May 14
Contest: Win Plush Mario Sound Bops or a Super Mario figure!
Have you ever gotten bored simply playing Mario, and wished it was a little more real? While unfortunately we can’t help with treating such delusions, we can help you make your make-believe Mario world seem just a little more real with the following contest.
We’re giving away a set of Plush Mario Sound Bops thanks to the awesome people at ThinkGeek, along with a Super Mario Vinyl and Fabric Figure (from them as well) for the second prize. If you win the plushies, it’ll almost be like you’re in the Mario universe, and you can ram your head into the two included Brick Blocks and jump all over the Goomba just like you’re Mario himself! (although it’s highly discouraged if you want your prize to last, but since they make noises it might be hard to resist)
Post a comment on this post with your favorite game featuring Mario (here’s a list to help you pick), and give a few reasons why it’s better than all the others. Then the person who gave the best reasons will win the Plush Mario Sound Bops (unless they want the Mario figure instead, in which case it will be switched). The person who gave the second best reasons will win the Mario figure. And you win by proving why your game is the best, not by picking a game you think we’ll agree is awesome. If you can give a convincing argument for one of these as the best Mario game ever, you’ll have a much better chance than someone who says Super Mario Galaxy only because “its teh awsum.”
After you’ve thought it over post your entry in the comments. This contest will be open until Thursday, May 22 at midnight, so take your time making a decision. Once you’re done, make sure to check out ThinkGeek because they’ve got a lot of other cool stuff for sale.
Also, be sure to only comment on this post once, since otherwise you will be disqualified. Any other discussion about this contest should happen in the forums.
(despite the relative size of the two pictures, the plushies are actually a lot bigger than the figure)
And make sure to tell all of your friends, because while it may lower your chances of winning slightly it will raise theirs by a huge margin.
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When trying to decide what is the best game with Mario in it, I couldn’t decide if I would go with the game that is the most epic, or the funniest, or the hardest, or the most accessible, or just the one I spent the most time playing. I think with everything taken into account, the best game that Mario has been in is Mario Kart 64.
It is by far my favorite Mario Kart game, not only because it was almost perfect, but also because of nostalgia. Certainly, the newer games have improved on a lot of aspects of the series, but none have gotten the formula just right, and none have caused me to spend literally hundreds of hours playing them like Mario Kart 64 did.
I can recall playing for hours at a time, with three of my friends. I remember sniping people with red shells from atop Block Fort. I remember beating all of my older cousins and their friends at the game when I was only twelve and they were twenty. I remember playing a four play vs. race on Rainbow Road, and having all four of us take and hit the shortcut, all three laps.
I still play the game to this day. It is currently the only N64 game that I have downloaded on my Wii, and every now and then I’ll fire it up just to see if I still have the skills. They’re there, just buried a bit. Mario Kart 64 was great for its time, and it still holds up as a fun game to play today.
And in case you were wondering, I was debating between this and Super Mario RPG.
Super Mario Bros. 2 for me. Yes, I know it wasn’t really a mario game, but Miyamoto still worked on it. I chose this game because different characters gave you different abilities, which added a whole new way to play a platformer. I liked that you picked turnips and threw them at things too-weird. This game was alot of fun, and I played and replayed the hell out of it.
I would have to say that Mario 64 was the best one. It was the first game I had on the N64 and I still have fond memories of it. I think that, as the first great true 3D platformer it has given a lot to the games industry.
Without Mario 64, I don’t think we would have had Banjo-Kazooie or possibly even Donkey Kong. Or we would have had worse versions at least. Also, I don’t think the DS would have had such a strong release game, even if it was a remake.
Another game we would not have had is Mario Galaxy. Without Mario 64, Mario Galaxy would not have been so different. Mario 64 has given us a lot and lead to some very fun lessons with the DS version.
Super Smash Brothers: Brawl is the best game featuring Mario. Why? Because it’s a knock-down, drag-out battle in which you can take Mario and beat the living snot out of idols from many other games. I mean come on…who doesn’t like toasty Ice-Climbers? And what about knocking the coins out of Gannondorf? Who even knew he was a dark pinata with coins?
