Mario Games
It's time for another history lesson, so sit back and learn how we got to know Mario.
It probably started when we were little, when we got babysat by our neighbors the Romeros. They had an old NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. + Duck Hunt. Jose was the master, but Geoffrey always killed himself, which was fun. Many years later, there was that day camp again to influence us. Somebody had a SMA game, and we were hooked. We bought a couple strategy guides. (No game to go with it, though. No money.)
How did we discover the online Mario community? Well, we forget really, but it did start with Neglected Mario Character Comics and The Mushroom Kingdom. Of course, since we had Pokémon Roms, there must be Mario ones, too, right?
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3
The arcade originals that started it all, including the unsuccessful third installment that starred Mario's American cousin, Stanley, who disappeared right after this game.
Donkey Kong Classics
For those of you who don�t want Donkey Kong 3, or prefer the NES versions, here's a compilation of the first two.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
Educational version of DK Jr. for teaching math. Cheesy.
Donkey Kong '94
The very rare (at least according to how long it took us to find this Rom) Super Gameboy version of DK (with a very nice border made to look like the arcade cabinet). There are many, many new levels included with the classic four levels. Out of all games, this was one of the hardest to find, which frankly, is kinda bewildering. We finally found it after months of searching at a Dutch hobby site.
Mario Bros.
The next giant step for Mario, in the original arcade form.
Return of Mario Bros.
A rare Japan-only Famicom sequel to Mario Bros. Very Japanese.
Punch Ball Mario Bros., Mario Bros. Special
Rare versions of MB for the extremely obscure Japanese computer PC88, included on 2 gamepacks. Neither are much like the original.
Super Mario Bros. 1-3
The classic trilogy.
Doki Doki Panic, Super Mario Bros. 2 (J)
After the original SMB became a smash hit, the Japanese made this sequel. Unfortunately, the US found it too much like the first one, and too hard (which is pretty much true). So the US took this game, Doki Doki Panic (which is rumored to have originally been a Mario game, but they thought they'd see how it would do without Mario) and turned it into the SMB2 we know today. Here are both those games! (Download includes a hack of SMB2 [US] that looks like Doki Doki Panic.) Check out Mike Fireball's review here.
Vs. Super Mario Bros.
More difficult version of SMB for the arcade. Includes a NES rom, of all things, which doesn't work on all emulators, along with the MAME rom.
Super Mario Bros. Special
One of the rarest Mario games of all time, again on PC88. Blinding graphics.
Super Mario Bros. 3- The Lost Levels
There are several unused levels hidden in the SMB3 game. In this neat little version, you get a handy-dandy map that lets you go to all of them quick and easy!
Super Mario All-Stars +
One of the best compilation games ever, as it has the original trilogy, the Japanese SMB2 (called the �Lost Levels�), and the latest game at the time, Super Mario World. So if you want all these games fast, this the download you want.
BS Super Mario USA
Basically SMB2 from SMAS released for the SNES's Bandai Satellaview-X in Japan in four installments. Has a few bonus features such as a search for gold Mario statues, and mysterious boxes that appear at the side of the screen with various characters that appear to be talking.
BS Super Mario Bros. 3/Super Mario Collection
Satellaview version of the SMAS SMB3, with a few minor additions.
Super Mario Bros. DX
A GBC re-release of the classic SMB, including the Japanese SMB2 (called "SMB for Super Players"), a Challenge Course (you play SMB, but you also have to find all the Red Coins), and a bonus racing course against Boo, as well as a bunch of other stuff. Clearly leading the way to the SMA series.
Super Mario Land 1-2
Mario's only original GB side-scrollers, and they're pretty bizarre but unique, being made without the insight of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Both of them have dozens of enemies and power-ups and other things that never appeared in a Mario game ever again. SML2 introduces Wario for the first time.
Gameboy Color Demo
A demo cartridge for the then-newly-released GBC, featuring SML2 Mario in color for the first and only time.
Donkey Kong Country 1-3
The original trilogy that first introduced us to Donkey Kong as a hero.
Donkey Kong Land 1-3
Gameboy ports/versions of the Country series.
