Top 10 Best Mario Games for Switch (Ranked Fun to Most Fun!)

Welcome!

Mario is one of the most recognizable classical characters of all time. He is a huge part of everyone’s childhood and continues to be in our lives as adults, and now the newer generation of gamers.

Sometimes we forget about the newer games because we love the old-school classic ones and don’t want those to be ruined for us, especially with the remakes. However, the ones that are now available on the Nintendo Switch are amazing too! 

Here are the top ten best Mario games to play at your next Mario party:

10. Paper Mario the Origami King (Nintendo Switch)

Paper Origami video trailer

Image

Paper Mario Origami Gameplay in which the player just unlocked the time extender. The game was released worldwide on July 17, 2020. 

In the sixth game of the Paper Mario series, you can jump into a 2D world with Mario as he fights against the Folded Soldiers while trying to save the Mushroom Kingdom. This game pays homage to its predecessors Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Paper Mario: Color Splash in the sense that there is more of an emphasis on puzzle-solving and exploration of the game itself. If puzzle-solving games and Mario characters are up your alley, this game is for you!

9. Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Nintendo Switch)

All-Stars Trailer

Image

3D Mario throwing up a peace sign. This game was released on September 18, 2020. 

Next on my list of top ten Mario games, I have Super Mario 3D All-Stars. This game was released as a commemoration of the Super Mario franchise and was released during its 35th anniversary. It is a compilation of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. Nintendo had said it was intended for a limited-time release, so you cannot get it on the Nintendo e-shop anymore, but there are plenty of online retailers that still sell the game, and for the same price you would have found it otherwise! If you enjoyed any of these games while growing up and want to experience them with a whole new 3D twist, this game is made just for you!

8. Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Nintendo Switch)

Luigi's Mansion trailer 

Image

Luigi looking scared in Luigi’s Mansion 3 while Polterpup is sitting right next to him. Released on Halloween in 2019. 

Unlike the other games in this series, Luigi’s Mansion 3 takes place in a haunted hotel called The Last Resort. You can play as the original Luigi, or Gooigi. It is like the other games where you explore the mansion-–or in this case the hotel. You can re-explore the same rooms in this one, something a lot of fans love. You can play this game in three different modes: Story Mode, ScareScraper and ScreamPark. Story Mode can be played solo or co-op; ScareScraper can be played solo or co-op as well. If you are playing on a Nintendo Switch lite, however, you cannot play ScreamPark as you need the detachable Joy-Cons. ScareScraper can be played with up to eight players with different time limits depending on the floor you are on. For example, on the Rooftop, there are different challenges such as: “Capture the Ghosts”, “Find the Toads”, “Collect the Money”, and “Defeat the Crows”. ScreamPark is a party mode where you have two teams of Luigis and Gooigis and both face off in different challenges as well such as: Ghost Hunt, Coin Floating and Cannon Barrage. This is a fun one to play by yourself if you are in the mood for some jump-scares or if you want to take your friends on and challenge them!

7. Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch)

Image

Pictured: Mario and his new trusty sidekick Cappy who makes his debut in Super Mario Odyssey. This game was released on October 27, 2017. 

Next on my list, I have Super Mario Odyssey! This is another one of the action-adventure platform games that Mario is notorious for, as it has similar qualities to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. It is also similar in the sense that Mario once again is set out to save Princess Peach from Bowser. This game introduces Cappy, whose sister Tiara had been kidnapped by Bowser just like Princess Peach. Mario has the ability to throw Cappy onto specific enemies and even some objects to take over their abilities and take on their forms. If you decide to play this game multiplayer, then the second player can control Cappy with their controller, and you will work together. This game is another fun one if you are nostalgic for older Super Mario games but maybe do not have access to those anymore.

6. Mario Golf: Super Rush (Nintendo Switch)

Image

Pictured: Mario making his special shot in Mario Golf: Super Rush. Released on June 25, 2021.

This newer game brought me nostalgia for the GameCube game Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. It follows traditional golf rules: the fewest strokes per hole wins. This game has five different main modes and two sub-modes. You can play speed golf where players go at the same time and have to race to their ball and see who can finish the hole first; players can shoot special shots, increasing it by gathering coins. In battle golf, the goal is to be the first player to sink three holes out of a course of nine, rising above the obstacles. In target golf, there are three targets set up and each player takes turns trying to make the target. There is also ranked match and that is where the player can take part in matches with specific settings set at the beginning. Finally, they have a golf adventure where you can play a story mode or you can play a solo challenge where you partake in different modes: Score Attack, Time Attack, One-On, One Putt, and Target Golf. Basically, if you like golf or Mario, or both, you will have endless amounts of fun with this game!

