Summary

  • Each mainline Mario game introduces new characters and items, expanding the iconic world and offering fresh gameplay experiences.
  • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is known for its challenging levels and unique mechanics, making it one of the toughest games in the series.
  • Super Mario 64 revolutionized the series with its 3D platforming and open-world exploration, setting the stage for the continuous evolution of the mainline Mario games.

When it comes to the mainline Mario games, there’s been so much to keep track of in almost four decades since our favorite plumber got his very own game. Each game has a new focus or theme, inviting invention in each new launch. We’ve watched the mainline Mario games transform from pixelated 2D platformers into the large, colorful, open-world 3D behemoths we know today.

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We wanted to step back and take a look through every Mario game in order to reminisce and check out what new and lasting features each of these Nintendo titles brought into the mainline Mario games.

Updated on October 31, 2023 by David Michael Kinder: Every time a new Mario title launches, Nintendo either reinvents the wheel or gives us a remastered experience we're all quite familiar with. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a happy medium unique enough to feel wholeheartedly original without repeating beloved tropes. The series' continuous evolution is why most people around the world recognize that iconic "Wahoo!"

23 Super Mario Bros.

Though we were first introduced to the plumber in the original Donkey Kong game, the first of the individual Mario games in order came in 1985.

In Super Mario Bros., Mario must travel through eight worlds, conquering castles to find and rescue Princess Toadstool (who would later be named Peach). In addition to the plumbing brothers, this first game also introduced a number of core concepts that remain even today.

Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Bros.

Bloopers

Bowser

Bullet Bills

Buzzy Beetles

Cheep-Cheeps

Fire Flowers

Goombas

Hammer Bros

Lakitu

Mushrooms

Piranha Plants

Princess Peach

Super Stars

Toad

22 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

Less than a year later, Japan got Super Mario Bros. 2, but those in North America refer to it as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

This is because the game distatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/'t formally launch in the continent until much later, in 2007, after the launch of a different Super Mario Bros. 2 in North America. The 2D platformer is notorious for having much more difficult levels and unique mechanics introduced. In fact, when looking at all Mario games in order, it's possibly the toughest game in the series.

Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Bros.

Poison Mushroom

21 Super Mario Bros. 2

Instead of launching the original Super Mario Bros. 2 to North America, Nintendo decided to reskin its Japan-only game, Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, to add Mario characters and port it under the Super Mario Bros. 2 moniker.

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In this game, you can choose which character, between Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, will play each level. The game revolves around saving Subcon from Wart, the frog king.

Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Bros. 2

Birdo

Bob-Ombs

Ninji

Pokey

Shy Guy

Sniffit

    20 Super Mario Bros. 3

    The biggest of the NES Mario games is easily Super Mario Bros. 3. While the game once again featured eight main worlds, each one was filled with nearly double the number of levels compared to its predecessors.

    In addition to more mainstay enemies being added to the game, we also learned about Bowser's seven Koopalings, as they wreak havoc in each of the worlds they are in.

    Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Bros. 3

    Boo

    Boom Boom

    Boomerang Brothers

    Chain Chomp

    Dry Bones

    Fire Bros

    Koopalings

    Rocky Wrench

    Spike

    Super Leaf

    Thwomp

    19 Super Mario Land

    The first-ever portable Super Mario game, Super Mario Land was also the first game not developed by its primary developer. In this game, Mario travels the world of Sarasaland to rescue a new princess, Princess Daisy.

    She's been kistatic.aayyy.com/topic/dn/apped by an enemy that never makes another appearance in the series, an alien named Tatanga. There were a total of four kingdoms that Mario travels to, each kingdom with its own set of unique enemies.

    Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Land

    Princess Daisy

    18 Super Mario World

    The dinosaur that every Mario fan loves makes his first appearance in Super Mario World for the SNES. Yoshi assists Mario (and Luigi) as they set off on an adventure through Dinosaur Land to rescue Princess Toadstool.

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    The 16-bit game once again saw Bowser and the seven Koopalings causing chaos throughout the land, leading to unique boss fights like those in Super Mario Bros. 3.

    Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario World

    Banzai Bill

    Chargin' Chuck

    Dolphin

    Fuzzy

    Magikoopa

    Monty Mole

    Wiggler

    Yoshi

      17 Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

      Continuing the run of introducing iconic Mario series characters, the sequel to Super Mario Land saw the first appearance of the greed-driven, oddly-lovable Wario.

      As the main antagonist of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Wario has seized control of Mario's castle in Mario Land. Mario must go through his kingdom to collect the six golden coins that Wario has scattered from Mario's sanctuary.

      Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

      Wario

      16 Super Mario 64

      The game that revolutionized the Super Mario series and 3D platformers as a whole was Super Mario 64. Not only was this the first of the 3D Mario games in order, but this game was also the first major instance of being able to freely explore open worlds in video games. It was also a transition for the mainline Mario games as a whole.

      In the game, Mario arrives at Princess Peach's castle to find that she and the many power stars of the castle have been captured by Bowser. Mario travels through multiple worlds set in paintings to collect stars and rescue Peach.

      Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario 64

      Amp

      Bob-Omb Buddies

      Bully

      Dorrie

      King Bob-Omb

      Metal Cap

      Penguins

      Whomp

      Wing Cap

      15 Super Mario Sunshine

      Over six years pass before another mainline Mario game is made, this time on the GameCube. This is another 3D platformer that puts Mario on Delfino Island called Super Mario Sunshine. After being accused of covering the luxurious with icky goo, Mario must clean up the mess using a machine called F.L.U.D.D.

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      This game saw the introduction of Bowser Jr., as well as a unique take on the platforming mechanics that were first seen in Super Mario 64. The characters in each level also offer a fresh take on the series.

      Characters And Items Introduced In Super Mario Sunshine

      Bowser Jr.

      F.L.U.D.D.

      Petey Piranha

      Piantas

      Nokis

      Shine Sprites

      Toadsworth

      14 New Super Mario Bros.

      After a shift to 3D platforming, it took Nintendo over a decade to return the mainline Mario games to their 2D-platforming roots. In the Nintendo DS game, New Super Mario Bros., you can once again play as either Mario or Luigi.

      You must rescue the princess from the grasp of Bowser Jr. and, later, his father. The game saw a return to the classic Mario format for world structure and kicked off a series of 2D-platforming games.

      Characters And Items Introduced In New Super Mario Bros.

      Dry Bowser

      Mega Mushrooms

      Mini Mushrooms