Donkey Kong GB- Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong, Donkey Kong Country
A Japan-only GBC version of DKL3, and a port of the original SNES DKC.
Game & Watch Gallery 1-3
Game & Watch was Nintendo's first handheld, which had the graphic capabilities of a calculator. Here they were re-released in Gameboy form, with Mario slapped on updated versions to make it sell more (although there's a non-Mario version called "Gameboy Gallery" in existence, which you can find in the "Other" section of our Roms page). A very nice spin-off; the games themselves are much like arcade games- extremely challenging and addictive, yet simplistic.
I Am A Teacher- Super Mario's Sweater
Strange Famicom-only sewing game. Features Mario-themed knitting patterns.
Wario Land 1-3
Wario games deserve as much praise for being unique as Yoshi games (possibly even more)- there's nothing quite like them. The kooky and greed-satisfying Wario Land series are available here. The first is very much like SML2, except the enemies are totally different. The second one is just as good, but the third is odd- you need special items to do stuff Wario could do just fine by himself in previous games.
Virtual Boy Wario Land
The strange and unsuccessful Virtual Boy was an attempt at 3-D graphics, but the tendency to eat up batteries and quite possibly the strange black-and-shades-of-red color scheme made it a big flop. Out of about a dozen or so games, a total of three Mario games were released (and one unreleased), and here you can find them. This Wario game is very much like SML3, except for one major difference: There is a foreground and a background, both of which you can explore! This is arguably the best out of all the VB titles.
Wario Blast- Featuring Bomberman!
The first official Mario crossover game (the only others being SSB and SSB Melee), where you fight against (or play as) Wario or Bomberman.
Mario's Picross 1-2
Mario is quite popular as a theme for Picross (a popular Japanese game). Here are a couple for Gameboy, the second being a translation of a Japan-only sequel.
Mario's Super Picross
Two versions of a SNES version of Picross. One says "Roms are bad, no dessert for a week", while the other is hacked (it seems) so you can get past it.
Picross NP (vols. 2, 6, 7)
A series of Picross games, volumes 2, 6 and 7 being Mario-themed.
BS Excitebike Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium
A Mario-themed version of the popular Excitebike game again released for the Bandai Satellaview-X in Japan in four installments. Extremely long, boring intro. Make sure to make a savestate once the game actually starts.
Dr. Mario
Undoubtedly the most famous of Mario puzzle games. What puzzles us is how Mario became a doctor.
Mario & Yoshi, Yoshi's Cookie
More puzzle games. The first was designed by Game Freak, so that's why the music sounds like a Pok�mon game. It was also Yoshi's first appearance. The follow-up involves cookies, obviously.
Yoshi's Cookie (SNES)
There are also NES versions of the above two games, but they have virtually the same graphics. This version has a strangely taller screen than most.
Yoshi no Kuruppon- Oven de Cookie
An obscure version of Yoshi's Cookie which seems to be advertising a Japanese brand of oven. Includes the SNES version of the main game, and some other thing that seems to involve baking.
Tetris Attack
Gee, this game looks awfully similar to the Pokémon puzzle games... It's not Tetris either! It's a conspiracy!
Mario Clash
The wonderfully bizarre Mario Clash is the next VB game here... It's basically a re-hash of MB, except it has perspective and you're clearing the mind-bogglingly tall "Clash Tower" instead of a sewer.
Mario's (Dream) Tennis
The last of the VB games here, and it's only here because it's for VB. As a sports game, we don't like it much, and the gameplay is kind of awkward if I remember. The title screen doesn't say "dream", but we saw it being called that on some site, and we liked it.
Wrecking Crew, Wrecking Crew '98
Now what were these all about? Mario is for some reason tearing down a building... The Japan-only SNES sequel here goes into further detail: apparently Bowser is building a bunch of ugly office buildings in a beautiful meadow, blocking the sun and causing flowers to wilt (and being an eyesore in general).
All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros.
