Its straightforward level designs and basic run-jump-bop action came off as bland, and its new ideas proved a mixed lot. ended up being the first mainline Mario that felt inessential.

While GameCube’s slightly troubled Super Mario Sunshine had exposed some cracks in the edifice, New Super Mario Bros. I wondered if it’d rekindle the deep enjoyment I had derived from the original NES trilogy. attempted something of a return to baseline, jettisoning some of the series’ later complications in favor of more basic Mario action.

The game’s title alone was intriguing: no numbers, no subtitles, just the word “New” attached to the name of the side-scroller that changed everything back in ‘85. The ranking we arrived at is not beyond reproach and is far from scientific, but it is correct. In putting together this list, which includes input from across Kotaku’s staff, as well as direct contributions from many of us, we tried to consider the games holistically: their historical context, their revolutionary or creative innovations, how well they hold up now, and the impressions they’ve left with us. Most are still better than whatever the alternative is. Trying to rank the Super Mario games is like trying to rank flavors of ice cream. From 2D to 3D, on good hardware and bad, Mario running, jumping, and collecting coins has been a constant not just for Nintendo, but in the fabric of the medium itself, driving it forward, inspiring it, reacting to what’s worked, and pushing back against what hasn’t. Nearly 40 years and 25 games later, the Super Mario games comprise one of the longest running and most predictably spectacular series ever. After connecting with his brother Luigi in 1983’s single-screen arcade hit Mario Bros., Mario made the jump to consoles-and scrolling-in 1985’s NES adventure Super Mario Bros.

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