With the upcoming release of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury on Switch, and with Super Mario’s 35th anniversary celebration coming to a close in just a few weeks, we thought it was time to get all the original Mario’s 2D platform adventures in a sort of sequence. We’ve looked at every major 3D game in the Super Mario series before, but now it’s your chance to rank all of the plumber’s 2D adventures from the past three and a half decades.
So here we present you every 2D Mario game ranked from worst (rarely has a term been used in a more relative sense) to best. We’ve left out certain handheld ports and re-releases to streamline things, so you’ll find the most ‘significant’ release if there’s more than one version of the game (and there may be plenty to choose from these days!). We’ve also excluded Battle Royale for thirty-five players Super Mario Bros. 35 of the running, as unfortunately it won’t be an ongoing concern in the Mario canon after March 31, 2021.
This ranking is based on Nintendo Life readers’ user ratings for the games in our database and is subject to real-time fluctuations even after publication. Yes, that means it is entirely possible to influence the ranking below if you have not rated your favorites yet. To do this, just click on the game you want to rate and assign a score on the game page.
Many thanks to everyone who rated their favorites. Without further ado, let’s take a look at your rankings of each 2D Mario game …
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
On its own terms, Super Mario Run is a great translation of plumbers 2D artwork in the smartphone room. The fact that it looks so much like an entry in the ‘new’ branch of 2D Marios may raise expectations higher than they may have been for the first Mario game to appear on non-Nintendo hardware for a long time, but this entry is a stylish example of transferring a beloved character and series to a totally different platform and embracing the differences of that platform with a tailor-made experience; an authentic Mario game that you can play with one hand.
The Remix x10 mode added post-launch offers bite-sized nuggets of levels from the main game and adds longer life after conquering each world, and it has a Nintendo level of Polish – and without intrusive microtransactions or annoying currency or cool down timers. Super Mario Run was never going to replace Mario World in the plumbing pantheon of 2D platformers, but it was never intended; it offers short bursts of fun, perfect for situations where cracking your switch isn’t an option. Super Mario Run does what it intended, and we admire it for that.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
Also known as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan this was once ‘the grail’ for gamers in the West who knew the first game back-to-front and wanted more of a challenge. The lost levels certainly offers that, which is why Super Mario Bros. veterans can enjoy it the most – players new to the world of Mario will likely find it mind-boggling, hilariously difficult.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
A rare numbered Mario sequel, this is one of a series that continues to divide gamers to this day. New Super Mario Bros. 2 doubled on – of all things – coin collection to create a strangely compulsive platformer in the familiar form. While hardly revolutionary, the autostereoscopic 3D was a nice touch and if you can embrace the banality of its obsession with gold it’s a rock solid, very enjoyable 2D Mario.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo R & D1
Super Mario Land was impressive when it was first released for the Game Boy. Throughout the sequel, this original may seem inadequate by comparison, but it’s still a really fun Super Mario experience, albeit a short one. Just about the time things get really good the credits roll, but if you haven’t played Super Mario Land before, you owe it to yourself to give it a try – it’s still worth checking it out at least once. play, if only to see where Mario’s portable adventures began. Creaking music too.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is an impressive pack featuring the best of modern 2D Mario, crazy multiplayer and a glimpse of the outrageous invention that would come in Super Mario Odyssey. It’s a top shelf Mario game and arguably the best of the ‘new’ industry whether you’re playing on Wii U or Switch, though outdated visuals and the irritation of being kicked back to the world map afterward. each death stands out as things that could have been improved in this Deluxe version. Still with New Super Luigi U included, this is a very nice 2D Mario (and Luigi) package.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
This follow-up made another game famous, featuring Mario and co. for release in the West (where Nintendo of America feared gamers wouldn’t be able to take the punishment of The Lost Levels). Despite being a kind of black sheep in its homeland, Super Mario Bros. 2 had an enormous influence on the iconography of the series. The game is definitely worth revisiting (Nintendo Switch Online is the easiest place to find it these days), if only to remind yourself how different it is from what came before and after. With four playable (and very different) characters to choose from, we highly recommend a playthrough.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD
Considered by some to be mere shadows of the original games, there is no denying the popularity of the new series. The original New Super Mario Bros. maybe a “been there, done that” vibe these days, but it opened 2D Mario to a whole new generation. We dinosaurs may crave our pixels and the ‘classic’ games, but there’s still a remarkably solid Mario platformer here. No, it is not the highlight of the series, nor is it Absolutely essential in the grand scheme of things, but there is still plenty to do.