Super Mario: Every Game Ranked From Worst To Best

7. Super Mario Bros.

Mario Feat Copy
Nintendo

They say the first step is always the hardest, but not for Shigeru Miyamoto's gamboling, Goomba-hopping plumber. Mario was running and jumping like a champion without ever learning to walk.

OK, if we're being pedantic, Super Mario Bros. was technically an evolution of Donkey Kong, but the arcade classic was but a spoke in the wheel Nintendo eventually invented. It may not have been the first side-scrolling platformer - it was beaten to the punch by Sega's Jump Bug - but so astutely realised was Miyamoto's vision that it defined the genre.

Not a single thing was out of place, as Nintendo delivered a masterclass in game design before the industry was out of its infancy. Super Mario Bros. didn't move the goalposts so much as warp them to another field. Unlike most iconic titles of its era, time has not fettered the face of the Famicom's finest one jot - a true testament to its timeless brilliance.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.