Underrated Mario Games

Xiahou Ba

Xiahou Ba

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What Mario games do you think is underrated by the majority? Here's what I think:

1.Super Mario Bros. 2: This game made the list of the top ten worst Mario games (dunno where exactly, but I remember), mainly because it was a departure from the original and because it was a "cheap" rip-off of the Japan-exclusive game, Doki Doki Panic. As far as I played the game, I feel like this game does not deserve its bad reputation. It's a very solid Mario game, most aspects of the game were very fun. And what's wrong with a little change with the gameplay, especially if the gameplay turns out to be decent? It also introduces Peach and Toad's playability into the Mario series and the ability to be different characters with different stats, something even Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World lacked. This game also left a deep influence in the Mario series. Where would the Mario series be without Bob-ombs, Shy Guys, and to an extent, Birdo?

2.Mario Party series: This series gets bashed by many, complaining about how it's the same thing, and how it's not fun. I think the main reason is that they are playing by themselves and not with others. Granted, this game would get boring with single player, but why rule out the multiplayer? Just like how Super Mario Galaxy 2 gives out a solid single player experience, the Mario Party series give out a solid multiplayer experience. The Mario Party series also introduce new mechanics or improve among existing ones, making it either more or less entertaining.

3.Super Smash Bros. Brawl: This game gets very often compared to Super Smash Bros. Melee. It's true that tripping does suck and some characters are broken (I'm looking at you, Meta Knight), but should that be reasons that it is bad? Maybe compared to Super Smash Bros. Melee, but that's not the case if it's a stand-alone game. This game even has more characters and more stages to pick from, giving players more variety than Super Smash Bros. Melee. Also, this game has a superb soundtrack, which makes enjoying the game easier, and something even Super Smash Bros. Melee couldn't provide.

Any others you think they deserve mention? I know several others but I can't say so because I never played them (Super Mario Sunshine, Super Paper Mario) And I'm open to discussion, but please remember that this is mostly my opinion.
 
Super Paper Mario
People often complain that Super Paper Mario is a lousy game since it's only a semi-RPG. This game proves that people only focus on the negatives instead of both the positives and the negatives. While not being an RPG is a flaw, there are plenty about this game that makes it good. For starters, Peach doesn't get kidnapped again, well, okay, she does, but it's only during the beginning of the game, after finishing Chapter 1, Peach is playable. In addition to Peach, Bowser and Luigi are also playable, and they have different movesets which provide for different strengths and weaknesses for the characters, such as Bowser being able to deliver twice as much damage as the other characters, but is incredibly slow and due to his size is an easy target for enemies.

As for the main villain's minions, they actually have individual personalities, something the X-Nauts didn't really have (they were all just "Hey, Grodus dude." or "You called me, Sir Grodus, dude, sir?") O'Chunks is the strong, but dim muscle, Mimi is a spoiled girl, whom both are revealed to have decency in the end. Natasia is the efficient secretary-like right hand woman, Mr. L is the overconfident mechanical genius, while Dimentio is a clever type of villain who manipulates his enemies into doing his work for him.

Also, I enjoyed the Catch Cards, especailly since there were cards for the previous Paper Mario partners.

As for the plot, it was more...unique, since Mario wasn't just trying to save the world, but every universe and dimension in existence.

The music seems to fit for the most part, as the theme that plays while you're fighting Dimentio sounds like music you would expect at a magic show.

Finally, people often complain that the Mario series is too kid-friendly, well, this game sort of changes that considering Mario, Bowser, and Luigi were sent to the Mario versioni of hell, making it not so kid-friendly anymore.

While the game was mediocre with it's actual gameplay, it did succeeded in other areas.

I do have more to say, but I can't organize my thoughts right now, so maybe later.
 
The whole Donkey Kong Land series.

They're just great games (well, I think the second one is OK). Even for little, 8-bit games GB games, Rare still managed to make them almost as good as the 16-bit DKC games.
 
Mario's Time Machine. Few people know about this game, and people gave it really bad reviews, one of the reasons because the ending was just Bowser crying, and another reviewer called it "half-assed". People also criticized it for being too complicated for younger kids to understand.

In my opinion, the game is alright. Not the best, though.
 
Super Mario 64 DS. I think it is better than the Original. It was bigger and I did not mind the controls.

I did not play Super Mario 64 but it looks nowhere near as fun.
 
Mario Sports Mix
You should see how the reviewers penalized Mario Sports Mix. They gave it, like a 4/10. Sure, the roster is terrible and the single-player mode is a tedious road, and the methods for unlocking characters is redundant, but that is not all of the game. The graphics in this game is much better than Mario Kart Wii's (although Mario Kart Wii did not have impressive graphics to start with). In fact, the graphics are just good in general. The gameplay is not really bad, either, since each game has quite a lot of depth. The music in the game was great, it feels orchestrated in some parts.

The roster is still my biggest gripe about the game, but I still like it. However, some reviewers were extremely harsh in an unjustified way. They penalize the game for not following the real game's rules (when was the last Mario game that followed the rules of the sport? This is bull.) They fail to even mention the online capabilities of the game. Who hired these people? Their scores shouldn't even be posted in MarioWiki.
 
Donkey Kong Country Returns

A lot of people think it is bad and the worst DK game but I think it is awesome. It has fun levels,Diddy Kong and awesome music. They only bad thing about the game is there are no Kremlings in it.
 
@Ornithologist Mario

I'd have to agree with you. The reviewers were much too harsh on Mario Sports Mix. The game is great on its own and has a good wifi system too (unlike Brawl). I also agree on the points of Super Mario Bros. 2. So what if it's a rip-off, it's still a good game and feels like a Mario game in the heart. Miyamoto even stated that he worked more on Doki Doki Panic (the original SMB 2) than he did with SMB the Lost levels! Even the Smb2's article on the wiki is annoying to look at as there are too many statements about the game being a rip-off.

I would also like to add in Super Mario Sunshine to the list. It was a very fun game and unique; however, it too was bashed very hard. I also liked the fact that there were cutscenes with spoken dialogue (something that the Mario games do not usually have). If only they kept this feature. :(
 
Propeller Toad said:
@Ornithologist Mario

I'd have to agree with you. The reviewers were much too harsh on Mario Sports Mix. The game is great on its own and has a good wifi system too (unlike Brawl). I also agree on the points of Super Mario Bros. 2. So what if it's a rip-off, it's still a good game and feels like a Mario game in the heart. Miyamoto even stated that he worked more on Doki Doki Panic (the original SMB 2) than he did with SMB the Lost levels! Even the Smb2's article on the wiki is annoying to look at as there are too many statements about the game being a rip-off.

I would also like to add in Super Mario Sunshine to the list. It was a very fun game and unique; however, it too was bashed very hard. I also liked the fact that there were cutscenes with spoken dialogue (something that the Mario games do not usually have). If only they kept this feature. :(
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I agree. Some people thought Bowser sounded bad though but yeah that was cool.
 
I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to Mario games, I rather have characters have full voice acting than not. I've heard Mario talk before, and it doesn't sound bad.
 
I want him talk like he does in Partners in Time and Bowser's inside Story because I always laugh when he talks in those games.