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Mario games in order: Release and story timeline

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Key art for Super Mario Party on Switch, showing Mario and Luigi floating in the air.

Nintendo

Published: Tuesday, 19 December 2023 at 4:06 pm

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We’ll preface this article by saying there are a lot of Mario games, and to make sense of the vaunted series, we have the Mario games in order of release.

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We have two separate lists, one for the mainline entries and another that encompasses every game where Mario and his pals have shown up.

Also in this article, we’ll explain the situation with the Mario universe story and timeline, and how important it is to know before triple-jumping head-first into them.

Some of the games are a bit more difficult to play than others, but we have included a way to purchase each mainline release.

Some can only be played on original hardware, too, but a good chunk of them can be had for the Nintendo Switch – and hopefully the Switch 2 when that releases, if it supports backwards compatibility.

If you aren't one of the hundreds of millions of Switch owners and the recent Mario movie has piqued your interest, there are great Switch deals to be had, and the Mario games make up some of the best games on the Switch.

There’s plenty to get into down below, so we shan’t delay – read on for a mega Mario marathon!

Which Mario games should you play on Switch?

If you are hopping into the series now, we would recommend you play the mainline Mario games that are available natively on the Nintendo Switch, as these are the easiest to source and play right now.

There isn't much of an ongoing storyline to worry about, so we'd recommend you simply jump into these key titles at your leisure. The order doesn't really matter, but this is the sequence in which they came out on Switch:

Reckon you're a Mario master? Try our quiz below!

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Of those games, we'd particularly recommend Wonder (a brilliant 2D platformer) and Odyssey (an awesome 3D platformer) if you're looking for a classic-feeling Mario experience with all the modern bells and whistles of the Switch.

If you're looking to play some older Mario games on Switch, the 3D All-Stars bundle will get you such classics as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy.

If you want to go even further back through history, check out the Nintendo Switch Online membership that includes golden oldies going all the way back to the original Super Mario Bros from the NES era.

And in terms of spin-offs that are worth your time, we'd heartily recommend Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (now improved with numerous DLC tracks) and the recent remake of Super Mario RPG.

Or, if you're looking for a fun party game to play in a group, try Mario Party Superstars.

Is there a Mario story timeline?

Mercifully, for a series with so many games in it, there is no cohesive storyline that links the games together in any meaningful manner.

This means you can jump into any Mario game without having to worry about catching up with some overarching story arc.

You will get cameos of characters from one game in another to act as fan service, but that’s pretty much the extent of it.

It is recommended, however, that if it exists as part of a series such as Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, to play those in order as they will introduce gameplay mechanics not found in the earlier game.

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Mainline Mario games in release date order

Below we have every mainline Mario game ever released, including games that featured Mario, such as Donkey Kong and Wrecking Crew.

For Mario connoisseurs, only the platforming games are considered mainline releases, with games such as Super Mario RPG or Mario Kart being spin-offs, hence why they are not included here.

Every game featuring Mario characters

Mario in Super Mario RPG with a castle in the background

Super Mario RPG. Nintendo

It took us a hot minute, but we have an exhaustive list featuring as many games featuring Mario and characters from the Mario universe as possible. With all the spin-offs included, here's the list of Mario-featuring games in full:

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Looking for something to watch? Check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide.

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Authors

Cole Luke wears a black T-shirt and is looking at the camera, smiling. There is a shelving unit in the background

Cole LukeFreelance Writer

Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to Radio Times Gaming. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.

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