There are wildly too many Mario games to cover on the SNES. So, let’s eliminate some right off the bat. First, there are a plethora of educational games that hardcore fans are not going to care about in 2023 such as Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters, Mario's Early Years: Fun with Numbers, and Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun. The titles say everything fans need to know about them.
There is also Dr. Mario, Mario's Time Machine and Mario is Missing, which are better left discussed in a similar wrap-up to Mario games but on NES. The rest of this list will cover games released on the SNES with Mario specifically in the title. Caveats aside, let’s get to the best of the best of Mario’s adventures on the console.
8 Mario Paint
Mario Paint is more like a toy than a game, but it is a cool toy at that. It is an art program designed for consoles wherein players could freely draw on pads using a mouse that came bundled with the game. Perhaps no one was using it to an incredible degree in the 90s beyond its basic purpose.
However, with the dawn of the internet and especially YouTube, players showcased what they could do with the game. The amount of music alone that has been generated from this thing is truly inspirational.
7 Mario's Super Picross
Mario's Super Picross continued what was a good title on the Game Boy. It is leagues beyond any puzzle game featuring the lovable platformer such as Dr. Mario. Picross, as a whole, was sort of like the Sudoku of its day.
This one is not for the faint of heart because it will destroy beginners like nobody's business. The Mario connections to it are weak, like Mario Paint, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong on this list. It was released only in Japan, but there are English fan patches out there.
6 Mario & Wario
Mario & Wario is another game exclusive to Japan on the SNES, but there is a fan patch for it too. This also used the mouse peripheral, and it is a puzzle game. Wario, in his continued schemes to squash Mario, has put a bucket on his head and sent him through a series of mazes all ending in his death.
Players control a fairy with the mouse who can poke Mario in safe directions. Manipulate the mazes with the fairy to create these safe paths for Mario and repeat. The game is a simple, but wild entry in the Mario series that any curious fan should check out.
5 Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart redefined racing games and made them more of a wacky affair. It proved that there really wasn’t anything Mario couldn’t do. He was a plumber, doctor, race car driver, and so on.
The original game may not be as universally beloved as Super Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which is still somehow selling copies well after the Switch’s launch. However, that game and the plethora of kart clones would not exist without Super Mart Kart.
4 Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars was one of the first big remake collections, and it didn’t take long for Nintendo to try the idea either. It contained 16-bit remakes of the first three games on NES along with Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
That was a Japanese exclusive for years and getting it then was a big deal even though it’s not that great. The rest of the games in the collection are still incredibly fun though. Super Mario Bros. 3 is far and away the best of the bunch as one of the best 2D Mario games ever made.
3 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island stretches the fine line of being a Mario game because Yoshi is the star. Mario is present though, as a baby, and is more like a glorified health bar instead of an active hero. He is part of the adventure though, so the game still counts.
Semantics aside, this game truly showcases the power of the SNES. It may not have 3D graphics, but the crayon aesthetic is absolutely wonderful, and it was a brave choice at the time. Yoshi has never had a game as good as this again.
2 Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was the first RPG spinoff, and it was an absolute home run. It was made in collaboration with Square Enix, Squaresoft at the time, which was a good choice on Nintendo’s part.
It was a turn-based game like many Final Fantasy adventures but with a more active role given to the players. A semi-3D game running on the SNES like this was incredible at the time even though it looks dated by today's standards. That’s the only negative thing one can say about this must-play SNES RPG though.
1 Super Mario World
Is Super Mario World the best 2D game in the series? It’s hard to choose because there are so many and Super Mario Bros. 3 is also a smash hit. One can debate all day but let’s get this one thing out of the way. What this game does better than Super Mario Bros. 3 is the open-world.
Players can go from world to world fighting through levels, and they can even change these worlds by activating secrets. Best of all, levels could be replayed infinitely which is why it can be a blast to revisit Super Mario World on a yearly basis.
The Super Mario Bros Movie was released on April 7th, 2023.