Which of these two series do you think is ultimately greater, and why?

For the purposes of this thread we're counting both 2D and 3D mainline entries, but not spinoffs like Mario Kart or Hyrule Warriors.

Mario is greater, imo, by default, because without it, there wouldn't be a Nintendo (at least not in the way we have them now). It's the IP that was so good, so compelling, that it got people to buy into an unknown console and brand. I also think it's greater because it's more accessible. You genuinely don't get lost all that often (and in the case of the 2D games, rarely ever), don't need walk-throughs, don't really even need much skill at all. All you need is the will to play a video game and have fun and you can enjoy a Mario title. Not really so for Zelda. That franchise, even the easier examples, is very cryptic for people unfamiliar with games. And in the case of some of them, like Majora's Mask, you pretty much need a guide if you don't want to rip your hair out. It definitely has more depth, but at the cost of a steeper learning curve. And that aforementioned lack of linearity can be frustrating for people with ADHD or anyone else who struggles with focus.

Mario is Nintendo. But Zelda is the GOAT of its genre, without a doubt.

Define “greater” and then I can probably give a response closer to the intent of OP. It’s hard for me to say one is better than the other (as far as personal taste is concerned) as each scratches a totally different itch: I love turning off my brain and replaying Mario games over and over again, meanwhile Zelda sucks me into its world unlike any other franchise.

edit- looking back at this response, I'm realizing I'm being picky lol. That said: Which is more revolutionary? That's a tough one... though I'd have to say Mario. Not sure if we're counting the original Donkey Kong arcade game as being a Mario game, but even beyond that, you have Super Mario Bros (the game the revived a seemingly dead industry), Super Mario Bros 3 (which had been and is still by some held as being the "greatest" game of all time), Super Mario World (the game that sold the SNES), and Super Mario 64 (the first game to not only stick-the-landing insofar as 3D game design is concerned, but perfected it... on the first attempt).

Now, as for personal taste? Like I said, it depends on what I'm in the mood for. It's like asking, "Do you want a strawberry shortcake or a dish of scrambled eggs?" Like yes but if I have to choose one? Then it'll depend on my mood. That being said... if I want a game that I know will leave a very long-lasting impact, that I can easily sink 100 hours into, then Zelda is the answer. If I want a game that is simply "comfort food", that I can turn off my brain and engage in some of the greatest level design ever concieved, then Mario is the answer.

I like Zelda much more, so i vote Zelda.

I prefer Zelda, but the answer is Mario.

There are a few reasons why: Mario is more versatile, more universal and has had harder challenges. It was Mario Bros the game responsible for saving the industry in the US, it was Mario 64 which was the blueprint for third person 3D games. Mario is Mr. Videogames.

eh, they aim for different things entirely. This is too broad of strokes. They are equal in what they aim for. Sorry it's not the knee jerk nostalgia forum like answer but it's the only real one.

Wich is Greater? Today?

mmmm, lets imagine one of them would seize to exist going forward. How much would it hurt Nintendo?

As said in the OP spin-offs don't count, so without Mario platformer, we still have him in Mariokart, sports, puzlers, RPG's, etc. Nintendo still has DK, Kirby and such for platformers.

But without Zelda as the action adventure game? There are no alternatives really. Zelda spin-offs don't have the cache to carry the franchise forward. I think it would hurt Nintendo more.

Depends on the era and if we're talking about the overall fanbase or the Internet fanbase.
I'd say in the Switch/Switch 2 era Zelda has the lead. While in the N64 era it was effectively tied. In the NES, GB, and SNES era Mario had the lead. While in the Wii and DS era it was decisively Super Mario.

I'd say the Internet fanbase was overwhelmingly pro-Zelda until sometime between Celda and Super Mario Galaxy; Celda was controversial, I'd estimate somewhere between 30 and 50% were off-put by the new direction, and the game ended up selling significantly less, and driving less hardware than its predecessor. On the Gamecube, while it wasn't a popular game among the general consumers, online fandom was overwhelmingly favouriting Metroid Prime. Metroid quickly lost steam, and it was a shadow of itself by the time of Prime 3, despite a loyal contingent of fans. Twilight Princess looked like it would restore Zelda's position, but Super Mario Galaxy eclipsed it. Super Mario Galaxy was basically the result of the Super Mario 64-2 prototype, and it very much wowed the online fandom. For about a decade, Mario was prominent among Internet fandoms, and then Zelda won it back sometime between Mario 3D World/Land and Breath of the Wild. Many considered the old school linear "travel to the flag" type structure as being outdated and not serious enough. And Zelda has sort of reigned ever since.

In short:
It ebbs and flows no matter what strata of the Nintendo fandom you look at.
Generally, and amongst most Nintendo consumers, Mario is historically bigger.
Among online fandom it has usually been Zelda.
Currently: it's Zelda on both fronts.

Mario, hands down. The Legend of Zelda franchise may have a very high level of excellence, but so does Mario. And, as far as popularity goes, Mario is miles away ahead of Zelda. 

That's real tough but I think there is a definitely answer at this point.

Mario is definitely more consistently great. Of the 2D games in the 2D era and 3D games in the 3D era, and of games that were released globally (so not the real SMB2) and weren't just Mario-skinned entirely different games (so not the western SMB2), the only game that wasn't peak gaming was Sunshine. And even it was very good, but had some poor game design decisions that make it worst than it actually plays and can be frustrating to play through at parts.

Zelda meanwhile had the experimental and generally not well regarded Zelda 2, WW fantastic but many people complain too much tedious water sailing, TP cool but by far the worst main mechanic in any Zelda game ever and really represented when Zelda started to lose its luster as a peak action adventure franchise and just started to feel like 'another good game' in the genre, and then that continued with SS which is generally regarded as overall the worst 3D Zelda. So basically a fairly weak 3 entries in a row (at least compared to other Zelda games and Mario games) before BotW resurrected Zelda and made it far more popular than ever and got it back to the top of the action-adventure genre and also put it right at the top of the open world genre.

2D in both franchises is kinda weak and side project-y at this point. Much more interesting indie games in those 2D genres these days. But were the top of the top in the 2D era.


I think Zelda can reach higher heights than Mario, just by the nature of its genre being larger more epic games. But it still hasn't hit those heights, as the tiny 64-bit OoT is still considered by far the best non-open-world 3D Zelda game, and while most rightly consider BotW one of the greatest games ever I think everyone who has played it can point out a few major things that could easily greatly improve the open-world Zelda formula. So Zelda has more room to climb and it has had several less than outstanding entries and the franchise had gotten weak enough where it had to be reimagined and resurrected by BotW.

essentially:
Mario with 2D (SMB, SMB3, SMW) and 3D (64, Gal, Gal2, 3D W, Odys) has many times hit about as high as it is possible to hit in the genre for the given time periods - all 8 of those games are masterpieces as well as classics because they all still hold up phenomenally today. Whereas for Zelda well there would be a lot more debate cuz depending on who you ask you'll hear people say WW/TP/SS/BotW/TotK are anywhere from the the greatest game ever to it's the easily the worst Zelda haha, but I think it's reasonable in general to say only LoZ, ALttP, OoT, and BotW hit at or very close to peak gaming experiences for their time. I'd say those top few Zelda games that are absolute masterpieces tend to be considered better than the many Mario masterpieces, but two-thirds of them belong to Mario, while Zelda has had multiple "it's good, but..." games.

So Mario wins.