Another reason I love SSB:B is the way your friends’ faces light up when you ask if they want to play smash. Everyone loves the game, and it’s a great game for a group of people to get together and play. There’s definitely some degree of fun to be had with a group of friends and a copy of Smash Brothers.
I’m gonna make this short and I don’t think many if any people will pick this but I loved Mario Golf on the N64 I remember the long days and nights shared between that system my father brother and me. It brought us all together with its OBs awesome music and great gameplay yes it was golf but we enjoyed golf a lot hell I even picked up another copy of it yesterday for my newly bought n64 and I’m having a blast all over again.
Super Mario RPG and the Legend of the Seven Stars is the best game that has ever included Mario. It was a great opening-level RPG with a decent cast of characters, classic Mario characters and even Geno, the most underrated badass of gaming history. I mean, sure it introduced Mallow who was just a pansy little marshmallow guy, but frickin Geno man! He was all awesome! His hand was a *gun*! This was before Final Fantasy VII did it too! I mean HOW do you top that? I mean yea sure, it could’ve shot flying sharks with chainsaws, but that might have been overkill. Lets get off the subject of Genos awesome badassness for a minute though and remember its gameplay. It actually required you to PAY ATTENTION during combat, not doze off! It lets you do more damage by timing attacks properly, something very few RPGs seem to do anymore thanks to what I call “Lazy Player Syndrome” where most of you just want to sit back, watch some cutscenes and press “X” in between.
This is why, SMRPGTLOTSS is the best Mario game of all time. Ever.
Super Mario 64 because it was the forerunner to all great platformers. The worlds were completely immersive; I couldn’t believe it was real the night I bought the game and jumped into Bombomb Battlefield. The boss levels were epic. There was a ton to collect, and getting the last 120th power star and blasting to the top of the castle felt so rewarding. I almost cried when Yoshi gave the message from the development team and then my lives flew all the way up to 99. Mario 64 is one game I can never forget.
Super Mario 3 because it is an all time favorite of mine. I played this game and fell in love with it! I love the items that are in the game and I thought it was a challenging mario game and it never gets old. I even downloaded it on my wii just to play it again and bring back old memories.
My vote goes out to Mario Tennis because I love balls, er, rather, I love the combination of Mario and balls…but not Mario’s balls, you see. Mario Tennis for the N64 was the first game to expand the plumber’s horizons beyond monkey-slaying, princess-saving, racing, time-traveling, painting, medicine-practicing, golfing, and typing-tutoring. See, Mario Tennis on the good ‘ol 64 bit system was actually his third attempt at the sport. He inspires us all by living the example of never giving up. If at first you fail, hire a new developer to try again. Words to live by, my friends.
I’ll never forget the first time I laid my hands on the tennis racket and slammed a ball straight into Birdo’s nose. I wondered what would happen. Maybe an egg would pop out Yoshi-style or something, but that might be irreverent or something, teaching kids that life comes from balls. I remember when I played through the tournament bracket for the first time and felt a huge sense of accomplishment just before realizing that I had spent the last three hours sitting in front of my television in the middle of the night in my underwear watching a bunch of strange-looking blocky characters run around on a screen and repeat the same basic movements over and over. But whereas modern day games with that characterization are quickly dismissed, Mario Tennis actually made it fun. Of any N64 game I have played, I think Mario Tennis aged the best. I can still go back to it this day, although fully clothed, and get the same enjoyment I got eight years ago. Smash Bros. games come and go, but Mario Tennis is eternal. Except for the Gamecube version, which sucked.
Mario 64, by far. It pioneered 3d action/adventure, and was the perfect extension of the classic Mario gameplay. The music was amazing, the difficulty was spot on, and the game was just the right length with amazing puzzles and all the freedom you wanted. The pure amount of freedom you had in this game made it fun to just run around levels aimlessly - this is something that they’ve detracted from heavily in Sunshine and Galaxy. The camera control, while clunky, still shines in comparison to Galaxy (with a camera you can’t even move half the time).
Super Mario World of course. This was the game where you could actually ride Yoshi! Plus, it also looked really good compared to everything else at the time. Bottom line is that this is the most fun game out of the entire series. Period.
