Accidentally posted this is in the new music thread. Let's try that again...
Alright, here is my Mario list. I don't really have any guidelines here. I'm not going to put Luigi's Mansion i n this list, because although Mario is in it, he's the Peach of this game. Speaking of, can we get more Peach games? And more Wario games? And ANY Waluigi games?
Also worth noting, I haven't played Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Kart 8 (that's changing next week after my son's birthday), the newer Mario and Luigi titles, and the new Super Mario Bros. games.
1. Super Mario Odyssey - Took 21 years, but the former king has been dethroned. Plays like butta, and although there's a lot of filler Moons, it never felt like a chore to 100% the game. Also, the Paulette "finale" level hit me with nostalgia and an appreciation for the game so hard that I teared up while I was playing it.
2. Super Mario 64 - The gold standard for 3D platform controls. Still a blast to just jump in and run around for a few minutes. Some of the levels are forgettable, but the eel and the piano will NEVER be forgotten.
3. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Perfectly blends Mario's platforming prowess with Square's storytelling. This game set the turn based combat standard Nintendo used for all the other RPGs the made. Easily accessible for first time RPG players, yet challenging for veterans if they know where to look. Doesn't overstay it's welcome or get grindy. Plenty of hidden secrets. Also, according to Wikipedia, this came out the same year as Mario 64?!?
4. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - Great story, great mechanics, improved everything the first in the series already did well. One of the best sequels ever made!
5. Super Mario Bros. 3 - Lots of nostalgia for me here. The first Mario I played, and also the first I beat, although it took 5 or more years for me to get there. Still a blast to play, and some inventive levels that often get overlooked once you learn about the whistles.
6. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. Another great twist to both RPGs and platformers. This game had a lot of inventive mechanics that utilized both brothers in both combat and in the platforming sections.
7. Super Mario World. Many peoples favorite 2D platformer. Great controls, fun levels, and a ton of secrets scattered throughout. Also quite challenging to complete.
8. Mario Kart 64. Very rough around the edges by today's standards, but still really fun. Great tracks that continue to get reused, and a great soundtrack. The AI cheats on 150cc though, jerks!
9. Super Smash Bros: Melee. I haven't played Ultimate enough yet to pass the crown, so I'm picking the one I've played the most. My buddy and I stayed up all night one night to unlock Mewtwo. Roy and Marth are still favs of mine, though they're not nearly as good in newer games.
10. Paper Mario. This one blew me away as a kid. I rented it from Blockbuster and played it a ton, but the weekend wasn't long enough to finish it. I later tried to emulate it, but could never find a rom that worked all the way through. I've watched playthroughs of the whole game, but never finished it myself. I'm setting up a retropie right now, this is the first game I intend to try, and hopefully finish this time.
11. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Yes, Yoshi is the main character here, but baby Mario plays a huge part in the mechanics and actually shapes how you play. I tend to play this more cautiously than other platforms. Charming game with yet another great soundtrack.
12. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. I feel like this one gets overlooked all the time. For those who haven't played it, it's an original Game Boy game. It controls mostly well, although there are some slowdown issues due to hardware limitations. You fight Wario at the end. Introduced the carrot/rabbit ear power up that let you jump higher and flutter down slowly. Crazy levels, including some Lego-like ones and some space ones. Feels like a b-sides game that all of the craziest ideas went into, and it's a damn good game.
13. Super Mario Galaxy - I remember having a lot of fun with this game and the new physics that it introduced. At the same time, I can't remember large parts of what you do in the game. Everything seems to fly by, and doesn't leave a permanent mark. Still a lot of fun from what I remember.
14. Mario Party 2. A.K.A. "How to drill a hole in your palm. I still use that technique when I'm fishing in Red Dead 2. Not as bad as the first one, but still had some moments that led to palm burns. Other than that it improves on the first and is a blast with a group of 4. Alcohol only adds to the fun.
15. Super Mario Maker. Seeing everyone's creativity was a lot of fun. I wasn't big on making my own levels though. Maybe I'll work on changing that when the second one comes out.
16. Mario Bros. I had this one on Atari, and played the crap out of it as a kid. This was the first game I would say I was good at. In fact, it's because of this game that my parents changed our household rule for gaming. The initial rule was play until you game over, then pass the controller. I got so good at this game I could play for well over an hour before game over. My parents ended up changing the rule to be time based after a couple of these runs. I was also good enough at Donkey Kong Jr. to keep repeating the levels without game over.
17. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. The Mario sports games are all pretty fun, but this one is my favorite. I love golf IRL, and this adds an arcadey spin that makes it a lot of fun.
18. Super Mario Sunshine - I'm betting many are surprised that this one is so low in the list. Don't get me wrong, it's still a fantastic game, but for my personal experience, the timing of the release was not great. I was 14 or so when this came out, so I was going through a phase where I couldn't be bothered by "Kids Stuff." I was playing Resident Evil and GTA at the time, so I let this one slip through my fingers. Sadly, it just didn't have the right impact on me.
19. Super Paper Mario. Not as good as the two before it, but still a really solid game. The perspective shifts in the platforming parts were really fun and inventive.
20. Dr. Mario - My childhood friend's grandmother would play this one with us, and whoop our asses every time. Only game she played, and she was a master.
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