Super Mario: Every Game Ranked From Worst To Best

14. New Super Mario Bros.

Mario Feat Copy
Nintendo

Playing New Super Mario Bros. now, it's difficult to understand what it did to earn that prefixing adjective. The platforming action feels like a light retread of the tamest levels Super Mario Bros. 3 had to offer, and the always ugly combination of 3D models in a 2D world lost fashion in 1998. Through cynical 2017 eyes, it's Super Mario does Sonic 4.

That wasn't the case when it was released. As with the blue blur, excitement over a brand-spanking 'traditional' Mario-em-up was palpable, but unlike Sonic's momentum-halting mess, the fratelli idraulici's return to side-scrolling confines was actually good. But hunger makes the greasiest of greasy spoon dinners taste like a Michelin three-star meal, and Mario's trip back in time wasn't quite as lip-lickingly good as we all thought.

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.