Well, I like Luigis Mansion just because it’s so cool. Simply put, Mario gets captured by ghosties. Now you may be thinking, “Mario gets caught? That sounds ludicrous.” That’s because usually Mario is the one saving people, but now, you’re the one saving Mario. That is truly ironic!
While this was probably one of the tougher assignments I’ve found for mahself, I gotta admit coming to the decision was pretty simple. The best game to ever feature Mario is Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo. Hax? Why yes, yes it is. But nevertheless. When it comes to Super Mario Bros. whhat could be better than re-living the childhood of games that the little roly poly plumber had gifted you with all on one cartridge? With enhanced graphics even! Super Mario Bros., the classic that started it all, and the gameplay that defined a generation of video games. Super Mario Bros. 2, the whacked out dream sequence that got us all to actually respect Toad and Princess Toadstool as viable heroes. Super Mario Bros. 3, the most fun I personally ever had with a Mario Bros. game singularly, that made us all wonder, WTF is a Tanuki anyway? And throw in ontop of that the original Mario Bros. as a 2-Player affair and the original Mario 2 from Japan thrown in as ‘ The Lost Levels ‘ and you have the single greatest Mario Bros. game ever conceived! Introducing an entire new generation to the games we loved as kids, Super Mario All-Stars was and is, the greatest.
i would say my favorite mario game is the original super mario bros. as it was the one that got the ball rolling harder then mario bros. the 8 bit mario had a great fun factor what was great for me when i was younger in 1986. viva mario
Fave mario game has to be Mario Tennis for the N64 b/c that game was just so addicting and one the better tennis games to come out. EVER
Super Mario Brothers 2. It’s the first video game I’d ever played and it spurred my love affair with them. The sore hands from my rectangular controller were battle scars.
After thinking it over, I believe I have finally decided on the best game of all time. And that game is Hotel Mario. Now some of you may be thinking “Wait a minute, I’ve played all the Mario games. How come I never heard of this one?” That’s because your parents didn’t priveledge you with a Phillips CD-i when you asked for a Super Nintendo. Yes, while your friends were playing Mortal Kombat and Star Fox, you were…enjoying compressed video with really cra– I mean awesome — controls. Unless you had Super Paint Drying 2 or Mega Linoleum Peeler III: Renegade Saga, there’s no way your gaming experience could have compared. No - way.
Here’s the rousing story (because you care): Mario’s back, and apparently Koopa Bowser Turtleface was so horribly, terribly defeated in the last title he has decided to become Donald Trump and run a chain of hotels. And like all millionaire hotel owners, he has now given his temporary-living-space-based legacy to his children. Oh, also, he kidnapped the princess. Again. What these two activities have to do with one another, I do not know.
I know, I haven’t begun to explain how this game rocks the socks off everything else. And yes, sir, I just used “rocks the socks” in an actual essay. Deal with it. There are three main reasons Hotel Mario kicks ass.
First of all, platforming, exploring levels, fighting giant turtles – if you like that crap, you can leave now. Hotel Mario is all about solving puzzles. And if that ain’t extreme enough for you, the entirety of the game takes place in Bowser’s previously-mentioned chain of hotels (Dinosaur Land? Big Land? Sky Land? Pssssh, eat your heart out!). I, of course, use ‘puzzle’ in the weakest of ways as the gameplay of Hotel Mario consists entirely of opening and closing doors – my most favorite of activities. If I find a revolving door I can be entertained for hours on end. But I digress; Mario must close doors to complete each and every level. After doing this ten times you get to fight a boss. But don’t be fooled, because this also consists of closing doors.
I know! Awesome, right? I’ll bet you’re sad now you were dealing with “FIIIINIIIIIIISH HIIIIIIIM!” back in the 90s, instead of beating the ever-loving piss out of your enemies with “DOOOOOR-CLOOOOSE-ALIIITY!” … It…uh…didn’t actually say that, though.
