Call it an unfair comparison — one game was a revolution in an industry of arcade domination, whereas the other had an entire generation to learn from — however, both games scratch a very similar itch: An arcade-style, platforming adventure which spans across a variety of side-scrolling worlds.

The original goal in creating Sonic the Hedgehog was a response to the tedium felt upon receiving a “Game Over” in Super Mario Bros (NES). Instead of taking upwards of thirty minutes to possibly hours trying to get back the world you “Game Over”-ed on, Sonic was designed with far more consideration: If you are comfortable with the game and its earlier levels, then Sonic has the speed to get you right back to where you left off within mere minutes. It’s an evolution on a game which revolutionized the industry… to an extent, one could say Sonic the Hedgehog was the spiritual successor to Mario Bros NES.

That said… what’s your pick? I actually just finished my first playthrough of Sonic 1 & 2 today— I absolutely love these two games now! They have aged like wine. (So, it should be clear what my pick is lol.)

Oooo, nice matchup, reigniting old rivalries.

For me it's Mario by a landslide, as not only is the original SMB a masterclass in design, but I honestly never found Sonic that good. The graphics and music were cool, but when you're going fast its more like watching a video than playing a game as its too fast to really do much, and when you slow down the actual platforming feels too loose and imprecise.

Wow I’m surprised! You and I are on polar opposite ends of the spectrum: I find Mario Bros NES to be a very tedious and boring game, whereas Sonic has left me blown away, spending hours perfecting movement, memorizing paths, and getting lost while exploring each level.

Different strokes for different folks I guess; it's like how many people love Pokémon or Smash Bros or GTA but they're just not my cup of tea.

The only Sonic games I really liked were Colours on Wii, Generations on 360, and the Sonic Racing subseries, the rest didn't do it for me.

If we're talking influence and innovation, not many games can touch the first Super Mario Bros. If we're talking something that someone of today would enjoy playing more, it might be Sonic, since that has far better graphics/sound and feels more modern.

I think SMB 3 vs. Sonic 2 would be a more equal fight.

I never understood the appeal of Sonic and I have tried to play the first game probably a dozen times over the last 30 years. I run forward until I hit something and lose all my rings. Rinse and repeat. In the dozens of times I've tried to force myself to like the game, I've maybe gotten to the third level on my furthest attempt before getting mad that the game stinks.

Sonic, easily.

Mario 3 was a much better game, like Sonic 2 as well, tho.

Super Mario Bros by a huge margin.  I always though Sonic was very overrated. 

SMB has timeless gameplay that overcomes its aesthetic antiquities. Sonic still looks pretty, even today, but once you're past the first world where you stop just running through hoops and actually have to platform, the game falls apart. It's not even close for me.

Same for me. In fact, I think that Sonic's gotta-go-fast nature is counter intuitive for the genre of the game. Platformers are all about jump precision between plataforms but Sonic basically asks you to keep your shoes on the ground, running as fast as possible. And then the game's level put obsticles and cliffs that harm you if you run like Sonic is supposed to do, so you have not run and lose momentum that is required for him to run in specific parts of the levels. To me, Sonic is a mess

I can sympathize with this confusion, as I struggled to understand the appeal for the longest time. The way I’ve come to enjoy Sonic is (i) rolling more (i.e. not necessarily revving up a spin dash, but simply pressing down while moving forward, so as to avoid running into an enemy and taking a hit), and (ii) playing slow. 2D Sonic arguably is a far more “open”/non-linear experience than 2D Mario. Take your time in each level, explore the world’s environments, and then once you’ve become familiarized with everything, then — and only then — consider speeding through time trial runs and such.

It’s a very satisfying gameplay loop once you understand the design intent. Again, the game is supposed to be Mario, but with the addition of allowing the player to quickly return to a part of the game where they “Game Over”-ed.