Goombuigi Ranks 30 Mario Games

[Goombuigi]

I've seen other people rank videogames, so I figured I might give it a shot too. Please note that I don't have all the Mario games, therefore I will only rank the 30 games I have played through. I'll try to reveal the next rank every day at around the same time, but I might be inconsistent, depending on my schedule. Anyway, here's number 30!

Spoiler: #30

Super Mario Run

Maybe I'm missing out because I don't have the full game, but when I play Super Mario Run, no matter how long or how far I played through, I'm just not satisfied with it. It's essentially a boiled-down version of the New Super Mario Bros. games, with Mario automatically running. The gameplay is heavily simplified, with the only power-ups being the Super Mushroom and the Super Star, only 24 base levels, and the life system being stripped down to bubbles. On the other hand, there are a lot of characters, each with their own unique abilities. but where's Wario and Waluigi

There are a variety of modes. World Tour is basically "the main mode", in which Mario has to save Peach. Again. Toad Rally has the player race against another player's ghost, and while I do wish that it would feature a physical human player, the mode isn't half bad. Remix 10, added on September 2017, has Mario saving Daisy this time (a throwback to Super Mario Land), and Mario has to traverse through bite-sized levels. One criticism I have, and seems to be quite popular in mobile games, is a currency which you need to play certain modes, and if you run out, you have to wait a certain time, in this case it's the Rally Tickets. The last mode is Kingdom Builder, and this one is probably my favorite, because the player is free to design their own "kingdom". There are limitations, but for what it's worth, it's a pretty neat package.

While it may have some fans, Super Mario Run just didn't do it for me. I didn't invest a lot of time in it, and it didn't keep me motivated. Also, this game requires constant internet connection, even though there's no online mode. Why?

Pros	Cons
- variety of modes - many characters to pick from	- World Tour is very short - Rally Tickets are a nuisance - requires internet connection

 

[Bob Craples]

Yeah, I played Mario Run about 3 times when it came out and never touched it again. There were to many things wrong with the game. And besides, I guess Mario Kart Tour is the new Mario mobile game in town.

 

[Blue]

I still like it ti be honest

 

[YoshiFlutterJump]

I bought the full game, and I agree it's not nearly as gripping as the console platformers. But it's still easily the best of the three Mario mobile games.

 

[Bob Craples]

I bought the full game, and I agree it's not nearly as gripping as the console platformers. But it's still easily the best of the three Mario mobile games.

Three?

 

[Goombuigi]

Three?

Super Mario Run, Dr. Mario World, and Mario Kart Tour

 

[Goombuigi]

Number 29 is here!

Spoiler: #29

Mario Kart Tour

When I first heard that Mario Kart was coming to phones, I was pretty excited. So when it finally did come out ... I wasn't sure what to think. Mario Kart Tour is drastically different compared to the older, more traditional Mario games. As it's name implies, the main feature of the game is to race around the world, and all of the new courses are based off of real life cities. Instead of the four standard cups like in other Mario games, the cups are named after the playable characters in the game, and they are set up in a tour, which rotates every other week. Every tour has slightly different courses, although most courses appear in multiple tours.

And this is where my first problem lies. Due to tour rotation, I don't have as much time as I would want to play the nitro courses, since all of them are locked behind tours. And most of the time, I end up waiting for the next tour once I unlock all of the cups. Speaking of unlocking cups, instead of simply being first in every race, you have to get stars to unlock more cups. Or I should say, had to, because that system sort of stopped ... the stars are still there, but now only gifts are unlocked with them. To get stars from races, you have to get points, which can be obtained from tricks, item uses, and frenzies. Frenzies are when the player gets three of the same item. That's right, there are multiple item boxes, but the amount you get depends on the character and course selected. So to get the right combination, you need a good character, kart, and glider. Yup, no tires here for some reason. And not only that, all of the characters and vehicle parts are unlocked via a gacha system, meaning that it's complete luck who you get! And get this: Mario is not even a default character!

As for the game modes, there are four default ones in the Mario Kart series - Grand Prix, VS mode, Time Trials, and Battle, and Mario Kart Tour dumps all of these in the trash. Instead, Grand Prix and VS mode all mashed together to make the aforementioned tour system, Time Trials are locked behind challenges, and there is absolutely no Battle mode. Online multiplayer is here, but was added half a year after the game launched. Seriously? There is one new mode, challenges. Instead of four courses in each cup, we get three and a challenge. It can range from - get __ item boxes to smash __ small Dry Bones to race against a big enemy. I suppose the challenges are OK, but it's still not a full-fledged Mission mode.

As for the controls, I'm not a fan of them. Automatic acceleration I can accept, bit automatic steering? At least the game would have more skill, but no, there's just automatic steering and less automatic steering, but still automatic steering. Also, when I played Mario Kart 8 after this, I had to get used to those controls because I was thrown off by these controls. That never happened with other Mario Kart games. Also, why do courses only have two laps here? They're too short.

I could ramble on about this game and all it's issues, and there still many that come to mind, but in short, I don't like Mario Kart Tour. The only reason why it's placed higher than Super Mario Run is because I play Mario Kart Tour more, but may only be because I don't want to miss out on tours. Or maybe because I have more to say about it. Or maybe because I like Mario Kart more than Super Mario 2D platformers.

Pros	Cons
- many characters and parts - unique theme - special items - mission mode is back ... sort of - R, T, R/T variants of courses	- the gacha system is terrible - the way the tours and cups are set up is weird - too many costumes - luck is way more prominent - weird controls - overall lack of modes - internet ... again

 

[Bob Craples]

Never thought I would see a well done top 30 on a message board. Anyway, Mario Kart Tour is better than Mario Run, but I don't like how you can't just flip the phone over and play it that way. It would just make so much more sense.

 

[Goombuigi]

Time to reveal the next one!

Spoiler: #28

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge

I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard about this one. Mini Mario & Friends is a rather obscure title, a loose follow-up to Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars would be the best way to put it. The only reason why I got this game in the first place is because it's free and I have an amiibo. Yes amiibo are required for this game, but I suppose the "free" tag makes up for it in a way.

If you're unfamiliar with the gameplay of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, here's a short description: the MvDK games are puzzle-platformers starring mini toy-like robo versions of Mario characters. They need to get from point A to B, like in regular Mario games, but instead of controlling the Minis directly, the player needs to manipulate the environment to achieve the goal, and this is where the "puzzle" element comes in. You can place blocks, springs, and other elements to navigate the Mini toys to their destination.

There are a record-breaking 11 Mini toys, each with their own special abilities. But there's a catch - to unlock a Mini, you must own the respective amiibo, for example, to play as Mini Mario, you must have the Mario amiibo, which is a bit of nuisance, because if you want to have all of the Minis, you have to buy 11 amiibo, which is a lot of money. Not only that, most of the levels are locked behind amiibo as well - there are 63 stages in total, but 40 require a certain amiibo to unlock, so if you don't have more than one amiibo (like me), than 36 stages will be inaccessible.

Mini Mario & Friends is an OK game at best. As a free game, it's worth trying, but amiibo are required, and multiple of them are needed to enjoy the full game, so you'll probably end up spending more than you would on a normal Mario vs. Donkey Kong game. Compared to previous entries, this one is weak and forgettable.

Pros	Cons
- free package - nice combination of puzzle and platformer genres - many characters to play with	- many amiibo required to unlock all of the content - most levels are bland and forgettable - most levels are locked behind certain amiibo