The second reason: fully rendered cut scenes. Back while you losers were enjoying riding Yoshi and being told “Your princess is in another castle.”, those of us with The Hardware King (aka: The CD-i) knew what was what: we had fully rendered cut scenes. That’s because it was on a CD. Cartridges…pssh…CD’s are the wave of the future! Do you have any idea how much stuff you can put on a CD? Tons. That’s because you need a laser to see the data. You can’t even see it with your eye. Like, literally tons of datas fit on CDs. Like, you could probably put a bunch of songs and some movies on it. Those compensate when your gameplay is lacking. Not that Hotel Mario’s gameplay was lacking! Remember, if closing a door is rated a 10 on the awesome scale then…uh…Hotel Mario’s a 10/10 of Awesome. These most-awe-inspiring of Mario’s early cinematic glory looked like they were animated by maybe one guy, and with only the almighty MS Paint, but they got the job done. Sure, Mario and Luigi were constantly off-model and they sounded like angry Italian immigrants, but I didn’t see any of this over on the Super Nintendo. Huh? Did you? Yeah, that’s right. …Dude, guy in the back…just…no, put your hand down. You didn’t see it. Put it down.
Finally, the last key point. Remember when I said Mario and Luigi sounded like Italian immigrants? Remember when I said the game came on a CD? And how those things have, like, infinite storage? Remember if you turned the oven off last night? Congrats, you don’t have Alzheimer’s Disease. Anyway, these pimped out discs had real voice acting. Yeah, that’s right! The music may’ve been bloops and bleeps attempting to be classic Mario themes — …er..theme? — but this technological wonder made it sound like the Philharmonic Orchestra was in Mario’s mouth. And they all became gruff, English-speaking males. And wanted lotsa spaghetti. My point is, with your amazing moving pictures you had real, talking Mario and Luigi. I guess that was implied with the whole Italian thing, though. Eeeeey! Faahget aboud it! And Mario could tell you to do things. Normally, only your mom could do that while you were playing games. And you would tell her “Moooooom! In a minute, I’m at an important part!” Remember that manual that always came with your new game. Did anyone ever seriously read those things? No? Well Mario reminded you too, so you would remember to read it – and get tips! How’s that for awesome?
As you can see, Hotel Mario was the most awesome of the Mario games. It took that awesome scale I rated door-closing with earlier, and cranked it up to 11. It had intense gameplay, jaw-dropping cinematic MSpaint visuals, and Mario wanted lotsa spaghetti. Oh, and told you to look at a stupid book instead of just telling you a damn hint. It doesn’t get much more awesome than that.
I had to think about this one for a bit. The original Super Mario Bros was my first choice; it was my first foray into the NES, and to this day one of the best platformers available. Still, I realized that it was purely nostalgia motivating me to pick SMB. I then thought about Paper Mario: one of the only RPGs I’ve sat through all the way, and funny to boot. But again, I realized that Mario’s greatest platforming beats his best RPG any day. Lastly, I thought about Galaxy; the obvious choice for a Wii fan, and the game that proved that traditional gaming doesn’t die with motion control. But alas, most of the Mario greats were better in their day than Galaxy is today, and I shouldn’t pick an average new over an old classic. Then it hit me:
Hotel Mario.
