It is a mess. If you try to track down all the Mario games in order, you are going to hit a wall of spin-offs, educational titles, and guest appearances that make the timeline look like a plate of spaghetti. Shigeru Miyamoto didn't sit down in 1981 and map out a forty-year cinematic universe. He just wanted a guy to jump over barrels.
Honestly, the "order" depends entirely on what you count. Do we include the time Mario taught kids how to type on a PC? Or that weird hotel game on the Phillips CD-i that Nintendo tries to pretend never happened? Most people just want the platformers—the "Super" series. But to understand why this plumber is still the king of gaming in 2026, you have to look at the evolution of the hardware and the design philosophy that changed every time a new console hit the shelves.
The Arcade Roots and the Birth of Jumpman
Everything starts with a failure. Nintendo tried to make a Popeye game, couldn't get the rights, and swapped the characters. In 1981, we got Donkey Kong. Mario wasn't even Mario yet; he was "Jumpman," and he was a carpenter, not a plumber.
Then came Mario Bros. in 1983. This is the first time we see Luigi. It was a single-screen arcade wrap-around where you hit pests from underneath. It's simple. It’s addictive. But it wasn't "Super" yet. The shift from arcade cabinets to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) changed the world.
The NES Era (1985–1990)
When Super Mario Bros. launched in 1985, it saved the American video game industry. Period. The industry had crashed, and people thought consoles were a fad. This game proved them wrong. It gave us the scrolling screen, the mushrooms, and the Fire Flower.
Then things got weird. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988) isn't actually a Mario game. In Japan, the real sequel was so hard it was deemed "too much" for Americans. So, Nintendo took a game called Doki Doki Panic, swapped the sprites, and called it a day. That’s why you can pick up turnips and play as Princess Peach for the first time. The "real" sequel eventually came out here as The Lost Levels.
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990) is arguably the best game on the system. It added the world map, the Tanooki suit, and those iconic Koopalings. It felt like a massive production, famously debuted in the movie The Wizard.
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The 16-Bit Leap and the Handheld Revolution
The 90s were a transition. The Super Nintendo (SNES) brought Super Mario World in 1991. It introduced Yoshi. Think about that—we went a decade without the green dinosaur. The levels became non-linear. You could find secret exits that bypassed entire chunks of the game.
Meanwhile, on the Game Boy, the "Land" series was doing its own thing. Super Mario Land (1989) felt like a fever dream with submarines and airplanes. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins gave us Wario. It’s easy to forget that one of Nintendo's biggest anti-heroes started as a villain in a handheld game with a tiny monochrome screen.
Then came the "Yoshi" pivot. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995) is technically a prequel. It’s a masterpiece of hand-drawn art, but it shifted the focus so far away from Mario (who was a crying baby) that it almost belongs in its own category.
Transitioning into the Third Dimension
1996 changed everything. Super Mario 64.
If you weren't there, it's hard to describe how mind-blowing it was to move a character in 360 degrees. The analog stick on the N64 controller existed specifically because of this game. We stopped reaching a flag at the end of a level and started collecting Stars in open playgrounds.
The Experimental Years
Following up on 64 was tough. It took six years. Super Mario Sunshine (2002) on the GameCube is the "black sheep" for many. Mario with a water backpack? Cleaning up graffiti? It’s polarizing. It’s buggy in places. But the movement tech is some of the deepest in the series.
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Then, the Wii happened. Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and its sequel (2010) took the platforming to space. Spherical gravity changed the logic of how we play. You could run around a tiny planetoid and jump off the bottom to fall "up" to another one. It was pure magic.
Why Keeping Track of All the Mario Games in Order is Difficult
If you look at a list of all the Mario games in order, you’ll see huge gaps in the main series. That’s because the spin-offs took over.
- Mario Kart: Started in 1992. It is now arguably more popular than the main games. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is basically a permanent fixture on the sales charts.
- The RPGs: Super Mario RPG (1996) was a collaboration with Square (the Final Fantasy people). Then we got the Paper Mario series and the Mario & Luigi series. These games actually gave Mario a personality and a sense of humor.
