Shack Chat: What is your favorite Mario video game of all-time?

It's MAR10 Day, everybody! The Shacknews staff looked over some of our previous topics and then it hit us that we never actually gave people our favorite all-time Mario game. We've opened this up to pretty much any game featuring Mario, whether it be in a starring role, a cameo role, or in something other than a traditional platformer.

Here's what we've come up with. If you'd like to play some other Mario games, it's a good time to pick one up. We rounded up the latest MAR10 Day deals earlier today, so be sure to check that out.

Question: What is your favorite Mario video game of all-time?

Super Mario RPG (1996 or 2023, take your pick) - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Mario Editor

If we had restricted this to traditional Mario games, I would be more than happy to answer Super Mario Odyssey, just because of how much I love how it's refined the 3D Mario formula to feel more streamlined, more brisk, and more expansive. There was so much to explore that I still don't think I've explored everything, even after collecting 700+ moons.

I've made it no secret that Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is my favorite game of all-time. I managed to somehow run an entire five-part retrospective on it for its 25th anniversary. It isn't just that it's different from every other Mario game out there, but it got me and so many others like me into an entirely different genre of video games. I was not an RPG player before Super Mario RPG and then I started discovering more turn-based role-playing games, including the very best from Square Enix. It's the game that expanded my Mario worldview beyond the Mushroom Kingdom and I'm still singing along to its soundtrack to this day.

I'll never forget this game's characters and I was so happy to revisit them for last year's remake. Plus, who doesn't love revisiting the first time that Mario and Bowser became reluctant allies?

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - TJ Denzer, Senior Power Star collector

I really like Super Mario Odyssey, but I feel like Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the best Mario has been in 3D platforming so far. Galaxy 2 stands out from the pack as one of the most content rich, challenging, and satisfying Mario games Nintendo is done. That’s due in part to the fact that the gameplay and levels are crisp and clean, their gimmicks are continually enjoyable, and it added onto the first Super Mario Galaxy’s planetary themes and features in fantastic ways.

I loved being able to take Yoshi on this adventure, plus the Cloud Mario power-up ranks among my favorites for its usefulness. There were 242 Power Stars to collect in this game, and while I think the last few are a stretch to get, I still felt like this game has content for days if you want to play for a good, long time. I think Nintendo has made great Mario games before and after Galaxy 2, but for my money, Galaxy 2 might be as good as it’s gotten so far.

Shout out to Bowser’s Fury. If Nintendo made a full-length game based on that concept, it probably would have been my pick, but it just doesn’t have enough to beat the full package that’s Galaxy 2 as is.

Super Mario World - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

While I do love most Mario titles, Super Mario World stands above the rest in my eyes as the best and my favorite entry in franchise history. The music, level design, and gameplay loop are perfect. The game is so damn good that there are countless fan ROMs still being made to this day.

Super Mario Bros. - Bill Lavoy, Muskie Guide

It’s not close here, folks. Super Mario Bros. was the first video game that I ever beat, and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the first console I personally owned. While I did dabble in Atari games previously, Super Mario Bros. was the game I played for dozens of hours sitting on the living room floor. It was my proper introduction to video games, and without it I’m likely not working in games today, and I’m probably not half the gamer I’ve become.

Super Mario 64 - Sam Chandler, Bob-omb Buddy

I got my first console back when I was just a little kid. I remember being six or seven and opening up a present, only for it to be a Nintendo 64. It was basically like that iconic video you’ve no doubt seen. One of the games I got with it was Super Mario 64, and I’ve gotta tell you, it took me a long time to finish it.

And by “finish it”, I don’t mean defeat the third Bowser. I mean collect all 120 Stars, explore every single nook and cranny, and even experiment with glitches and tricks I discovered on the old GameWinners website.

It might not be as fantastical as recent Mario titles, but for me, Super Mario 64 remains my favorite. A lot of modern 3D platformers owe their success to this knockout title.

Super Mario 64 - Dennis White Jr., Social Media Guru

N64 was the first console I technically purchased after saving up my allowance money to toss towards 20% of it, so it hits a sweet spot for me. And man, did Mario 64 also blow my mind in several ways back then. It was one that I poured hours into, but was also one that made me really appreciate level design. Being able to hop through painting and be transported to worlds that looked completely different was truly epic to me.

I think about the music from that game as well and just how much time I spent playing through it over and over when my siblings weren’t complaining about me hogging the sticks. I actually was not a fan of platformers in most cases, Crash Bandicoot and such I usually had less interest in. But there were so many dynamics to Mario 64 that kept me going. Fighting the camera was rough sometimes and was the main aspect from the 3D Mario games that I feel improved in future titles, but I still had a great time. Also, I can’t forget how epic it felt to fight Bowser and toss him around with ease. Super Mario 64 is truly a classic.

Super Mario Bros 3 - Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host, Toad House Guest!

What is my favorite Mario game of all time? There are so many good options here that it is so hard to decide. Super Mario RPG was one of the first games I remember buying with my own money from Toys R Us as a kid. I still love playing that game at least once a year and the remake makes that even easier to do. I also really enjoyed Super Mario Odyssey when it came out. Mario Odyssey is one of those games that I couldn’t stop playing until I finished it. It had great music just like all the Mario games I could mention here. Super Mario 64 helped pave the way for 3D platforming on the Nintendo 64. I remember getting Mario 64 and my Nintendo 64 one Christmas and loved it. I think I was too young when it came out to realize that the camera wasn’t great, but we overlooked things like that then.

However, every time I have to come up with my favorite Super Mario game, I always come back to the same one: Super Mario Bros. 3. I don’t know what a Mario game will have to do to knock that one from the top for me. Super Mario 3 made the series tougher, longer, and it brought with it so many series mainstays. I love video game music and Mario 3 has some of the best in gaming. How can a game that has a frog suit, tanooki suit, and hammer brothers suit not be special.

Honorable mention goes to Super Mario 35 because that game was awesome and it should come back in some form soon!

Those are our picks. We'd like to hear from you. Join the conversation and give us your favorite Mario titles in the comments. If you'd like another place to express your love for Mario, head on over to the Official Shacknews Community Discord.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.