I think I'm the only one who will say it's THE Mario game.

Not Mario 64 because of it's inconsistencies, nor Mario Galaxy 2 for it's lack of impact.

That's a great game as well, and you're right about the secret areas being very tough to find.

Ocarina still wins on Metacritic: http://www.metacritic.com/game/nintendo-64/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time :)

I still haven't played Mario Galaxy 2 (I know, shame on me), but I would rank the first Galaxy behind Mario 64, Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World. But all four of those would make my top 30.

Well, having the best music this gen must have helped

But while the two MG are obviously fantastic games, no game shocked me more than Ocarina, still the best around. Nothing's ever gonna keep it down!

(and I hated the N64 hardware - strange that it gave me another "best ever" - Jrpg in this case - with Paper Mario, among many other superb games.)

Bro, this is THE GAME, period.

Was the jab at Halo 4 really neccesary? Thats just asking to start a flame war....

Galaxy 2 is the better game (and thus the best 3D Mario). It takes everything that was great about the first one, and tweaks it slightly to make it better.

It probably lost a few points here and there for not being as fresh though. So I guess it depends what is more important to the individual, freshness or polish.

And Ocarina is still the best game ever made, Metacritic <3.

I never played Galaxy 2 - looks gorgeous, and I will definitely play on Mario Galaxy HD collection on Wii U

But I loved galaxy 1, but for me, 3D Land was better! Almost perfect 3D Mario game.

It's probably in order to collect more of those sweet sweet VGC Points so... it's for a good cause... I guess.

I totally agree with this. Mario Galaxy is my favorite game ever. It's one of the few games out there that is fun for every single moment from start to finish. Deserves the top spot.