Legacy

Super Mario World would go on to be considered one of the greatest platforming games of all time by players and critics alike. As the first 16-bit title by Nintendo, it helped usher in a new generation of vibrant visuals, imaginative gameplay, and memorable sounds, and also introduced a new character that would quickly become a fan-favorite fixture of the Mario universe.

Nintendo bundled Super Mario World with the Super NES hardware at launch. This fact, combined with both the game and system’s monstrous success, led Super Mario World to sell over 20M lifetime units. It easily became the best-selling game on the system by an insurmountable margin.

In an alternate reality, Super Mario World, Mario, Yoshi, and the entire Mushroom Kingdom were sucked into a black hole, never to be seen again. Meanwhile, in our universe...

Super Mario All-Stars

1993, Super NES

Super Mario All-Stars was a compilation featuring remakes of the first three Super Mario Bros. titles. Each game was given a visual overhaul using the same 16-bit art style as Super Mario World, along with many tweaks, changes, and redesigned elements. This was the first time the original Famicom version of Super Mario Bros. 2, titled Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in the West, was released outside of Japan.

Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World was released the following year and added an updated version of Super Mario World to the compilation as well.

BS Super Mario USA

1996, Satellaview

Super Mario USA, the title given to the Western version of Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan, received a Japan-only sequel for the Super Famicom. Released as a four-part episodic adventure via the Super Famicom’s Satellaview add-on, BS Super Mario USA used a timer to sync up in-game events with a live audio broadcast narrating the game’s plot!

Super Mario 64

1996, Nintendo 64

Much like Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 helped launch an entire generation of gaming. And, like its predecessor, Super Mario 64 went on to be the best-selling game of its respective console. Known for pioneering 3D platforming, Super Mario 64 successfully broke the 2D mold Mario had lived in for over a decade since his debut as Jumpman in the original Donkey Kong arcade game.

Some aspects unique to Super Mario World, such as the colored Blocks, return in Super Mario 64—as does Yoshi, who is found at the top of Princess Peach’s Castle once all 120 stars have been collected. He tells Mario, “It has been so long since our last adventure!”

Yoshi, along with Wario and Luigi, became playable characters in Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS in 2004.

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2

2001, Game Boy Advance

The Super Mario Advance 2 port of Super Mario World offers a large number of changes and improvements over the original. Once a colored Yoshi has been found in Star World, Mario can discover the adult version in any ? Block. The type of Yoshi is determined by Mario’s currently active power-up.

Super Mario Sunshine

2002, GameCube

Mario’s second major 3D outing equipped him with a water-powered backpack known as F.L.U.D.D. His set of moves was augmented by this device as he assisted the denizens of Isle Delfino, allowing him to hover, swim faster, and…clean stuff? It seems a plumber’s work is never done!

New Super Mario Bros. Series

2006-2013

Keeping the 3D graphics but returning to the iconic 2D gameplay after more than a decade, New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS, 2006) ignited a resurgence in classic-style Mario platformers. Starting with New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009), the series would put an emphasis on cooperative multiplayer and continue through New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS (2012), and New Super Mario Bros. U for the Nintendo Wii U (2012). Luigi even got his first self-titled platformer in the main series: New Super Luigi U (Nintendo Wii U, 2013).

Super Mario Galaxy

2007, Wii

One of Mario’s most ambitious games yet, Super Mario Galaxy catapulted the plumber onto the surface of dozens of miniature planets. Each planet offers its own microsystem of puzzles, obstacles, or enemies to overcome, before Mario rockets off to the next one. Rosalina, a recurring character in various Mario titles, makes her first appearance in Super Mario Galaxy.

The developers had so many ideas that a sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, was released in 2010, and featured new power-ups, such as Cloud Mario, as well as Yoshi in spaaaaaace!

Super Mario 3D Land

2011, Nintendo 3DS

After 21 years in exile, the fan-favorite Tanooki Suit returns! Super Mario 3D Land’s level design and visuals were inspired by classic 2D Mario titles, but with a 3D reinterpretation.

Super Mario 3D World

2013, Wii U

A sequel, Super Mario 3D World, added four-way cooperative multiplayer and the infamous Cat Suits. In a rare change, Princess Peach joins the adventure as a playable character, alongside Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Rosalina.

Super Mario Maker

2015, Wii U

For anyone ever wanting to create their own custom Super Mario levels, Super Mario Maker provides a robust toolset for doing exactly that. Levels can be created from one of four styles (Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U), each providing its own unique visual assets, obstacles, power-ups, enemies, and gameplay mechanics.

Upon its release, Super Mario Maker became a viral sensation as players from around the world created seemingly impossible stages that made for jaw-dropping videos online.

A handheld port was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016.

Super Mario Run

2016, iOS / Android

The first-ever Mario game released for mobile phones, Super Mario Run features classic Mario gameplay with a twist. Mario automatically moves through levels and players must help him avoid obstacles, defeat enemies, and collect items by tapping the touchscreen to jump. Other playable characters such as Princess Peach and Yoshi can be unlocked. The game was touted as the first Mario title that could be played with one hand.

Super Mario Odyssey

2017, Nintendo Switch

Following in the legacy of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Odyssey is the plumber’s wildest adventure, by far. Mario running around in a quasi-real city with realistic humans and taxi cabs? Check. Mario possessing enemies with his hat? Check. Mario possessing a T-rex? Oh yeah.

It gets even more awesome! Pauline, the damsel in distress from the original Donkey Kong, makes her Super Mario debut after 36 years as songstress and mayor of New Donk City.