The concept, the execution, the graphics, the drama! Oh yes, this game had it all. From the first moment, you knew it was going to be epic; full motion video! And Bowser, that cad! He not only calls our heroes “Pesky Plumbers,” but in a surprising plot twist, kidnaps the Princess! Yikes! And then he hides her in not one, not two, not even three, but SEVEN of his deadly koopa hotels! While before this game Bowser was often dwarfed by villains such as Ganon and the New Age Retro Hippie, Hotel Mario boosted him to the top of the evil ladder in every gamer’s book. So now Mario and Luigi must save the Princess. Their reaction is very dramatic: from the part where Mario reads the note aloud to the moment Luigi realizes he will no longer be getting lotsa spaghetti, the tension only rises. And that Mario, reminding us to consult the instruction booklet for help. What a gentleman! Sonic certainly never informed me how to read. But onto the main game:
Hotel Mario is known for it’s innovations in gameplay, and singlehandedly established the genres of Elevator games, Door Closing games, and First Person Shooters. It’s tight control and fluent animation is unrivaled to this day, though often replicated; The three current gen consoles, the Stick Waver, red-ringed brick, and that expensive one nobody owns, are all powered by the “Hotel Engine.” The main objective in Hotel Mario is to shut all of the doors in a Hotel, all the while navigating around enemies and riding elevators. It is clear that the developers thought this through, as I cannot think of a more perfect environment for Mario to be in. But it’s no walk in the park! The enemies will not only harm you, but also commit the most heinous of crimes: THEY OPEN DOORS. Luckily, you can defeat them by jumping on their heads; a touching show of homage to lesser mario games like Super Mario 3 or Mario 64. There are also boss fights, which are fought in the most epic style possible, while the boss attacks relentlessly, Mario bravely continues to shut doors! What style! What finesse! No squeaky hinge nor misplaced doorstop stops this plumber: he will shut all of those doors, the obvious solution to saving the Princess. Of course, you will learn a lesson or two along the way; Mario taught us to remember that all toasters toast toast, single-handedly saving breakfast for millions of CD-I owners worldwide. And even after all of this, Hotel Mario does not just end with a flop. No, there is not a single gap left open in the entire epic of a story! *spoilers*The Princess is saved, Bowser is defeated, and Mario, once again talking to the player, informs you that you are “The Best Player Ever.” Oh no, you aren’t just a good player. You are THE BEST. EVER. It’s true, because Mario never lies.
But don’t just take my word for it that this game is great. Gamespot gave the game a 10 out of 10, citing it’s level design, music, and definitely not just because of the banner ads on the site. The editor on board for IGN quit his job after reviewing Hotel Mario; he reportedly said that, “I could never rate a game fairly after that Hotel Mario. I would never be able to get off that subconcious track that I have played a much better game.” Nintendo Power declined to review the game as it was not on an official Nintendo console, and subsequently lost half of their subscriptions. Hotel Mario is number one on MetaCritic to this day, with an average score of 110%. Ironically, the game’s quality has hurt the industry. Gunpei Yokoi, creator of the game boy, and more importantly, the Virtual Boy, died of a heart attack after playing the game. The recent release of Grand Theft Auto 4 was hurt by ongoing sales of Hotel Mario, which has been a bestseller since it’s release 14 years ago. Many gamers have become homeless after spending all of their funds an time on Hotel Mario; some have admitted to selling their organs on the black market for extra Hotel funding.
But in the end, we can’t fault Hotel Mario for being so great. The game is the best selling Mario game of all time, (beating out such classics as Mario Kart, Máriomon, and Mortal Kombat vs. DC vs. Mario) and generally considered to be the best quality one as well. Maybe one day we will see the long fabled Hotel Mario 2 come to fruition, but until that day, Hotel Mario remains my favorite Mario game of all time.
Oh right. Go ahead Mr “Any Kluthe”, if that is your real name. Keep on stealing my ideas and posting them right before I do. Nobody likes a thief with a time machine, and I good sir, am no exception. While your opinion is correct that Hotel Mario is the best Mario game made, that does not give you the right to purloin my thunder as I tirelessly spend the 40 minutes between our posts typing up my deepest, darkest emotions on everybody’s favorite title. I now must assure the judges that I did not, in fact, steal your idea, and retaliate towards you with a very disgruntled smiley man, as shown below.
I’m about to post it.
>:-(
Yes sir, I believe you have been “powned,” as the kids are saying these days. Now excuse me as I get back to my walkers and prunes, and leave you hooligans with your wild shenanigans dirtying my internets.
(By the way, you can have the sound bops if you hook me up with one of them time machines. Good times abound, y’ know?)
THE best Mario game is Super Mario RPG. It rocked and needs to be re-released on the wii.
I have to say this is a hard contest because all of the major mario games have been quite awesome.
Y’know I’m sitting here , in my basement , with my two week old son in my lap fast asleep , and you force such an expansive question upon me.
Fuck you
But seriously…This is a tough one. I think for me it is Super Mario 64 and I say this for one simple reason. Free roam camera control. When I first loaded the game up and got to run around the castle grounds and independently control the camera to see the world around me…wow…I mean seriously guys , I know god damned well I’m not the only geek who has payed attention to detail here for the bulk of his gaming history. It’s the small things that keep us playing games but it’s the big things that reaffirm why we play these games and the first time I was able to see what was going on around me , the first time I was able to plan an active strategy toward tackling a level and not having to worry about going the pre-coded path…that really opened worlds to me and helped me define what I see in a game and what I would grow to expect.
