When it comes to platforming games, nobody does it quite likeMr. Mario Mario. For almost four decades, the red-capped leakfixer has leapt his way across chasms, down pipes, and indeed, into our hearts. Whether in the 2D or 3D plane, pop one of his myriad adventures on and it’s a safe bet you’ll be having a great time; the folks at Nintendo have fun down to a science.
If you were to embark on the Koopa Kingdom-sized endeavour of conquering every platforming quest the Mario Bros. have to offer, just how long would it take you? Some Mario games can be casually rocketed through, while others will test your mettle - and patience - a bit further. Let’s find out the grand total!
A couple of quick ground rules for this breakdown: we’reonly counting platforming titles under the ‘Super Mario’ banner,i.e. the ones Nintendo considers mainline entries. Thisexcludes spinoffs starring secondary characters, like Super Princess Peach and Wario Land; this article would be pushing 50 games otherwise!
We’re also assumingcasual, regular play for our estimates, with no speedrunning tactics utilised. Sure, Super Mario Bros. 1 can technically be beaten in five minutes, but that’s a hard-earned world record!
Super Mario Bros.
1 Hour
It all started here:an unassuming NES title that came bundled with the system. It’s hard to imagine a world where nobody knew who Mario was, but that world ended pretty quick once this game made a gigantic global splash.By modern standards, it’s a bit dated and ropey; the hit detection’s off, and the midair physics are awkward.
It’s also very short.Assuming you hit all the by-now famous warp zones, which skip over entire worlds, you can be done within half an hour. The “boss fights” against Bowser and his impostors are pathetic and put up little resistance.
A regular runthrough of all eight worlds, though, still won’t last youmuch longer than a single hourif you know your stuff.
Super Mario Bros. 2
2 Hours
The development of Mario 2 is a curious tale. Originally, it was nothing more thana glorified level pack for the first game, and indeed that was the version Japanese players got. Market research, however, indicated thatit was absolutely, ball-bustingly difficult; too much so for Western audiences. Thinking quickly, Nintendoretooled a promotional game they’d made for a local festival, Doki Doki Panic, into a Mario adventure– and the rest is gaming history.
Mario 2 is an odd duck as a consequence.Choosing from Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Toad, you navigate seven worlds in the surreal realm of Subcon. There’s no jumping on enemies here – you need to chuck them at one another to KO them.
Like Mario 1,there are warp zones that can see you through in less than an hour, but finding those is tough, so prepare tospend a couple of hours to take down King Wart.
The OG Japanese incarnation of Mario 2 would eventuallymake its way to American shores via the SNES compilation Super Mario All-Stars. There, it wasretitled ‘The Lost Levels,‘and nowadays is treated as a non-canon expansion pack for Mario 1. It’s the hardest Mario game you’ll ever play.
Super Mario Bros. 3
4 Hours
It’s difficult to describe the monumental, Phantom Menace-level hype that preceded Mario 3’s release unless you were there –but this threequel unquestionably delivered. Regarded as one of the finest offerings in the genre, it took everything that worked about its predecessors and distilled it to perfection.
Mario 3 is the point at which Nintendo started toget a bit carried away with the scope and scale of the Mushroom Kingdom. We’re back to eight worlds, but we now havea map screen, with separate nooks and crannies to explore. Secret exits are a thing for the first time, as are branching paths.
Canny use of warp whistlescan get you to Bowser’s keep in less than 15 minutes, but if you’re in for the long haul,four hours of platforming bliss await.
Super Mario World
6 Hours
For Mario’s leap into the 16-bit era, Nintendo pulled out all the stops.Mario World is as stuffed to the gills as you could possibly ask for a game of its vintage– almost 100 secret exits, an intertwining overworld map, and a veritable vault of Dragon Coin collectibles to snatch up.
Further new wrinkles include the first appearance of Yoshi, who can gobble down enemies with his unnerving tongue, and the Cape Feather, which, if you master it, can render most of the game’s levels obsolete.
As you’d therefore imagine, World’s runtimeclocks in at almost thrice that of its NES forebears, around six hours. This is assuming you beeline through the worlds and do zero additional exploration, which wouldbloat your file to 15 hours-plus. The Star Road isn’t going to unlock itself!
