Ranking Lab ― The Measured Editorial Desk
Editorial Research Ranking

The All-Time Mario Ranking: Which Game Is Actually the Most Fun?
— All 26 Titles, Scored on Six Yardsticks

MReporter: The Retro-Game Storyteller (in partnership with zetton.com — nostalgia is shared freely, but rankings are disclosed through six-axis numbers)

Not fame, not newness, not units sold — we scored all 26 Mario games on six yardsticks: innovation, polish, influence, fun, timeless acclaim, and world-building & music. The most famous title, the original Super Mario Bros., ranks 6th overall. The winner isn't the newest release — Wonder or Odyssey — it's 1988's Super Mario Bros. 3. We'll show you why, axis by axis. Change the yardstick and the ranking moves (try the lenses below). Switch to the "influence" yardstick, and the original and Super Mario 64 both rise near the top. This isn't a claim about the single "best" Mario game — it's an ordering across six yardsticks.

How This Ranking Is Built (Methodology)

To avoid boiling "greatest game" down to a single word, we broke it into six independent axes, weighted and combined (total = Σ(axis score × weight)/100). Units sold, name recognition, and how new or old the release date is are not part of the axes.

AxisWhat it measuresWeight
Innovation & inventionWhether it invented new mechanics or ways of playing (side-scrolling, 3D controls, gravity, level-creation tools, etc.)20%
Polish & game designHow refined the controls, level design, and difficulty curve are22%
InfluenceHow much it rippled outward into the games, the industry, and later titles (popularity and sales count as indirect evidence)18%
Fun & replayabilityPure enjoyment, the addictive pull to play again, and whether it works as a group activity16%
Timeless acclaimWhether it's still regarded as a classic across eras, rather than a passing fad14%
World-building & musicThe appeal of its characters, setting, and soundtrack (what makes it feel like Mario)10%
Normalization rule
Units sold, name recognition, and how new or old the release date is are not part of the axes. Recent titles (Super Mario Bros. Wonder / Odyssey / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe) are scored conservatively on "timeless acclaim" and carry a flags=era-adjusted tag.
Scope & unit
Nintendo's Mario series. 26 titles starring Mario are scored across genres. The unit is an individual game. This is kept separate in scope and angle from the companion rankings "Most Influential Video Games of All Time" and "Fastest-Selling Games in History."
Data sources
Release years and hardware are checked against Nintendo's own software pages (the individual title pages on nintendo.co.jp and nintendo.com, the Game & Watch history page, and so on). Where an official page could not be reached, the sources list says so; "world-first"-caliber claims and review scores that we are not confident about are flagged as such. This article contains no language encouraging piracy, ROM extraction, or emulator-based illegal acquisition.
Compilation date / subjectivity
2026-07-19. Judgments of fun and of world-building appeal involve editorial discretion. #11 Super Mario Bros. Wonder and #12 Mario Kart 64 are an exact tie.
Switch the evaluation lens — change the weights and the ranking moves (same evidence, same scores, recalculated)

Overall Ranking

★ First Edition

Findings Against Conventional Wisdom

① A response to "Isn't the most famous title, the original Super Mario Bros., supposed to be #1?" Under these axes, it lands at #6 overall (8.72). Innovation (10), influence (10), and timeless acclaim (10) are all top-tier, but because it was designed 40 years ago, its polish (7) and world-building (7) — judged by today's standards — concede ground to later titles. Still, under the "influence" lens it leaps to #2 (9.26); see for yourself with the lenses above.
② #1 isn't the newest release, and it isn't Super Mario 64 either — it's 1988's Super Mario Bros. 3 (9.36). Polish (10) and timeless acclaim (10) are both high across the board, and the sheer polish that elevated 2D action design a full step is what carries it to the overall #1 spot.
③ Switch to the "innovation" or "influence" lens, and Super Mario 64 takes over #1 (innovation 9.48, influence 9.46). Its reputation for inventing free-roaming 3D action in an open sandbox pushes it to the top once the lens changes.
④ Under the "group fun" lens, multiplayer and co-op titles surge upward. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe rises from #9 to #4 and Mario Kart 64 climbs from #12 to #6, while the largely solo-focused Super Mario 64 slips from #3 to #9, and the original Super Mario Bros. falls from #6 to #12.
⑤ #11 Super Mario Bros. Wonder and #12 Mario Kart 64 are an exact tie (both 8.02). A razor-thin difference on one axis decides which one lands on top numerically.

