Perhaps the most recognizable name in all of gaming, the Super Mario franchise has truly held up against the test of time and each game is a blast to play. With that being said, there is no “bad” Mario game. They’re all fun to play and well worth your time, but some are quite better than others.

11. Super Mario Land (1989, Game Boy)

This game is painfully short. There are only six levels and the game can be completed in roughly an hour on the first playthrough. The visuals are pretty bad, it’s easy and the game physics seem a little off. Much of this is a result of the limitations of the Game Boy but what can you expect from a portable Mario Game in 1989.

10. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2012, 3DS)

By 2012, gamers were sick of the New Super Mario Bros series. There’s nothing “new” about it. The biggest issue for the series is that they all have the same art design and level design. They don’t change anything up to really separate themselves from the rest of the series. New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the biggest offender of this. The only new addition this game offers is the marketing ploy of jampacking every single level with as many coins as possible so players can attain one million coins. This is kind of lame and makes the game feel way too easy. I averaged about 5 1-UP’s per level just off of coins. There was no challenge to the game and the repetitive nature of it makes it feel like a bland game.

9. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992, Game Boy)

Super Mario Land 2 is a major step up from its predecessor. It completely changed its art style to fit the Game Boy and gives Mario a deeper story. This game introduces Wario as his rival and gives us the most unique stages in the franchise. This is how a portable Game Boy Mario title should be done.

8. Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (1996, Famicom Disk System)

This game was originally only released in Japan as “Super Mario Bros. 2” and was the true sequel to the original game in 1985. It’s essentially the same as the original with two big differences. The first being in Luigi having a higher jump than Mario but having more slippery feet, a trait that he would continue to have for the rest of the Mario franchise. The second is the ramped-up difficulty of the game. The reason this game was never initially released in the U.S. was because Nintendo of America thought the game was too hard and that it wouldn’t do well in a U.S. market. It plays like an expert version of Mario and breaks may of the fundamental gameplay aspects the series has built. Other than that, it looks and feels exactly like the original game.

7. New Super Mario Bros. (2006, DS)

This was a welcome return to the series after nearly a decade of Mario games being released that weren’t 2D platformers. It was a great return to the roots of the series. It doesn’t quite stack up to the other older platformers due to the lack of innovation, but it was a great game regardless.

6. New Super Mario Bros. U (2012, Wii U)

The Wii U version of the New Super Mario Bros. series is good, but that’s all that can be said about it. It feels just like the other ones and does little to change the up the gameplay.

5. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, NES)

Super Mario Bros. 2 is the black sheep of the Mario franchise. As discussed earlier, Nintendo of America cancelled Japan’s version of the release of Super Mario Bros. 2 in the U.S. Needing a Mario game, the company decided to reskin a game called Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic. It was a neat concept that allowed players to play as either Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool or Toad. Each character had their own unique playstyle. This game also introduced many characters that have become franchise staples like Birdo and Shy Guys. It’s different, but it’s a good different.

4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2010, Wii)

This game is pretty good, and the art style hadn’t gone stale yet at this point in the Mario franchise so I can’t dock this game for a lack of creativity on that end as this was the Wii port to the DS game. It offered four-player cooperative play, which can get ridiculous but is still a lot of fun. The new powerups (like the Ice flower and penguin suit) are major upgrades from the DS version. Unlike the rest of the New Super Mario Bros. series, this game felt new at its release.

3. Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)

Without this game, console gaming might not look like what it looks like today. The original Super Mario Bros. may be the simplest of the series, but it’s also the foundation and it redefined console gaming and the entire platforming genre. This goes down as one of the greatest games of all time for it’s impact to gaming and its just endless fun every time you play it.

2. Super Mario World (1991, Super NES)

Nintendo’s decision to include this game with every Super Nintendo is among the best decisions the company has ever made. The use of the overworld map and introduction of Yoshi already make this game excellent, but the number of stages, art style, and level design make it one of the best in the entire Mario series. The only issue I have with it is that it lacks the awesome innovation that Super Mario Bros. 3 had.

1. Super Mario Bros 3 (1990, NES)

Most lists like this usually have either Super Mario World or Super Mario Bros 3 at this spot. For me, it’s easily Super Mario Bros 3. This game was awesome. Each level feels different, there are tons of new enemy designs and challenges within the game. It’s amazing what this 8-bit game was able to do. It defines the franchise more than any other game in the series and is a must play for anyone who hasn’t experienced it yet.