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Discussion Favorite 3D Mario?

do we really need this part

  • Super Mario 64/DS

    Votes: 23 8.8%

  • Super Mario Sunshine

    Votes: 14 5.4%

  • Super Mario Galaxy

    Votes: 48 18.4%

  • Super Mario Galaxy 2

    Votes: 54 20.7%

  • Super Mario 3D Land

    Votes: 2 0.8%

  • Super Mario 3D World

    Votes: 28 10.7%

  • Super Mario Odyssey

    Votes: 91 34.9%

  • Bowser's Fury

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Total voters
    261
heisenwalterbergwhite said:
It's between 3D World and Odyssey for me. 3D World is the absolute pinnacle of what a linear, guided platformer can be, and Odyssey is the absolute pinnacle of what an open-ended sandbox platformer can be.

As for which of those two I like better, usually I say 3D World, but honestly, it's hard to separate the two.
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They're both the best at what they do so it's difficult to choose between them, I think Odyssey wins in terms of pure enjoyment for me.
 
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Galaxy 1. There is something so magical about that first game to me. Galaxy 2 really refined a lot of the ideas from the first game, but I will never forget playing through the original for the first time.

Odyssey was...fine...I guess...I just don't think Mario and Open-World Exploration mix particularly well. My favorite 3D Marios are always gonna be the more focused, linear ones.
 
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Mekanos said:
That's kind of my feeling too. The atmosphere, presentation and music are still incredible, but they lack a level of replayability as the level design is very railroaded and don't offer many out-of-the-box solutions (even 3D World will let you try levels with different characters and power-ups). They're still great games and some of my all time favorites but I don't feel quite as strongly about them as I did a decade ago.
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I feel like Galaxy 1 in particular is hit hard by this. It's a phenomenal first play, but 1) there's still a smattering of more open levels which doesn't fit as well with the more limited movement and 2) level design can be simple and straightforward in a way that doesn't feel as engaging after the first or second time through. Doesn't make the game bad, it's really approachable and as a kid these were non issues, but it makes Galaxy harder to go back to.

I feel that Galaxy 2's more focused design works more in its favor for replay. Even with ideas that it brings back, they do more interesting things with them. It hit me especially when playing as Bee and especially Boo Mario - I don't love the Galaxy 1 powers but the levels made them work better. It doesn't have the same melancholic atmosphere, and that's truly unique for Mario, though I wouldn't go as far to say there's no atmosphere in Galaxy 2. Even so, the sequel engages me more as a player nowadays.
 
VolcanicDynamo said:
I feel like Galaxy 1 in particular is hit hard by this. It's a phenomenal first play, but 1) there's still a smattering of more open levels which doesn't fit as well with the more limited movement and 2) level design can be simple and straightforward in a way that doesn't feel as engaging after the first or second time through. Doesn't make the game bad, it's really approachable and as a kid these were non issues, but it makes Galaxy harder to go back to.

I feel that Galaxy 2's more focused design works more in its favor for replay. Even with ideas that it brings back, they do more interesting things with them. It hit me especially when playing as Bee and especially Boo Mario - I don't love the Galaxy 1 powers but the levels made them work better. It doesn't have the same melancholic atmosphere, and that's truly unique for Mario, though I wouldn't go as far to say there's no atmosphere in Galaxy 2. Even so, the sequel engages me more as a player nowadays.
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Galaxy 2 is definitely the better designed game and the one I come back to more, but I do feel like it's more railroaded than the first game; reaching the final boss battle requires you to more or less play all the levels and even do some extra ones at times, whereas Galaxy 1 gave you a lot more options. It feels like the developers having some growing pains to reach the purely course-based design of 3D Land and 3D World (though those will still have collectable gates which I feel like are an arbitrary leftover from when collectables were the main way to progress).

Even with Galaxy 2's superiority to its prequel though I would put 3D World, 64 and Odyssey over it, but we're still talking about games that would all easily occupy a top 50 list by themselves.
 
Mekanos said:
Galaxy 2 is definitely the better designed game and the one I come back to more, but I do feel like it's more railroaded than the first game; reaching the final boss battle requires you to more or less play all the levels and even do some extra ones at times, whereas Galaxy 1 gave you a lot more options. It feels like the developers having some growing pains to reach the purely course-based design of 3D Land and 3D World (though those will still have collectable gates which I feel like are an arbitrary leftover from when collectables were the main way to progress).

