Super Mario Top 16

[This Old Neon]

Super Mario Top 16 consists of 8 polls of 2 games each. Note that this obviously doesn’t include all of Mario’s appearances—Donkey Kong, for example, is excluded because it’s not part of a Mario-branded series, even though he’s a main character. It also doesn’t include spin-offs like Dr. Luigi or Captain Toad. Finally, we’ve tried to limit redundant ports and remakes, but nobody’s perfect. Just have fun.

• You can vote for one (1) game in each poll.
• The winner of each poll will advance to the Quarterfinals.
• You can’t change your votes once they’ve been submitted, so click carefully. Voting closes on Saturday at 11:59 P.M. ADT.

VOTE HERE

The Three-Thousand Year Door
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988, NES)
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004, GCN)

Worldland...
Super Mario World (1990, SNES)
Super Mario 3D Land (2011, 3DS)

Smash Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, NS)

Titles That Aren't Amenable to Wordplay
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64)
Mario Kart 8 [Deluxe] (2014, Wii U/NS)

Plumbers vs. Doctors
Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
Dr. Mario (1990, NES/GB)

Galaxy Dash!!
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003, GCN)

Superstar Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey (2017, NS)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)

Landworld...
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992, GB)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)

[Kong Wen]

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988, NES)
Super Mario World (1990, SNES)
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Mario Kart 8 [Deluxe] (2014, Wii U/NS)
Dr. Mario (1990, NES/GB)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)

Hmm, these match-ups weren't very difficult yet. There were a couple where I didn't really care either way (e.g. 6 Golden Coins vs. Yoshi's Island—I gave the nod to the latter because of the excellent art direction).

Notably, I had to pick Mario Kart 8 over Super Mario 64 because it's more fun, and Dr. Mario over the original Super Mario Bros. because it's different and has a special place in my heart (mom and dad are both Dr. Mario pros, and they keep a Wii in their bedroom pretty much exclusively to play against each other in the evenings... it's fucking adorable).

[This Old Neon]

The Three-Thousand Year Door
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988, NES)
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004, GCN)

Worldland...
Super Mario World (1990, SNES)
Super Mario 3D Land (2011, 3DS)

Smash Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, NS)

Titles That Aren't Amenable to Wordplay
Super Mario 64 (1996, N64)
Mario Kart 8 [Deluxe] (2014, Wii U/NS)

Plumbers vs. Doctors
Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES)
Dr. Mario (1990, NES/GB)

Galaxy Dash!!
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii)
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003, GCN)

Superstar Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey (2017, NS)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA)

Landworld...
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992, GB)
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES)

Convincing winners. Look for a tougher time in the next round.