Now I know I harp alot about the camera but SM64 also had superb level design and fantastic game design to compliment the level design. Case and point was the stage “Jolly Roger Bay” , You tell me how fucking awesome it was to grab the metal mario powerup and run into the water , only to sink and walk on the ocean floor hundreds of feet below , not to mention the fact that the water had water life in it. Mario to me has always done something right with each of it’s mainstream titles ; But SM64 redefined the game for me and honestly…the gaming world and my gaming world was never the same afterwards.
-Rev
My favorite Mario game is still the original Super Mario Bros. It is not my favorite simply for nostalgia as others have stated, although nostalgia plays some part, but because of the amazing attributes of such an original game.
Given the burden placed on Super Mario Bros. to launch the NES in America, it performed exceptionally well. It was the first game I got when my dad bought me an NES so long ago. This little game had several things going for it. It was easy to market and fun to play.
The story is simple. A regular plumber named Mario must save the Princess from the evil dictator of Mushroom Kindgom. This tagline led to some amazing 2D, side-scrolling gameplay.
I love how the story is simple yet complex enough to spinoff dozens of other games/comics/you name it. This originally hooked you in as it was more than other arcade games had. I am a sucker for side-scrolling games. I love the obvious progression that comes from that. Mario’s powerup abilities were also unique. Having such a wide variety of moves was refreshing. The game was broken up into good-sized levels. They never felt to long or too short to me. Most importantly, each level was fun and unique. Even with the standard dozen or so background elements repeating themselves, each level felt fresh and presented new enemies or obstacles. Having so many levels is still one of the strongest parts of the game. However, the game was still short enough to beat in one sitting. An important part of gaming at the time. So an incredible game was put into a short time, but never felt squeezed or shortened.
And perhaps most importantly, my favorite part of the game was the secrets. Not only did this add tremendously to the uniqueness of the game, it provided both replayability trying to find all the secrets and additional difficulty in trying to beat the game in shorter and shorter times. This is just one of the many legacies that Super Mario Bros. left that is still widely used in gaming today.
Without Super Mario Bros. I wouldn’t be the gamer I am today. I still love to play it often and it is in my NES right now. Other Mario games may be flashier or more complex, but Super Mario Bros. with its pure, stripped down gameplay will always be my favorite.
Super Mario Bros. 2, man. That is the greatest game of all time. You could kill pink dragons with their own eggs, ride on a magic carpet, ride logs on a waterfall, and much, much more. The game also had a very good amount of play time, you really had to devote yourself if you wanted to beat it in one sitting, unlike many other games of the era. Plus, the level variety and the multiple characters offer a lot of replay value. Many a loser would spend multiple friday nights just playing through Super Mario Bros. 2. And after the jocks got done banging their girlfriends, they would start playing, too. Anyone who doesn’t enjoy this game doesn’t enjoy life. And that is just sad.
Mario Teaches Typing.
The reason for my choosing Mario Teaches Typing doesn’t have to be loquacious and drawn-out like several other replies solely for the fact that we all know how awesome it was.
Mario Teaches Typing combined a recognizable character with a relatively new technology and introduced it to a young generation eager to learn, thus resulting in the computer age we’re currently in. In the ScrewAttack video, Mario Teaches Typing was considered deplorable by using an iconic figure in a “boring” educational game, but how many of us bought Mario Teaches Typing for Mario and ended up learning how to type? Those once young computer novices who became infatuated with computers through this game paved the way for UseNet, the Internet, and will help in implementing the Grid. And when these Mario typing aficionados eventually create a computer faster than the human brain, who will they have to thank?
While it may not have been the most “graphically superior” game ever, Mario Teaches Typing was a stepping stone into MS-DOS for many of today’s leading programmers and scientists. And it sure beats learning on a typewriter and being forced to watch nude Rhea Perlman massage Michael Jackson with White-Out.
My favorite Mario game of all time is Super Mario 64.
