What Is Your Favorite 3D Mario? (EXCLUDING Galaxy & Odyssey)

[00Xander00]

Mario 64 is my favourite 3D Mario, even if I include Galaxy 1, 2 & Odyssey. Controls are timeless and no other 3D Mario utilises the wall jump, back flip, long jump, side flip, leap n grab and general jumping as much in it's level design. The level design has the perfect blend between tight and explorable, not too big to get lost in, every corner feels different. The castle & grounds in the over world feels special. Being able to jump through wall paintings is magical & imaginative. The over world feels liminal, solm & has many secrets making it feel eerie like the Spencer mansion in Resident Evil 1. The old graphics contrast with the colourful imagery to make it feel even more eerie as time goes by, making it age like a fine wine. The music is so iconic & 90s. Even the title screen is fun, the amount of fun we had stretching Mario's face, moving his jaw down to open his mouth really wide, then closing it. Then moving his jaw up & down, side by side to make the mouth move like he is talking, pinching his ears, poking him in his eye, then realising we can pull Mario's cap up making his eyes widen, then down over his face until his eyes go through his hat feeling like we just discovered a gap in some boundry all by our selves that the devs didn't even notice like a secret is so special & so unsung. This game is possibly my favourite game of all time and is so nostalgic to me, it has a special place in my heart.
I love all Mario games. My two most favourite Mario games of all time is Mario 64 & Super Mario World (SNES), (& Mario Kart 8 if I could include it in my top two lol).
3D World was amazing too and would be my 2nd choice if I can't include Galaxy 1 & 2, Sunshine would be 3rd (joint with or after Odyssey if I could include it), and 3D Land would be 4th place.

Last edited by 00Xander00 - on 24 May 2026