Change the Weights, Change the Picture (Subviews)

Lens#1Biggest moversWhat it measures
Balanced Classic (Default)Super Mario Bros. 3, 9.36—Measures "greatest game" status by balancing all six axes
Innovation FocusSuper Mario 64, 9.48Super Mario 64 takes over #1 from #3. Super Mario Kart rises (#7→#4) and Super Mario Maker rises (#13→#8). Super Mario World falls (#2→#7) and New Super Mario Bros. Wii falls (#18→#26)Measures only "invented a new way to play"
Polish & Quality FocusSuper Mario Bros. 3, 9.60Super Mario 3D World rises (#14→#9) and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door rises (#15→#10). The original Super Mario Bros. falls (#6→#13) and Super Mario Kart falls (#7→#14)Measures only the precision of the polish
Influence FocusSuper Mario 64, 9.46The original Super Mario Bros. leaps from #6 to #2. Super Mario Bros. 3 falls (#1→#3) and Super Mario World falls (#2→#4). Spin-offs like Mario Party fall (#17→#21)Measures only the ripple effect on the industry and later titles
Group Fun FocusSuper Mario Bros. 3, 9.24Mario Kart 8 Deluxe surges (#9→#4) and Mario Kart 64 surges (#12→#6). The largely solo-focused Super Mario 64 falls (#3→#9) and the original Super Mario Bros. falls (#6→#12)Measures only the addictive pull of competing and cooperating together

Caveats and Limitations

Each axis's 0–10 score is an estimate based on the accounts we gathered, and judgments of fun and of world-building appeal in particular involve editorial discretion. Release dates, "world-first"-caliber claims (such as the invention of 3D action), and critic scores include points where accounts vary or verification is warranted, so we avoid making definitive claims.

Era-adjustment flag: Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Super Mario Odyssey, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — three titles — carry an "era-adjusted" flag under era_rule. As critical consensus builds up over time, these could become candidates for re-evaluation.

Four pairs are exact ties: #11 Super Mario Bros. Wonder and #12 Mario Kart 64; #17 Mario Party and #18 New Super Mario Bros. Wii; #20 Super Mario 3D Land and #21 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga; and #25 Mario Bros. and #26 Super Mario Bros. 2 (US). A tiny shift in the weighting is all it takes to flip the order (try it with the lenses above). This article does not declare a definitive "best Mario game" — it is an ordering across the axes we've disclosed. We have no intention of encouraging piracy, ROM extraction, or emulator-based acquisition, and we recommend playing these games through official retail channels and legitimate hardware.

