The best Mario games will be 20 years old in 2025

Mario games seem to be one of the most reliable constants in the video game world. There will always be more and they will always be popular with all ages. This applies to every group, from the young newbie to the millennial who is still annoyed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie and beyond. If you are a gamer, you have seen or played a Mario game.

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By 2005, this constant was already firmly established in the rich lore of video games. The year 2025 will mark the twentieth anniversary of all of these Mario games, and you'll be surprised at how many of your favorites got their start in this vaguely symmetrical year.

8

Mario Party Advance

January 13, 2005 (Game Boy Advance, Japan)

Released

January 13, 2005

Probably not considered a top contender in Mario Party rankings by most people, Mario Party Advance was Nintendo's first major attempt at bringing the board game-like series to a handheld (the e-reader you don't remember counts probably not). For this reason, it's at least worth celebrating.

It was much more difficult to capture the multiplayer chaos of Mario Party on a handheld without wireless capabilities. But despite Mario Party Advance's entertaining single-player mode and the general variety of a Game Boy Advance game, it certainly deserves its fans.

7

Mario Superstar Baseball

July 21, 2005 (GameCube, Japan)

Given the popularity of baseball in both the United States and Japan, it seemed only a matter of time before Mario would get involved. Mario Superstars Baseball has taken this first step into the sport and it deserves a little more attention.

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Hitting a ball with a stick is a simple and satisfying idea, and Mario Superstars Baseball puts its own spin on things with special abilities and field obstacles like piranha plants. Also, Donkey Kong beats the ball by hitting it. This is worth at least several gaming sessions.

6

Mario Tennis: Power Tour

September 13, 2005 (Game Boy Advance, Japan)

Mario Tennis: Power Tour

Released

September 13, 2005

How about a Mario Tennis game on the Game Boy Advance? How about a game with RPG elements developed by the team behind Golden Sun? (Don't worry, there's still multiplayer.) Remember, you're answering here like it's 2005, but other than that: what a view.

Similar to Golf Story, Mario Tennis: Power Tour has you play through a story that involves real sports games to progress. The Mario characters only appear later in the story mode and pose as mysterious masked challengers. I'm sorry to spoil the surprise characters in a game called Mario Tennis.

5

Super Princess Peach

October 20, 2005 (Nintendo DS, Japan)

Super Princess Peach

Released

October 20, 2005

Back on the Nintendo DS in 2005, Nintendo finally decided to give Princess Peach a real shot at her own game. Unfortunately, this bold platformer didn't have the critical and commercial success of its contemporaries, but it remains a worthwhile title with genuinely satisfying gameplay.

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You control Peach and guide her through various levels on her way to rescue Mario, because who doesn't love a good subversion? Her special abilities revolve around her emotions, which might be worth a little side-eye for the first major female-led Mario game. Nevertheless, she will later discover new powers and abilities herself.

4

Mario Party 7

November 7, 2005 (GameCube, North America)

Mario Party 7

Platform(s)

Nintendo GameCube

Released

November 7, 2005

By the time 2005 came around, the Mario Party series was already in full swing, so it's only natural that another one would be on the way. What can you say about Mario Party? It is played like a board game; You go through mini-games between rounds and destroy several relationships as you play.

In the story of Mario Party 7, everyone is invited on a cruise… except Bowser. He agrees that it was very rude not to invite him and decides to spoil their fun. This comes in the form of Mario Party, with the type of titles depending on how you and your friends play. Several mini-games also feature the GameCube microphone, because who doesn't need more screaming in these games?

3

Super Mario Strikers

November 18, 2005 (GameCube, Europe)

Super Mario Strikers

Released

December 5, 2005

It's kind of crazy that some of the coolest and most unique art in the entire Mario series comes from a few sports games. Super Mario Strikers started this trend, and it has served its successors absolutely well.

Special abilities abound. Super Mario Strikers is about turning the football formula on its head. There are no rules here, just use everything you have to dominate on the field. The stylized movements and cover art go a long way to making the experience truly immersive, an idea that thankfully continues in subsequent games.

2

Mario Kart DS

November 14, 2005 (Nintendo DS, North America)

Mario Kart DS

Released

November 14, 2005

Mario Kart DS kind of changed the game when it came to the Nintendo DS in 2005. If you watched almost any television network back then, you would see the commercials of people throwing things into a television to mess with race cars. Because now you can influence the race from anywhere thanks to wireless playback.

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Mario Kart DS is without a doubt one of the DS's killer apps, making up for its clunky presentation with racing action that still easily holds up today. If you knew how to use the “snake” technique to basically drift forever, you would be untouchable except to all other people who knew how to snake.

1

Mario & Luigi: Partners over time

November 28, 2005 (Nintendo DS, North America)

Mario & Luigi: Partners over time

Released

November 28, 2005

The Mario & Luigi series made a return in 2024 with Mario & Luigi: Brothership. But for many years up to this point, many fans feared that these popular and hilarious Mario RPGs were long dead. But in 2005 they were in the midst of their popularity.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time upended the already creative RPG formula of its predecessor, Superstar Saga, by pairing the titular plumbers with their child selves. It took some getting used to controlling all four characters, but it totally works and the game itself is really fun.

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