Even with Galaxy 2's superiority to its prequel though I would put 3D World, 64 and Odyssey over it, but we're still talking about games that would all easily occupy a top 50 list by themselves.
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Yeah, if you're going for just beating the game, then you got the 64 style structure, and the 64 structure is great. Its absence is part of the reason I don't love Sunshine. Galaxy 2's got the more linear structure going on, and I do think it benefits the more linear form of play, but it did take until 3D Land/World to truly nail the pacing for non 100%. All the same, I'm a fan of 100%ing Mario games, and I do prefer Galaxy 2 100%.

Now that I think about it I wonder if I underrate 3D Land a bit, yeah, in many ways it's less ambitious but it has some killer pacing.

And you're absolutely right. Us 3D Mario fans are spoiled, comparing the merits of some seriously killer games. It's why ranking them can be so difficult, at some point it's a pure matter of preference.
 
Galaxy was my childhood game and the first Mario I knew, but I can’t imagine how it was like being a Mario fan and witnessing that intro.

The bombastic and dramatic abduction of peach’s castle, being thrown into the quiet and melancholy void of space. Seriously so different in tone for Mario - nothing like it before and nothing since.

Such a special game
 
Odyssey, for sure. I've loved each of these at the time, though. Odyssey is just the latest and greatest until the next major one, the perfect culmination of nearly every great idea the franchise has had to date.
 
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Phendrift said:
Galaxy was my childhood game and the first Mario I knew, but I can’t imagine how it was like being a Mario fan and witnessing that intro.

The bombastic and dramatic abduction of peach’s castle, being thrown into the quiet and melancholy void of space. Seriously so different in tone for Mario - nothing like it before and nothing since.

Such a special game
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As a young Mario fan at the time Galaxy was coming out, I can confirm - it was one of the most incredible things my 12 year old mind had ever seen. You had the orchestrated take on the airship theme (and the return of airships in general!) to get the nostalgia going. You had an increase in scale with Bowser taking the castle to space. The tension and the drama...I watched the prerelease YouTube upload so many times.

Still the best Mario opening after all these years.
 
Phendrift said:
Galaxy was my childhood game and the first Mario I knew, but I can’t imagine how it was like being a Mario fan and witnessing that intro.

The bombastic and dramatic abduction of peach’s castle, being thrown into the quiet and melancholy void of space. Seriously so different in tone for Mario - nothing like it before and nothing since.

Such a special game
Click to expand...
I was in high school when Galaxy came out - already a well established Mario fan, but perhaps growing a bit cynical about video games as a whole. Galaxy without a doubt, was the rare game that really, truly made me feel like a kid again with its sense of wonder and adventure. Few games since have really captured that feeling. It definitely felt a bit like "Mario grown up" with the dramatic opening, Rosalina's storybook, and the ending sequence. I'd definitely like to see Nintendo try to tackle that type of tone again; while Odyssey wasn't as dramatic, it did have some punch to it that has been lacking from 3D Mario since.
 
Galaxy 2 for me. Riding Yoshi and controlling his tongue with the pointer was the moment I knew... It just doesn't get much better than this.

Sunshine was a glimpse at a promise that is still yet to be fulfilled, but it will be some day. And when that day comes, the game that fulfills it might succeed the likes of Galaxy and Odyssey as best Mario.
 
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Galaxy

Galaxy 2 may have done everything it did better but nothing will take away the sheer joy I had with Galaxy. To me it was the successor that 64 deserved
 
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It's Galaxy 1 for me. 2 may technically be superior but it's standing on the shoulders of giants, so it lacks the wow factor the first one had. I'd actually put Odyssey on the same level as 2.

Galaxy 1 > Galaxy 2 = Odyssey > Bowser's Fury > 3D World > 64 > Sunshine
 
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Super Mario Odyssey by a mile. It completely reinvigorated my love for Mario games, and is probably the “most fun” game I’ve ever played.
 
3D World is just absolute perfection. Multiplayer and the Bowser's Fury expansion just seal the deal. As phenomenal as both Odyssey and the Galaxy games are, I think I just prefer the tighter controls and more concise level design in 3D. The final stage is also one of my favourite final levels in any game ever.
 
It's between 64 and Galaxy for me. 64 may have aged but at the time it came out, it was a genuine game changer. There was literally nothing out there like it. Nothing can reproduce those first 10 minutes hop, skip and jumping around the castle grounds in terms of that "new gaming experience" feeling.
Having said that, Galaxy was also a genuine "Wow!" experience as well - the sheer ingenuity that went into that game and it has also has probably my favourite gaming soundtrack of all time.
I have a small asterisk next to Odyssey - I was going through a rough time mentally when it released (had depression post surgery) so I really need to replay it because my memories of it are "It's a new Mario game and it's kinda fun", which probably says more about how I was feeling at the time than the game itself.
 
