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Ranking similarity to SMB1


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#1 Mitsukara

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Posted 08 August 2021 - 05:36 AM

So the Super Mario series is pretty broad and complex, having spawned spinoffs that sometimes share part of the title ("Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island", "Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land"). The series itself arguably began as the Donkey Kong series as that was Mario's first appearance. However, the most famous and iconic game defining the series seems to be SMB1.

 

With that concept in mind, I decided to try ranking which official games are the most similar to SMB1.

 

By similarity to SMB1, I mean considering such factors as:

  • How similar to SMB1's concept of a "go right" 2D sidescrolling platformer is it
  • How complex are the powerups / items / ridable characters or other such control mechanics in the game
  • Do you primarily defeat enemies by jumping on them / doing something akin to kicking a koopa shell at them / something like shooting fireballs and invincibility
  • How much more control over stage order is there beyond SMB1's warp zone system
  • How comparable in size and scope is it to SMB1
  • How much does it "feel" or look and sound like SMB1 in a vague ethereal sense

...etc.

 

But this also brings up the question of what counts as a Super Mario platformer series game at all, or what warrants comparison. I will be listing some spinoffs, and even starting to edge out of the right genre near the bottom of the list.

 

With all those factors it becomes a subjective matter of opinion. Here's what I came up with, starting with SMB1 and gradually getting less similar overall:

 

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Titles marked in red are ones I haven't played, and are only guesses.

 

Titles marked in gray are ones I've played but not completed the main story/"final" boss.

 

Titles in bold are what I'd count as a "Super Mario" game in a technical series sense.
 

Titles which are both bold and underlined are ones I'd count as "Super Mario sideview platformers".
 

(Longplay videos are linked for obscure games.)

 

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1. Super Mario Bros (& All-Stars SMB1, SMB DX)

 

2. All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros (video)

 

3. Super Mario Bros VS (video)

 

4. Super Mario Bros 2 Japan (& The Lost Levels, SMB DX "For Super Players")

 

5. Super Mario Bros Special (video, and a video of a cool NES recreation romhack)

 

6. Super Mario Land

 

7. New Super Mario Bros

 

8. New Super Mario Bros Wii

 

9. Super Mario Land 2

 

10. Super Mario Bros 3 (& All-Stars SMB3, Super Mario Advance 4)

 

11. New Super Mario Bros U (& New Super Luigi Bros U, NSMBU Deluxe)

 

12. New Super Mario Bros 2

 

13. Super Mario Bros 4: Super Mario World (& All-Stars SMW, Super Mario Advance 2)

 

14. Super Mario Maker

 

15. Super Mario Maker 2

 

16. Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land

 

17. Virtual Boy Wario Land

 

18. Donkey Kong Country (& DKC GBC, DKC GBA)

 

19. Donkey Kong Country 2 (& DKC2 GBA)

 

20. Donkey Kong Country 3 (& DKC3 GBA)

 

21. Wario Land 4

 

22. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (& Super Mario Advance 3)

 

23. Yoshi's Island DS

 

24. Yoshi's New Island

 

25. Wario Land 2

 

26. Wario Land 3

 

27. Wario Land: Shake It (I extra know nothing about this one though)

 

28. Wario: Master of Disguise (Likewise)

 

29. Super Mario 3D Land

 

30. Super Mario 3D World (and Bowser's Fury)

 

31. Donkey Kong Country Returns

 

32. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

 

33. Super Mario Bros 2 USA (& All-Stars SMB2, Super Mario Advance)

 

34. Super Mario Run

 

35. Yoshi's Story

 

36. Super Paper Mario

 

37. Mario Clash (video)

 

38. Mario Bros (& Mario Bros NES)

 

39. Punch Ball Mario Bros (video)

 

40. Donkey Kong (& Donkey Kong NES)
 

41. Donkey Kong Jr (& Donkey Kong Jr NES)

 

42. Donkey Kong '94

 

43. Mario vs. Donkey Kong

 

44. Wrecking Crew

 

45. Donkey Kong 3 (& Donkey Kong 3 NES)

 

46. Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack (video)

 

47. Donkey Kong Game & Watch (& Game and Watch Gallery 2 Donkey Kong)

48. Donkey Kong Jr. Game & Watch (& Game and Watch Gallery 3 Donkey Kong Jr)

 

49. Super Mario 64 (& Super Mario 64 DS)

 

50. Super Mario Sunshine

 

51. Super Mario Galaxy

 

52. Super Mario Galaxy 2

 

53. Super Mario Odyssey

 

54. Wario World

 

55. Donkey Kong 64

 

56. Wrecking Crew '98 (video. Note: this game is very different from Wrecking Crew and has very little platforming. It is almost a Tetris-type game but you do walk and jump and go up platforms sometimes. We're starting to wander out of the platformer genre entirely at this point, though.)

 

57. Mario Bros Game & Watch (& Game & Watch Gallery 3 & 4 Mario Bros)

 

58. Donkey Kong King of Swing

 

59. Mario's Time Machine (& SNES version. Definitely not the same genre anymore, but it's based on SMW very loosely and you sort of platform so I'm counting it.)