- Sports: Tennis, Golf, Strikers (Soccer), Baseball. If there is a sport, Mario has played it. Even the Olympics with Sonic.
- Mario Maker: In 2015, Nintendo basically gave us the keys to the kingdom. They said, "Here, you make the levels." It turned the franchise into a community-driven endless engine.
The Modern Era: Odyssey and Beyond
Super Mario Odyssey (2017) on the Switch brought back the open-exploration style of Mario 64. Cappy, the sentient hat, allowed Mario to possess enemies. Playing as a T-Rex or a Goomba stack felt fresh and nostalgic at the same time.
And we can't ignore the "New" series. New Super Mario Bros. (2006-2012) was Nintendo's way of saying, "We know 3D is scary for some people, here is the old-school 2D style again." It was safe, it was polished, and it sold millions. Most recently, Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023) injected some much-needed weirdness back into the 2D formula with Wonder Flowers that transform the level into a musical or turn Mario into an elephant.
A Chronological Checklist of the "Core" Games
If you want to play through the "important" history without getting bogged down in Mario's Time Machine or Mario Paint, here is the essential path:
- 1985: Super Mario Bros. (NES)
- 1986: Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Famicom/NES)
- 1988: Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
- 1989: Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
- 1990: Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
- 1991: Super Mario World (SNES)
- 1992: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy)
- 1995: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
- 1996: Super Mario 64 (N64)
- 2002: Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
- 2006: New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
- 2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
- 2009: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
- 2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
- 2011: Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
- 2012: New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) / New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)
- 2013: Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
- 2017: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
- 2021: Bowser’s Fury (Switch - technically an add-on, but plays like a standalone experiment)
- 2023: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch)
The Evolution of the "Mario" Identity
What's fascinating is how Mario’s "job" has changed. In the early 80s, he was an Everyman. He was blue-collar. Today, he's more of a corporate mascot, but the games haven't lost their soul. They are still the "gold standard" for how a character should feel when you move them.
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Experts like Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka have often stated in interviews (like the classic Iwata Asks series) that they start with a "toy" or a mechanic first. They don't start with a story. They ask, "Is it fun to jump?" If the answer is yes, they put Mario in it. That’s why the order of games feels less like a narrative and more like a history of technology.
Misconceptions About the Timeline
People always try to find a "timeline" like Zelda has. Stop. It doesn't exist.
Nintendo has been very clear that the characters are like a troupe of actors. In one game, Bowser is trying to melt the world; in the next, he’s invited to a Go-Kart race or a birthday party. There is no "canon" reason why they are suddenly friends. Trying to find a chronological order for the story of all the Mario games in order is a fool's errand. It’s all about the gameplay.
One thing people get wrong often is Mario's age. Miyamoto once said Mario is roughly 24 to 25 years old. Everyone thinks he's a middle-aged dad because of the mustache, but nope—he’s just a very athletic twenty-something with a lot of facial hair and a high-stress job.
How to Experience Mario Today
If you’re looking to dive back in, don't feel like you have to go in order. Honestly, jumping from Super Mario Bros. (1985) straight to Super Mario Wonder (2023) is a great way to see how much has changed while everything stayed exactly the same.
The best way to play the classics now is through the Nintendo Switch Online service. It covers the NES, SNES, N64, and Game Boy eras. For the 3D titles, Super Mario 3D All-Stars was a limited release, but you can still find physical copies if you want to play Sunshine or Galaxy on modern hardware.
Next Steps for Your Mario Journey:
- Check your hardware: If you have a Switch, start with Super Mario Odyssey. It is the most "complete" modern experience.
- Explore the "New" series: If you want something to play with friends, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe or Wonder are the best for four-player chaos.
- Don't skip the RPGs: If you want story, grab the Super Mario RPG remake or Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. They prove that Mario can do more than just jump.
- Watch the Speedruns: Go to YouTube or Twitch and search for "Mario 64 Speedrun." Seeing how people break these games in 2026 will give you a whole new appreciation for the coding that went into them decades ago.
Mario isn't just a series of games. It’s the history of the medium itself. Whether you play them in order or just pick the ones with the coolest box art, you’re playing the DNA of modern gaming.