Perhaps the most consequential series in video game history, I’ll be looking to play through it all in its entirety for the first time – with plenty of rage and failure likely along the way.
As the Super Mario series celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, I figured now would be as good of a time as any to take a look back at the series that changed video games forever and the titles that advanced the industry forward.
While I’ve already done that to a small extent on here, discussing the Wii U’s legacy while also singing my praises for Super Mario Bros. 3, I’m talking about a real deep dive into the series – one I must admit I haven’t really come close to doing despite being a lifelong fan of the series.
Yet looking in our collection the other day and realizing I had essentially all of the mainline Super Mario games released for a home console, I thought it would be a perfect time to take The Rubber Match to a new platform and embark on a long-winded quest through gaming’s most storied series.
Beginning on Monday, Sept. 29, I will begin my attempt at Twitch streaming 100% playthroughs of every mainline Super Mario game to be released on a console.
Before I get into some more on how that will look, here’s a list of the games I will be attempting to stream a 100% playthrough of as part of this series:
- Super Mario Bros.
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
- Super Mario Bros. 2
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Super Mario World
- Super Mario 64
- Super Mario Sunshine
- Super Mario Galaxy
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Super Mario Galaxy 2
- New Super Mario Bros. U
- New Super Luigi U
- Super Mario 3D World
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
A few notes regarding this list of games –
- These are only the console mainline Super Mario games – I don’t have the equipment or means to stream handheld games, and I also do not own a Nintendo DS or the original New Super Mario Bros.
- I am not counting Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island on this list – while it is indeed a Super Mario game by name, the game is a major departure from the series in style, gameplay and characters, and I decided it doesn’t fit overall with the rest of the titles on this list, at least for something like this.
- With that said, I AM including New Super Luigi U, as the game is merely an altered version of New Super Mario Bros. U, holding much more in common with the rest of the series.
- I will be playing the Super Mario All-Stars versions of the first four games due to ease of streaming, as I’m playing everything on original hardware. I’m aware this makes all of the games more forgiving, but I’m sure I’ll have more than enough frustration to go around.
- My runs of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy will all be done on their original physical copies and not on Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
- I will be attempting to complete the games in chronological order, although I may shift that up once getting into later titles, as fully completing several of them takes much more time than just finishing the main storyline.
As for myself, well, I’m no Super Mario aficionado. Of the games listed above, I’ve only managed a 100% clear on Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels and Super Mario Bros. 3, with my clear of The Lost Levels coming on the much more forgivable SNES version.
I’ve managed to complete the main storyline on Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey, but am still well below 100% completion on all of those games on my current personal files.
While I expect to complete the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 in a relatively short amount of time on this run, I have no idea how long every other game will take me, including the already completed Lost Levels.
I view myself as particularly bad at Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario World and Super Mario Sunshine, so I’m expecting to have a particularly difficult time with those three titles specifically.
In addition to expanding The Rubber Match to another platform and immersing myself deeper in the Super Mario series for future content, I also hope this streaming series helps showcase the incredible strides the series took over the past four decades.
While Mario’s legacy and cultural impact expand far beyond the confines of the flagship Super Mario series, it is these games that Nintendo has routinely prioritized the most, with the level of detail and thoughtfulness behind the games’ designs always apparent.
I also aim for this to be a more unique viewing experience for those who will be following along, as a novice streamer looking to strike a balance between ultra laid-back “Just Chatting” streams and high-intensity speedruns.
While I’ve played Super Mario games ever since my hands were big enough to hold an SNES controller, I would consider Super Mario Bros. 3 to be the only game in the series I’m proficient at – in the sense that I can typically beat the game at a comfortable pace but still at a decisively casual level. I am not a speedrunner, nor will I ever be.
Outside of my run of SMB3, which will undoubtedly be the most boring of this expedition, one can expect plenty of frustration and cursing as I fail to get past relatively early levels in what are ultimately games made for children.
On top of looking to expand my scope of gaming content on here while also hoping to reach a wider audience with this series, I’m hoping to have a lot of fun and discover new things I love about Super Mario games along the way.
Although I and every other Super Mario player has their preferences and favorites within the series, there’s no doubt that all of these games are worth multiple playthroughs, several of which serve as the crown jewels for the consoles they were released on. Through playing all of these games to their full completion, I hope my experience allows me to have more formulated opinions on all of the titles that can bear fruit on content I can produce at a later time.
All streams can be found at The Rubber Match Games on Twitch – first stream will go live on Monday, Sept. 29 at 3:30 p.m. Pacific, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
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