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I have to say Odyssey. I think I like collecting stars more than collecting moons, and it’s close with Galaxy 1, but something about playing Odyssey is just pure joy.
 
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A Boy Named Susano said:
3D World is just absolute perfection. Multiplayer and the Bowser's Fury expansion just seal the deal. As phenomenal as both Odyssey and the Galaxy games are, I think I just prefer the tighter controls and more concise level design in 3D. The final stage is also one of my favourite final levels in any game ever.
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Yeah 3D World + Bowser's Fury is almost cheating with how good a package it is. I was always going to double dip on a Switch port of 3D World, but all the additions to it just made it a fantastic value. Probably a top ten all time game for me, top five on a good day.
 
Phendrift said:
Galaxy was my childhood game and the first Mario I knew, but I can’t imagine how it was like being a Mario fan and witnessing that intro.

The bombastic and dramatic abduction of peach’s castle, being thrown into the quiet and melancholy void of space. Seriously so different in tone for Mario - nothing like it before and nothing since.

Such a special game
Click to expand...

It was pretty amazing. We of the NES generation had known Peach's Castle from 64, which looks like an N64 game. To see it like in Galaxy was something else. And the way it reveals itself as you come over the hill, it was like the reveal of Minas Tirith in The Return of the King.

And then that serenity after the intro. It was intoxicating. I love a game that knows how to modulate intensity.
 
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I’ve played every Super Mario platformer at/around launch since SMB2/USA. The only 3D Mario I’ve actually enjoyed is 3D World (and Bowser’s Fury, which is surprisingly good). I really disliked both 64 and Sunshine.
 
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Galaxy 2 has long been my favorite game of all time. Admittedly, I've played all of the other games far more recently than I have Galaxy 2 as it isn't on Switch, but it gets my vote anyway. I actually really like how streamlined it is compared to Galaxy 1.

Second place would be 3D World, but I've been meaning to try out Odyssey again to see if my mind's changed on it.
 
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Here's my ranking, top 5 are all 10s though, even 3D Land is like an 8.5 in my book, insane how solid they all are.
1. Odyssey
2. Galaxy
3. Bowser's Fury
4. Galaxy 2
5. 3D World
6. Sunshine
7. 64
8. 3D Land
 
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Odyssey, followed by Galaxy 1 and 64.

Sunshine is the last in my list. I could only get 40 shines in the 3D All Stars version and I couldn't continue playing any more because everytime I did I got angry. I hate that game.
 
My 3D Mario rankings haven’t changed in the last two years. 2024 is looking very possible for a new 3D Mario which I’m extremely excited about.

xghost777 said:
Mario 64 remains on top for me. You can put so much of yourself into that game with his moveset and the way courses are designed. I play it every other year or so and always find something new. Close second is Super Mario Galaxy 2, which is also perfection. Every 3D Mario Game is awesome though!

1 Super Mario 64
2 Super Mario Galaxy 2
3 Super Mario Odyssey
4 Super Mario 3D World
5 Super Mario Sunshine
6 Bowser’s Fury
7 Super Mario 3D Land
8 Super Mario Galaxy
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  1. Galaxy 2
  2. 3D World
  3. Odyssey
  4. 64
  5. Bowser's Fury
  6. Galaxy
  7. Sunshine
  8. 3D Land

I guess it's telling that both my favourite 3D Mario and my favourite 3D Zelda are built on the foundations of their predecessors. I obviously love fresh and original takes but I find myself gravitating towards refinements that take the framework of existing games and twist it in new and surprising ways. Galaxy 1 was a unique experience the first time around and there is definitely some stuff in it that I prefer to Galaxy 2, most importantly the atmosphere and the big "emotional moments" accentuated by the music. Galaxy 2 on the other hand feels like they could go wild and is in turn way more rewarding to go back to. It's more difficult and more mechanically engaging and the inclusion of Yoshi by itself makes this one of my favourite games.

Similarly, 3D World takes what worked in 3D Land but improves upon it. People used comparisons to the 2D games as some kind of dig against the game but for me that's the entire appeal. It's just one cool idea after another all capped off by some of the best and toughest levels in a 3D platformer. The walking speed increase in the Switch port also negates the wide spaces and introduces a sense of hecticness that should be obligatory in 3D Mario. Also, it probably has my favourite Mario soundtrack of any game. On a good day I'd put this over Galaxy 2, especially if you include Bowser's Fury.

