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If there’s one character that has become ubiquitous with gamers, it’s Mario. The little Italian plumber has enjoyed a long history of great games over the course of 40 years, bringing some of the best adventures in gaming’s history to Nintendo consoles for generations.
Related:Mario Kart: Every Version Of Bowser’s Castle, RankedAcross multiple platforms and consoles, Mario has starred in a massive list of titles, going all the way back to 1981 with his first appearance in the arcade game Donkey Kong, before starring in his own game, alongside his brother Luigi, in 1985’s Mario Bros. game. Let’s take a look at all the games Mario has starred in, and the ones where he’s been a guest.
Just A Quick Note…
Not Everyone Is Going To Agree
There is a lot of debate about just how many Mario games there have been over the years, and with good reason. Mario has been featured in or has cameosin more than 300 games over the years, with all sorts of spin-offs, mini-games, and rereleases thrown in for good measure. Generally speaking, the main Mario games are the ones that follow the Super Mario title and are the premiere Mario games by the developer. That’s not to say there aren’t amazing Mario-related titles, or that some of the side games are not canon, it’s just for the sake of this article, that is how we are going to define the main Mario games.
There Are 24 Main Mario Games
40 Years Of Platforming
Starting off the Mario franchise was the original Super Mario Bros. game released in 1985 on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This was a departure from the previous games Mario was featured in as it had more levels, new enemies and mechanics, and introduced Bowser as the main villain of the franchise. Since becoming Nintendo’s star franchise, Mario has been featured in a main game across all major Nintendo platforms.
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Mario’s lovable personality, catchy music, and wondrous adventures through dangerous lands have made him a household name for gamers and non-gamers alike. If you’relooking to play through all of Mario’s adventures, here’s what you’ll have to get caught up on.
1985
Nintendo Entertainment System, Arcade
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels* (Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan)
1986
1988
1989
1990
1992
1995
1996
2002
2006
2007
2009
2010
2011
Nintendo 3DS
2012
2013
2015
2016
2017
2019
2021
2023
Nintendo Switch
Quick note about Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. In the U.S. it wasn’t released until 1993’s Super Mario All-Stars, having first been released as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan on the Family Computer Disk System. It might be a little confusing, but in an effort to keep the main games in order, that’s where it’s staying in the release schedule.
There’s 238 Games Featuring Mario
Now For The Rest
Now that the main games are out of the way, let’s take a look at all the games that Mario is in, but he isn’t necessarily the main character. We’re looking at games where Mario might be a playable character, like Mario Kart 8, butthere are other characters joining him on his adventures. The easiest way to break this list down is by console generation, starting with the Nintendo Entertainment System and working all the way up to the Nintendo Switch.
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There’s also room for when Mario appears on arcade machines and other consoles, like the Phillips CD-i. Generally speaking, these games will be in descending order, from oldest to newest, since game releases mostly follow console generations. However, at times, Nintendo will have multiple generations running side by side, especially given the popularity of their handheld consoles. Because of this, the same game might have been released by Nintendo on different platforms, so if you see multiple versions of the same game, they’re unique to each console generation.
There are a few exceptions to this, but they’re mostly ports of Mario games to other consoles like the Atari 2600 or the iQue Player.
1981
1982
1983
2005
1984
1991
2020
1994
Famicom Disk System (Japan Only)
All these games are ones that feature Mario, but the Famicom Disk System was only released in Japan so most fans would not have been able to experience these games. But, they’re all games that feature Mario in some way so here they are.
1987
1997
1998
1999
2000
1993
2001
Nintendo 64DD
The Nintendo 64DD was a Japan-exclusive attachment for the Nintendo 64 that used floppy disks to play games, letting developers store more data than a regular cartridge at the time. Unfortunately, the attachment didn’t perform well so it was never released to a wider audience. Even so, Mario popped up in a few art games.
2003
2004
2008
Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
2014
2018
2022
The 11 Honorable MentionsLittle Easter Eggs
Surprisingly, there are even more games that feature Mario somewhere in these games, though they may not have him as a playable character right away, or he’s hidden in a bonus feature. Either way, Mario is there and plays an important role in some shape or form.
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