Super Mario Land Duology
1.5 Hours Apiece, 3 Hours Total
Mario 3 and Mario World may have been smashing records left and right, butthe humbler Mario Land titles on GameBoy shouldn’t be ignored. Being on a handheld with about as much processing power as a calculator, they’revery slight experiences, which is why we’re treating them as a collective.
Land 1 introduces Princess Daisy, who’s kidnapped by the alien Tatanga; while Land 2 debuts Wario, as he nicks a castle from our leading plumber.Individually, the games will run you about an hour and a half, but play them back to back, as we would recommend, and you’ll sink a respectable three hours or so in.
Super Mario 64
15 Hours
If you look up ‘revolutionary’ in the dictionary, chances are good there’ll be a picture of Super Mario 64 adjacent to it.Attempts at fully 3D platformers had been made prior to it, but the mustached wonder BLJ’d onto the scene and wiped the floor with all of them.
Everything about 64 is instantly iconic: Peach’s castle and its grounds, the jazzy soundtrack, the hidden Power Stars that made for excellent playground gossip fodder.Tracking down all 120 stars is no easy feat, but thankfully you only need 70 to fight the last boss.
Navigating the various paintings will take youcirca 15 hours if you play as intended, and you may bump that to 20 and above for full completion. Sequence breaks are rife and fairly easy to pull off, enabling you to skip to Bowser almost as soon as you start – but you’re no cheater, right?
Super Mario Sunshine
Eager not to rest on its laurels, Nintendo opted toshake things up for Mario’s second outing in the third dimension. The result was Mario Sunshine, which, depending on who you ask, iseither the black sheep of the franchise or its unsung masterpiece. It’s divisive, to say the least.
Mario’s banged up for vandalism while visiting the idyllic Isle Delfino, and must clean up all the toxic pollution while tracking down the true culprit. The central mechanic is your FLUDD device,a sentient water hose that can spray, fly, and boost you to turbo speeds.
Sunshine is another case wherethe playtime varies depending on how much you collect. 15 hours is roughly average to roll the credits, for which you only need to beat Shadow Mario in all seven worlds;but for the infamous 100 percent run, which includes those aggravating blue coins, you could be pushing 30.
New Super Mario Bros.
10 Hours
If you can believe it,New Super Mario Bros. genuinely was ‘new’ once. Though that moniker had been thoroughly worn out by the fifth installment, this DS original gave the 2D Mario formula a much-needed shot in the arm for contemporary audiences.
Rockinga slick 2.5D artstyle, NSMB attempted to graft Mario’s 3D moveset onto a traditional sidescroller; so here,the plumber can wall jump, triple jump, ground pound, and more. New powerups include the Blue Shell (not to be confused with the friendship-ruining karting weapon) and the screen-clearing Mega Mushroom.
The game is a lot of things, but it isn’t especially difficult. Veterans will scupper Bowser and Bowser Jr. before they hit double-digit hours, but investigating the handful of secret exitsmight propel you to 15 or so.
Super Mario Galaxy
For many fans,Galaxy represented (and continues to represent) the pinnacle of the series. This is unadulterated, intergalactic joy – a rare case of a game whereliterally everything is done right. The visuals, sublime. The level design and mechanics, tight and varied. The soundtrack; ye gods, the soundtrack!
Galaxy brims withan ethereal magic that Nintendo has never quite been able to rebottle, and much of its iconography was carried forward, like Rosalina and the Lumas. Which is why it’s a good thing there’s a lot of it to go around.
Even merely beating Bowser willrun you a healthy 15 hours– but should you fall in love with the game, which is highly likely, thenrinsing the galaxy of its collectibles will take over 20.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
It might no longer have counted as ‘new’, but New Super Mario Bros. Wii boasted an irresistible hook:co-op Mario gameplay, for the first time. The unrestrained chaos that thefour-way multiplayerbirthed in this sequel must be seen to be believed. Hurling one another off ledges, stealing boss kills, using your mates as springboards over lava – it was a sadist’s dream.
Beyond co-op and the neat Propeller Suit, however,it had little fresh to offer. The world themes were lifted verbatim from the original, and the much-vaunted return of the Koopalings amounted to little more thanretreads of their Mario World battles.
Getting to the end and beating Bowser shouldn’t take experienced gamersmore than a nice round ten hours– but those who choose tomuck in and grind Star Coins for the bonus world might squeeze 15-20 out of it.
