Ranking Every 3D Super Mario Game From Worst To Best

Mario is without a doubt the most popular video game character of all time. If a six-year old who's never picked up a crayon before went to draw a picture of Mario, you would probably be able to tell what they were trying to draw. That's how iconic this plumber has become over the years.

While the original Super Mario Bros. may have kept the video game industry alive while pushing Nintendo to the forefront, arguably just as influential was Mario's 1996 jump into the third dimension. Super Mario 64 immediately became the template for almost all 3D games that would follow, making the transition almost seamlessly.

Since then, Mario has taken over the video game world time and time again, with Nintendo consistently creating some of the most enjoyable games of all time. So which one is the cream of the crop?

The Wii U's sequel to Super Mario 3D Land had plenty going for it: fun level design, four player chaos, and some incredible power-ups. Unfortunately, the game just can't live up to its competition.

One of Super Mario 3D World's biggest issues is one Mario rarely makes a misstep on: control. Instead of using the analog stick for running around, Nintendo decided to assign a run button to Mario. Default settings can be tricky for developers, but usually aren't that big of a deal as most games will allow the player to change the controls in the settings. Super Mario 3D World isn't most games.

3D World also lacked in creativity, which typically ends up being one of Nintendo's strongest aspects. Can you honestly remember many of its levels? Besides the admittedly great Mario Kart-inspired level, Super Mario 3D World lacks a lot of the identity that helped the original stand out so much. All of this paired with the fact that you're gonna be stuck looking at these semi-average levels from a fixed camera angle and suddenly the placement on this list is probably making sense.