The Wii was a huge success for Nintendo, especially financially. The console captivated a casual audience by offering the opportunity to play tennis in one’s own living room, while hardcore gamers were given their fair share of epic games to keep them entertained. Naturally, this era saw the release of many Mario titles.
Along with a couple of mainline entries, the Mario brand spawned various spin-offs during the Wii’s run, with the quality varying greatly from one game to the next. Which were the best and worst Mario games on the Nintendo Wii?
Super Smash Bros. Brawl will not be included as it is not a Mario game.
Updated December 12th, 2020 by Mark Sammut: Nintendo has spent 2020 celebrating its legendary gaming icon. Regardless of the console or era, the Mario license can be relied upon to deliver a few blockbuster hits and a couple of more modest spin-offs. The Wii marked a high point for Nintendo’s (former) plumber, with Mario starring in more games during this one period than most mascots manage in a lifetime. Even some of Mario’s more mediocre adventures tend to be worth talking about.
14 Worst: Dr. Mario Online Rx
There is nothing particularly exciting about the Dr. Mario series, and the same holds true for its 2008 WiiWare entry. As a Nintendo-inspired take on Tetris, these games tend to have just enough charm to elevate an otherwise competent but unspectacular gameplay loop.
Although it may not convert anyone who is not particularly into these types of arcade puzzle titles, Dr. Mario Online Rx is nevertheless a serviceable entry in a franchise that loves to play it safe. The highlight of the package is actually a minigame taken from Brain Age 2. Although far from horrible, Dr. Mario Online Rx is one of the weakest games starring Nintendo’s mascot on the Wii.
13 Best: Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games
Mario and Sonic coming together to compete in the Olympics might not have been exactly what most fans pictured for a crossover between these two behemoths of gaming, but the Mario & Sonic series did produce a pretty fun game at its second go of things.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is an improvement in nearly every area over its 2007 predecessor. This time around, the sports are actually quite fun to play, and the single-player mode is structured in a way that makes the whole thing feel far more epic and eventful. The controls are also more intuitive, opting to dial down on the motion controls. For those interested in trying this series, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is the place to start.
12 Worst: Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games suffers from series fatigue, especially since this franchise’s nature demands that certain events are repeated from entry to entry. 2011’s game is considerably better than 2007’s iteration, but the former shares quite a few common sports with the latter.
Now, in all fairness, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games improves its repeat events and does a great job showcasing its location. While solid overall, this is still ultimately a forgettable and unoriginal game.
11 Best: Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario might be a controversial pick as it marked a considerable departure from its predecessor, the far more RPG-focused Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Blending traditional 2D platforming with basic RPG elements, Super Paper Mario ditches turn-based combat for puzzles and exploration. While the gameplay is generally fine, the world is a bit too barren to justify the shift away from combat.
Despite its many flaws, Super Paper Mario‘s story is more than good enough to make it one of the best Mario games on the Nintendo Wii.
10 Worst: Mario Super Sluggers
Back during a time when Nintendo’s multi-talented plumber was an expert in every sport under the sun, it was not unheard of for Mario‘s colorful cast to pick up a baseball bat and have a few matches. Like Mario‘s other sport games, Mario Super Sluggers aims to be accessible rather than deep. The 2008 release makes great use of the Wii Remote but is nothing more than just fine.
Although not a terrible title on its own, Mario Super Sluggers lacks much in the way of content and gets old rather quickly.
9 Best: Mario Kart Wii
The main issue with Mario Kart Wii is that Mario Kart 8 made it obsolete. Even if it was not quite as good as Mario Kart: Double Dash, the franchise’s Wii entry delivered perhaps the most accessible entry in the series.
While the steering wheel was little more than a gimmick, Mario Kart Wii‘s multiplayer modes, quick-to-grasp mechanics, and its respectable line-up of tracks made it one of the must-own titles on the console.
8 Worst: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games was an underwhelming way to launch a crossover series featuring Nintendo and Sega’s iconic mascots. Minigame collections can be entertaining, but 2007’s title was extremely shallow in nearly every department and failed to take advantage of the potential offered by the Olympic gimmick. The inconsistent motion controls also did not help.
Mario & Sonic would produce a couple of decent games, but the first entry was not one of them. When it comes to the summer games, 2011’s Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is the far better pick.
7 Best: Mario Strikers Charged
It is a shame that Nintendo dropped the Mario Strikers series after just two entries, as the GameCube original and 2007’s Wii sequel were both solid additions to the Mario brand.
Mario Strikers Charged suffers from many of the same issues that plague Mario Super Sluggers, primarily a disappointing amount of single-player content and gameplay that is explosive but shallow; however, the former’s matches are just more entertaining, over-the-top, and fast-paced. In some ways, Mario Strikers Charged is the best soccer game on the Nintendo Wii.
6 Worst: Mario Sports Mix
Mario Sports Mix collects four popular sports that Nintendo presumably believed could not stand on their own as spin-offs. Unlike Mario Strikers Charged and Mario Super Sluggers, Mario Sports Mix does have something resembling a story, even if everything once again boils down to four tournaments.
The Mario sports games are never deep, but Mario Sports Mix found a way to make its mechanics even simpler. While the game offers volleyball, hockey, dodgeball, and basketball, neither one is enjoyable enough to be worth revisiting once the short campaign is completed. The end result is a game that offers some quantity but very little in the way of quality.
5 Best: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
The New Super Mario Bros. line-up of games would eventually fall victim to the law of diminishing returns, but that should not take anything away from 2009’s original. At the time, it had been quite a while since a traditional 2D Mario platformer had been released; consequently, New Super Mario Bros. Wii felt fresh.
Even though Nintendo played it a bit too safe, the end result was still a highly polished title in the definitive platforming franchise. It is just a shame that its sequels took so few risks.
4 Worst: Mario Party 8
Compared to Mario Kart, Mario Party has not proven to be quite as consistently good, and the spin-off series went through a particularly turbulent patch during the Wii era. Mario Party 8 represented a franchise running on fumes, one that desperately needed an injection of creativity in its single-player content.
Is Mario Party 8 fun with friends? Sure, but that is not saying much. In terms of minigames, Mario Party 8 is among the weakest in the franchise and the single-player content is dire.
3 Best: Super Mario Galaxy
The Super Mario Galaxy games are not only the best Mario titles on the Nintendo Wii, but they are among the greatest titles ever made. If someone is a fan of platforming, Nintendo, or gaming in general, Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel should be considered must-play games.
Super Mario Galaxy set the groundwork for its successor and, out of the two titles, has a more engaging storyline and a central hub connecting the worlds. Along with tight controls and near-perfect levels, Super Mario Galaxy is the game in the franchise that feels most like it is taking the player on a grand adventure.
2 Worst: Mario Party 9
Mario Party 9 deserves credit for trying to shake up the spin-off series’ stale formula; unfortunately, most of the changes were not for the better. Rather than a traditional board game, all the characters in Mario Party 9 are placed in a car and sent to travel as a collective, a change that essentially eliminated any sense of strategy and individuality in matches.
Along with that questionable addition, the boards were disappointing and the minigames – which no longer happened every turn – could have been better.
1 Best: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Ultimately, Mario‘s main titles have always prioritized gameplay over their stories; in fact, the latter is usually ignored. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not a conventional sequel to the 2007 game, acting more like a retelling that reduces the narrative to its bare minimum.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 exchanges the first game’s superior atmosphere for harder levels, more variety, and Yoshi. It is a trade that pays off in a big way, crafting a sequel that simultaneously recaptures its predecessor’s brilliance while still feeling completely unique.
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