misterd on 01 January 2008
Overall Mario, becase it is a purer gaming experience.
Zelda is always saddled with a story, which, when it worked, has made for some terrific games (many better than many Mario games), but it has also often restricted many of the games into a predictable, formulaic experience.
With Mario, the "story" is such a non-issue that the designers are given much more freedom to do what they want. We get a greater variety of challenges, level designs, and power ups/equipment, not to mention the wider variety of games Mario can be applied to (can you imagine Zelda Kart? Dr. Link? Zelda Soccer Smash?)