Odyssey of course took the complete opposite approach, going for less tightly designed levels and giving the player more freedom and having more in common with adventure platformers like Banjo. The decreased focus on platforming in favour of exploration makes it a bit too easy at times and the game does love to throw moons at you but what's in there is quality. Mario is a joy to control, the worlds are more inventive than ever and the secrets are super fun to sus out.

64 strikes a really good balance before the two lineages of 3D Mario were even defined. Similarly to OoT it's crazy how much they got right on the first try. The only thing that makes me dock points from it is the control scheme, largely owed to the N64 controller. Otherwise it's a great game.

Bowser's Fury was such a neat little surprise and a fantastic proof of concept to marry the wide open worlds of Odyssey with the platform courses of Galaxy and 3D World and they knocked it out of the park. Great vibes too. Two points of criticism: The 3D World inspired control scheme is great for platforming but doesn't feel as good for 3D exploration. Also, the Fury Bowser is really fun at first but the rampages get a bit repetitive towards the end.

Can't really say much more about Galaxy. It's great on a first playthrough but it also feels too restrictive and compromised in its mechanical complexity that I rarely feel compelled to go back to it.

Sunshine I'd probably put two spots higher if they had had time to actually finish it. I love the ideas that went into it but the lack of polish in its level design just mars the entire experience for me. A bit of a shame.

Large parts of 3D Land sadly just bore me. It's simplistic to a fault and unlike Galaxy it doesn't really have much going for it to make up for that. Not that it doesn't have any neat ideas. The boomerang flower, the propeller box and the new enemy types are fun but it just takes way too long to do something interesting with them. The bonus worlds are cool though.
 
Even if your favourite is Sunshine, don't vote for it

It's literally going to become Nate's kill list
 
Making my list just reminded me that I 100% expected a Mario Odyssey 2 with Yoshi. Banish me to Switch Scramble Circus 🤡
 
Super Mario Galaxy

First time I fired it up, I was in awe. It was magic. The one and only 3D Mario I ever got 100%. Got every single star with both Mario and Luigi.

Runners up:

Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
 
Mine would be:

Mario Galaxy 2
Odyssey
3d World
Galaxy
Mario 64

Though it's super unfair to Galaxy because I played 2 before it. So when I played it was a more unpolished experience. In general I like Galaxy games much more than the others.
 
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Sunshine > Odyssey > 64 > Galaxy > 3D Land > Bowsers Fury > 3D World
(Still gotta play galaxy 2)

Sunshine is my favorite. I will die on that hill, and then I will come back as a ghost and haunt that same hill for all eternity. The vibes of Isle Delfino are undefeated, FLUDD is fun to mess around with, and I would probably say it's my favorite (non pokemon) game of all time.

Odyssey is also just a perfect game front to back.
 
It's Odyssey -- I also used to say Galaxy but after recently playing it on the Switch collection found out that was nostalgia glasses. Fantastic game for 2007, not quite up to par ten years later.
 
Played through Galaxy last last month and it was an absolute magical experience for me.

But I'll still go with Odyssey even if the post game is somewhat underwhelming. The events, the scenarios, the things that made me go "wtf" and stuff that was so unexpected and beautiful that made me feel and cry like a child.
 
Sunshine is definitely my favorite, though realistically I can recognize Odyssey as the "better" game. Sort of a "this is brilliant, but I like this" situation. I love the vibes and more fully-realized world of Sunshine; being able to see levels from other levels, having each world sort of tell its own story as you progress through the episodes, that kind of stuff. Fludd lets you pull off some really fun movement. Also, it's just wild how there still hasn't been a better hub world than Delfino Plaza.

My order would be something like Sunshine > Odyssey > 3D World > 64DS > Bowser's Fury > 64 > 3D Land > Galaxy 2 > Galaxy

The middle can move around a bit depending on the day, but the first two and last two are pretty much constants. I know it's probably blasphemy, but the Galaxy games just never really clicked for me. Like, they're solid enough and better than most non-Mario 3D platformers. But to me, they always kinda felt like they were trying to "have it both ways" and split the difference between being a follow-up to 64/Sunshine and being a more linear experience like 3D Land/World, and not really excelling at either as a result. Also, the movement just feels the worst out of any of the 3D games to me. Like, I'm sorry but coming to a dead-stop after a long-jump will always just feel awful.
 
Exploration: Super Mario Odyssey

Course-Clear: Super Mario 3D World

The latter is my favorite Super Mario game yet. It was something I've been clamoring for since Super Mario Bros. 3, and I kinda regard it as its sequel.
 
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I'm flipping the switch
Get ready for this
Oh, let's do the odyssey

Odyssey, ya see! (x7)

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Odyssey, odyssey!
 
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