn't stop Nintendo from banging out a sequel. The Six Golden Coins arguably improves on everything the original Super Mario Land set out to do. Superior graphics, a longer runtime, a fantastic variety of powerups (those bunny ears are still making Smash matches the world over lopsided) – it checked all the right boxes.
Along with that, for better or for worse, we were introduced to Wario. Regardless of your opinion on this flatulent egotist, he's become a series mainstay.
10 Super Mario Bros. 2
A Very Convincing Copy
Under the presumption that American players would find the 'official' sequel too difficult - a sentiment that may have been accurate, given the cruelty of its remaster, The Lost Levels - Nintendo whipped up a different, easier version of Super Mario Bros. 2 for the West. Technically speaking, it was actually not a Mario title at all, instead being a reskin of a little-known Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic. A Bob-Omb here, a Shy Guy there, and voila! Mario 2.
The running and vegetable-plucking gameplay was fun, all the same. The ability to choose between Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad set a standard for character-swapping mechanics that the franchise continues to replicate, and some stage setpieces were truly inspired. It's just Mario 2's deviations from the classic formula, and its cop-out 'all a dream' ending, that sink it.
9 Super Mario Bros.
The Original, But Not The Best
The game that started it all is... fine. We certainly wish to give Super Mario Bros. its deserved reverence, given that it basically resuscitated the entire gaming medium, but looking through a modern lens, it hasn't aged as well as some of its peers.
Best Platformer Games Of All Time
The platformer is one of the oldest and most beloved genres of all time. If you're a fan of them, these are the titles you NEED to play.The platforming feels a bit ropey, with Mario sliding off ledges with reckless abandon, and the stiff mid-air control leaves something to be desired. There's little variation across the entire game, graphically and sonically. Sure hope you like looking at hills and hearing the Mario theme on a loop. Groundbreaking for the time, playable today.
8 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Perhaps Some Things Are Better Off Staying Lost
The actual sequel to Super Mario Bros. was only originally released in Japan before receiving a 16-bit remaster as part of the Mario All-Stars compilation. In essence, the game functions as a really intense level pack for the first game.
It's a hellish world where Super Mushrooms may become poisonous at a moment's notice, bottomless pits, and instant death spikes abound, and Bloopers really do not care about physics in the slightest. It’s tough as nails, but other than that is shockingly similar to the first game. A straight palette swap or official ROM hack, if you will.
7 New Super Mario Bros. 2
Moolah And Mediocrity
Yep, it's time to dive Fire-Flower-first into the 'New' subseries. The lowest position of this group goes to New Super Mario Bros. 2, which is somehow actually the third entry in the franchise. This brought nothing new to the formula that had been going for six years by this point, right down to the recycled textures and wholly repurposed soundtrack from the Wii iteration. The only fresh twist was Mario going full Scrooge McDuck, hoovering up countless coins in an attempt to hit the coveted 1 million mark.
Sure, on the most basic technical level, it wasn’t 'bad'; but one gets the sense of 'why bother at this point?' Pop in any of the other New games, and you’ll find the same thing, albeit with less liberal coin placement.
6 New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Four-Player Freneticism
New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the actual second title in the New series, is responsible for bringing the action onto the TV for the first time. A major focus this time around was co-op, with you having the ability to throw your friends into as much acidic goop as your dark little heart desired.
20 Most Difficult Super Mario Levels Of All Time
From Super Mario World all the way back to Super Mario Bros, here are the hardest levels of all time that will challenge even the best players!The best aspect of this title is, without a doubt, the chaotic fun that that multiplayer mode brings. No matter how much experience you have in gaming, you'll find something to enjoy, be it the improved level design, the return of Yoshi, or simply bumping off your mates in as many different manners as you can conceive. However you choose to play, it’s never a bad time.
5 Super Mario Bros. 3
Third Time's The Charm
Super Mario Bros. 3 is often regarded as a favorite among Mario fans, and it’s easy to see why. Huge level selection, creative world design, great power-up variety, a weird two-hour cinematic commercial called The Wizard – this baby has it all.
This title pushed the NES to its limits and set the model for basically every Mario game that came after it. When you grab that Super Leaf and soar among the skies with your raccoon tail, it's magic. Without a doubt, Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of the finest titles in the genre.
4 New Super Mario Bros.
Back When It Really Was New
The start of the 'New' series - and therefore the only one to which the claim of 'new' is valid - New Super Mario Bros. brought back the traditional 2D Mario style with a handheld-sized bang. For being the first original sidescrolling Mario title in 15 years (if you can believe it), this game was fab.
Brimming with content, fantastic platforming, and new additions such as the Blue Shell and Mini-Mushroom power-ups, it was an absolute blast. Oh, and the Luigi gambling minigames from Super Mario 64 DS are also present for anyone who was missing those. You have to drive up that ESRB rating somehow.
3 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
New And Deluxe
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is one of the best deals content-wise in Mario's current catalog of adventures. The entire base game, all of the side-mode content, New Super Luigi U, Peachette for no reason at all; it's all here. The fantastic platforming wizardry is omnipresent, along with an HD razzle-dazzle which really shines.
It's a great package, and a must-own on Switch, no matter how tired the 'New' branding might be. Not to mention the 'U' bit. And that hardly mattered on the Wii U itself.
2 Super Mario Bros. Wonder
A Wondrous, Wonderful Wonderland
Wonder transposes the action from the usual Mushroom Kingdom to the neighbouring Flower Kingdom (presumably a trade partner of the Beanbean Kingdom, too.) This time, Mario's not alone, bringing along a veritable entourage of technicolour chums. Luigi, Peach, Daisy, three Toads, Toadette, Nabbit, and a herd of Yoshis bring up the rear, and all bring a unique flair to the gameplay.
Most immediately striking is the artstyle, which merges the sterility of the New Super Mario Bros. games with a bouncier, more expressive, DreamWorks-esque overlay. Never before has the Mario cast animated with such fluidity, or hopped and bopped their way through stages with such charisma. In addition, a handful of new powerups, like the water-slinging Elephant form and the Bubble Flower, keep things engaging; as do the trippy Wonder Flower transformations.
1 Super Mario World
A Prehistoric Blast From The Past
If you’re looking for near-perfect platforming, unmistakable jungle-themed music, peak pixel art - and, most importantly of all, Yoshi – Super Mario World is the game you’ll be pointed to. It is, in fact, the only game we could point you to matching those specific criteria. This legendary SNES Mario entry has all of the above and more.
The cape power-up, despite blowing the difficulty wide open, is a riot to use and helps to find the incredible amount of secrets hidden in this game. All eighty-plus of them. You better hope you own the game guide, kids. Super Mario World is positively packed to the plumber-gills with content. Especially fiendish is Cheese Bridge, where you must send Yoshi plummeting to his doom to swoop under the exit.
Put aside an afternoon and be prepared to absolutely lose yourself in this gem of a game, this masterclass of platforming brilliance.