Now this is rare! This was given away by a Japanese radio show called All Night Nippon to lucky callers- and it's downloadable! It's funny because the Goombas and Piranha Plants have been replaced by smiling bald dudes, probably radio show hosts, and some other stuff by what must be Japanese celebrities. The Rom was, oddly enough, very easy to find.
Nintendo World Championships 1990
Also quite rare, at least in cartridge form. We found it just as quickly as All Night Nippon. This game was used in a 1990 contest, and winners got to take a cartridge of it home. It starts off as Super Mario Bros., and as soon as you collect 50 coins, you go to Rad Racer. Complete the course there, and you move on to Tetris, and you play that until time runs out. Whoever got the most points was the winner.
Super Mario RPG- Legend of the Seven Stars
The idea seems inconceivable to one just becoming acquainted with Mario, but the Mario world makes for a challenging and witty RPG. Mario would star in several other RPGs over the years, but this one was the first.
Wario's Woods
Funny how most puzzle games are almost exactly the same, but each I�ve played is just as addicting. This particular one has Toad in his first and (so far) only starring role, battling against Wario.
Undake 30 Same Game
A simple Japan-only puzzle game, but good luck beating it.
Mario & Wario
Released in Japan and Europe only. (This is the European version for your convenience.) Wario has stuck buckets on the heads of Mario and friends! You, a fairy, have to be their seeing-eye dog and lead them to Luigi, who seems to be the only one with the magical ability to take the buckets off. Uses a special mouse.
Yoshi's Safari
This game just feels weird. It's first-person, and Mario uses a laser gun... It's just not right. Uses a Superscope light gun.
Mario Teaches Typing
Surely almost every kid with access to a computer and ditzy parents has played some sort of learn-to-type game. Well, here's Mario's version. There's a sequel, but we haven't found it yet.
Mario's Game Gallery
Also known as Mario's FUNdamentals, this is Charles Martinet's first job as the voice of Mario, although the guy on the Gottlieb Mario pinballs sounds an awful lot like him. For some reason we couldn't take a screenshot of the title screen, so we had to go with this one from TMK of the later version.
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. (Atari 2600)
And now comes the section for old home console Mario games. We start with your favorite Donkey Kong games. Man, the Atari 2600 is so laughably simplistic these days.
Mario Bros. (Atari 2600)
...And now Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong and another Donkey Kong (Commodore 64)
For some reason there are two versions of this.
Mario Bros. and another Mario Bros. (Commodore 64)
There are two versions of this too. The second one has cool synthesized classical music.
Mario Bros. II
An obscure title for the Commodore 64. It's based on the Game & Watch game Mario Bros. At least this version has something to do with Mario.
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. (ColecoVision)
Before the NES, this was the closest you could get to reproducing Donkey Kong games for your home. It's almost just like the arcade version.
Mario's Early Years
Seems Mario was the #1 choice for starring in kiddie games for a while there. In this series, Mario and the gang teach you about numbers, letters, and just about everything Sesame Street already covered. (It doesn't involve a young Mario at all, really...)
Mario Paint
Bring out your inner artist with Mario and friends! It's basically like MS Paint, but with other features you'd typically see in Mac programs or Disney Magic Artist.
Yoshi's Island
[insert witty comment here]
SNES Test Program
Yes, folks, it actually tests if your SNES is working. Includes some beta SMW graphics.
Mario Is Missing
Luigi's first starring role- too bad it was an edutainment game. Mario falls down a hole, and Luigi has to look for him, all the while returning world monuments to their proper places. You get to recover the Sistine Chapel ceiling!
Mario Is Missing (PC)
The PC version of the above. Now, what did the brothers make of that ominous "Mario Is Missing" logo that loomed over them at the beginning of the intro?
Mario's Time Machine
The second of the Mario Edutainment titles, where Mario must stop Bowser from creating the ultimate history exhibit by going back in time to steal important artifacts back when they were new. Includes the NES version, which has totally different gameplay.
Mario's Time Machine (PC)
Makes you wonder what Nintendo thought of these games when they saw them. Probably "oh God this is corny" and then "money".
Super Mario Bros. 3 (Prototype)
What the heck is this?! Is it the real deal? Doubtful, but this is what the Rom's called...
