My Top Five Mario Platformers #1: Super Mario Bros. 3

I think most gamers have a tough time choosing between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. They're so good, it's really hard to pick favorites when both are in the top of their class. However I think the 3rd game has the edge just slightly. 

Though Super Mario World did a lot of things 3 did, I have to give the last game in the NES trilogy a lot of credit from being radically different (and better) from the original game, and the true Super Mario Bros. 2 which is known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in America. 

I loved the new map where you can pick the stages, and the bonus stages which made my brothers and I fight over who got what item or not. We even fought viciously over those stupid mini-game stages which offered a small chance to win something like a mushroom or a fire-flower. 

Each world in SMB3 was so much different from the last, and with tons of secrets in between it's not hard to believe how much fun you will have until you face King Bowser at the end. World 8 is one though cookie, don't dare say it isn't. 

In retrospect, the NES version is a bit outdated. The SNES remake version in Super Mario All-Stars is the superior version by far. Such a fresh coat of paint. 

My Top Five Mario Platformers #2: Super Mario World

Oh man such a childhood classic, Super Mario World is such a major part to so many childhoods not just mine. Your SNES wasn't complete unless you had a copy. 

It really did expand and make a lot of improvements over the Super Mario Bros. games on NES. It was bigger, better, and even more colorful. 

Plus you had a cute Dinosaur to ride as well. I love Yoshi! Though if I need to make a jump, I don't mind dropping him into a pit. Sorry bro. 

It's still one of the best games Nintendo has ever made, and writing this blog makes me want to bust out an old copy and play it again. 

My Top Five Mario Platformers #3: Super Mario Sunshine

I was surprised so many Mario fans gave this game such a backlash. I don't know if they were bitter that it was quite a bit more unique than Super Mario 64, didn't like the tropical setting/jetpack, or were on the Gamecube hate-train. I just know one thing: I wasn't one of those people. Super Mario Sunshine is one of my favorite games of all time. 

It put Mario in a dratistically different setting, with him being sent on a vacation. Except this vacation forced him into eco-fascist slavery because he got framed by Bowser's little brat. I really liked the tropical setting, though I do admit it did get a little old after awhile. 

I did like the F.L.U.D.D. or as most people knew it as the water jetpack. It had a couple of different uses, and I thought it made the platforming and combat a bit better than other Mario games. 

I was glad to see Yoshi make a glorious return in Sunshine as well. I liked this version of Yoshi better than Super Mario Galaxy 2 or Super Mario 64 DS. He played like a vomiting version of himself from Super Mario World. 

Even though it's an odd choice for some people, I'm not ashamed of my love for Sunshine. One of the best titles for the GameCube, and certainly one of best Mario games period. Don't hate, appreciate! 

My Top Five Mario Platformers #4: Super Mario Bros.

Despite being the first and least [graphically] powerful Mario platformer (I don't count Donkey Kong or Mario Bros as a Mario platformer) I absolutely adore the original NES game. 

It's really amazing to go back and see how awful and simple a lot of NES games were. Yet despite the system's limitations, this game proved that simple games can have an enormousness amount of depth if you dig deep.

It's also one of the more challenging Mario games around. I think it has one of most perfect balances of gameplay as well. It's not insanely hard, but it's no cakewalk either. Very moderate middle ground, but the last world will test your skill as a gamer. 

Plus it's a game you can keep going back to again and again and again. I'll be playing this one until they wheel me off to the old folks home. 

My Top Five Mario Platformers #5: Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 was the big daddy for the Nintendo 64 especially during the early days of the system. 

Some video games series had a lot of trouble transferring over to the land of 3D. However I think most of them took notes from Super Mario 64. It wasn't just the 2D games with polygons. It was the same concept plus more freedom, a lot of creativity, and a core team of designers who knew how to make a game fun. 

A fun game it was too. The paintings allowed you to jump into a world that always changed. You could go from green fields, icy mountaintops, and dry deserts. There was so much variety that you could almost feel it with your own hands. Not only that but tons of a little secrets, bonus missions, and side-quests.

Despite the crappy controls, I really liked Super Mario 64 DS a lot as well. Maybe the 3DS's nub might help this baby out to be the superior version finally.