Which are the 'mainline' Mario titles?

[k.vlaros]

Someone asks you what games are in the main Mario series. What say you? Here are the candidates, please let me know if you feel I missed one:

1) Donkey Kong
2) Mario Bros
3) Super Mario Bros
4) Super Mario Bros 2 The Lost Levels (JP)
5) Super Mario Bros 2 (US)
6) Super Mario Bros 3
7) Super Mario Land
8) Super Mario World
9) Super Mario Land 2
10) Super Mario Land 3 Wario Land
11) Super Mario World 2 Yoshi's Island
12) Super Mario 64
13) Super Mario Sunshine
14) New Super Mario Bros
15) Super Mario Galaxy
16) New Super Mario Bros Wii
17) Super Mario Galaxy 2

This is as liberal of an interpretation as I can reasonably imagine, not counting ports [All Stars, SMB DX, Classic NES Series, Super Mario Advance series, SM64 DS]. This list is the same as Wikiepdia's - for what that's worth - with the addition of SML 3: Wario Land. Hey, I'm not sure it is really so much more divergent from the mainline than SMW2: Yoshi's Island is.

So what do you consider to be the true Mario lineage? I think I'd personally argue that the "Super Mario Bros" titles are the real bloodline, possibly including the first SMW. The move to open world 3D just seems like a different game to me than the left-to-right scroller I grew up playing. I like the GB SML series but the single-player exempts it it my mind from the real Mario spirit. Yoshi's Island is just too different and you don't primarily control Mario, though it is a great platformer in its own right.

Appendix: page after page primarily debating Yoshi's Island's inclusion on NeoGaf, should you want to read more opinions on the subject.

[emwearz]

My point of view is this, if Miyamoto did not make it, its not a 'real' Mario game. (Eg Mario Land, etc) regardless of how good of a game they may be.

[k.vlaros]

Yeah, I can see that POV for sure.

[Breetai]

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Lost Levels)
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy 2
New Super Mario Bros.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii

You could further divide this into 2D and 3D series.

2D:
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Lost Levels)
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario World (SMB 4)
New Super Mario Bros. (SMB 5)
New Super Mario Bros. Wii (SMB 6)

3D:
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Sunshine (SM64 2)
Super Mario Galaxy (SM64 3)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (SM64 4)


ALL other games were spin offs (Land, Yoshi's Island, SMB2 USA, etc.), IMO. DK and MB aren't part of the "Super" series. They are completely different games that SMB evolved from. Technically, SMB is a spin off from MB, which was a spin off from DK.

[ZeroAX]

My point of view is this, if Miyamoto did not make it, its not a 'real' Mario game. (Eg Mario Land, etc) regardless of how good of a game they may be.

you do know that Miyamoto oversees all Nintendo games right now, so basically he doesn't have much to do with the design of the games nowdays, which means everything after Mario 64 wasn't made by him.

And I don't understand why the hate for the Mario Land games. Super Mario Land was different, but good and Super Mario Land 2 was better than Super Mario World imo and even if you disagree with me you can't dis the game's quality.

[emwearz]

My point of view is this, if Miyamoto did not make it, its not a 'real' Mario game. (Eg Mario Land, etc) regardless of how good of a game they may be.

you do know that Miyamoto oversees all Nintendo games right now, so basically he doesn't have much to do with the design of the games nowdays, which means everything after Mario 64 wasn't made by him.

And I don't understand why the hate for the Mario Land games. Super Mario Land was different, but good and Super Mario Land 2 was better than Super Mario World imo and even if you disagree with me you can't dis the game's quality.

Im not 'dissing' the game, I think its a good game, its why i said "Regardless of how good a game they may be".

[SpaceBooger]

What about adding in the Paper and RPG games?
I know that Super Mario RPG wasn't made by Nintendo, but it is cannon right?

[ZeroAX]

Im not 'dissing' the game, I think its a good game, its why i said "Regardless of how good a game they may be".

Oh sorry then, I didn't mean to put words in your mouth, I'm just mad in general with how gaming sites forget to mention it when they refer to Mario games (ffs a site had the top 25/50 Mario games (can't remember how many exactly) and they didn't mention Mario Land 2 (even though they had the DDR game there and god knows how many spin offs no one cares about).

Even Nintendo themselves diss on these games. There is a Super Mario timeline with the Super Mario All Stars Wii edition, and even though it has both Yoshi's island and the freaking GBA ports it doesn't mention the Mario Land games. And that's why I think Miyamoto is a prick who can't get over the fact that Gumpei Yokoi was better than him at something (don't know what, perhaps Yokoi stole Miyamoto's girlfriend?)

[benderx]

Miyamoto never directed super Mario world.

[noiseredux]

My point of view is this, if Miyamoto did not make it, its not a 'real' Mario game. (Eg Mario Land, etc) regardless of how good of a game they may be.

blasphemy.