Every Mario Game on Switch, ranked from worst to best

The Super Mario series has been with Nintendo for almost 40 years now, and it’s brought a veritable army of incredible games to players on every single Nintendo console and handheld since its debut in 1985. Broadly speaking, there are no bad Mario games — some are better than others, sure, but for the most part, they all have a lot of redeeming features, and Nintendo holds a very high standard for its company mascot.

The Nintendo Switch, which is almost certainly going to be Nintendo’s most successful console or handheld ever, has naturally had a host of Mario games released on it, and there are some straight bangers among them. There are so many, in fact, that we had to cut a few games (mostly remakes) out when going through every Mario game on the Nintendo Switch to rank them from worst to best.

These rankings are based on each game’s Metacritic score, which is a weighted aggregate out of 100 based on review scores from across hundreds of media outlets.

Mario Golf: Super Rush – 70

Mario Golf: Super Rush is a very serviceable Mario Golf game that was criticized primarily for its similarities to prior games in the series. It’s not a bad game by any means, and if you want to play an arcade golf game with your friends on Switch, there are few options as good as Super Rush — just don’t expect anything particularly special. It’s good, not great.

Mario Strikers: Battle League – 73

Mario Strikers: Battle League has almost the opposite problem that Mario Golf: Super Rush had — it’s too different from its predecessors. Battle League launched a little bit light on content, with only a few stadiums to mess around with, simplified gameplay compared to past games in the series, and a small selection of characters. It has had updates and additions since, which certainly help, but it still feels a little bit like it’s lacking. Still, it’s not a bad game by any means.

Mario Tennis Aces – 75

And back to another “this is too similar to prior games” problem. There’s really not much you can do with a Mario Tennis game to set it apart, so Mario Tennis Aces is fairly similar to the Wii U’s Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, though by virtue of being newer and having more content, it’s definitely the better game. Mario Tennis Aces is over-the-top and very enjoyable, provided you can keep up with its fast-paced, almost fighting game-like gameplay.

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit – 75

Mario Kart Live is a weird one, because it’s as much a toy as it is a video game. Strapping a camera to an RC car, streaming it to a Switch, and turning any space into a Mario Kart track is a novel idea, but there’s only so much you can get out of it. If you have carpets instead of wooden floors you’re in for a bad time, too, so you’re probably better off sticking to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Super Mario Party – 76

After a string of poorly-received Mario Party games, Super Mario Party was a bit of a reset for the series. And it was just fine, really. There really isn’t anything wrong with it, although some would argue the boards are a little bit on the small side. Still, it’s Mario Party, nothing more and nothing less. That said, in 2025, there’s no reason to go with Super Mario Party over the other two Mario Party games on Switch.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership – 77

After the shutdown of series developer Alphadream, it seemed like all hope was lost for this scrappy little RPG series. Thankfully, that was not the case, and with the help of some former Alphadream staff, Mario & Luigi: Brothership was born. It’s a great game with fantastic gameplay – some of the best in the series to date – but it’s held back by long, frequent load times and a few performance woes.

Paper Mario: The Origami King – 80

No, Paper Mario: The Origami King is not an RPG like the first two games in the Paper Mario series, but it’s still pretty great. The combat system leaves something to be desired, but it’s got the best writing in the Paper Mario series – maybe the Mario series as a whole – and it looks absolutely gorgeous.

Mario Party Superstars – 80

Mario Party Superstars was somewhat of a course correction after Super Mario Party. Instead of focusing on new boards and new minigames, Superstars brought back some fan-favorite boards and minigames from the first few games in the series. That’s all it is, and that’s all it needed to be — it’s a wonderful entry in the series that tickles the nostalgia bone just right.

Super Mario Party Jamboree – 82

If Mario Party Superstars was a course correction, then Super Mario Party Jamboree was Nintendo showing that it can still do a new Mario Party and knock it out of the park. It takes the best parts of Super Mario Party and adds bigger, more traditional-style boards, a bunch of new modes, and more. It’s the best Mario Party game on the Switch by a pretty wide margin, even if its metascore is only a couple points higher than Superstars.

Super Mario Maker 2 – 88

Super Mario Maker 2 was the long-awaited follow-up to a Wii U classic, and despite some input woes – not having a second screen to build on definitely hurt it somewhat – it absolutely delivered. An endless stream of Mario levels is an exciting prospect, and the community really took the tools available in the game and ran with them, to great effect. Now, there are thousands of high-quality levels to play through, and while they can’t quite reach the heights of a Nintendo-designed game, they’re still well worth playing. As it turns out, there are some pretty good level designers out there.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – 89

Super Mario 3D World was already one of the best 3D Mario games of all time, but its re-release on Switch tweaked a lot to make it feel even better to play. That’s not even the best part, though, because included in the package is Bowser’s Fury, a small, open-world game that feels a lot like a testbed for future 3D series games. It’s filled with fresh, original ideas and the open-world structure works surprisingly well — it feels like an evolution from Odyssey, and the future of the series should be very interesting if Nintendo doubles down on these concepts.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 92

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe got a 92 on Metacritic upon its launch, but if the game were reviewed now it might even top this list. Upon its launch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was exactly what it said on the tin: an enhanced, “deluxe” version of Mario Kart 8. It had a few refinements, a couple new tracks, a character or two — all appealing stuff for Mario Kart fans. Then, five years after its release on Switch, Nintendo started releasing new tracks and characters for the game, doubling the game’s content in the space of a couple years. It’s now the biggest, most feature-filled Mario Kart game to date, and arguably the best. It looks great, plays great, and is great.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – 92

The Super Mario Bros. series was stuck in a rut for over a decade. Sure, New Super Mario Bros. was great, but having four more games in that style was exhausting. Super Mario Bros. Wonder fixed that fatigue with a brand-new art style, wild new mechanics that changed in every level, and a host of new additions, playable characters, and more. It’s the best 2D Mario game in decades, and it deserves every bit of praise it gets.

Super Mario Odyssey – 97

Man, Super Mario Odyssey, what a game. It’s got large, open levels to explore, literally hundreds of secrets to uncover, and importantly, some of the slickest gameplay in the series to date — and that’s to say nothing of Cappy, the hat-like creature that lives atop Mario’s head and lets him possess creatures in the world for a whole new move set. Super Mario Odyssey is the 3D Mario series refined to a mirror polish, and it’s set an extremely high bar not only for the Super Mario series, but for 3D platformers as a whole. If any game deserves to be at the top of this list, it’s this.