Related

🎮 Reminiscing about classic games — zetton.com 📊 More rankings — 10i.jp hub

Sources

  1. That Super Mario Bros. 3 was released for the Family Computer (Famicom) on October 23, 1988, with new departures such as the selectable world map and Raccoon Mario — https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B6%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA3 / Note: Nintendo's own official page for this title was not reached. The North American release was in 1990; the date in this article refers to the Japanese release.
  2. The high critical evaluation of Super Mario Bros. 3's completeness — no primary source aggregating critical reviews was reached (the editorial judgement of this article)
  3. That Super Mario World was released for the Super Famicom on November 21, 1990 — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/shvc/mw/index.html / Note: no official source stating that Yoshi first appeared in this title was reached.
  4. That Super Mario World is regarded as "the completed form of 2D Mario" — no primary source generalizing this evaluation was reached (the editorial judgement of this article)
  5. That Super Mario 64 was released for the NINTENDO64 in 1996 — Nintendo's own official page for this title was not reached. Multiple independent articles agree on June 23, 1996, but all are secondary sources (the editorial judgement of this article)
  6. The influence Super Mario 64 had on later 3D game design — no primary source tracing this influence was reached (the editorial judgement of this article)
  7. That Super Mario Galaxy was released for the Wii on November 1, 2007, and its gravity-based stage design — https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%82%AE%E3%83%A3%E3%83%A9%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC / Note: Nintendo's official page was not reached.
  8. That Super Mario Galaxy received high critical acclaim — no primary source aggregating this evaluation was reached (the editorial judgement of this article)
  9. That Super Mario Odyssey was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2017, and the "Capture" mechanic using the hat Cappy — https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA_%E3%82%AA%E3%83%87%E3%83%83%E3%82%BB%E3%82%A4 / Note: Nintendo's official page was not reached.
  10. The decision to apply era normalization to Super Mario Odyssey — based on this article's scoring rule (era_rule) (the editorial judgement of this article)
  11. That Super Mario Bros. was released for the Family Computer (Famicom) in 1985 — Nintendo's own official page for this title was not reached. Multiple independent articles agree on September 13, 1985, but all are secondary sources (the editorial judgement of this article)
  12. The assessment that the original Super Mario Bros.'s completeness falls short of later entries by today's standards — this is this article's own scoring, and no external source exists for it (the editorial judgement of this article)
  13. That Super Mario Kart was released for the Super Famicom on August 27, 1992 — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/shvc/mk/index.html / Note: the positioning that it "created the kart-racer genre" is itself this article's own assessment.
  14. That Super Mario Galaxy 2 was released for the Wii in 2010 — Nintendo's official page was not reached. Multiple sources agree on May 27, 2010, but they are secondary sources (the editorial judgement of this article)
  15. The relationship between Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch) and its original form, Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) — the Wii U version's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/amkj/index.html (released May 29, 2014; anti-gravity) / Note: the official page for the Switch version (April 28, 2017) was not reached.
  16. That Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is said to have recorded sales among the highest in the series — no primary source giving sales figures was reached. This is why this article withholds stating a specific number (the editorial judgement of this article)
  17. The decision to apply era normalization to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — based on this article's scoring rule (era_rule) (the editorial judgement of this article)
  18. That Super Mario RPG was released for the Super Famicom on March 9, 1996, and was co-developed by Nintendo and Square (now Square Enix) — https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AARPG / Note: this is a separate title from the 2023 remake (Nintendo Switch). Nintendo's official page from that era was not reached.
  19. That Super Mario Bros. Wonder was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2023, with the new departure of the Wonder Flower — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.com/jp/switch/aqmxa/index.html / Note: **this article originally abbreviated this title as "Super Mario Wonder," but since the official title is Super Mario Bros. Wonder, the wording has been corrected.**
  20. The decision to apply era normalization to Super Mario Bros. Wonder — based on this article's scoring rule (era_rule) (the editorial judgement of this article)
  21. That Mario Kart 64 was released for the NINTENDO64 on December 14, 1996, and supported 4-player simultaneous play — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nmkj/index.html
  22. That Super Mario Maker was released for the Wii U in 2015, with the new departure of course creation — Nintendo's page for this title https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/amaj/index.html does not state a release date, and the date (September 10, 2015) is confirmed only in secondary sources (the editorial judgement of this article)
  23. That Super Mario 3D World was released for the Wii U on November 21, 2013, and supported cooperative play for up to 4 players — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/ardj/detail/index.html / Note: no official source about Cat Mario's first appearance was reached.
  24. That Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2004 — Nintendo official (the Nintendo Switch version's page references the original release year) https://www.nintendo.com/jp/switch/a9qda/index.html
  25. That New Super Mario Bros. was released for the Nintendo DS in 2006 — Nintendo official https://www.nintendo.com/jp/titles/20010000011947.html ("Original version release year: 2006")
  26. That Mario Party was released for the NINTENDO64 on December 18, 1998 — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_clbj/index.html
  27. That New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released for the Wii on December 3, 2009, and supported 1-4 player play — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/smnj/index.html
  28. That Dr. Mario was released simultaneously on July 27, 1990 for the Family Computer version and the Game Boy version — Nintendo official https://www.nintendo.com/jp/titles/20010000003946.html (states a 1990 release) / The same-day release is per Famitsu https://www.famitsu.com/article/202507/48009
  29. That Super Mario 3D Land was released for the Nintendo 3DS on November 3, 2011, and was designed to make use of stereoscopic 3D — Famitsu https://www.famitsu.com/news/202311/03322394.html / Note: Nintendo's official page was not reached.
  30. That Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 — Nintendo official https://www.nintendo.com/jp/titles/20010000004665.html ("Original version release year: 2003") / Note: no official source stating the feature of controlling both characters simultaneously was reached.
  31. That Paper Mario (Japanese title: Mario Story) was released for the NINTENDO64 on August 11, 2000 — Famitsu https://www.famitsu.com/news/202208/11271404.html ("August 11, 2000 [Heisei 12] is the day Mario Story was released for the Nintendo 64") / Note: **this article originally referred to this title as "Paper Mario," but that is the overseas title; the Japanese version is titled Mario Story, so this has been corrected.**
  32. That Super Mario Sunshine was released for the Nintendo GameCube on July 19, 2002 — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ngc/sms/index.html / Note: no official source stating the pump's English name (FLUDD) was reached.
  33. That opinions are said to be divided over Super Mario Sunshine's difficulty and controls — no primary source showing the distribution of evaluations was reached (the editorial judgement of this article)
  34. That Super Mario Land was released for the Game Boy on April 21, 1989 — Nintendo's official software page https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n02/dmg/mla/index.html / Note: **this article originally described this as "the first Mario playable on a handheld device," but since Mario titles on the handheld LCD system Game & Watch preceded it (Nintendo official https://www.nintendo.co.jp/hardware/gamewatch/history.html ), the scope has been narrowed to "the first Mario playable on the Game Boy."**
  35. That Mario Bros. began operation in arcades in 1983 — Famitsu https://www.famitsu.com/news/202009/09205435.html ("the arcade version appeared in July 1983"; the Family Computer port followed in September of the same year)
  36. That Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) was based on Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (1987, Famicom Disk System) and was released in North America as a Mario title in 1988 — https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AAUSA / Note: the Mario version was released in Japan only in 1992, as Super Mario USA. Nintendo's official materials from that era were not reached.