Mario might be the most well-known video game character. Since his appearance in 1981’s Donkey Kong and his own game in 1985, Mario has become one of the most popular game series of all time, and all his main-line games combined have sold over 260 million copies. Now, there’s not just the main-line platformers. Mario has been in a series of Mario Party games, Mario sports games, and Mario Kart games. And with all of these and many other spinoff series, Mario has over 200 games; but that doesn’t mean all 200 games are winners. Some games came out to fail or were despised by the fanbase. So today we’ll be looking at 5 Mario games that angered fans. This will include any Mario game or spinoff. So with that, let’s take a look.
#5: Mario Party: The Top 100 (2017 – 3DS)
By the 2010s, Mario Party had seen a large downturn when it came to quality, as Mario Party 9 and 10 plus the two games on Nintendo 3DS were considered to be the worst games in the series. Then came the announcement in 2017 of Mario Party: The Top 100, taking one hundred classic minigames from across the Mario Party series in one collection. It seemed like it was a great idea, which it was – but the execution was not great. The game was dire, only consisting of one mediocre board and only a handful of good minigames in the hundred. The board was criticized for its linear gameplay and not having any theming. Nintendo could have used old boards from the series, but they didn’t. Some minigames are also “classics” but not good, like Tug of War. This is a well-known minigame, but that doesn’t mean it was fun. Mario Party: The Top 100 just felt rushed and unpolished, and became one of the worst Mario Party titles. It was also interesting how the game used local multiplayer, but since this game was released in 2017, not many people used the functionality. Nintendo even proved that this is a good idea with 2021’s Mario Party Superstars, which had better minigames, old boards, online play, and so much more.
#4: Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (2015 – Wii U)
The Wii U sure saw some mediocre games. The Mario Tennis game for the console was Ultra Smash, and it was the most generic hunk of junk that it became one of the worst Mario sports games altogether. Ultra Smash’s main gimmick is that characters (and the ball in one mode) can grow big, which strengthens their hit. This concept is so bare that it feels like it was just something developers thought of in like 5 minutes and said “let’s do that!” and made the game. The game lacks much content and the content that there was was very bare and unfun. Mega-Ball Rally, where you play with a giant ball, seems forced in to go with the theme instead of just one small gimmick. This game does have online support, but this game was released in 2015, so not many people were playing their Wii U at this point (except Splatoon and Mario Maker, of course.) Mario Tennis Aces felt more polished and finished than Ultra Smash could have ever hoped to achieve.
#3: New Super Mario Bros. 2 / New Super Mario Bros. U (2012 – 3DS/Wii U)
There’s a reason I’m including two games for this pick instead of just one, since the hatred here is because of both games. New Super Mario Bros. was becoming stale, even though the games were selling ridiculously well. Then came 2012, when not just the next game, but the next two games released within a few months of each other. These games were New Super Mario Bros. 2 on the 3DS and New Super Mario Bros. U on the Wii U. It doesn’t help that NSMBU was not only a launch title for the Wii U, but also the first Mario game in HD. Such a pointless game was the first game in the series in High Definition graphics. Both games are considered Mario’s weaker adventures, and aren’t Mario’s finest 2D platformers. The games aren’t bad, but they didn’t try to change anything at all in the series. NSMB2 introduced the mission of collecting tons of coins and NSMBU introduced just one new power-up. The latter feels just like New Super Mario Bros. Wii in HD, and nothing else.
#2: Paper Mario: Sticker Star (2012 – 3DS)
But New Super Mario Bros. 2 was, surprisingly, not the worst Mario game of 2012. That award goes to Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Paper Mario has always been a fun series of Mario RPGs, from Paper Mario on the N64, the incredible Thousand-Year Door on the Gamecube, and Super Paper Mario on the Wii. But in 2012, everything changed with Sticker Star. The game completely changed the formula by removing partners in battle, changing the entire battle system altogether, and making the game less immersive with linear levels and a world map. Battles now use stickers that you can find around the environment, which most people don’t like. You use stickers to attack and once you use it, you can’t get it back. Why Nintendo changed the battle system is unknown, and it’s not just because it’s on a handheld. 2016 introduced Paper Mario: Color Splash on the Wii U, and was basically Sticker Star but with cards now (although the same battle system) and a gimmick of painting blank spots. That’s it. Both games are basically the same. Paper Mario: The Origami King seems to be going in the right direction with the series, which Sticker Star is one of Mario’s worst RPGs, if not the worst.
Before we get to our top pick, let’s look at a couple of honorable mentions to see other Mario games that angered fans.
Mario Kart Tour (2019 – Mobile)
The most updated Mario Kart with the most tracks, characters, and features had to be bombarded with incredibly steep microtransactions.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (The Lost Levels) (1986 – Famicom / 1993 – Super Mario All-Stars on SNES)
The original Super Mario Bros. but much harder to the point where Nintendo thought it was ‘too hard’ for North America, so instead we got a reskin of a Japanese game.
Super Mario Run (2016 – Mobile)
Why did this weird mobile autorunner have to cost ten bucks?
#1: Mario Party 9 (2012 – Wii)
This is considered the Mario game that ruined the Mario Party series. The last Mario Party title on the Wii added features that made it very weak in comparison to past games. Mario Party 9 introduced cars, pointless items, stupid rules, and boring gameplay. The car mechanic in Mario Party isn’t fun since everyone moves at the same time along the board and it removes any strategy to use for winning, so what really is the point? The items are weak and uninspiring, the rules including spaces, when you get mini-stars, and when minigames play is very odd, and the gameplay is very tedious. Mario Party 10 on the Wii U would unfortunately carry over these concepts plus the horrible Bowser Party mode. Even though the tenth game is probably the worst in the series, Mario Party 9 is the reason that the series fell apart. Even the Switch’s Super Mario Party is good, but it shouldn’t have to ‘recapture Mario Party’. But it does because of Mario Party 9, and it’s unforgivable.
What is your favorite and least favorite Mario game? Let me know below in the comments!