5. Super Mario Bros U Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)

Super Bros trailer

Image

Pictured: Intense gameplay with Mario, Monty Mole, Yoshi, and other fun characters! This game was released on January 11, 2019. 

This modern spin off the classic game Super Mario Bros will have you remembering the good old times. Playing with other people or just you will keep you entertained for a good while! Fun fact about this game is that it is the first game where you can play as sweet little Toadette. Super Mario Bros U Deluxe is also unique in the sense that it is a 2.5D game; the game side-scrolls with you as you maneuver your character. Another fun fact about this game is that Nabbit is integrated in many more scenes and is another playable character. It plays almost exactly the same as the original game that started it all–apart from better graphics and newer characters—so definitely check this game out!

4. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (Nintendo Switch)

Image

Pictured: Many of the characters (both new and old) from Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Released on December 7, 2018. 

This is another game that I enjoy playing nowadays because it reminds me of the times my brother and our friends would just sit around and play Super Smash Bros Melee on the GameCube. Depending on who you are talking to, this game is either the fifth or the sixth installment of its kind. It is interesting to think that some critics have named it the best out of the whole series. It also has sold over twenty-eight million different copies as of March 31, 2022, which makes it the best-selling fighting game! Super Smash Brothers Ultimate features the same sixty-three characters from the earlier games and there are twenty-three new ones. Out of the twenty-three new ones, twelve of them are downloadable content. Ninety-six stages from earlier games are included in this one as well as seven new ones. Combining the old and new faces in this game makes for the best of both worlds!

3. Mario Party Superstars (Nintendo Switch)

Image

Pictured: Princess Peach winning a star that Koopa Troopa is giving her in Mario Party Superstars. Released on October 29th, 2021. 

Mario Party Superstars comes in at number 3 on my list! It is newer but it, too, brings back some of the old boards and minigames from earlier games. It is the 25th game of its kind overall. It is the second party game released on the Nintendo Switch. One hundred of the minigames that are available to play are from old Mario Party games. It also features five of the boards from the Nintendo 64 versions of Mario Party. A new feature is that you can play online, either with friends if you have their Switch code or with random opponents! One of the differences that caught my eye about this game versus the others is that you can skip the board event’s animations. Sometimes I am too impatient to watch the same animation repeatedly, which means this is a plus for me. This game sold 6.88 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2022. That is a lot of Mario partying!

2. Super Mario Party (Nintendo Switch)

Image

Pictured: All the characters from Super Mario Party cheering, either at the end of a game or when the player first logs on. Released on October 5, 2018. 

Super Mario Party is one of those games that never gets old and will always be one of my favorites to break out during a game night. This specific Mario Party game has three different gaming modes, as well as four other special components.  You’ve got Mario Party (the typical one we all know and love), Partner Party (slight twist on the classic in the sense the only difference is it’s 2 VS 2), and River Survival (a new mode introduced in this game where four players are in an inflatable raft having to work together to avoid obstacles and get to the end of the river before time runs out.) There is also another featured mode called Sound Stage where players partake in back-to-back minigames where you try to mimic the beat exactly, with a flick of the JoyCon. Challenge Road is also another component that only gets unlocked when all the mini games get unlocked; you participate in eighty consecutive minigames while trying to complete various tasks. If you strictly want to play minigames, there are also modes for you: free play, Mariothon and Square Off. Free play is exactly how it sounds; Mariothon you compete in four different cups, and there is actually an online mode for you as well. Square Off is similar to Garden Battle of a previous version where if you win the minigame you get to choose a square tile; every player has their own color, and the objective is to have your color on the board as much as possible. Have fun with the endless possibilities of Super Mario Party.

1. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)

Image

Pictured: Heated race between two races during Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Released on May 29, 2014. 

And number one on the list should be no surprise to anyone, we have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Everyone knows all is fair in love and Mario Kart (at least that’s what I always like to tell my friends!) This game will make even the least competitive person get a little heated. I know my friend group has had our share of intense races! Everyone already knows how this game is played (viciously and mercilessly) but did you know this was the first Mario released game for the Nintendo Switch? Like, ever? This should not come as much of a shock considering how popular this game is. Another fun fact is that the only unlockable character of the game is Gold Mario; he is unlocked by winning all twelve gold cups in 200cc. He replaces Metal Mario and the only difference between the two of them is their color, everything else is the same. Have fun unlocking him though and being able to brag about being able to play as him!