I entered the gaming world a little late in the game (heh). Super Mario 64 was the first game I ever played. Some people may be quick to criticize my judgment on Mario games because I never truly played the classics, but hear me out.
Do you remember the first time you played a game as a kid? The very first time you felt that overwhelming excitement while playing a game? This was that game for me. I was in second grade when I finally got my Nintendo 64 with Super Mario. I spent hours on end playing the same levels over and over again. I never got tired of them. I loved all the cool little characters, especially Bob-omb.
This game single handedly evoked every emotion I could possibly feel. I was terrified of the giant eel in Jolly Roger Bay. I died laughing every time I shot Mario out of a cannon, (I don’t know why I found that so funny). I loved chasing that damn rabbit around the basement. And, I swear to god, getting into the cannon that launches you to the top of the castle was the greatest mystery of my childhood. I know it sound silly now, but seriously, staring at that roof, I was like a kid staring up at the moon, wishing I could someday reach it.
Since then, no other game has ever made me feel the way Super Mario 64 did. It was the most wondrous thing I had ever experienced. I don’t know how Nintendo does it, but, (at the risk of sounding really, REALLY cheesy), their games were magical as a little kid.
Nowadays, all I ever hear is “OMG look at teh grafix!” and “Um no sony r liek waaay bettr than nubtendo LOL!” and “OMG master cheef! sooo badazzz!!!11!” Don’t get me wrong, I love the new generation of gaming, and I love where it’s headed; but every now and then, I love to dust of the ol’N64 and play some Super Mario 64. Some people claim I only feel this way about the game because it was the first game I ever played, and it could’ve easily been some other game. But I don’t think that’s the case. I think it was just a genuinely fantastic game.
That’s why Super Mario 64 is my favorite.
Great contest guys! I really hope I get to put those plushes right next to my Bob-omb and Bullet Bill!
If this was to debate the best Mario game, I could say the original SMB put the console world into second gear, or note SMB 3 has sold the most individual copies, or that SM 64 launched 3D gaming, or the assured hilarity of multi-player Mario Party, all while performing a perfect Comic Book Guy imitation. However, my personal favorite among them is Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, and not only because it is the second most recent.
If I have a large crew over, Brawl has a tournament builder to accommodate them. If there are newbies in the mix, include a few destructive smash balls to level the field. With the variety of fighters and levels, there is always something new to master. If it’s 3 in the morning and no one’s around, online is a few clicks away, whether free-for-all or team, and without blathering voice chat. If I only have a few minutes, there’s challenges to tackle. When my wife wants to join in for co-op, there’s that plus the lengthy, platform-style Subspace Emissary mode. Prefer a shooter … coin launcher mode. Prefer an RPG … customize your fighters with stickers. If you insist on completing everything 100%, you’ll be a while.
Even down to your controller interface, Brawl accounted for the individual. Want a simple, no brains way to play … use Wiimote only. Want some more control … plug in the nunchuk. Prefer a classic controller … or don’t want to invest in another Wiimote … it allows for that too. Even if each player wants their customize button configuration, set it and test it once, and you’re good forever.
The only negatives I ever hear are that there are no significant improvements over previous versions. Brawl was my first experience with any Smash Brothers, so I don’t have that bias. Instead, I am left with a great game that keeps on giving.
You know, it came down between Mario Paint and Mario is Missing for me. Just for the hell of it I had to go with Mario is Missing.
Mario is Missing? Is he rescuing princesses or eating sushi in Japan? Only you can find out in Mario is Missing.
This game insanely difficult for the age group it was aimed at, I remember getting it at a garage sale when I was around 6 and playing it to death. I didn’t understand most of the clues, but it did teach me, it taught me that by failing thousands of time I might be able to guess where he was. If only there were strategy guides back then.
But besides the educational point, seeing Luigi running down the street pimp slappin’ people for clues was a sight to see in all of its 16 bit glory. You get a clue “Mario likes hairy women” (No offense, I am Italian) and you just beam over to Italy and find traces of him. Or “Mario smells like fish” and you teleport down to the Pike Place Market in Seattle (or the red light district in Amsterdam).