 

60. Mario is Missing (& SNES & PC versions. Also, likewise.)

 

61. Donkey Kong Jr. Math (Note: this actually uses a variant of the DK Jr gameplay engine.)

 

62. Mario Teaches Typing

 

63. Mario Teaches Typing 2

 

64. Mario's Early Years / Fun With Letters / Fun With Numbers / Preschool Fun

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

If you actually read all this nonsense, uh, thanks / I'm sorry!

 

But if you find this sort of subject fun to consider and have your own opinions, it could be fun to debate or see what other people think. I'm definitely a little vague on some of these choices lower on the list (and I wasn't sure if SMB2 USA should be a bit higher, like above 3D Land maybe?), especially the red-marked games I haven't played, but it's an interesting thought experiment (to me, and probably very boring to most people, understandably so).

 

I should note these are NOT listed in order of my favorites. Offhand I think I like SMB3, SMW, SML2, and SML1 the most? SMB1 is nice though, and I don't really hate any of these games except maybe some of the edutainment ones (but even then they have a strange derpy charm).

 

I also figure it could use one of those 3x3 grid metric memes for what counts ("a wing is an airplane", etc), but couldn't decide on how to define one of those.

 

(I also really ought to go back and complete Virtual Boy Wario Land, that cool new SMB Special 35th anniversary NES romhack, All Night Nippon SMB, SMB Special, Wrecking Crew, Mario Clash, and Punch Ball Mario Bros. The other gray/red ones I'm not as sure about.)

How would you compare and rank all this nonsense?


Edited by Mitsukara, 08 August 2021 - 06:49 AM.

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#2 Anthus

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Posted 08 August 2021 - 11:21 AM

Sanic.

 

  • How similar to SMB1's concept of a "go right" 2D sidescrolling platformer is it

Very much the same idea in Sonic games. Go right and fast.

  • How complex are the powerups / items / ridable characters or other such control mechanics in the game

Early Sonic games really only have shields as power-ups, plus a speed boost, and invincibility. You don't ride on anything though, at least that I can remember. And no, we're not counting those cylinder platforms in Carnival Night Zone. :P

  • Do you primarily defeat enemies by jumping on them / doing something akin to kicking a koopa shell at them / something like shooting fireballs and invincibility

Yes. Sonic also attacks by jumping into things. I say 'into', and not 'on' because Sonic can damage some things from the side.

  • How much more control over stage order is there beyond SMB1's warp zone system

None. There is no way to skip levels in Sonic unless you use the stage select cheat.

  • How comparable in size and scope is it to SMB1

SMB1 has 32 levels. Sonic 1 has 18 levels, but they are generally longer. I'd say since both games can be beat in under an hour, they are close.

  • How much does it "feel" or look and sound like SMB1 in a vague ethereal sense

It was made as a direct competitor, so it feels as close as it needs to while still being its own thing. If there were no Mario, there'd be no Sonic.


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#3 FieryBirdyThing

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Posted 08 August 2021 - 02:01 PM

Very interesting. I'm not sure how I'd compare/rank anything, but I am intrigued at what you included.

 

Honestly, if I was comparing Mario games to SMB1, I would mainly focus on the 'Super Mario sideview platformers', since they are the main successors to that game; I could also include the 3D platformers for completion's sake, though. I probably would not have included the Wario, Yoshi, and DKC games since they're not really meant to be similar to SMB1 outside of being the same genre.

 

Having said that, I am impressed that you've managed to put this list together, nonetheless. It was an interesting read. :)


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#4 Moosh

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Posted 08 August 2021 - 08:03 PM

Most NES cartridges are similar to SMB1. Congruent even.



#5 Mitsukara

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Posted 08 August 2021 - 08:23 PM

Very interesting. I'm not sure how I'd compare/rank anything, but I am intrigued at what you included.

 

Honestly, if I was comparing Mario games to SMB1, I would mainly focus on the 'Super Mario sideview platformers', since they are the main successors to that game; I could also include the 3D platformers for completion's sake, though. I probably would not have included the Wario, Yoshi, and DKC games since they're not really meant to be similar to SMB1 outside of being the same genre.

 

Having said that, I am impressed that you've managed to put this list together, nonetheless. It was an interesting read. :)

 

Yeah, not quite sure what possessed me to write down this whole rambling train of thought last night, but my logic for including those other series was that they branch off of Mario (especially considering Mario itself has this weird issue of branching off from Donkey Kong, the core game at the start of it all). So I figure the family tree can go about this far before it gets into non-biological relatives, if that makes any sense XD

 

Most NES cartridges are similar to SMB1. Congruent even.

True, but how similar are they to toast? Do all toasters toast NES cartridges, or only Nintoasters?



#6 Rambly

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Posted 02 May 2022 - 06:48 PM

Most NES cartridges are similar to SMB1. Congruent even.

Weirdly enough, I feel like this is less true than if you used any other game/console as a metric - like, more Super Nintendo games are congruent to SMW than NES games are to SMB1. The NES had a lot of unlicensed games with weird non-standard cartridges, way more than the SNES or any later consoles.

 

Super Mario Maker might deserve to be higher on the list, given it can be physically and mechanically and graphically near-identical to SMB1 under the right circumstances? Sure it can design levels based around other games, but at least some percentage of the time, it's like, close to the similarity of Super Mario Bros. 2 JP. Also, given that it's a hybrid of the styles of Super Mario Bros. 1, then 3, World, and NSMB, it should at least be an average of those 3 games + Mario 1. Or close to it. It should at least rank higher than the latter 3 games.




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