The Mario series is not only one of Nintendo's best-selling franchises, but it's also one of the most beloved by players. Each and every Nintendo console has seen the release of one or more platformer games starring Mario and his friends, and these games are usually considered among the best offerings on every system they've appeared on.
The Game Boy Advance, however, is in an odd position. Along with Game Boy Color, it's the only Nintendo system not to have an original Mario platformer game. Instead, the company decided to re-release four of the series' classic entries, following a pattern that started on Game Boy Color with the release of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. This re-release tetralogy is known as the Super Mario Advance series, and while the games are mostly the same as their original counterparts, there's still some additional content that it's worth checking out.
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4 Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
While the original game might be a contender for being one of the best platformers of all time, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 is a lackluster entry in the Super Mario Advance series. Released in 2002 in the US, this game is identical to its original counterpart on the Super Nintendo, except for the addition of some new story at the beginning and the end of the game.
There are some minor gameplay changes, some of which were made in order to accommodate for the fact that it was now on different hardware. The most notable of these changes is that there's no two-player mode, and Luigi is now an alternate character players can switch to anytime while on the world map. His play-style has also been slightly altered, and his jumps are much more similar to how they were in Super Mario Bros 2. Unfortunately, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 has nothing new to offer for fans who've already played the original version. That does not take away the fact that the game provides some of the best Super Mario stages ever, though.
3 Super Mario Advance
Super Mario Advance was released in 2001 all across the world, and it's a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2. This game is considered a black sheep of sorts for the franchise, as it involves a very different gameplay style compared to any other entry, along with some unique characters that would never re-appear in the main series. Super Mario Advance is based on the Super Mario All-Stars version of the game, which already provided a visual update and some minor gameplay changes, which are all kept in this new release.
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While there are some minor changes scattered all throughout the adventure, the most important additions in the game are probably the introduction of Robirdo as a boss for World 3 (replacing Mouser from the original version), and the addition of the "Yoshi challenge", which allows players to revisit stages hunting down Yoshi eggs. It's not much, but these new elements may be enough to warrant a playthrough for the most hardcore fans of the game.
2 Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 is not technically a part of the Mario series. Despite being called Super Mario Word 2 in some countries, would be repositioned in the Yoshi series in the years following its release, but it's still a part of the Super Mario Advance series. It was released in 2002 in the US, and it's the first re-release in this series to add some new, worthwhile content. The game has a very different aesthetic and gameplay from other titles in the series. Players take the role of Yoshi(s), who are trying to keep Baby Mario safe and rescue his brother from the hands of Kamek.
This version has some noticeable differences from the original release, both in visuals and gameplay. The most important difference though is the addition of 6 brand-new stages, which are made accessible for players after they've beaten the main game. These new levels are craftily-designed, and provide a much harder challenge than regular stages. Even veterans will not have an easy time when trying to complete these, which makes this re-release one of the most satisfying to play through.
1 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 is, as the title suggests, a remake of Super Mario Bros 3., widely considered one of the best games of all time. Released in 2003 all over the world, this remake was the last one in the series chronologically, but it's also easily the best one of the bunch. The reason is quite simple: this version of the game is riddled with new content.
The game has an impressive amount of 38 completely new stages, some of which bring back elements from previous games that were absent in the main adventure, such as rarely seen power-ups. While originally this new content was locked behind a ludicrous paywall called E-Reader, it's now widely accessible thanks to the game's re-release on the Nintendo Switch Online platform. Even better, these stages can now be accessed without having to play through the main adventure, so all players who've already beaten the base game can move straight to the new content.