Who doesn’t love getting relics from all over the world also? Finding the pharaoh’s nipple ring will clearly lead you to Mario!
Oh, and the sound was revolutionary. Click! Beep! Click! Beep! Click! Euphoria is what it was, straight out of Megaman.
In conclusion, Mario is Missing, well its teh awsum.
It would have to be mario paint! Who doesnt like to recreate their favorite song in mario paint’s song composer using mario/nintendo sound effects?! In my case, recreating Iron Maiden’s The Trooper! Good times
I might as well enter this one, ThinkGeek has some of the best products I’ve ever purchased online. I already have a messenger bag and a few of their t-shirts, might as well try and add Mario swag to the list!
Hands down, I’d have to say Super Mario 64. Not because, “omgz it wuz teh awezum,” but because it was literally one of the best things that brought my dad and I closer together. When the Nintendo 64 came out, we camped out (read: I slept in the car while he stood in line) for around 12 hours until it was safely nestled in our arms.
Prior to the Nintendo 64 neither one of us were much of gamers aside from the occasional game on our NES 2. But when we hooked the N64 up to our awesome wood panel TV, we were hooked! We spent hours and hours playing together, trading the controller once the other person died/got a star. Joking, and cursing at the damn golden rabbit under our breath as it seems to slip through our fingertips every time.
And I mean, who can argue against my case when the final boss was a rainbow Bowser? Hands down, the best boss ever!
Super Mario Bros! First game I ever played on the Nintendo! Still to this day I have never met anyone hate the game. It is a game you can not play for years and still have soooo much fun playing it even if you have beat the game a zillion times!
I have chosen Super Mario Bros. 3 as my favorite Mario game. It was one of the first NES games I was able to call my own, for my collection, and it is simple fun. Mario 3 introduced an overworld map and the original Mario Bros.-inspired Battle Mode, where 2 players could fight each other for supremacy and those cool stage clear cards.
For those who felt like playing together, Mario and Luigi could split up the worlds (unless one of them does not clear the stage they went to). For teamwork or backbiting, Super Mario Bros. 3 had it all. Mario 3 also had a wide variety of worlds - the most fondly remembered being World 4, in which everything except you and the powerups you get are HUGE. Individual stages had some amazing originality as well - remember 5-3, with the boot? Being able to ride around in an oversized shoe, even stepping on spikes without a care in the world.
And finally, who could forget the suits? From the slick Frog for fast swimming, to the cute Tanooki with its 5-second invincible statue form, to the cool and tough Hammer Bro suit, which took out damn near anything with a well-aimed hammer. One of the best and most innovative parts of Mario 3 was being able to take those snazzy suits and save them for later, should a time come when you really need them. The warp whistles are an added bonus for people who despise certain worlds in the game (I personally don’t care for world 7).
This game will be one of the high water marks of platform games in the hearts of many for years to come, simply because it’s fun. I just went into a little more detail as to why.
Super Mario World was by far the best Mario game to date. Sure, it wasn’t revolutionary like Mario 64 or Galaxy but World was a whole lot of fun.
What 64 and Galaxy lack was the multiplayer gameplay. I remember the days when my friend and I played hours discovering all the secrets, competiting scores, and helping each other beat the game. It really helped develop our friendship and that is essentially what I remember made Mario games so great.
Simple as that.
I’m not a writer, I’m not a persuader. However, I want my voice to be heard.
My favorite game featuring Mario is, without a doubt, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the GBC.
Why?
Simple enough: When I was a young boy, I’d escape from my life just with a rectangular prism, a cartridge, and 2 AA batteries. I’d just got and play it to let off stress, to get away from my parents…it turned me into the introvert I am today, but it also kept me from going downhill mentally.
I owe that game a lot. So here’s to you, SMBD. Here’s to you.
Favorite game out of all of them… would have to be super mario all-stars, why… you ask me… cuz it has like 5 games in one…so if you beat the first mario or got tired of one of them… just move on to the next, and if all else failed … just play super mario world… which never got old and was probably the best of the bundle
Super Mario Galaxy!
i think super mario 64 because that is one of the things i’ll never forget when i was three years old and i got 100 stars with my sister tanisha i’ll never forget never NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!