Nintendo Switch Mario Games

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch)

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is an impressive package, offering madcap multiplayer and glimpses of the outrageous invention that was to come in Super Mario Odyssey. It's a top-drawer 2D entry and arguably the best of the 'New' branch whether you play on Wii U or Switch, although ageing visuals and the irritation of being kicked back to the world map after every death stand out as things that could have been finessed in this Deluxe version. Still, with New Super Luigi U included, this is a very fine 2D Mario (and Luigi) package, even if Wonder makes everything that came before look a little staid and static.

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)

Paper Mario: The Origami King tries to do something different with its combat system and, to be honest, we aren't really feeling it. That doesn't mean the rest of the game isn't thoroughly entertaining, however, and while the puzzle-based battles aren't quite what a new Paper Mario game needed, they aren't so awful that everything else shouldn't be experienced as a result. It still isn't the new Thousand-Year Door fans will have been hoping for, but it's still one of the funniest games in the series and it's got a truly likeable companion character, and while the combat is far from ideal the fact that we still thoroughly recommend the game regardless should speak volumes.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch)

For years, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has been held as the best Mario RPG of all time, and the Switch remake proves it has earned that title. This is a fantastic RPG adventure, whether you’re a Mario fan or not, with some best-in-class combat and brilliant writing. A fresh new localisation, beautifully enhanced visuals, and new quality-of-life features help iron out a few little creases to make this the definitive way to play Thousand-Year Door.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Switch)

Bringing Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy to Switch, it’s a shame that the presentation here is practically barebones, with no bonus content beyond the soundtracks. However, there can be no denying the quality of the games on this time-limited release. Super Mario 3D All-Stars is The Beatles’ Greatest Hits of the video game world, and is an absolute treat whether you’re reliving it in HD or discovering it for the first time.

Unfortunately, if you didn't grab a copy of this triple pack of platforming goodness before it was delisted on 31st March 2021 and removed from the Switch eShop, you'll have to look for a physical copy still in the supply chain (which shouldn't be too difficult given the substantial quantities Nintendo manufactured) or rely on the secondhand market.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch)

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury takes everything that made the cat-filled Wii U original special and throws in various small gameplay tweaks to make it even more enjoyable. The first four-player 3D Mario game fuses the freedom of the third dimension with the spirit of the tighter, more constrained (yet no less imaginative) courses from his 2D games to wonderful effect. The cooperative multiplayer element brought Princess Peach, Luigi, and Toad back into the fold of playable characters, mirroring the lineup of Super Mario Bros. 2., and both Cat Mario and Captain Toad were also introduced here.

This game serves as an unintimidating introduction to a larger three-dimensional Super Mario world, and a joy for veterans of the Z-axis to boot. The additional open-world-y Bowser's Fury mode makes the Switch version an essential purchase even if you 100%-ed the sublime original game on Wii U. The only real mark against the awkwardly acronym-ed SM3DW+BF is patchy online multiplayer implementation, but this Switch release is otherwise up there with the very best of the plumber's portfolio. Dog lovers should probably steer clear; everyone else, jump to it.

Super Mario Bros. 35 (Switch eShop)

Super Mario Bros. 35 gave Nintendo's most iconic game a jolt of life and it was massively welcome. Its matches could have done with being a little shorter, but it says a lot about the quality of the experience that the biggest problem we had with it was that after April 2021 it wasn't going to playable anymore.

And it wasn't — still isn't. A shame. Good while it lasted, though.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is, quite simply, the best 2D Mario game since Super Mario World. This is the slickest, sharpest, and smartest that two-dimensional Mario has felt since 1991 and in its Wonder Flowers, badges, and online aspects, it serves up an endlessly inventive and impressive platforming adventure that will utterly hook you. From its myriad animation details to its infectious anything-could-happen spirit, it's got charm up the wazoo. A refinement of a well-established formula, it doesn't totally upend the 2D tea table, but with local co-op and online fun adding to the replayability factor, this feels like 2D Mario with its mojo back. It's one of the very best platformers we've played.

Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch)

Super Mario Maker 2 took everything you loved about Super Mario Maker and turned it up to 11. It's got more of everything: the Super Mario 3D World style, enemies, gizmos, powerups, vertical levels, the Story Mode having an actual story, multiplayer, and more (and slopes, of course). The list of additions is truly massive.

There are a few small issues here and there — the online is still hilariously obtuse in a way only Nintendo could make it, and the slight awkwardness of button-based building is disappointing after how natural it felt on the Wii U GamePad — but they're overwhelmingly dwarfed by the sheer joy and unbridled freedom on offer. Free updates and tweaks to the formula evolved the experience over time, much like the original, with Ninji Speedruns and various new elements added to this expansive Mario toybox.

Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

There's an argument to be made that Mario 64 never got a 'true' sequel until this game: Sunshine's FLUDD muddied the waters with its feature set; the Galaxy games cleverly eschewed large open playgrounds for impeccably crafted planetoids designed around specific gameplay elements; 3D Land and 3D World were deliberately constrained with linear design to attract players of 2D Mario into the third dimension.

Super Mario Odyssey was a return for the 'sandbox' style players had been pining for since 1996, and it delivered everything you could want and more. Cappy's capture abilities keep things fresh in a game which blends all sorts of ideas and art styles into an improbably coherent, compelling whole. It really shouldn't work, but New Donk City's human inhabitants are able to co-exist with the anthropomorphic cutlery of the Luncheon Kingdom and the big-eyed cute characters of the Mushroom Kingdom clan thanks solely to the developers' impeccable execution. The mechanical mastery on display here is breathtaking, with so many distractions to discover, and there's a joyful abandon which carries through every kingdom you visit. We don't envy the designers who have to come up with Mario's next game, but if Mario Odyssey is anything to go by, absolutely anything is possible.

An utterly remarkable entry in this most celebrated of series, then, and an essential purchase whether you like Mario or not.

Super Mario Party (Switch)

Recent Mario Party games have had a somewhat sterile feel to them, but with Super Mario Party (the Switch's first Mario Party outing), that simply isn’t the case. This isn’t a cash grab with Mario's face on the front; this is a well-constructed and beautifully realised Mario Party game which takes the series right back to its roots, but without being a straightforward rehash.

There are a few interesting ideas that feel a little bit underdeveloped — such as the overhyped Challenge mode — but on the whole Super Mario Party is a true return to form after it felt like the series was sagging on the Wii, Wii U, and DS consoles.

Super Mario RPG (Switch)

Super Mario RPG is here in all of its weird, wonderful glory for a new generation to experience, and sets a new standard for how to do a faithful remake right. Delivering a beautifully preserved, pure experience for fans of the original and an accessible entry-point for genre newcomers, the game's infectious charm, writing, and polished gameplay do so much to elevate this beyond what might have been merely a simple RPG starring Mario.